The wooden steam screw tug Ida H. Lee was built in 1863 in Buffalo, New York by Edward J. Hingston (possibly Hingston Brothers). In 1874 the vessel was valued at $4,500 and rated for insurance as A2. The official registry number was 100058.

1868: Rebuilt at Stokes & Lochlin Shipyard, Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

June 1869: Burned at Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin, Lake Michigan.

1873: Rebuilt.

Last Document Of Enrollment Surrendered: Milwaukee: 6/30/1874: "Total Loss".
April 23, 1874: In Milwaukee Harbor, the tug Ida H. Lee was rammed by the lumber laden schooner Ida while the Lee had the Ida in tow. The Lee after being hit rolled over, capsized and sank in 60 feet of water. Captain Daly and line man James Dixon managed to escape the Ida H. Lee before she sank, but the engineer, James Slocum was trapped in the hold and unable to save himself when the tug rolled. The Ida H. Lee was a small tug valued at $4,500 at the time and owned by the Milwaukee Tug Company.

Two years later, the schooner Alleghany caught her towline on a snag some 3/4 mile northeast of the harbor pier. The tow line had green paint on it and many supposed this snag to be the Ida H.Lee.