Nicholas Roosevelt (inventor) 74-gun ships. In 1797, with Robert R. Livingston and John Stevens, he agreed to build a boat on joint account, for which the engines were to be constructed by Roosevelt, and the propelling agency was to be that planned by Livingston. The experiment failed, the speed attained being only equivalent to about in still water. On September 6, 1798, Roosevelt described and earnestly recommended to Livingston a vertical wheel, which is the first practical suggestion of the combination that made steam navigation a commercial success, although four years later Robert Fulton believed that chains and floats were alone to be
Monongahela and Ohio Steam Boat Company Philadelphia. Here he met with Joseph White, a former business associate and a Friend, who introduced him to Daniel French. Daniel French was an experienced mechanic who would design and construct steam engines to power a variety of equipment which he would also design and build. This equipment just happened to include a steamboat, named the "Rebecca", which was currently operating as a ferry between Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. Furthermore, French held a federal patent for his particular steamboat design which was propelled by one of his engines driving a stern paddlewheel. While he was there, arrangements were made