The two masted wooden schooner Free Democrat was built in 1854 at Port Huron, Michigan by Daniel Hartman. In 1874 the vessel was valued at $1,200 and rated C1.

May 1868: Schooner Free Democrat capsized on Lake Michigan with four lives lost.

May 1, 1869: the schooner Free Democrat was damaged by a collision at Milwaukee.

May 29, 1869: Hit Walker's Point Bridge in Milwaukee.
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June 21, 1878: Arrived at Racine in a waterlogged condition after springing a leak. the vessel was towed into shoal water.

Last Document Of Enrollment Surrendered: Milwaukee: 6/30/1881: "Total loss, wrecked on Lake Michigan."
December 13, 1879. The two masted schooner Free Democrat, owned and sailed by Captain Jacob Muehlhsuser of Chicago, was driven onto a boulder on the east shore of Bailey's Harbor in Door County, Wisconsin. A large hole in the hull resulted and she settled to the bottom, a total loss. The vessel was loaded with sixty cords of wood, owned by F. Whitman, which was salvaged from the schooner Warren which had been lost nearby a month ago. The schooner Cuba rescued the crew members who were taken to Chicago.

The wrecking of the Free Democrat was completed by George Bennett out of Baileys Harbor by the end of December.
The Free Democrat was one of the oldest vessels (twenty-six years old) afloat on the Lake Michigan and not of much value.