1877 — Oct 2, Steamer Comfort boiler explosion, Ohio River ~Pipe Creek, OH, WV side–10

–10 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats… 1999, p. 107.
–6 crew (including captain and pilot)
–4 passengers
— 7 Osceola Record, NE. “The News.” 10-17-1877, p.1, col. 3. Notes ~14 “seriously wounded”

Narrative Information

Way: Built in Wheeling WV, in 1875. “Ran local trades out of Wheeling. Exploded boiler near Pipe Creek, Ohio River, Oct. 3 [sic], 1877, killing six of the crew and four passengers. Capt. Kirkbride and pilot Ummiseller were among those lost.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats… 1999, p. 107.)

Newspapers

Oct 2: “Wheeling, October 2. – The little, low-water steamer Comfort exploded her boiler at Pipe Creek, sixteen miles below this city, about 2 P.M. to-day. Several lives were lost….” (Cincinnati Commercial. “Boiler Explosion on the Steamer Comfort – Several Lives Lost.” 10-3-1877, 7.)

Oct 2: “Wheeling, W.Va., Oct. 2.—The little low water steamer Comfort exploded her boiler at Pipe Creek, 16 miles below this city, about 2 o’clock today. Several lives were lost.

“Further particulars from the explosion says Capt. Kirkbukge, pilot Umsetter, and a passenger named Sanpless were killed. The wounded are Rev. Mr. Barr, of Pittsburg; Andrew Harrison, mate, and several passengers, whose names are unknown…” (Daily Quincy Herald, IL. “Casualties.” 10-3-1877, p. 1.)

Oct 3: “Wheeling, W.Va., October 3. – The explosion of the steamer Comfort yesterday was more disastrous than at first supposed. Five persons are now known to have been killed, three are still missing, and about fifteen are wounded, two fatally. All the passengers had not yet registered, and it will be impossible to ascertain the exact number of killed and wounded. The wounded are at Moundsville, twelve miles below this city.

“The steamer of 200 tons burthen, worth about $200,000, and insured. She was loaded with cotton and a miscellaneous cargo of considerable value, consigned to New York.” (Indianapolis Journal, IN. “The Explosion of the Steamer Comfort.” 10-4-1877, p. 1.)

Oct 3: “The steamer Comfort, bound for Parkersburg [WV], exploded her boilers yesterday, at about 4:20 o’clock, P.M., near the mouth of Pipe creek, four miles above Moundsville. The explosion occurred when the boat was about the middle of the river. She was heavily loaded with freight and had registered about forty passengers, fifteen of which were females. Captain Kirkbride and Pilot Burt Ummissetter, were instantly killed. Captain Kirkbride was asleep in a bunk under the pilot house at the time of the explosion, and Ummissetter was at the wheel. At least twenty persons were severely and slightly wounded. Four of eh number are mortally wounded. The mail agent, Ferrier, though slightly injured, succeeded in saving the United States mail. None of the lady passengers were injured, though many of them received a thorough drenching, and were badly frightened. The boat is a total wreck. The freight was nearly all saved, though some of it is injured by water. A number of persons are reported missing and the wreck and water is being searched for them. The cause of the explosion is, as yet, a mystery.” (Steubenville Weekly Herald, OH. “Wednesday, October 3….Steamboat Explosion.” 10-5-1887, p. 4.)

Oct 4: “Wheeling, Oct. 4. – The explosion of the steamer Comfort yesterday, was more disastrous than at first supposed. Five persons are known to have been killed, and three are still missing. About fifteen were wounded – two fatally. The wounded are at Moundsville, twelve miles below this city.” (Salt Lake Daily Tribune, UT. “More Serious.” 10-4-1877, p. 1.)

Sources

Cincinnati Commercial, OH. “Boiler Explosion on the Steamer Comfort – Several Lives Lost.” 10-3-1877, p. 7. Accessed 8-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cincinnati-commercial-oct-03-1877-p-7/

Clark County Herald, Marshall, IL. “Current News…West and South.” 10-10-1877, p. 3. Accessed 8-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/marshall-clark-county-herald-oct-10-1877-p-3/

Daily Quincy Herald, IL. “Casualties.” 10-3-1877, p. 1. Accessed 8-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/quincy-daily-herald-oct-03-1877-p-1/

Osceola Record, NE. “The News.” 10-17-1877, p.1, col. 3. Accessed 8-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/osceola-record-oct-17-1877-p-1/

Salt Lake Daily Tribune, UT. “More Serious.” 10-4-1877, p. 1. Accessed 8-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/salt-lake-daily-tribune-oct-04-1877-p-1/

Steubenville Weekly Herald, OH. “Wednesday, October 3….Steamboat Explosion.” 10-5-1887, p. 4. Accessed 8-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/steubenville-weekly-herald-oct-05-1877-p-4/

Way, Frederick Jr. (Author and Compiler), Joseph W. Rutter (contributor). Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats of the Mississippi River System Since the Advent of Photography in Mid-Continent America (Revised). Athens OH: Ohio University Press, 1999.