1862 — Nov 2-3, steamer Bay State founders, Lake Ontario gale, near Fair Haven, NY-20-23

Blanchard note on date of loss and fatalities: Sources below show dates of loss as Nov 1, 2, 3 and 5. It appears to us by dates of loss of other vessels in a Nov 2-3 gale, that this loss was Nov 2-3, with one source noting that the dates as a Saturday and Sunday, and specifically noting the loss of the Bay State on Sunday (apparently November 3). Thus, while it appears that the most likely date of loss was Nov 3, we recognize ambiguity and use Nov 2-3, in that this was the timeframe of the gale.

As one can see from the sources below, the lives lost are noted as 16-18, 20, 22 and 23. Given that five sources can be put within a range of 20-23 and one clearly notes 16 crew and 7 passengers, we choose not to include Kennard’s estimate of 16-18 fatalities. Thus we choose to employ a range of 20-23.

— 23 Semi-Weekly Signal, Goderich, Ontario, Canada. “Disasters on the Lakes.” 11-14-1862.
–16 crew
— 7 passengers
— 23 Swayze. Great Lakes Shipwreck Files. “B” Accessed 10-28-2021.
— 22 Hall. Marine Disasters on the Western Lakes… 1872, p. 16.
— 22 Mansfield. History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). 1899, p. 692.
— 20 McNeil. “Bay State (Propeller), sunk, 1 Nov 1862.” Maritime History of the Great Lakes.
–16-18 Kennard. “Mid-19th Century Steamship Bay State Discovered in Lake Ontario.” 2015.

Narrative Information

Hall: “Bay State, sunk in Lake Ontario in 1862, all hands lost – 22 lives.”

Kennard: “Fair Haven, New York — The steamship Bay State has been discovered in the deep depths off the southern shore of Lake Ontario near Fair Haven, NY. Shipwreck explorers, Jim Kennard and Roger Pawlowski located the shipwrecked steamer Bay State utilizing a high resolution side scan sonar system. The Bay State is the oldest propeller driven steamship found to date in Lake Ontario.

Terrific Gale on Lake Ontario

“It was nearly midnight on November 4, 1862, when the steamship Bay State departed Oswego, New York with a full cargo of general merchandise for Cleveland and Toledo. Within a few hours the winds coming from the west increased to gale force preventing the steamer from making headway to the Welland Canal and beyond to the ports in Lake Erie. On board the Bay State were between sixteen to eighteen persons, seven passengers along with officers and crew. There were no records kept of the crew so the exact number is not known. Based on the pieces of wreckage found on the floor of the lake, it appears that Captain Marshall had turned the Bay State around and was heading back to Oswego [~13m east]. This was the beginning of the end as the Bay State was starting to come apart depositing parts of the ship on the bottom of the lake. Within another quarter mile the steamship foundered. The wreckage and merchandise on board the ship washed ashore near the town of Oswego. Cart loads of these goods were gathered up by eager residents and quickly carried away. The life-boat and many papers from the steamer came ashore about three miles west of the city. Unfortunately none of the passengers or crew survived this terrible marine disaster. Captain Marshall and four of the crew had been residents of Oswego.

“The Bay State was built in Buffalo, New York in 1852 by shipbuilders Bidwell & Banta. Previously owned by the Northern Transportation Company the steamship was acquired in 1861 by Chamberlain & Crawford of Cleveland, Ohio. As indicated on the enrollment papers, the steamship was a wooden ship and had a length of 137 feet with a beam of 26 feet, two decks and a single mast. The Bay State was one of the early propeller driven steamships on the Great Lakes. Prior to 1841 steamships on the lakes were driven by paddlewheels….”

Mansfield: “The following craft also passed out of existence, and were total losses during the season of 1862: …. Propeller Bay State foundered in Lake Ontario, and twenty-two lives lost….”

McNeil: “….Reason: sunk
Lives: 20
….
Freight: merchandise
Remarks: Total loss
Geographic Coverage: Little Sodus Bay [extends south from the lake to
Fair Haven on the east and Turtle Cove on the west]

(McNeil, W.R. “Bay State (Propeller), sunk, 1 Nov 1862.” Maritime History of the Great Lakes.)

Swayze: “Bay State
Type at loss: propeller, wood
Build info: 1852, Bidwell & Banta, Buffalo, NY
Specs: 137x26x11, 372 t. om
Date of loss: 1862, Nov 2
Place of loss: ‘in the vicinity of Oswego’
Lake: Ontario
Type of loss: went missing
Loss of life: 22 (all, including 6 passengers)
Carrying: general merchandise
Detail: Bound for Lake Erie ports from Oswego, she broke up offshore in a terrific gale and foundered with all hands. The shoreline for miles was strewn with her wreckage. Northern Trans. Co. boat out of Ogdensburg, NY. Master: Capt. John Brown (d).”

Newspaper
[Transcribed by William McNeil for Maritime History of the Great Lakes.]

Nov 14: “The gales on the Lakes on Sunday and Monday [either Nov 2-3, or Nov 9-10] of last week was most disastrous. Amongst the shipwrecks reported are the following:-

“The propeller BAY STATE, lost in the gale of Sunday night [Nov 3?], was a fine vessel. She was commanded by Captain Marshall, of French Creek. Mr. Orley Thompson, of Vermont, was a cabin passenger, a lady and child were also in the cabin. Four passengers were in the steerage. She had a crew of sixteen. She was bound from Oswego for Lake Erie, and loaded with merchandise. The vessel was valued at $14,OOO, and the cargo was probably worth $20,000 or $30,000.

“The schooner ONTONAGON, of Oswego, and FARMER, of Sackett’s Harbor, went ashore a short distance East of East Pier [Swayze has date of loss as Nov 3]. A terrific gale was blowing at the time. The ONTONAGON had a cargo of wheat on board, loaded at Toledo consigned to Oswego. The vessel and cargo are a total loss. The FARMER had no cargo on board. The vessel is a total loss. Crews of both vessels saved.

“The schooner FLORA WATSON [Swayze shows date of loss as Nov 2], bound from Toledo to Oswego, with wheat, and the schooner HARRIET ROSS bound up with salt, collided two miles from the Niagara river. The WATSON sunk in thirty feet of water….” (Semi-Weekly Signal, Goderich, Ontario, Canada. “Disasters on the Lakes.” 11-14-1862.)

Sources

Hall, John W. Marine Disasters on the Western Lakes During the Navigation of 1871… Detroit: Free Press Book and Job Printing Establishment, 1872. Accessed 10-28-2021 at:
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Marine_Disasters_on_the_Western_Lakes_Du/7rc5AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=hall+marine+disasters+of+the+western+lake&pg=PP9&printsec=frontcover

Kennard, Jim. “Mid-19th Century Steamship Bay State Discovered in Lake Ontario.” Shipwreck World. 10-21-2015. Accessed 10-28-2021 at:
https://www.shipwreckworld.com/articles/mid-19th-century-steamship-discovered-in-lake-ontario

Mansfield, John Brandts (Ed. and Compiler). History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co., 1899. Google digitized. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=iHXhAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

McNeil, William R. “Bay State (Propeller), sunk, 1 Nov 1862.” Maritime History of the Great Lakes. Accessed 10-28-2021 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/43004/data?n=7

Semi-Weekly Signal, Goderich, Ontario, Canada. “Disasters on the Lakes.” 11-14-1862. Transcribed by William R. McNeil for Maritime History of the Great Lakes (website). Accessed 10-28-2021 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/43004/data?n=7

Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwreck Files. Accessed 10-26-2021 at: https://greatlakesrex.wordpress.com/alphabetical-shipwreck-list/

Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwreck Files. “B” Accessed 10-28-2021 at: https://greatlakesrex.wordpress.com/alphabetical-shipwreck-list/b/