1909 — Dec 26, snowstorm, schooner Davis Palmer founders off Boston Harbor, MA –12-14

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 9-10-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

— 14  Berman, Bruce D.  Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 24.

— 14  U.S. Bureau of Navigation. Merchant Vessels of the United States…1910, p. 404.

— 12  Lowell Sun, MA. “Shipping Disasters: Summary…Last Year,” March 21, 1910, p. 7.

— 12  Snow, Edward Rowe. Great Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. 1943, p. 257.

Narrative Information

Snow. “The Davis Palmer.” Great Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. 1943, p. 257.:

“Captain Leroy K. McKown anchored the Davis Palmer off Finn’s Ledge on Christmas Day, 1909….The five-masted schooner swung restlessly as the afternoon waned…By nightfall the first indication of a severe northeast storm was in evidence, and the crew made the ship ready to weather the blow. It was no use, however, for before morning the rising seas had pushed the Palmer across from Finn’s Ledge, capsizing the great vessel somewhere off Fawn Bar Beacon and drowning the entire crew of twelve men….

“The people who climbed to the top of Great Head in Winthrop looked down upon a terrible scene from their vantage point atop the 105-foot cliff. The writer was among those who saw the five masts of the Davis Palmer as they projected at an angle out of the water a short distance off the Winthrop shore….”

United States Bureau of Navigation. Merchant Vessels of the United States…1910, p. 404:

“Loss of American Vessels Reported During Fiscal Year 1910.

“Sailing Vessels

“Sch…Davis Palmer…1,955 [gross tonnage]…1905 [year built]…14 [on board]…14 [lives lost]…Foundered [Nature]…Dec. 26, 1909 [date lost]…Boston Harbor, Mass. [place].”

Newspaper

March 21, 1910: “Dec. 26 – Five masted schooner Davis Palmer of Boston, Newport News for Boston.  Foundered off Boston Harbor with all on board a crew of 12 men.” (Lowell Sun. 3-21-1910, 7.)

Sources

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

Lowell Sun, MA.  “Shipping Disasters: Summary of the Accidents That Occurred Last Year,” March 21, 1910. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=61756453

Snow, Edward Rowe. Great Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. Boston: Yankee Publishing Company, 1943.

United States Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce and Labor. Forty-Second Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States…For the Year Ended June 30, 1910. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1910. Google preview accessed 7-14-2018 at:

https://books.google.com/books?id=jcDQrscv2roC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false