1868 — May 1, steamer Governor Cushman boiler explodes/sinks, Lake Erie, Buffalo, NY–11

— 12 Swayze, David D. Shipwreck!…Directory of…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 65.
— 11 Alchem Incorporated. Easter Erie Shipwrecks, Map D and Index.
— 11 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 245.
— 11 Buffalo Evening Courier & Republic. “Explosion of the Gov. Cushman…” 5-5-1868, 3.
— 11 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 253.
— 11 Mansfield. History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). 1899, p. 708.
— 11 New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Buffalo. Frightful Steamboat Explosion.” 5-1-1878, p. 3.
— 11 New York Times. “The Old Year. Chronology of 1868,” Jan 1, 1869.

Narrative Information

Alchem Incorporated: “Governor Cushman: Wooden passenger and freight propeller steamer of 152 ft destroyed by a boiler explosion on the night of 5/1/1868 in the harbor at Buffalo. Eleven lives were lost in the explosion…” (Alchem)

Mansfield: “While leaving Buffalo for Port Colborne May 1, the propeller Gov. Cushman exploded, instantly killing 11 of her crew. The entire stern of the propeller was blown away. The Cushman was loaded with grain from Milwaukee, and had run for three winters in connection with the Detroit and Milwaukee line. She was built in 1857, re-built in 1865, and the explosion made her a complete wreck.” (Mansfield. History of the Great Lakes. Vol. 1, 1899, pp. 708-709.)

Swayze: “Governor Cushman. Steam freighter.
“Lake Erie: On May 1, 1868, the Governor Cushman was destroyed by a boiler explosion which killed 12 persons aboard, and caused the total loss of the ship. Buffalo harbor was the site of the accident.” (Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 64.)

Newspapers

May 1: “Eleven Lives Lost. Buffalo, N.Y., May 1. The propeller George [sic., Governor], owned by Dwight Scott of Cleveland, while moving out of the creek today for Port Colburn, exploded a boiler, killing eleven persons and injuring three. The vessel is a complete wreck. She was valued at $37,500, partly insured. She contained 20,000 bushels of wheat.

“Capt. Thompson was slightly hurt; his wife escaped; Peter McDermott and Barney Lester, firemen; Frank Smith, L. Anderson, and Herman Frowing, deck hands, were killed and bodies found. Jno. Durock, Wm. Abbott, H. G. Stewart, Geo. Lewis, Jeremiah Morris, and H. S. Gilbert, first engineer, are missing. One of the deck hands was thrown entirely over Sturges’ elevator at a height of one hundred and fifty feet.” (New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Buffalo. Frightful Steamboat Explosion.” 5-1-1878, p. 3.

May 7: Buffalo, Thursday, May 7. The Coroner’s jury investigating the cause of death of the parties killed by the explosion of the boiler of the propeller Gov. Cushman, find the boiler to have been old and defective, and that this fact was known to the engineer of the boat.” (New York Times. “The Propeller Gov. Cushman Boiler Explosion at Buffalo.” 5-8-1868, p. 1.)

Sources

Alchem Incorporated. Lake Erie Shipwreck Map “D” and Index. Accessed 1-30-2009 at: http://www.alcheminc.com/east.html

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

Evening Courier & Republic, Buffalo, NY. “Explosion of the Gov. Cushman – Important Order from the Treasury Department.” 5-5-1868, p. 3, col. 3. Accessed 11-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/buffalo-evening-courier-and-republic-may-05-1868-p-3/

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

Mansfield, John Brandts (Ed. And Compiler). History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co., 1899. http://www.linkstothepast.com/marine/chapt36.html — Google digitized: http://books.google.com/books?id=iHXhAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Buffalo. Frightful Steamboat Explosion.” 5-1-1878, p. 3. Accessed 11-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-albany-daily-ledger-may-01-1868-p-3/

New York Times. “The Old Year. Chronology of 1868,” Jan 1, 1869. Accessed at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B01EFDE103AEF34BC4953DFB7668382679FDE

New York Times. “The Propeller Gov. Cushman Boiler Explosion at Buffalo.” 5-8-1868, p. 1. Accessed 11-20-2020 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1868/05/08/78915126.html?pageNumber=1

Swayze, David D. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. Boyne City, MI: Harbor House Publications, Inc., 1992.