1889-March 2, SF CA sealing schooner Otter leaves San Francisco for Shumagin Islands, AK, lost 23

–23 Alaskashipwreck.com. Alaska Shipwrecks. “Alaska Shipwrecks 1800-1899.”
–23 Alaskashipwreck.com. “Shipwrecks A-Z.” “O”

Narrative Information

Alaskashipwreck.com: “1889…Otter…SC [area]…81 foot…74 Ton Schooner…23 [lives lost].” (Alaskashipwreck.com. Alaska Shipwrecks. “Alaska Shipwrecks 1800-1899.”)

Alaskashipwreck.com: “Otter (1889). The 74 ton 81 foot schooner Otter was lost with all hands in the North Pacific in March of 1889. The Otter departed San Francisco March 2, 1889 bound for the Shumagin Islands with 23 crewmen aboard and never was heard from again. Two other vessels, the schooner James A Hamilton and the schooner Annie also disappeared on the same route at the same time. Lost from the Otter were Captain G W Littlejohn; First Mate, Joseph Wilson; Boatswain Charles Swanson; Hunters John P Sidwell, W C Peterson, Ernest Fisher and Herman Rode; Seamen Joseph Richards, William Neven, W Eitel, Henry Edwards, Frank Sawyer, Frank Mulhi, John Johnson, F G Sutton, John Herman, Heinriech Kellinen, John Brown, Martin Anderson, Hans Knudtsen and J E Burnett; Cabinboy C L Wolf; Cook Gotlieb Elsen. The Otter was valued at $10,000 at the time of the disaster. (Alaskashipwreck.com. “Shipwrecks A-Z.”)

“Mapping and Location: Unknown Alaska.

“Additional Information: Tonnage 73.75, Length 81, Breadth 24.6, Depth 7.6, Built 1881 at San Francisco, Registered Sitka, ON 155024, Master G W Littlejohn, Owner H Liebes.

“Sources: 1. Shipwrecks of the Alaskan Shelf and Shore (1992), 2. Daily Alta California (July 25, 1889) “Probable Loss of Three Schooners Which Left Last March” Pg 2 Col 1, 3. Merchant Sailing Vessels of the United States (1888) Pg 210.” (Alaskashipwreck.com. “Shipwrecks A-Z.”)

Newspaper

July 9, 1889: “Our San Francisco Letter….The whaling schooner J. A. Hamilton has been given up for lost. She left port March 3d in command of Captain Ryder and has not yet reported at Onmalaska [Unalaska]. She carries twenty-three men.

“The sealing schooner Otter has also been out a long time without reporting.” (Hawaiian Gazette, Honolulu. “Our San Francisco Letter.” 7-9-1889, p. 4.)

Sources

Alaskashipwreck.com. Alaska Shipwrecks.” Alaska Shipwrecks 1800-1899.” Accessed 11-7-2021 at: https://alaskashipwreck.com/alaska-shipwrecks-1729-2012/alaska-shipwrecks-1800-1899/

Alaskashipwreck.com. “Shipwrecks A-Z.” Accessed 11-7-2021 at: https://alaskashipwreck.com/shipwrecks-a-z/alaska-shipwrecks-o/

Hawaiian Gazette, Honolulu. “Our San Francisco Letter.” 7-9-1889, p. 4. Accessed 11-7-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/honolulu-hawaiian-gazette-jul-09-1889-p-4/

Tornfelt, Evert E. and Michael Burwell. Shipwrecks of the Alaskan Shelf and Shore. Anchorage, AK: U.S. Department of the Interior, Mineral Management Service, Alaska OCS Region, 1992. Accessed 11-7-2021 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shipwrecks_of_the_Alaskan_Shelf_and_Shor/8YUTAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=seal