1856 — Oct 29, sidewheel Superior grounds, Lake Superior gale, Pictured Rocks, MI –34-42

–34-42 Blanchard estimated death-toll range.*

— 54 Wolff, Julius F., Jr. Lake Superior Shipwrecks, 1990, p. 131.
— 50 Brooklyn Daily Eagle, NY. “Wreck on the Steamer Superior.” 11-18-1856, p. 3, col. 2.
–44-50 Superior Chronicle, WI. “Wreck of…Superior…‘Pictured Rocks’…” 11-25-1856, p.2.
— 50 Thompson. Graveyard of the Lakes. 2004, p. 59.
–29-49 Superior Chronicle, WI. “Loss of the Steamer Superior.” 12-16-1856, p. 1, col. 4.*
— 42 New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Awful Disasters on the Lakes.” 11-24-1856, p. 2, col. 3.
— 35 Buffalo Commercial Advertiser. “1856 Casualty List,” January 31, 1857.
— 35 McNeil. “Superior, (Steamboat), aground, 30 Oct 1856.” Maritime Hist. …Great Lakes.
— 35 Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter S.
— 35 Wisconsin Weekly. “Terrible Calamity! Loss of the Stm’r Superior!” Nov 19, 1856, p. 2.
— 34 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 264.
— 34 Board of Supervising Inspectors [of steamboats]. Fifth Annual Report… 1857, p. 224.
–11 passengers
–23 crew
— 34 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 228.
— 34 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 683.

*Blanchard: The great majority of newspapers of the time which we have been able to access (65) note 35 deaths and 16 survivors. Our own attempt to compile a list of fatalities (for better or worse) comes to 32. However, in that the Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steamboats as well as Lytle and Holdcamper, and others, note 34 deaths, we choose to use 34 as the low-end of our death-toll range. We suspect that approximately 34-35 deaths was the death toll.

In that the New Albany Daily Ledger of Nov 24, seemingly quoting from the Superior Journal, of Marquette, Michigan, of Nov. 8th, wrote “It is certain that the number of the lost is 42…”, we choose to use that number for the high-end of our estimated death-toll range. Our review of the multiple sources we have consulted does not persuade us to accept numbers above 42 as probable. The same newspaper source we cite for the estimate of 42 deaths (citing a surviving officer for that estimate), went on to note it probable that unknown to that survivor, other deaths occurred which would take the loss of life up to fifty. That appears to us to be mere speculation, perhaps intended to support the attention-grabbing headline noting fifty deaths. In that the clerks of the Superior died and the manifest was lost, there is no knowing today exactly how many were aboard.

*Superior Chronicle, Dec 16: “Twenty-nine persons, whose names have been ascertained, are known to have been lost, and it is thought that at least twenty more were drowned whose names are unknown.”

Narrative Information

Board of Supervising Inspectors (US): “On the 29th day of October last the steamer “Superior” was driven ashore near Grand island, on Lake Superior, in a heavy gale and snow storm, and went to pieces. The vessel and cargo a total loss. By this disaster eleven of the passengers and twenty-three of the crew lost their lives ; several lost their lives at the time the vessel went ashore, and the remainder lost their lives by exposure afterwards.” (Board of Supervising Inspectors [of Steamboats]. Eighth Supervising District. Fifth Annual Report for the year ending October 1, 1857. Baltimore, MD: November 16, 1857, p. 224.)

Lytle and Holdcamper: “Superior…567 tons…stranded…10-29-1856…Grand Island, Mich. 34 [lives lost].” (Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of…[U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, 228.)

Swayze:
Type at loss : sidewheel steamer, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1845, Perrysburg, OH
Specs : 191x28x11, 567 t…
Date of loss : 1856, Oct 30
Place of loss : Pictured Rocks, near Cascade, MI
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 35 of 53
Carrying : freight, 30 pass.

“Detail: She was having no problem with a big storm until her rudder broke off, then she was thrown into the shallows under Pictured Rocks. Reportedly went to pieces within 15 minutes of striking. Master: Capt. Hiram J. Jones(d). Owner: A. T. Spencer, Chicago. The next summer, when salvors went there to examine her, all that was left that was salvageable was the engine and boiler. In 1883 a wrecking captain brought up the door of the vessel’s safe which contained under the bands a number of 1854 coins….

“One of the last & largest vessels to be portaged around Soo.” (Swayze)

Thompson: “The crewmembers and passengers on the steamer Superior certainly felt very much alone on October 29, 1856. The 184-foot passenger and freight steamer was struck by bitter winds, driven snow, and high seas shortly after it left the sanctuary of Whitefish Point and steamed out onto Lake Superior. In time, the Superior lost its rudder and smokestack, then the cargo shifted, and the vessel began taking on water. Helpless before the onslaught of the storm, the steamer was driven ashore just west of the Pictured Rocks. In a matter of only about fifteen minutes, the powerful seas destroyed the ship. Sixteen passengers and crewmembers managed to make it ashore in the torrential surf.

“The huddled mass of wet and cold survivors watched helplessly as Captain Hiram Jones drowned while trying to swim ashore in a heavy buffalo coat. Eight other crewmen had climbed onto the vessel’s big paddle wheels, but one by one they lost their grip and fell to their deaths in the swirling waters.

“The survivors set off toward the west, some hiking through the deep snow along the shore while others rowed offshore in the Superior’s lifeboat. It was an arduous trip, and two of those who had survived the wreck died along the way. Eventually the bedraggled group found refuge at the cabin of a trader, near the present site of Munising, Michigan. At least fifty passengers and crewmembers died as a result of the wrecking of the Superior. In terms of loss of life, it ranks yet today as the single worst shipwreck on Lake Superior.” (Thompson 2006, 59)

Newspapers

Nov 14: “Detroit, Nov. 14. The Steamer Superior was lost in a storm on Lake Superior on the 29th ult., near Grand Island. Her rudder was carried away, and she was carried into the troughs of the sea, the water, despite every effort, commenced making in her hold, and put out the fires. The boat was driven on the rocks and went to pieces. Thirty-five lives lost, and sixteen saved….

List of the Lost.

[We break out of paragraph format into separate lines and number.]

1. Capt. Hiram J. Jones, Master of the Superior, Detroit;
2. Wm. Norris, 1st clerk, Chicago;
3. Wm. Robinson, 2d clerk, Indiana;
4. Henry D. White, steward;
5. Jefferson Warner, saloon keeper, Detroit;
6. [Wm. Welch, 2nd saloon keeper ]
7. Max, 2d engineer, Buffalo; [Another source notes “Jacob_____2d engineer”]
8. James McGlaughlin, wheelsman;
9. Thomas____, wheelsman;
10. James Henueny, deck hand;
11. Alexander____, fireman;
12. Geo. Davis, deck hand;
13. H. Harnes [Henry Barnes; Hank Burns? ], second mate;
14. Harriet_____, chambermaid;
15. Barney Smith, fireman;
16. John Smith, fireman;
17. Pat Curley, deck hand;
18. Patrick Carey, deck hand;
19. Alexander Weris [or Weirs ], colored waiter;
20. Thomas Weris [Weirs? ], colored waiter;
21. Stephen Winter [or Minter? ], Superior; [Four sisters of Mr. Winter/Minter noted.]
22. Mrs. Bennett [Bennet? ], passenger, Ontonagon [body washed ashore overnight ]
23. _____Bennett [daughter one of three, passenger, Ontonagon] [body washed ashore ]
24. _____Bennett [daughter two of three, passenger, Ontonagon]
25. _____Bennett [daughter three of three, passenger, Ontonagon]
26. Margaret Foster, passenger, Edwardsburgh, Cass County;
27. William Sisson, passenger, Indianapolis, Indiana; [Sisson boy survivor dying of exposure?]
28. Wm. Rone [Rawa? ], passenger;
29. Robert, colored cook;
30. Burd, colored sailor;
31. John, colored fireman….”
32. [John Billinghurst, passenger, Ontonagon. ]

(Daily State Journal, Madison, WI. “Loss of the Steamer Superior.” 11-15-1856, p. 3, col. 3.)

Nov 17: “We gather the following additional intelligence in reference to the Superior, from the Chicago Democratic Press of the 14th: A dispatch received, yesterday forenoon from Detroit but too faithfully realized the fears of the public concerning the late of the steamer Superior, She was lost on the evening of the 29th ult., on the Pictured Roc k, a few miles from Grand Island on Lake Superior. She left here on the morning of the 25th, passed through the Saut Canal on the evening of the 28th and on the evening of the 29th – in the midst of that heavy gale and snow-storm which has sent sorrow to many a home;—while attempting to make Grand Island Harbor—the finest harbor on the Lakes — was driven ashore on that perilous coast, known as the “Pictured Rock”….The Superior was loaded principally with supplies for the miners…” (Janesville Free Press. “The Loss of the Superior,” November 17, 1856, p. 4.)

Nov 18: “Fifty Lives Lost. — Hitherto Lake Superior has been devoid of those dire calamities which have been the terror of the lower lakes, but we are at last called upon to record the loss of one of our noble steamers, together with the cargo and most of her passengers and crew. The steamer Superior left Saut Ste Marie on Wednesday, the w9th, and soon after entering the Lake the wind commenced blowing fresh from the northwest, raising a heavy sea. The boat was weathering the storm bravely, and making for Grand Island, where she could lie in safety. She had nearly reached the Island when her rudder parted, and she was left to the mercy of the waves. The engine was kept at work, with the hope that she might make the lee of the Island and thus be saved. – But she soon swung round into the trough of the sea, which rendered her still more unmanageable, and racked her timbers so that she soon sprung a leak. The engines were still kept at work, until the water put the fire out. Meanwhile the boat drifted toward shore, and about three o’clock she struck on the mainland, a little east of Green Island, off ‘Pictured Rocks,’ at the place known as the Big Cave. The anchors were thrown over some time before, with the hope that they would touch bottom and hole her; but the water is very deep at this place, and they did not take hold until just before she struck. The first sea that came up after she struck parted the anchor chains and carried her further on the rock; the second sea swept her cabin off, and the third one dashed her to pieces. All this occupied less time than it has taken us to relate it. – By the aid of the boats and the fragments of the wreck, a small portion of the passengers and crew were saved. They speak in high terms of the efforts made by Capt. Jones to save the boat and attribute her loss solely to the giving way of the rudder. – Lake Superior Journal.” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, NY. “Wreck on the Steamer Superior.” 11-18-1856, p. 3, col. 2.)

Nov 24: “The Superior Journal, of Marquette, Michigan, of Nov. 8th, publishes a long account of the loss of the steamer Superior:

….Incidents. The snow was falling fast during the night, rendering it intensely cold and slippery upon the deck, and so dark that it was impossible to discern anything. Capt. Jones, in ascending upon the pilot house, slipped and fell, bruising himself severely, yet he relaxed not his efforts in the least. At another time, while standing near the gangway, a heavy sea swept his overboard, but fortunately it returned and carried him back; but at length, alas! He met a watery grave. His body was found by the survivors at daylight, having been washed ashore before the other bodies were. From this fact it was thought that he must have nearly reached it alive. Mr. Ernst, the porter, informs us that Capt. Jones came into the cabin where he was sitting and said, ‘Boys, I want you to stick to the boat as long as there is anything left of her; this is the fourth boat I have lost, but I shall not probably lose another. If any of you get ashore, I want you to go and tell my mother that I did all I could to save the boat.’ That he did all he could there is no doubt.

“The first engineer, Mr. Stephen Coolahan, to whom we are indebted for most of the particulars given, informs us that it was with difficulty that he was saved. He went from the deck through the cabin and met the chambermaid, who asked him if he could not save her, he said he would see. They then went aft of the wheel-house to the yawl boat in which were seated two ladies. They managed to get it afloat, but it soon capsized in the surf, and all were lost except himself, and he hardly know how he came on shore. Chas. Ernst, the porter, attempted to swim ashore, but was much bruised by the floating timbers, and at last the life-boat struck him on the head injuring him severely, but he managed to grasp the boat and was washed ashore with several others.

“The next morning nothing was visible but the wheels, which being strongly made and anchored fast by the engine and heavy machinery, had not been swept away. Upon these were seen clinging the bodies of seven men, among them the two clerks and the first saloon keeper. As they were but three of four rods from the shore [49.5-66 feet], their cries could be heard distinctly, calling to those on shore to come with the boats and save them. But this was impossible, as the surg beating on the rocks would have swamped a good boat almost instantly, and those that were washed ashore were almost like the steamer, a wreck. One by one they dropped off into the water until all were gone. The scene is described as painful beyond description, as the survivors were within speaking distance, yet without the power to render assistance. The saved suffered extremely from cold and hunger, and all of them were more or less bruised. Three days they were weather-bound, and not only this but rock bound too, as the bluff at this point rises nearly three hundred feet and almost perpendicular, presenting an impassable barrier. At this time the sea subsided sufficiently for them to reach Grand Island. They patched up the boats and started, going part of the way on land and part on water. Two boys died on the way from exposure. The saved were obliged to subsist during this time upon such articles as chance threw on shore, raw vegetables, raisins, and flour being the principal articles.

The number of saved was sixteen. It is certain that the number of the lost is 42, and it is more likely that there are others that our informant is not aware of, that would swell the number to 50.”

(New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Awful Disasters on the Lakes. Seamer Superior Wrecked.” 11-24-1856, p. 2, col. 3.)

Jan 31, 1857, Buffalo Commercial Advertiser: “Steamer Superior, cargo supplies and passengers, lost rudder and drifted ashore on Lake Superior, in a severe gale. Total loss. 35 lives lost.” (Buffalo Commercial Advertiser. “1856 Casualty List,” Jan 31, 1857’ cited in: Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Superior, (Stmr.), 1856.”)

Sources

Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, NY. “Wreck on the Steamer Superior.” 11-18-1856, p. 3, col. 2. Accessed 1-16-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/brooklyn-daily-eagle-nov-18-1856-p-3/

Buffalo Commercial Advertiser. “1856 Casualty List,” 1-31-1857. Transcribed by William McNeil, “Superior (Steamboat), aground, 30 Oct 1856,” Maritime History of the Great Lakes. Accessed 1-16-2021 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/40629/data?n=11

Daily State Journal, Madison, WI. “Loss of the Steamer Superior.” 11-15-1856, p. 3, col. 3. Accessed 1-16-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/madison-daily-state-journal-nov-15-1856-p-3/

Janesville Free Press. “The Loss of the Superior,” November 17, 1856, p. 4. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=34555421

Lytle, William M., compiler, from Official Merchant Marine Documents of the United States and Other Sources; Holdcamper, Forrest H. (Editor, and Introduction by). Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1807-1868. “The Lytle List.” Mystic, CT: Steamship Historical Society of America (Publication No. 6), 1952. Accessed 8-16-2020 at:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015018039084&view=1up&seq=8&size=125

McNeil, William R. “Superior (Steamboat), aground, 30 Oct 1856,” Maritime History of the Great Lakes. Accessed 1-16-2021 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/40629/data?n=11

Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters from Ancient Times to the Present. New York: Pocket Books, Wallaby, 1977, 792 pages.

New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Awful Disasters on the Lakes. Steamer Superior Wrecked.” 11-24-1856, p. 2, col. 3. Accessed 1-16-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-albany-daily-ledger-nov-24-1856-p-2/

Superior Chronicle, WI. :Loss of the Steamer Superior.” 12-16-1856, p. 1, col. 4. Accessed 1-17-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/superior-chronicle-dec-16-1856-p-1/

Superior Chronicle, WI. “Wreck of the Steamer Superior off the ‘Pictured Rocks’ – Fifty Lives and the Entire Cargo Lost.” 11-25-1856, p. 2, col. 3. Accessed 1-17-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/superior-chronicle-nov-25-1856-p-2/

Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks S. Accessed 9-5-2009 and 1-16-2021 at: http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/s.htm

Thompson, Mark L. Graveyard of the Lakes. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2004.

United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. Fifth Annual Report of Supervising Inspectors of Steamboats (October 27, 1857). In: Treasury Department. Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the Finances for the Year Ending June 30, 1857. Washington: House of Representatives, 35th Congress, 1st Session, Ex. Doc. No. 3, 1857. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=GIPPAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=true

Wisconsin Weekly. “Terrible Calamity! Loss of the Stm’r Superior!” 11-19-1856, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=34932176

Wolff, Julius F., Jr. Lake Superior Shipwrecks: Complete Reference to Maritime Accidents and Disasters. Duluth, MN: Lake Superior Port Cities, Inc., 1990.