The wooden steam screw tug Fred Nielson was built as the Messenger in 1868 at Toledo, Ohio.

1882: Rebuilt.

May 10, 1882: Name changed from Messenger to Fred Nielson.

Last Document of Enrollment No.117 Surrendered: Milwaukee, 12/13/1895: "Abandoned".
July 1894. The tug Fred Nielson was abandoned, towed out into Lake Michigan from Sturgeon Bay Canal, and scuttled.

"The old and dismantled hulk of the tug Fred Nielson, of Sheboygan, has been towed out into the lake and sunk, thus removing her bones from sight forever. The Nielson was only about twenty-six years old, having been built at Toldeo, O., in 1868." Door County Advocate 7/07/1894.