She sank in Lake Michigan on November 29, 1868, five miles southeast of Port Washington, Wisconsin, United States.

Her original owner was Henry T. Bacon, a New York merchant, and her co-owner and operator was Russell Disbrow.

At that time, Northerner mainly operated on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

In 1859, she was damaged in a storm on Lake Ontario and was reconstructed at Wells Island, New York.

In November 1868, her hull suffered damaged at Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, while she took on a cargo of timber.