1837 — June 14-15, Thunderstorms, Flooding, Jones’ Falls, Baltimore, MD –24-30

—      30  Blanchard tally of reported drownings in summary found above “Sources.”

–24-30  Blanchard range. (June 29 Alton Observer report is low end and our tally is high end).[1]

—      25  No date. Quinan, John R. Medical Annals of Baltimore from 1608-1880… 1884, p. 36.

—      24  Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA. “The Victims of the Flood.” 6-26-1837, 5.

—      24  Alton Observer, IL. “Great Flood in Baltimore, and Loss of Lives.” 6-29-1837, p. 7.[2]

–19-20  Lycoming Gazette and Chronicle, Williamsport, PA. “Great Flood…” 6-28-1837, p.3.[3]

—     20  Scharf. History of Maryland (Vol. III), 1879, p. 707.[4]

—     19  Jones Falls Watershed Association “The History of the Jones Falls Watershed.”[5]

—     17  Gelles, A. Public Opinion of the Jones Falls after the Flood of 1868.[6]

 

Narrative Information

 

Attridge: “….the most disastrous floods occurred in 1837 and 1868. Both of these floods saw water from the Jones Falls rise to the second story of nearby buildings, claim a large number of lives, and cause millions of dollars in property damage.”[7] (Attridge, Kevin, and James Risk. Garitee v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore: A Gilded Age Debate on the Role and Limits of Local Government. University of Maryland. No date.)

 

Gelles: “Baltimore began experiencing trouble with flooding in the early 19th century. On August 9, 1817, the Jones Falls first exhibited its destructive power ‘so serious and extensive as to create well-founded alarm for the future.[8] Well-known civil engineer and architect Benjamin H. Latrobe was commissioned to create a strategy for preventing future flood damage. He suggested diverting the Jones Falls into Herring Run, several miles east, thus removing it from the city entirely. The expense was simply too great to be carried out and the plan was never implemented. Yet another ‘great and disastrous’ inundation hit the city on June 17, 1837, with the Jones Falls rising 20 feet at Centre Street.[9] Stone bridges at Baltimore and Pratt Street were destroyed, and 17 individuals perished. In light of this calamity, Isaac Ridgeway Trimble and Ross Winans, both prominent engineers with ties to the B & O Railroad, suggested straightening the falls at Centre Street. Again, no action was taken to put this plan into motion….”[10] (Gelles. “Early Flooding Concerns.” Public Opinion of the Jones Falls after the Flood of 1868.)

 

Scharf: “The flood which happened on the 8th of August, 1837, was without a parallel in the history of Baltimore, until that of 1868.  That began, like the one of 1868, with dark and heavy clouds, accompanied by vivid flashes of lightning and continuous peals of heavy thunder.  The period, however, at which the flood of 1837 came on was night; between nine and ten o’clock, the rain began to fall from the heavens in torrents, and continued till past one in the morning.  At that time, Jones’ Falls overran its banks, the force of the waters carrying away the several bridges which crossed it, reinforced by huge quantities of driftwood and fragments of dislodged buildings brought up against the bridge on Gay street – so penning up the flood above it, that the water burst from its banks and immediately inundated all that section of the city then known as the ‘Meadow.’

 

“The lateness of the hour and the darkness of the night combined to render the calamity more destructive of life than the disaster of 1868; some twenty people were drowned in the city and vicinity; in one case, a man, his wife and three children, living at the corner of Holliday and Saratoga streets, were drowned in their beds;  the loss of property was estimated at not less than $2,000,000.” (Scharf. History of Maryland (Vol. III), 1879, p. 707.)

 

Newspapers

 

Baltimore Sun: “From the Baltimore Sun of June 15. Dreadful Inundation! Loss of Life – Loss of Houses, and vast destruction of Merchandise & other Property.

 

“On Wednesday evening [June 14] about 6 o’clock, our city was suddenly enveloped in a dark and heavy cloud which portended an angry storm and rendered ‘darkness visible’ long before the sun set. Rain soon commenced falling, and continued in plentiful showers till about 7 o’clock, when the storm abated and every thing indicated a calm and pleasant night. About 9 o’clock another cloud made its appearance in the North West, accompanied by vivid flashes of lightning, and peal after peal of thunder that almost shook the earth to its centre. At a little past 9 o’clock a terrific blaze of lightning lighted up the adjacent country, and in a few seconds was followed by a crash of thunder which shook the firmest fabrics of the city. Such a peal, such a crash, we do not believe ever burst upon the ears of an astonished people. Though from the time that elapsed between the flash of lightning and the bursting of the thunderbolt, we were led to suppose that it was distant, the concussion of the elements was dreadfully terrific, and was of itself quite sufficient to remind one of the utter feebleness and frailty of man.

 

“With this shock of thunder, the rain, which had previously fallen in copious showers, burst from the heavens in torrents, and continued to fall as if in one interminable cascade, till past one o’clock in the morning, when the stream called Jones’ Falls, which runs through the city in a northern and southern direction, became swollen to its banks, and was soon rendered incapable of retaining its boundaries. The several bridges that crossed it, in the neighborhood of the city, were soon carried away by the force of the waters, aided by huge quantities of drift-wood, the fragments of dislodged buildings, &c. – all of which, being forced down the stream, brought up against the bridge that crosses the Falls in Gay street; thus penning up the flood above it. The water burst from its banks, and, seeking vent in the low-lands, immediately inundated all that section of the city known by the appellation of the ‘Meadows.’ Such was the darkness of the night, the lateness of the hour, and so little was a calamity so dreadful dreamed of, and so sudden the inundation, that many lives were sacrificed, a complete list of which may never be obtained. At this moment we are not enable to go into a full detail of the dreadful consequences of this inundation; and, for a full account, must wait for further developments. At present, we can only give the following particulars:

 

“Mr. Christopher Weist, sexton to the Rev. Haisperd’s church, together with his wife and three children, were drowned.[11] His family resided at the corner of Holliday and Saratoga streets, next door to the church to which the unfortunate Weist was sexton. – After the water had subsided, Mr. Weist was found drowned in his bed, with two of his children in his arms; the wife was in another bed, clasping her infant to her bosom. From these facts, it is evident that the dwelling of poor Weist was inundated by an instantaneous rush of the water, thus carrying the whole family to the tomb.

 

“Mrs. Catharine Donnelly, an Irish woman residing at the corner of Holliday and Centre streets, was drowned, and her body has been recovered; her husband is missing and is supposed to have been carried down th stream and drowned.[12]

 

“A man named Dougherty was drowned at the corner of Concord and Water streets.[13]

 

“A family of colored people residing in Harrison street was also drowned.[14]

 

“James Doyle, on the Long Dock; Jacob Ockle, a German boy, aged 18 years; James Kelly, an Irish boy;[15] a girl in a shantee near the Belvidere bridge,[16] and seven persons, about two miles out of the city, were all drowned.[17]

 

“In addition to the loss of lives already enumerated, we are sorry to add that an infant was found dead in the street near the Marsh Market; its parents unknown, but supposed to have shared the same fate of the child.

 

“Mr. Joseph McCann, grocer, corner of Holliday and Bath streets, escaped by getting out of his house and taking refuge in a tree. He at first attempted to cross over Finn’s bridge, but finding it impossible to do so, fled to a tree, where he found a retreat till the water receded.

 

“The basement stories of all the buildings in Harrison street, from Gay to Market, were filled with water; and at the lower end of Harrison st. some of the second stories were inundated. The buildings in Market street for some hundred yards east and west of Harrison street were deluged, and as most of them were occupied as stories, the loss of property in that direction must have been very great.

 

“Mr. J. Curlett’s Soap and Candle Manufactory, corner of Pleasant and Holliday sts., had eight feet of water in its first story; damage very considerable.

 

“The corner of Bath and Holliday streets was completely blocked up with drift wood, timber, wrecks of buildings, &c.

 

“The greatest destruction was caused at the extensive distillery of the Messrs. Whites, besides the loss of a large quantity of materials and implements, it is stated that a number of horses and mules, nearly on hundred cows, and several hundred hogs have been drowned.

 

“Mr. Lee’s Carriage Repository in Holliday st., near to Saratoga, was inundated; 15 carriages were destroyed – loss estimated at $7 or $8000.

 

“The Marsh Market was very much injured and a portion of its North wing will have to be rebuilt. Several of its pillars were carried away, and many of the stalls and blocks were swept into the Basin at the foot of the slip, completely filling it up. The water on both sides of the market was from 4 to 6 feet high.

 

“Gay street, Market street, and Pratt street bridges were all partially carried away.

 

“It is next to impossible to form anything like a correct estimate in relation to the loss that the city has sustained by this unprecedented disaster. Ruin stalks through an imposing and an important part of the city, and all is excitement.

 

“The more we wander around the scene of desolation, the more fully is the ruin developed. The heart sickens at the contemplation of a scene so dreadful. We cannot go into all the particulars at this moment, for the calamity has been so extensive, that it cannot be fathomed for a day or two. An intelligent gentleman, an old resident of the city – who would not be likely to exaggerate – informs us that the loss cannot be less than TWO MILLIONS of dollars.

 

“In addition to the heavy rain which fell here, it is said that the dam of the Pimlico factory, about five or six miles above the city, covering several acres, gave way on Wednesday evening, thus adding a great body of water to the already overflowing stream.

 

“We have just returned from another visit to the flooded and desolated district, and again have dwelt on a spectacle well calculated to call all the better sympathies of our nature into action. The distress that has fallen on a portion of our citizens who were of all others the least calculated to meet it, loudly calls for the aid and assistance of the more fortunate.

 

“In addition to the losses already enumerated, we are sorry to say that the extensive Tannery of Mr. Appold, situated near the jail, was completely deluged, inflicting on its respectable proprietor a loss estimated from $4 to $5000.

 

“The Gas House was partially inundated, and it is feared that in consequence of the injury the works have received that they may not be able to generate any gas for two or three days to come.

 

“The Bazaar Bridge was carried off, and the buildings in its neighborhood were more or less injured.

 

“The Fountain at the head of the market is completely covered over with lumber, and the environs are filled with alluvial said; and the Iron Foundry of Mr. William Miller on the banks of the Falls is very extensively injured.

 

[At this point in the article the type-face becomes smaller and it appears that the following section was added to the preceding section from the Baltimore Sun of the 16th.]

 

“Five dead bodies have been found since morning, lodged against the draw bridge, and several others have been found in different parts of the city.[18]

 

“A German, who was alarmed by the flood coming into his dwelling, rose, and going to the lower apartment of the house, soon found himself up to his waist in water. He returned to his room, and taking with him his sister in his arms, swam with her for some distance, when the current took him down the stream, and both were finally saved by  clinging to the branches of a tree.

 

“A boy, as we learn from the Patriot, between the age of twelve and fourteen, had fallen from the drift which clogged Baltimore street bridge, into the swollen and whirling current of the river, and being unable to swim, was passing rapidly and helplessly down the stream, only the top of his head above water, and had once entirely disappeared, when a young man bravely dashed into the stream, and just as the youth was about to be drawn under the drift of lumber, &c., which clogged in like manner the bridge below on Pratt street, he was snatched exhausted and almost lifeless from death, and restored to his family. The name of the humane and heroic person who thus nobly at the hazard of his own life, saved that of a fellow creature, probably unknown to him, is LEWIS SPIESIE, a young man of this city, a mechanic.

 

“We are sorry to add that intelligence has been received in town, which states that twelve or fourteen persons were drowned near the Susquehanna Rail-road, and that the destruction of property in that neighborhood has been immense. Mr. Noonen, contractor on the Susquehanna Rail-road, was in town yesterday, and reports that at his section, about three miles above the city, eleven horses out of twenty-one employed by him were drowned, and all his carts, harnesses, and tools were lost. Ten of the laborers were drowned, the bodies of four have been recovered and sent to the city for inquest.

 

“It is not probable, that we shall get the whole details of the disaster for some days to come – the whole number of loves lost may never be ascertained. We shall take unwearied pains to collect all the facts of the disaster as rapidly as they can be obtained.” (Star and Republican Banner, Gettysburg, PA. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p. 2., col. 3.)

 

“From the Sun of the 16th.

Affects of the Flood.

 

“We find but little information in relation to the effects of the flood of Wednesday [14th], that was not stated in our paper of yesterday. The Gazette of last evening states – ‘A cradle was seen floating in the river near Ramsay’s wharf, at Fell’s Point, and was found to contain a living infant, which was safely landed;’ and adds, ‘this will of course soon be made known to its mother, if haply she has survived….

 

“The African Protestant Episcopal church at the corner of North and Saratoga streets, had about five feet water above the floor. Holliday street was inundated from Centre st. to near Orange alley. The dwellings and houses on both sides of the streets, from that of Joon McKim, jr., inclusive, out to Centre street, had more or less water in their basements and parlors. The City Hall was visited with water in the offices on the first floor. The Presbyterian church at the corner of Holliday and Saratoga streets was materially damaged in the interior. The water rose to the cashion on the pulpit desk, and a part of the pews were removed from their places.” (Star & Republican Banner, Gettysburg, PA. “The Baltimore Flood” [reprint of Baltimore Sun article of 6-15-1837.] and “Affects of the Flood” [Reprint from the Baltimore Sun of June 16] 6-23-1837, p. 2., col. 3.)

 

Adams Sentinel, June 26: “These consist, as nearly as has yet been ascertained of

 

Christ. Wiest, his wife & three children.

Donnelly and Catherine his wife.

James Doyle.

Jacob Ockle, boy.

James Kelly, boy.

Henry Lenehan, boy.

Three boys drowned in a stable loft.

Nine laborers on the Susquehanna railroad, and

a man found dead in the water near Fort McHenry,

making in all twenty four persons – there are doubtless others.” (Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, PA. “The Victims of the Flood.” 6-26-1837, 5.)

 

Recap of Reported fatalities

 

  1. Donnelly, Mrs. Catharine.      Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p.2.[19]
  2. Donnelly, Mr.                         Adams Sentinel, G-burg. “…Victims…” 6-26-1837, 5.[20]
  3. Dougherty, Mr.           `           Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p. 2.
  4. Doyle, James, boy.                 Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p.2.[21]
  5. Kelly, James, boy.                  Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p.2.[22]
  6. Lenehan, Henry, boy.             Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg. “…Victims…” 6-26-1837, 5.
  7. Ockle, Jacob, 18.                    Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p.2.[23]
  8. Weist, Mr. Christopher, sexton. Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, 2.[24]
  9. Weist, Mrs.                             Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p.2.[25]
  10. Weist child (first)                   Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p.2.[26]
  11. Weist child (second)               Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p.2.[27]
  12. Weist child (third)                  Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p.2.[28]
  13. “A family of colored people” Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p.2.[29]
  14. “A family of colored people” Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p.2.[30]
  15. “A family of colored people” Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p.2.[31]
  16. Girl in shantee ~Belvidere bridge. Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, 2.
  17. Infant found near Marsh Market. Gettysburg Star. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p2.
  18. Unidentified person No. 1 two miles outside of city.[32]
  19. Unidentified person No. 2 two miles outside of city.
  20. Unidentified person No. 3 two miles outside of city.
  21. Unidentified person No. 4 two miles outside of city.
  22. Unidentified person No. 5 two miles outside of city.
  23. Unidentified person No. 6 two miles outside of city.
  24. Unidentified person No. 7 two miles outside of city.
  25. Unidentified person No. 8, laborer on the Susquehanna railroad.[33]
  26. Unidentified person No. 9, laborer on the Susquehanna railroad.
  27. Unidentified boy No. 1 drowned in a stable loft.[34]
  28. Unidentified boy No. 2 drowned in a stable loft.[35]
  29. Unidentified boy No. 3 drowned in a stable loft.[36]
  30. Unidentified may found dead in the water near Fort McHenry.[37]

 

Sources

 

Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, PA. “The Victims of the Flood.” 6-26-1837, 5. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/gettysburg/gettysburg-adams-sentinel/1837/06-26/page-5?tag=flood+baltimore&rtserp=tags/flood-baltimore?psb=dateasc&page=2&pci=7&ndt=bd&pd=16&pe=30&pem=6&py=1837&pm=6&pey=1837

 

Alton Observer, IL. “Great Flood in Baltimore, and Loss of Lives.” 6-29-1837, p. 7. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/ThumbImage.ashx?i=115956048

 

Attridge, Kevin, and James Risk. Garitee v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore: A Gilded Age Debate on the Role and Limits of Local Government. University of Maryland. No date, but uploaded to internet on May 1, 2014. Dates of May 2010 and 2011 appear under authors names on title page. Accessed 1-15-2015 at:  http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=mlh_pubs

 

Gelles, Aunaleah. Public Opinion of the Jones Falls after the Flood of 1868. Appears to be a Masters Thesis or Paper at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Undated. Accessed 1-16-2015 at: http://scalar.usc.edu/works/jonesfallsflood/early-flooding-concerns

 

Jones Falls Watershed Association. “The History of the Jones Falls Watershed.” 2008. Accessed at: http://jonesfalls.org/index.php/our_watershed/jones_falls_history/

 

Lycoming Gazette and Chronicle, Williamsport, PA. “Great Flood at Baltimore.” 6-28-1837, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/ThumbImage.ashx?i=7403988

 

Quinan, John R., M.D. Medical Annals of Baltimore From 1608-1880, Including Events, Men and Literature, to Which is Added A Subject Index and Record of Public Services. Baltimore: Press of Isaac Friedenwald, 1884. Google digitized. Accessed 1-14-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=xNcRAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Scharf, John Thomas. History of Baltimore City and County. Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts, 1881. Google digitized: http://books.google.com/books?id=6tF4AAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Star & Republican Banner, Gettysburg, PA. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p. 2., col. 3. [Reprint of Baltimore Sun article of 6-15-1837.] Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/ThumbImage.ashx?i=199383804

 

Additional Reading

 

Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA. “Extensive Inundation – Great and Fatal Calamity” [from Baltimore American, June 16]. 7-3-1937, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/ThumbImage.ashx?i=200286665

 

Republican Compiler, Gettysburg, PA. “From the Baltimore Patriot of June 15. Most Disastrous Flood – Great Loss of Life and Property.” 6-27-1837, p. 1. Accessed at:

http://newspaperarchive.com/tags/flood-baltimore?pci=7&ndt=bd&pd=27&pm=6&py=1837&pe=30&pem=7&pey=1837&psb=dateasc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] The Alton Observer reports appears fairly authoritative on a minimum of 24 deaths. Our own tally from a variety of sources which we provide at the end of this report, puts an enumerated list at 30. We have difficulty using lower figures from sources which do not have the date correct (Gelles, Jones Falls Watershed Association and Scharf.)

[2] “The number of lives lost unknown. Twenty-four bodies have already been found, and there are doubtless more.”

[3] “…an elderly Irishman and his wife…, ” the church sexton, his wife and three children, and “twelve or thirteen…on the Susquehanna Rail Road…” Cites the Mercantile Journal.

[4] Incorrectly has the date as August 8. There was a previous Jones Falls deadly flood on Aug 8, 1817. It appears this date has been confused with 1837.

[5] Incorrectly has the date as July 14.

[6] Incorrectly has the date as June 17. The June 17, 1837 edition of the Washington National Intelligencer (DC) has a story on “The Flood at Baltimore.” However, this is a story on the flood that took place on the 15th (heavy rain beginning evening of the 14th).

[7] Original footnote cites: George A. Gripe, “Baltimore’s Vesuvius,” Sun Magazine, April 29, 1973, as archived in Vertical File in the Maryland Department of the Enoch Pratt Free Library under “Jones Falls”, envelope #1; Swope. David F. Woods, “Jones Falls Floods Caused Deaths, Terrible Destruction Four Times,” The Evening Sun [Baltimore], June 26, 1972, as archived in Vertical File in the Maryland Department of the Enoch Pratt Free Library under “Jones Falls”, envelope #1.

[8] Gelles cites: Report of the Board of engineers upon changing the course of Jones’ Falls, with a view to prevent inundations, to the mayor and City council of Baltimore (Baltimore: City Council Joint Committee on Jones’ Falls, 1868), 4.

[9] Gelles cites the Report of the Board of engineers… at page 5.

[10] Gelles cites: Sherry Olson. Baltimore: The Building of an American City. (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997), 133.

[11] All five are listed as drowned in the Gettysburg Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser of June 26, 1837, p. 5

[12] Both are listed as drowned in the Gettysburg Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser of June 26, 1837, p. 5.

[13] Not listed as a fatality in the Gettysburg Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser of June 26, 1837, p. 5.

[14] Not noted as fatalities in the Gettysburg Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser of June 26, 1837, p. 5.

[15] All three are listed as drowned in the Gettysburg Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser of June 26, 1837, p. 5.

[16] Not listed as drowned in the Gettysburg Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser of June 26, 1837, p. 5.

[17] This appears to be a reference to the Susquehanna Railroad laborer drownings noted later in the article – as ten at one point and as 12 or 14 at another.

[18] It is not at all clear if these five are amongst the twenty-two enumerated deaths noted earlier in the article. We have not added these to that earlier calculation.

[19] One of the 24 deaths noted in the Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, of 6-26-1837, p. 5.

[20] Noted as missing and presumed drowned in the Star & Republican Banner, Gettysburg, PA. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p. 2., col. 3.

[21] One of the 24 deaths noted in the Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, of 6-26-1837, p. 5.

[22] One of the 24 deaths noted in the Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, of 6-26-1837, p. 5.

[23] One of the 24 deaths noted in the Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, of 6-26-1837, p. 5.

[24] One of the 24 deaths noted in the Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, of 6-26-1837, p. 5.

[25] One of the 24 deaths noted in the Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, of 6-26-1837, p. 5.

[26] One of the 24 deaths noted in the Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, of 6-26-1837, p. 5.

[27] One of the 24 deaths noted in the Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, of 6-26-1837, p. 5.

[28] One of the 24 deaths noted in the Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, of 6-26-1837, p. 5.

[29] We do not know how many people in the family supposedly drowned, but use “3” as an approximation.

[30] We do not know how many people in the family supposedly drowned, but use “3” as an approximation.

[31] We do not know how many people in the family supposedly drowned, but use “3” as an approximation.

[32] Star & Republican Banner, Gettysburg, PA. “The Baltimore Flood.” 6-23-1837, p. 2., col. 3 [reprint of Baltimore Sun article of June 15, 1837]. Notes seven drownings.

[33] The article writes here that “twelve or fourteen persons were drowned near the Susquehanna Rail-road.” The next line writes “Mr. Noonen, contractor on the Susquehanna Rail-road…reports…ten of the laborers were drowned, the bodies of four have been recovered…” In that we think it probable that the seven drownings noted earlier two miles outside the city are the same as being reported here for drownings on the Susquehanna railroad, three miles outside the city, we are adding two more (for a total of nine), thus not using the “twelve or fourteen” figures. We just add two, given the report of nine Susquehanna railroad laborers having drowned in the Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, 6-26-1837, p. 5.

[34] Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, 6-26-1837, p. 5.

[35] Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, 6-26-1837, p. 5.

[36] Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, 6-26-1837, p. 5.

[37] Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, PA. “The Victims of the Flood.” 6-26-1837, 5.