1872 — Aug 30, steamer Metis hit by schooner and sinks off Watch Hill, RI — >34

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 9-3-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

— >34 Blanchard note: Though the death toll in sources below range from 20 to 130, we choose to rely on the Boston Post article of 9-2-1872 which notes 34 recovered bodies, 22 of which were identified. No source cited has provided a listing of fatalities, thus we have attempted to create our own based on newspaper sources noted. This totals to 27 fatalities, 23 identified (to the extent the sources are accurate). No one knew how many people were on the Metis, despite some statements to the contrary. The manifest did not survive. Thus, not knowing how many people were aboard, any statements about the number of missing are speculation without evidence. We have attempted a search in newspapers for more than a week afterwards for claims that a friend or loved one had not been heard from and that their name or names had not been reported in the press. We found speculation concerning one person from Bolton, England who was thought missing and perhaps one of the victims of the Metis.

— 130 New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide. “Watch Hill Light, Westerly R.I.”

— ~70 New York Herald. “Steamboat and Railroad Accidents,” Sep 18, 1872, p. 6, col. 5.

— 70 New York Times. “Disaster on the Sound,” Aug 31, 1872, p. 1, cols. 1-2.

–48-70 seewestterly.com. “The Metis Disaster: Part 2 – The Rescue.”[1]

— 67 Clancy. Wreckhunter.net. Shipwrecks of New England.

— 50 Childs. A History of the United States In Chronological Order…, 1886, p. 227.

— >50 Jenny, Jim. Rhode Island’s Greatest Steamship Disasters (website) 2-20-2018.[2]

— 50 Simonds. The American Date Book. 1902, p. 101.

— 48 Haydn’s Dictionary of Dates and Universal Information, 1884, 717.

–30-48 The Janesville Gazette, WI. “From New London,” Sep 5, 1872, p. 1.

— 48 U. S. Central Publishing Co. Important Events of the Century: 1776-1876, p. 174.

— 48 Westerly Historical Society. “The 1872 Metis-Nettie Cushing Disaster.” May 2012.

— 34 Boston Post. “The Metis Disaster.” 9-2-1872, p. 2. (22 identified; 12 unidentified)

–31-32 Known dead. Philadelphia Inquirer. “The ‘Metis,’” 9-3-1872, p. 1.

— 30 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 686.

— 29 Known dead, 23 missing. Salt Lake Daily Tribune. “Eastern Dispatches.” 9-3-1872, p. 3.

— 28 Morrison, John Harrison. History of American Steam Navigation. 1908, p. 296.

— 27 Blanchard listing of bodies recovered and one named missing person from newspapers.

— 27 New York Herald. “The Metis.” 9-3-1872, p. 10. (23 identified, 4 unidentified.)

— ~25 Snow. Great Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. 1943, p. 208.[3]

— 25 Sweetser. New England, A Handbook for Travellers. 1875, pp. 70-71.

— 22 Bodies recovered, 26 missing. Portland Daily Press, ME. “The Metis Disaster.” 9-2-1872, p.3.

— 20 Denison. Westerly (Rhode Island) and its Witnesses, 233.

Narrative Information

Childs. A History of the United States In Chronological Order…, 1886, p. 227:

“1872….The Metis, a propeller, collided with a schooner on Long Island Sound on the 30^th of August, and caused the loss of fifty lives.”

Clancy. Shipwrecks of New England (website). “Metis”:

“Vessel Name Metis

“Vessel Type Passenger & Freight

“Owner: Providence and New York Steamship Co.

“Length / Beam / Draft (feet) 200’ / 35’ / 16’

“Toonage 1,238

“Hull Construction Wood

“Propulsion Steam / Prop

“Cargo Passengers & Freight

“Built 1864 at New York, NY

“Date of Loss August 30, 1872

“Reason for Loss Collision at night with schooner Nettie Cushing

“Fatalities 67 (85 survived)

“Location 4.5 NM ESE of Watch Hill RI….”

Denison. Westerly (Rhode Island) And Its Witnesses…1626-1876. 1878, p. 233:

“The steamer ‘Metis,’ on the 28^th of August, 1872, Capt. George B. Hull, sailed from New York for Providence. On the morning of Aug. 30, 1872, she was wrecked off Watch Hill, and part of her hull came ashore on what is known as the East Beach. About 20 lives were lost and the whole of the cargo.”

Morrison: “….on August 30th, 1872…the “Metis,”… was run into and sunk by a schooner when about four miles to the southward of Watch Hill light, resulting in the loss of twenty-eight lives. The license of the captain and the pilot in charge were revoked, and the license of the first pilot suspended.” (Morrison 1908, 296.)

New England Lighthouses: “One of the worst maritime disasters in the vicinity of Watch Hill was the wreck of the steamer Metis in 1872. The ship, carrying 160 people to Providence, collided with a schooner. At first it was not believed that the damage was bad enough to prevent the vessel from continuing, but about a mile from Watch Hill the Metis began to sink fast. Local residents managed to save 33 people, but the other 130 on board perished. A few years later a U.S. Life Saving Service Station was established at Watch Hill, close to the lighthouse. The station was abandoned in the 1940s and was destroyed in 1963.” (New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide. “Watch Hill Light, Westerly R.I.”)

US Central Publishing: “Aug. 30. – The Providence and New York steamer Metis run into by a schooner, on Long Island Sound; the Metis soon breaks up, and 155 persons are compelled to trust their lives to the few boats and such floating material as they can secure; only 107 persons get to the shore in safety.” (U. S. Central Publishing Co. Important Events of the Century: 1776-1876, p. 174.)

Westerly Historical Society. “The 1872 Metis-Nettie Cushing Disaster.” May 2012:

[On the Metis] “….The number of passengers seeking passage was reported to be 110. The Metis also carried a crew of 45, making an estimated total of 155 persons onboard when departing their dock [NY harbor] at approximately 5:15 pm [Aug 29], under command of Capt. Charles L. Burton, for the anticipated 12 to 15 hour trip up Long Island Sound to Providence, R.I. ….

“On the other end of this historical episode, in the port of Thomaston, Maine, the schooner Nettie Cushing, under command of Capt. Emory Jameson, set sail for New York City on Aug. 27…

“On the evening of Aug. 29, the Nettie Cushing was off the coast of Rhode Island proceeding west by south – early in the morning of Aug. 30, she was heading for a sighting of the Watch Hill Light on her starboard side. Just past 3:00 a.m. she was in in the Watch Hill Race, having sighted the Watch Hill Light and was looking for Little Gull Island Light as her next reference, heading west by south.

“At 3:40 a.m., she sighted a steamer’s (the Metis’) green and white running lights to her starboard, here the stories were in conflict with each other as to who did what…my interpretation of what happened next follows: the Metis ported her wheel (ie, the position of the tiller caused the Metis to turn to the starboard), which put the Metis across the bow of the Nettie Cushing. The Nettie Cushing could not change the setting of her sails or course in time to avoid a collision. The Nettie Cushing struck the Metis almost opposite the pilot house, putting a hole in the side of the Metis under her guards; at the same time the Cushing lost some of her head gear. The collision caused the Nettie Cushing to be dragged along side of the Metis for a short time, the setting of rigging on the Cushing enabled her to break away and the decision made to head for New London, the nearest repair port. In the interval, the Metis’ captain ordered the engine stopped and assigned two of the off duty mates to investigate the damage; at this time the steamer Nereus came along side of the Metis, and asked if any assistance was required, unknown to the Metis’ captain at that time that his vessel was being flooded, he indicated that no assistance was needed.

“They reported back to the captain that no visible damage could be verified as access to the hold was blocked by cotton bales. The two mates had leaned out over the ships side with a lantern to examine the port side of the seamer, and from this vantage point no visible damage was observed. They also noted that visibility during this observation was very limited.

“What they were not aware of was that the vessel was already compromised, as water was pouring into the hold of the vessel, and also that the so-called watertight bulkheads had been defeated by holes that had been previously cut into them. This weakened condition caused the bulkheads to collapse, and now more than one so-called watertight hold was rapidly being flooded.

It soon became obvious to the crew and captain, however, that something was terribly wrong when the engine room crew notified him that their engines were in danger of being flooded, meaning that they would have to shut down power soon.

“The captain immediately acknowledging this headed the Metis for Watch Hill, the nearest shore. In a very short time, the engines became silent and with no pumps or forward motion the Metis was speedily sinking. The Metis sand around 5:00 a.m. in 130 feet of water, about 3½ nautical miles off Watch Hill.

“Lifeboats were lowered. Some of the passengers who could not get into the lifeboats jumped overboard with their lifejackets on, desperately looking for anything floating to hold onto.

“The hurricane deck broke away from the hull with the smoke stack still encased in the deck. There were reported to be a great number of passengers still on this deck and this deck now became an oversized raft and with the wind and waves was being driven toward Watch Hill.

“There had been no Federal Life Saving Service established, there was some individual operations along the coast. One of them, the Humane Society of Massachusetts had kept a metal lifeboat at Watch Hill since 1849. This was launched with retired lighthouse keeper Daniel F. Larkin…He had gathered four other volunteers…They succeeded in rescuing seventeen (17) of the victims of the disaster, which was all that the lifeboat could handle without sinking. An hour later, a reliable fishing boat was launched for the rescue attempt with Capt. John D. Harvey…on board. This rescue crew picked up fifteen (15) live persons and six (6) bodies –all those retrieved from the disaster were put on boat the U.S.S. Moscassin which sailed out of Stonington to assist in the rescue….

“It was es6timated that 48 persons were not rescued and perished off Watch Hill.

“Capt. Burton’s license was revoke, however, he was reinstated in 6 months on the same route as his former disastrous command, much to the dismay of the Metis’ disaster survivors….

Newspapers

Sep 2, Portland Daily Press, ME. “The Metis Disaster.” 9-2-1872, p. 3: “New York, Aug. 31….Of the 155 persons on board the Metis, 107 are saved, 22 bodies have been found and 26 are now missing.”

Sep 3, The Philadelphia Inquirer. “The ‘Metis,’” 9-3-1872, p. 1:

“Estimate of the Number of the Victims.

“Providence, Sept. 2. – Reports received this morning indicates that Catherine Casey, Miss Augusta Perry, of East Attleboro, and Joseph Wegowske, of Hamburg, German, not before reported, were lost on the Metis. This makes the number known to be lost thirty-one or thirty-two. It is feared that the number will reach at least forty.”

Sep 5: “New London, Sept. 5. – Circumstances render it improbable that the exact number of lives lost by the Metis disaster will ever be ascertained. Thirty bodies have been recovered, and between fifteen and eighteen persons are missing….” (Janesville Gazette, WI. “From New London,” Sep 5, 1872, p. 1.)

Sep 28: “The licenses of the Captain and mates of the steamer Metis have been revoked, so that it will be several weeks before they are again allowed to furnish the American press with another sensation.” (Dubuque Daily Herald, IA. “Miscellaneous,” Sep 28, 1872, p. 3.)

Fatalities Noted in Sources

Jane Brasher, Boston [4] (Boston Post. “The Metis Disaster.” 9-2-1872, p. 2.)
Laura Basher, East Boston.[5] (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. 9-4-1872, p. 10, col. 2.)
H. Bliss, Providence. (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. 9-4-1872, p. 10, col. 2.)
Catherine Casey, East Attleboro. (Philadelphia Inquirer. “The ‘Metis,’” 9-3-1872, p. 1.)
Henry Cross, Providence. (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. 9-4-1872, p. 10, col. 2.)
Abraham Doblin, New York. (Boston Post. “The Metis Disaster.” 9-2-1872, p. 2.
Adolph Dorrin, New York (obit.) New York Herald. “Marriages and Deaths.” 9-3-1872, p. 8.
E. Easton, Boston. (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. 9-4-1872, p. 10, col. 2.)
H. Field, Geneva. (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. 9-4-1872, p. 10, col. 2.)
Girard child (1 of 2)[6] (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. 9-4-1872, p. 10, col. 2.)
Girard child (2 of 2) (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. 9-4-1872, p. 10, col. 2.)
Grindrod, Edwin, 18, Rochdale, England. (NYT. “A Supposed Victim of the Metis.” 9-8-1872, 3.)[7]
James Harbinger, New York. (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. 9-4-1872, p. 10, col. 2.)
August Hemingway, Boston. (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. 9-4-1872, p. 10, col. 2.)
G. W. Hoard, Rome. (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. 9-4-1872, p. 10, col. 2.)[8]
G. W. Howard, Rome (Boston Post. “Appalling Disaster…Steamer Metis…” 8-31-1872, 2.)
G. Martin, Lancaster. (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. 9-4-1872, p. 10, col. 2.)
James McMurchee, Providence. (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. 9-4-1872, p. 10, c. 2.)
Miss Augusta Perry, East Attleboro. (Philadelphia Inquirer. “The ‘Metis,’” 9-3-1872, p. 1.)
John Robinson, Bolton, England. (Boston Post. “The Metis Disaster.” 9-2-1872, p. 2.)
Solon Roche, Bolton, England. New York Times. “A Supposed Victim of the Metis.” 9-8-1872, 3.[9]
Sarah E. Sheridan, Boston. Boston Daily Globe. “Mrs. W. E. Sheridan.” 9-4-1872, p. 8.
Thompson, Landerberg, Chester Co., PA. (Boston Post. “The Metis Disaster.” 9-2-1872, 2.)
Joseph Wegowske, Hamburg, Germany. (Philadelphia Inquirer. “The ‘Metis,’” 9-3-1872, p1.)
Arthur Wierum, child of Arthur Wierum,[10] (Boston Post. “The Metis Disaster.” 9-2-1872, 2.)
Carl Wierum 2^nd (Boston Post. “The Metis Disaster.” 9-2-1872, p. 2.)
Mary Wilson, Williamsburg. (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. 9-4-1872, p. 10, col. 2.)

Note: The Boston Post of 9-2-1872, p. 2, after listing 22 identified fatalities, notes that there were twelve recovered bodies which had not, as yet, been identified.

Sources

Boston Daily Globe. “Mrs. W. E. Sheridan.” 9-4-1872, p. 8. Accessed 9-3-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-sep-04-1872-p-8/

Boston Post. “Appalling Disaster. The Steamer Metis Wrecked off Watch Hill, R.I. Upwards of Forty Lives Lost.” 8-31-1872, p. 2. Accessed 9-2-2024 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-post-aug-31-1872-p-2/

Boston Post. “The Metis Disaster.” 9-2-1872, p. 2. Accessed 9-3-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-post-sep-02-1872-p-2/

Childs, Emery E. A History of the United States In Chronological Order From the Discovery of America in 1492 to the Year 1885. NY: Baker & Taylor, 1886. Google digitized. Accessed 9-4-2017 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=XLYbAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Clancy, Dave. Shipwrecks of New England. “Metis.” Accessed 9-2-2024 at: http://wreckhunter.net/startpage-wreckhunter.htm

Denison, Rev. Frederic. Westerly (Rhode Island) And Its Witnesses, For Two Hundred and Fifty Years. 1626-1876. Providence, RI: Published by J. A. & R. A. Reed, 1878. Accessed 9-2-2024: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Westerly_Rhode_Island_and_Its_Witnesses/oNAaMBIFWtcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Westerly+(Rhode+Island)+and+its+Witnesses&printsec=frontcover

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.

Haydn’s Dictionary of Dates and Universal Information Relating to All Ages and Nations (17^th Ed.). NY: Harper & Brothers, 1884. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=Dys-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#

Jenny, Jim. Rhode Island’s Greatest Steamship Disasters (website) 2-20-2018. Accessed 9-3-2024 at: https://smallstatebighistory.com/rhode-islands-greatest-steamship-disasters/

Morrison, John Harrison. History of American Steam Navigation. New York: W. F. Sametz & Co., Inc., 1908, 653 pages. Digitized by Google. Accessed 9-2-2024 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=Q5tDAAAAIAAJ&printsec=toc&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide. “Watch Hill Light, Westerly R.I.” Accessed at: http://www.lighthouse.cc/watchhill/history.html

New York Herald. “Marriages and Deaths.” 9-3-1872, p. 8. Accessed 9-3-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-herald-sep-03-1872-p-18/

New York Herald. “Steamboat and Railroad Accidents,” Sep 18, 1872, p. 6, col. 5. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=14130037

New York Herald. “The Brooklyn Victims of the Metis Calamity.” 9-3-1872, p. 2. Accessed 9-3-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-herald-sep-03-1872-p-2/

New York Herald. “The Metis.” 9-3-1872, p. 10. Accessed 9-3-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-herald-sep-03-1872-p-2/

Portland Daily Press, ME. “The Metis Disaster.” 9-2-1872, p. 3. Accessed 9-2-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/portland-daily-press-sep-02-1872-p-3/

seewestterly.com. “The Metis Disaster: Part 2 – The Rescue.” Accessed 9-2-2024 at: https://seewesterly.com/the-metis-disaster-part-2-the-rescue/

Simonds, W. E. (Editor). The American Date Book. Kama Publishing Co., 1902, 211 pages. Google digital preview accessed 9-8-2017 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JuiSjvd5owAC

Sweetser, Moses Foster. New England, A Handbook for Travelers. 1875 Boston: James R. Osgood and Co. Digitized by Google and accessed 9-2-2024 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=RHEVAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT. Untitled article on Metis victims. 9-4-1872, p. 10, col. 2. Accessed 9-2-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/salt-lake-city-deseret-news-sep-04-1872-p-10/

The Janesville Gazette, WI. “From New London,” Sep 5, 1872, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=52730294

The New-York Times. “A Supposed Victim of the Metis Disaster.” 9-8-1872, p. 3. Accessed 9-3-2024 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/09/08/79190592.html?pageNumber=3

The New-York Times. “Disaster on the Sound; Loss of the Propeller Metis Off Watch Hill, R.I. The Steamer Run Into and Sunk in Half an Hour…Ninety-Two of the Passengers and Crew Probably Lost. Sixty-Three Only Out of 155 Known To Be Saved.” Aug 31, 1872, p. 1, cols. 1-2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=19717936

The Philadelphia Inquirer. “The ‘Metis,’” 9-3-1872, p. 1. Accessed 9-2-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/philadelphia-inquirer-sep-03-1872-p-1/

The World, NY. “The Wreck on the Sound.” 9-1-1872, p. 1. Accessed 9-2-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-world-sep-01-1872-p-1/

United States Central Publishing Co. Important Events of the Century: 1776-1876. NY: U.S. Central Pub. Co., 1876. Google preview accessed 1-22-2018 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=OGZt1HGsgmEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Westerly Historical Society. “The 1872 Metis-Nettie Cushing Disaster.” Accessed 9-1-2024 at: https://westerlyhistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/metis-dwightbrown-201703.pdf

[1] “Of the over 100 people that were swept into the sea from the sinking ship approximately 48 people perished although some estimates run as high as 70. The exact number will never be known because like all steamships at the time the passenger manifest was aboard the vessel and went down with the Metis.”

[2] “The exact loss of life aboard the Metis is not known but the estimate placed the number at more than fifty.”

[3] “At first it was feared that over one hundred lives had been lost, but one by one the missing persons were located alive and well, so that the final total of victims was around twenty-five. Many of these were in the lower part of the Metis and their names were never known.”

[4] This article also notes the death of Laura Brasher of East Boston

[5] Boston Post of 8-31-1872, p. 2. Has name as Miss Laura Brasher.

[6] Boston Post of 9-2-1872, p. 2 notes that two children of Mrs. Garrard of Providence were among the fatalities.

[7] We highlight in yellow to denote that this is a case (the only one found) of someone reported missing more than week afterwards, who “it is supposed that he took passage on the ill-fated Metis…and was lost.”

[8] Highlighted in yellow to denote some skepticism.

[9] Though Solon Roche and John Robinson are both listed as being from Bolton England, it is possible that these are indeed two different people. John Robinson was noted as dead in a Sept. 2 article, and Solon Roche was not noted until Sept. 7 when it is written that “The body of Solon Roche, of Bolton, England, about ten miles from Rochdale, has been recovered and identified.”

[10] The children were 6-year old twins. They were buried Sep 2 in Morristown, N.J., in family plots. (New York Herald. “The Brooklyn Victims of the Metis Calamity.” 9-3-1872, p. 2.)