Samuel Humphreys was a noted U.S. naval

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 in the early 19th century.

Naval architect

Samuel Humphreys constructed ships at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. He built the USS Franklin

USS Franklin (1815)

The third USS Franklin of the United States Navy was a 74-gun ship of the line.-History:Built in 1815 under the supervision of Samuel Humphreys and Charles Penrose, she was the first vessel to be laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard....

 in 1815. He constructed the USS Philadelphia

USS Philadelphia (1799)

The second USS Philadelphia was a 1240-ton, 36-gun sailing frigate of the United States Navy.Originally named City of Philadelphia, she was built in 1798–1799 for the United States government by the citizens of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Funding for her construction was the result of a...

, which was laid down in 1798, and launched in 1799.

In 1824, Samuel turned down a very lucrative offer from Emperor Alexander I of Russia

Alexander I of Russia

Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....

 to create a Russian Navy, saying: "I do not know that I possess the merits attributed to me, but, be they great or small, I owe them all to the flag of my country."

Samuel Humphreys was "Chief Constructor for the Navy" from 1826 to 1846. He designed America's first first-rate

First-rate

First rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for its largest ships of the line. While the size and establishment of guns and men changed over the 250 years that the rating system held sway, from the early years of the eighteenth century the first rates comprised those ships mounting 100...

 ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

, the USS Pennsylvania

USS Pennsylvania (1837)

USS Pennsylvania was a three-decked 140-gun ship of the line of the United States Navy, named for the state of Pennsylvania. She was the largest sailing warship ever built for the Navy, and the equivalent of a first-rate of the British Royal Navy, but her only cruise was a single trip from...

, which was laid down in 1821, but not launched until 1837. He designed USS Relief

USS Relief (1836)

The first USS Relief was a supply ship in the United States Navy.Relief was laid down in 1835 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and launched on 14 September 1836. Designed by Samuel Humphreys, she was built along merchant vessel lines and included trysail mast and gaffsail on all three masts to enable...

, which was laid down in 1835, and launched in 1836.

Family

Samuel's father was Joshua Humphreys

Joshua Humphreys

Joshua Humphreys was an influential and successful ship builder in the United States.Humphreys was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania and died in the same place. He is the son of Daniel Humphreys and Hannah Wynne . He was brother to Charles Humphreys...

, the naval architect for the first six frigates of the US Navy

Six original United States frigates

The United States Congress authorized the original six frigates of the United States Navy with the Naval Act of 1794 on 27 March 1794 at a total cost of $688,888.82...

. Samuel, and his wife Letitia, had sons Andrew

Andrew A. Humphreys

Andrew Atkinson Humphreys , was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, and a Union General in the American Civil War. He served in senior positions in the Army of the Potomac, including division command, chief of staff, and corps command, and was Chief Engineer of the U.S...

 and Joshua (1813–1873) who served in the Union Army and Confederate Navy, respectively, in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. His other children were Jane Murray McCrabb (1813–1897), Mary Yonge (1823–1866), and William Humphreys (1828–1897).

Samuel Humphreys is buried at the Congressional Cemetery

Congressional Cemetery

The Congressional Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the final resting place of thousands of individuals who helped form the nation and the city of Washington in the early 19th century. Many members of...

 in Washington, DC, with his sons Andrew and Joshua.

External links

• Inventory of the Humphreys Family Papers, 1840-1918, in the Southern Historical Collection
  Southern Historical Collection
  The Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South...
  
  , UNC-Chapel Hill
  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...