It is said that in 1836 a steamboat named the _Thomas Mackay_ plied between Quebec and Ottawa, but its journeyings seem to have been erratic and its subsequent history “lost in obscurity”—a phrase that applies in some degree, indeed, to the early history of steam on the Ottawa. The _St. David_ was the only steamer that could pass through the Grenville Canal in 1841. The first truly passenger service on the Ottawa commenced in 1842 with the _Oldfield_ on the lower route and the _Porcupine_ on the upper. In 1846 the _Oldfield_ was purchased by Captain Shepherd and others who formed a private company named the “Ottawa Steamers Company.” The steamer _Ottawa Chief_ was built by that company in 1848, but she was found to draw too much water, and in the following spring was chartered by Mr. Hamilton and placed on the St. Lawrence route. The _Lady Simpson_, built in 1850, was the precursor of a number of excellent steamers that have made travelling on the Ottawa popular with all classes. Among these were the _Atlas_, _Prince of Wales_ (which ran for twenty-four years), _Queen Victoria_, _Dagmar_, _Alexandra_, etc. The reputation of the line is well sustained at present by the _Empress_, Captain Bowie, and the _Sovereign_, Captain Henry W. Shepherd, both very fine and fast steel boats of 400 and 300 tons, respectively. Other steamers in commission and employed in the local trade bear such loyal names as _Maude_, _Princess_ and _Duchess of York_.
Captain Robert Ward Shepherd retired from active service in 1853, when he was appointed General Manager of the line. In 1864 the Steamers Company was incorporated by Act of Parliament under the name it now bears, the Ottawa River Navigation Company, of which Mr. Shepherd was President as long as he lived. Mr. Shepherd was born at Sherringham, County Norfolk, England, in 1819. He died at his country seat at Como, Quebec, August 29th, 1895, having been for fifty-five years closely identified with the progress of steam navigation on the Ottawa, and having earned for himself a high reputation. His brother, Captain H. W. Shepherd, who succeeded him in the command of the _Lady Simpson_ in 1853, is now the commodore of the fleet—the oldest and most experienced captain on the Ottawa, who in all these years has not been chargeable for any accident to life or limb of the many thousands who have been committed to his care. The head office of the company is in Montreal, Mr. R. W. Shepherd, a son of the founder, being the Managing Director.