Proves the Darwin theory, they’ll say!
From what they could find, the two engines were probably built by the Seth Wilmarth Union Works of Boston between 1848 and 1855 and were likely lost at sea during a storm, either being pushed off a ship to keep the ship from going down or lost when the barge they were on sank (I support the barge theory since they are sitting side-by-side and upright).
They checked insurance records and shipping manifests, but could not find anything. In fact, the engines might not have been bound for an American destination, as the 2-2-2 wheel configuration was rare in the US, but common in England and Russia.