1890 — July 26, Tornado, south side of Lawrence, MA                                                    –8-10?

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 8-21-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

—    7  Boston Globe. “Path of Death in Lawrence…North Andover…Cyclone.” 7-26-1890, p1.[1]

  1. Child of Julia Beatty, buried in the ruins, “has not yet been found.”
  2. Collins, Portland street
  3. Child of Mrs. Collins, 4 years old, crushed.
  4. Michael Higgins, railroad switchman who was standing near Salem Street bridge.
  5. Mary Lyons, aged 40, 6 Emmett street
  6. O’Connell, aged 34, 19 Springfield street
  7. Mamie O’Connell, aged 14, neck broken

—     8  Boston Sunday Globe. “Eight Killed…Cyclone’s Work in Lawrence.” 7-27-1890, p. 1.

—     8  Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis…. 1993, p. 653.

–8-11  Perley. “Cyclone at Lawrence, Mass., 1890.” Historic Storms of New England. 1891, 341.[2]

–8  died at the time

  1. Hannah Beatty, 10.
  2. John Collins
  3. daughter of Mrs. John Collins, 4.
  4. Helen Cutler, 11 (Boston Daily Globe of July 30 notes age as 10.)
  5. Michael Higgins, switch-tender at Salem Street railroad bridge
  6. James Lyons
  7. Jeremiah O’Connell
  8. Mamie O’Connell, daughter of Mrs. Jeremiah O’Connell, 14.

–2 or 3?  “…several of them (51 injured) afterward died from their injures.”

[We take “several” to be at least two and possible three.]

—     8  Owen. “The Day A Cyclone Hit Lawrence, Massachusetts – 1890.” Forgotten New England

 

Narrative Information

 

Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis…. 1993, p. 653:

“MA  Jly 26, 1890  09:10  8k [killed] 63 inj  150y  3m  F3. Essex [county] – Moved ENE, parallel and south of the Merrimack River in the southern part of Lawrence. Five hundred people were made homeless as the tornado destroyed 35 homes and damaged 650 others. Three people died in one home and two on the track in North Andover, and one each in three other homes….”

 

Perley. “Cyclone at Lawrence, Mass., 1890.” Historic Storms of New England. 1891, 338-341:

“At about nine o’clock in the forenoon of Saturday, July 24, 1890 [newspapers make clear it was the 26th], a cyclone swept down upon the southern portion of the city of Lawrence, Mass. Rain had begun to fall in torrents a few moments before, and after the sky had lighted up momentarily dark clouds rolled together, and the terrible whirling wind dashed through the city in an easterly direction, without a moment’s warning. The path of the cyclone varied in width from fifty to three hundred feet. The noise of the wind was not very loud although it was heard some distance away, the principal sound attending it being that of falling houses. During its progress the air was filled with boards, shingles, limbs of trees, and debris in general, whirling round and round. It was all over in a minute, the air was quiet again, as though innocent of having done any mischief.

 

“The cyclone struck the city at a point a little west of Broadway, which is the main thoroughfare leading from Lawrence to Andover by way of the bridge near the great dam. On that side of Broadway very little damage was done to houses, but many trees lost large branches, which the wind threw about in profusion. The Catholic church on the other side of the street, at the corner of Broadway and Salem streets, was somewhat damaged, having some of its windows broken, losing in some cases entire sections of them and, at the rear end, the roof of one of the transepts. Continuing across the overhead railroad bridge on Salem street, the wind first demolished the house of Dea. William F. Cutler on the corner of Salem and Blanchard streets, leaving it a mass of ruins fit for nothing but kindling wood. There were three or four persons in the house at the time, and they all escaped with slight injuries. A daughter of Mr. Cutler would probably have been killed had not a piano protected her from falling timbers. Another daughter, named Helen, eleven years old, who was near the house, was blown down the embankment at the eastern end of the bridge, and then struck by a timber, receiving a concussion of the brain. She lived but a few hours. The house next to Deacon Cutler’s, which stood near it, being occupied by Doctor Birmingham, only suffered the loss of a few shingles, a single chimney, and some broken windows. The railroad bridge was also slightly injured.

 

“To this point the wind had taken an easterly course, but now it changed a little to the north, following Springfield street, where the devastation was greatest. That street ran in the same direction as Salem street, and lay beyond it. Most of the houses on the street were either blown down, rolled over upon their sides, had the sides torn out, or were otherwise damaged.

 

“The cyclone then crossed Union street and came upon a grove of trees many of which were twisted off at the trunk or taken up by the roots. Just beyond this point a very pretty street extended through a grove, among the trees of which the wind wrought great havoc, many of them being torn up and twisted off. In Portland street, some half a dozen houses met the same fate as those on Springfield street, and some of the trees were injured. At that point the wind seemed to have spent its force.

 

“In many cases the houses were completely demolished, in others the roofs were lifted and blown off, leaving the buildings in their original shape. In at least5 one instance one of the walls of a house was ripped off, leaving the interior of the rooms exposed to view from top to bottom, but otherwise as they were before the wind came. In another case a house was turned upside down. Many houses were moved partially around and twisted out of shape. In some instances shingles were stripped from the roofs, as though done preparatory to re-shingling, leaving the roofs intact. The houses on Springfield street were utterly spoiled, even where the general outline of their shape remained. An illustration of the whirling motion of the wind, large and well-built houses were moved from their stone foundations, sometimes in the direction of the cyclone’s course and frequently in the opposite direction. One house on Market street was moved from its foundation westerly, while another which was but a few rods distant was carried to the east. In numerous instances boards were seen lodged in trees.

 

“In one house, the wind caught up a lighted oil stove that stood on the floor and raised it to the ceiling as gently as a toy balloon would rise, and as carefully deposited it in the place from which it was taken without injury. The wind struck the rear end of a wagon, turning it partly around, but the man who was riding in it whipped up his horse, and thus escaped injury.

 

“Mrs. Jeremiah O’Connell was extricated from the ruins of her home on Springfield street, in which she had been crushed to death. Her daughter, Mamie, aged fourteen years, was also taken out of the ruins, her neck being broken and her body mangled. When the wind had abated, a bundle was found rolling down the street. It was at first thought to consist of rags, but a few minutes later, cries issued from it, and an investigation revealed Mrs. O’Connell’s baby girl. Her body was covered with dust and plastering, and had been but slightly injured. How the child came in that situation the wind only can tell.

 

“Mrs. Lizzie Holdeworth, who resided on Springfield street, was among those that narrowly escaped death. She was sitting in her house when she heard a crash, and then knew nothing more. When she came to her senses, she was lying in the ruins of her home, being fastened down by timbers between two stoves. A bear lay across her forehead, and held her head down, her lower limbs being also pinioned. Her tongue was between her teeth, and it was impossible to move it. In this terrible situation, she could not call for help. She seemed to gain in strength, and at last heard the rescuing party chopping at the boards and timbers which held her down. As soon as she was taken from the ruins she again became insensible, but revived on the was to the hospital, where she was made comfortable.

 

“Probable the most pathetic of several touching incidents of the cyclone, is that concerning James Lyons’ family, who resided on Emmet street. Mrs. Lyons was in the yard when the terrible clouds appeared, and she rushed into the house. Her husband was in a field a short distance away, and he immediately started for home. He came in sight of the house as the mighty wind lifted it bodily from its foundations and ruthlessly tore it into fragments. He himself was forced to the ground, and when the wind abated he arose and hurried to the ruins of his home, among which with the assistance of some more fortunate neighbors he began a search for his family. As some heavy timbers in the front room were lifted, the remains of his wife were revealed with a beam lying across her forehead, which had probably caused her death. Mr. Lyons was almost frantic with grief, and was calmed by his friends with much difficulty. In a few moments the muffled cries of an infant attracted their attention, and further search revealed a baby girl almost hidden and protected by her mother’s body. Her arms were tightly clasped about the inanimate form of the woman, and in piteous cries she lisped, ‘mamma, mamma,’ but the call received no answer.

 

“The cyclone either demolished or seriously injured seventy dwellings. Many families, of course, lost their homes, but it was in the warm season, and that made it easier to bear than if it had occurred in the winter. Most of these people were the owners of their houses, and the loss proved almost total as none of it was covered by fire insurance. The whole amount of damage was estimated at about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It is perhaps wonderful that of the large number of people who were in the path of the cyclone, only eight were killed. Fifty-one others were more or less hurt, and several of them afterward died from their injuries.”

 

Newspaper

July 26, Boston Daily Globe:

Path of Death In Lawrence and North Andover.

 

Awful Work of a Cyclone Down the Valley of the Merrimac.

A Score of Persons Killed.

Mother and Two Babes Dead in the Debris.

One Hundred Houses are Levelled.

St. Patrick’s Catholic Church Demolished.

Fire Adds Its Horrors to the Scene of Destruction.

Graphic Details Over Globe Special Wire – List of Dead.

 

“Lawrence, Mass., July 26. – the most disastrous catastrophe that has occurred in this city since the fall of the Pemberton mills, Jan. 18, 1860, happened this morning, when nearly every house on Springfield St. in South Lawrence, from Blanchard to South Union sts., were either totally destroyed or rendered a partial wreck by a terrible cyclone. The death-dealing whirlwind passed over this city about 9:15 a.m. At that time the skies were clouded heavily, and soon the rain began to pour in torrents, lasting 15 minutes. The rain was accompanied by a severe gale of wind, which evidently followed down Merrimac river until it reached the Essex Company’s dam. Here the centre of the storm went through Salem st. to Blanchard, tearing down or uprooting all the large shade trees in its pathway. After overturning a number of freight cars standing near the Salem-st. bridge and killing a switchman named Michael Higgins, who was standing near by, it smashed in the windows of St. Patrick’s Catholic church and blew down all the telegraph and telephone wires in that locality.

 

“The wave then passed through the centre of Springfield st., upon which there were nearly 100 houses and tenement blocks, which have all been erected during the past 12 years, and most of which ranked among the finest residences in that section of the city. With but three exceptions every house on both sides of that street between Blanchard and South Union sts. Were either totally or partly wrecked, and several occupants were more or less injured.

 

“The Work of the Storm was so severe that streets in several places were impassable for teams and even pedestrians.

 

“The fire-alarm wires being cut off, it was necessary to send special messengers to North Lawrence for the fire department. On its arrival, Chief Engineer Merrill and other city officials devoted their efforts to rescuing from the totally wrecked building the inmates who were buried beneath the ruins.

 

“As soon as the agents of the mills learned of the catastrophe they directed their carpenters, mechanics and other male employes who could be spared to repair to the scene with saws, axes and bars to assist in removing the debris.

 

“At 11:10 there was a general fire-alarm sound, and thousands of persons rushed to the scene.

 

“Among the houses injured on the north side of the street was the two-story double tenement block owned by William Fleutler, and occupied by him and John Morehouse. Mrs. Cutler, with her two daughters, was in the house, but were not much injured.

 

“The block owned by John Carden, 2, 4, 6 and 8, was occupied by Henry Read, Joseph Pippin, Mrs. Ludwig, and Mrs. Copp, and contained 20 occupants at the time, but fortunately the principal injury was shattered glass and broken blinds.

 

“The next building, Nos. 10 and 12, owned by John Wilkinson and occupied by Albert Ferguson, Leon Berreon, John Dunhorf and Samuel Carpenter, suffered similarly, with the addition of broken fences and uprooted shade trees. No. 16 a one-and-a-half-story cottage, owned by Charles W. Howard and occupied by Nathan P. Dawley, was demolished, and Miss Jesse Dawley was severely cut about the head by broken glass.

 

“The house No. 18, owned by Pedrick & Clossef, was almost a total wreck, and was occupied by Frank Perion and wife, who were alone in the house at the time, but by almost a miracle both escaped serious injury.

 

“The next house, numbered 24, escaped with less damage, the chimney being blown down.

 

“The cottage, No. 34, owned by Florence Kelly, had the chimney blown down and windows demolished.

 

“Nos. 36 and 38, occupied by Albert Mondor and Mrs. Marsden, presented a dilapidated aspect, the furniture, windows and blinds being severely damaged. A three-year-old daughter of Miss Mondor was struct on the head and badly hurt.

 

“The premises, No. 31, a two-story house, owned by John Kelley, fared in a similar manner to the others which remained on their foundations, as were those owned by J. P. Bradstreet, Archibald McCauley, Lewis Benert, Mrs. Flynn, Peter Cleary, Mrs. Hannah Contin, Mrs. M. Birmingham, and William Parker, who owned the houses, the numbers of which ranged from 40 to 104, were damaged to a greater or less extent, but with the exception of slight bruises none of the occupants of these premises were injured to a great extent.

 

“When the building 99 Springfield st. was blown down a horse attached to a butcher’s cart standing in front of the premises was instantly killed by the debris of the building, which was rendered a total wreck.

 

“On the south side of the street the houses of John McAllister and John Dearborn were completely wrecked.

 

“Others who have suffered are No. 3, W. R. Sawyer and John Morehouse, house wrecked on the upper story…[notes damage to about a dozen other houses and buildings].

 

“Immediately after the cyclone had passed and its terrible effects had become known, hundreds of people flocked to the scene of disaster, and the work of rescuing those imprisoned in the ruins of the buildings began. In a few minutes there were fully 500 men at work, and they have taken from the wrecked buildings six dead bodies and 50 persons more or less severely injured. The injured have been taken to the hospital, and the city officials are doing all in their power to aid those who have lost their homes.

 

“The following are among the dead:

 

Mrs. O’Connell, aged 34, 19 Springfield st.

Mamie O’Connell, aged 14, neck broken.

Mary Lyons, aged 40, 6 Emmett st.

Mrs. Collins, Portland st.

Her child, 4 years old, crushed.

Another child of Julia Beatty, which is buried in the ruins, has not yet been found.

 

“The injured number at least 40, some seriously, the family of Martin McLaughlin seriously if not fatally hurt….”[3] [We omit details of the deaths of those already noted as having been killed as well as the names of many of the injured.]

 

(Boston Daily Globe. “Path of Death In Lawrence and North Andover. Awful Work of a Cyclone Down the Valley of the Merrimac. A Score of Persons Killed.” 7-26-1890, p. 1.)

 

Sources

                                              

Boston Daily Globe. “One More Victim Buried.” 7-30-1890, p. 8. Accessed 8-20-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-jul-30-1890-p-8/

 

Boston Daily Globe. “Path of Death In Lawrence and North Andover. Awful Work of a Cyclone.” 7-26-1890, p. 1. Accessed 8-18-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-jul-26-1890-p-9/

 

Boston Sunday Globe. “Eight Killed…Cyclone’s Work in Lawrence.” 7-27-1890, p. 1. Accessed 8-20-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-sunday-globe-jul-27-1890-p-1/

 

Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VE: Environmental Films, 1993, 1,326 pages.

 

Owen, Ryan W. “The Day A Cyclone Hit Lawrence, Massachusetts – 1890.” Forgotten New England. Accessed 8-21-2024 at:

The Day a Cyclone hit Lawrence, Massachusetts – 1890

 

Perley, Sidney. Historic Storms of New England. Salem, MA: The Salem Press Publishing and Printing Co., 1891. Google digital preview accessed 10-26-2017 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2kAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

And 8-17-2024 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=twkAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

[1] Though it is noted that “a score” were killed (20), only seven named victims were described.

[2] We have looked at Boston Globe newspapers for a week out and do not see additional deaths reported, which does not mean that there were no such reports – just that we looked and did not see them. We choose to show the 8-11 range in that we do not want to just dismiss Perley’s statement that “several” victims died later from their injuries.

[3] The Boston Globe of July 28 reported that all three of the McLaughlin family members who were injured were either improving, doing better or much better.