1916 — Jan 5, steamer Kanawha hits tower in storm, capsizes, OH Ri. ~Parkersburg, WV– 16

–~18 Portsmouth Daily Times, OH. “Kanawha Wreck Goes for Song.” Jan 24, 1916, p. 13.
— 16 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 251.
— 16 Blanchard listing of fatalities and missing, presumed drowned, found at end of Narrative.
— 16 Charleston Mail, WV. “Captain of Kanawha Must Remove Bodies.” 1-13-1916, p. 1.
— 16 Steamboat Building in Elizabeth, PA. “Wreck of the Kanawha.” Accessed 9-20-2020.
— 16 US Dept. of Commerce, Steamboat Inspection Service. Report…Inspector Gen. 1917, 914.
— 14 Charleston Mail, WV. “Second Order Made to Explore Steamer.” 1-14-1916, p. 6.
— 10 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys.]… 1999, 262.

Narrative Information

U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service: “On January 5, 1916, the passenger steamer Kanawha, while descending the Ohio River at dam No. 19, encountered a sudden violent wind and rain storm, which caused the vessel to collide with the steel light tower on the lower end of the outside river lock wall on the West Virginia side, tearing a hole in the hull which allowed the water to enter so rapidly that the vessel turned over within three minutes after striking the light tower. The passengers and crew fled to the hurricane roof and climbed up on same as the vessel turned over, climbing onto the port knuckle of vessel, which was uppermost. Vessel did not sink but floated down the river, every effort being made in the meantime to save the lives of the persons on board. However, as a result of this accident, 11 of the passengers and 5 of the crew, a total of 16 persons, lost their lives. Property loss about $30,000.” (U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Steamboat Inspection Service. Report…Inspector General. 1917, 913-914.)

Way: Kanawha. Sternwheel wood-hull packet, built at Ironton, OH, in 1896, measuring 180.6 x 35.2 x 5.2. “….On the evening of Jan. 5, 1916 she landed at Little Hocking, Oh., and in backing out hit a steel pier on the outer lockwall of Dam 19, overturned and ten lives were lost. The details of this tragedy appear in the S&D Reflector, issue June 1966.”

Newspapers

Jan 6, Portsmouth Daily Times, OH: “Steamer Kanawha victim of storm in the Ohio River; tragedy was near Parkersburg, W. Va.”

“Parkersburg, W.Va., Jan. 6. Captain W. E. Roe, one of the owners of the steamer Kanawha, reached here this afternoon from the point where the steamer was wrecked last night and it is said that at least six persons had not yet been accounted for…. It was also reported that the body of Mrs. Campbell had been washed ashore at New England, a short distance below the wreck and that another body had been located believed to be that of Mrs. F.A. Patrick, of Belleville, Ohio….

Parkersburg, W. Va., Jan. 6. – Captain Brady M. Berry, and 62 of the passengers and crew of the steamer Kanawha which sank in the Ohio river at Dam No. 19 last night arrived here early today on a special train sent out by the Baltimore and Ohio railroad company to pick up the survivors scattered along four miles of riverfront on the West Virginia side. Captain Berry said that while he saw no one in the water and did not know that any had been lost he felt there had been fatalities and was waiting for daylight to return to the scene of the disaster where a thorough search would be made on the West Virginia and Ohio shores of the river.

We were moving swiftly down-stream with the flood about 7:25 o’clock last night with a crew of about forty men and some 20 passengers on board The weather had been bad, but about that time, just as we were approaching the lower end of the lock wall on the West Virginia side, we were struck by a severe storm. Ordinarily a light shines out from the mast on the wall but last night there was no light there, and before we knew what was happening the Kanawha had struck the iron pier a little forward of the boilers and started to sink.

I shouted for the boats and in a very few minutes the men were getting out the four life boats we had on board. The cries of the passengers aroused the men at the lock. They put out a yawl and came to our assistance. The lights had gone out within a minute after we struck and there was great confusion, but we managed to get the people on the hurricane deck and as the Kanawha turned on her side kept them moving toward the top while we were taking them off. The Kanawha continually turned and when we finally got the last man ashore he was clinging to the bottom of the boat as she had turned completely over and was drifting down stream bottom-side up.

An hour or more elapsed from the time we struck until all were off and passengers and crew were constantly being landed on the river shore until survivors, shivering in the cold, were strung out through a distance of four miles. When I saw that all were off I shouted to the crew who had taken the last load away and they came back and got me.

The twelve women were taken off first and then the men as we were able to move them. Some of the crew said that a boat load landed on the Ohio side but I don’t know.

We lost all the books, including the passenger list and I don’t know how many were on board…”

(Portsmouth Daily Times, OH. “Packet Strikes Pier and Sinks.” Jan 6, 1916, p. 1.)

Jan 7, Charleston Mail, WV: “Parkersburg, Jan. 7. – Announcement was made today that no attempt would be made to explore the cabins of the sunken steamer Kanawha for bodies of those drowned until next Sunday. This decision was made owing to the fear of officials to attempt anything which might cause the steamer to shift and possibly dislodge any bodies which might be held by the hulk of the boat until after a thorough search of the waters in the vicinity of the accident had been made.

“At Marietta, O., today Captain Berry stated he was positive that twelve bodies at least would be found in the cabins of the Kanawha.

“Parkersburg, Jan. 7. – The recovery of one dead body was the only result of a twelve-hour search of the Ohio river in the vicinity of Meldahis where eleven persons are believed to have lost their lives when the steamer Kanawha sank late Wednesday.

“The body was identified as that of Anna Campbell, colored, of Pomeroy, O., who was a chambermaid on the Kanawha. It was found in a clump of willows near Harris Ferry.

List of Missing

“A revised list of the missing was compiled at a late hour last night. It is as follows:

Mrs. Ollie Fitzpatrick, Johnstown, Pa. Noted by Hoyt as a fatality, along with son.
Burt Wolfe, Rockland, O., head purser. Relatives later offered reward for his body.
Lloyd Gee, Gallipolis, O., steward. Body later found.
Mrs. E. C. Atkinson, Racine, O. Body later found.
W. L. Hoblitzell Sr., Washington city [DC]. Body later found.
Mrs. W. L. Hoblitzell, Sr., Washington city. Body later found.
W. L. Hoblitzell Jr., Washington city. Body later found.
Mrs. W. L. Hoblitzell, Jr., Washington city. Body later found.
W. L. Hoblitzell, Jr., infant. Body later found.
Mrs. Ulysses Beagle, Racine O. Body later found.
Arthur Beaver, watchman, Dorcas, O.
[Harrison Taylor. Newspaper report of Jan 17 to effect his wife thought he was on boat.]

(Charleston Mail, WV. “Twelve Are Dead in Boat’s Cabins.” 1-7-1916, p. 1.)

Jan 8, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV: “Parkersburg, W. Va., Jan. 8. – The number of missing by the sinking of the packet Kanawha, which went down in the Ohio river, ten miles south of here Wednesday night, was increased to fourteen today by the addition of the names of I. C. Bradlee, of Moundsville, W. Va., who was known to have boarded the boat, and a colored fireman. Only two bodies have been recovered so far and it is not believed that more will be found until a search is made of the interior of the boat, which will not be started until the river recedes, probably Monday.” (Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. “Number of Missing Increased to Fourteen.” 1-9-1916, p.1, c.3.)

Jan 10, Charleston Mail, WV: “Parkersburg, Jan. 10. – Including that of Miss Anna Campbell, a stewardess, of Pomeroy, O., five bodies of the victims of the sinking of the steamer Kanawha last Wednesday at dam No. 19 had been recovered up to noon today.

“The additional bodies are those of Mrs. E. C. Atkinson, a passenger, of Racine, O., Mrs. Ulysses Beegle, of Pittsburgh, Pa., also a passenger, and an unidentified woman and an infant. The infant’s body is believed to be that of W. L. Hoblitzell, Jr., whose mother and father are included among the list of those still missing.

“E. C. Atkinson, of Racine, O., was among those rescued, as was Ulysses Beegle, of Pittsburgh, Pa.” (Charleston Mail, WV. “Bodies of 5 Found in Waters of Ohio; Victims of Disaster.” 1-10-1916, p. 1.)

Jan 10, Wheeling Intelligencer, WV: “Parkersburg, W. Va., Jan. 10 – Five bodies, three women, one man, and an infant, were recovered today from the wreckage of the Pittsburgh-Charleston packet Kanawha, these being the first of the 17 to 20 missing which have been recovered since the night of the wreck except the body of Anna Campbell, a colored chambermaid, which was recovered the morning of the disasters. The bodies were identified as:

Mrs. W. L. Hoblitzell, Washington.
Mrs. Ulysses Beagle, Hoboken, Pa. [Allegheny County, near Pittsburgh.]
Mrs. E. C. Atkinson, Racine, Ohio.
W. L. Hoblitzell, Jr., Washington.
W. L. Hoblitzell, 3rd, aged 5 months.

“Capt. A. E. Roe stated late today that the search for bodies would be resumed tomorrow morning…” (Wheeling Intelligencer, WV. “Five Bodies…Found On…Kanawha.” 1-11-1916, 1.)

Jan 12, Wheeling Intelligencer, WV: “Remains of I. C. Bradley Recovered From Wreck of Kanawha. Body Was Found Monday and Identified Yesterday – Will be Buried By Side of Wife….” (Wheeling Intelligencer, WV. “Will Take Body to Moundsville.” 1-12-1916, p. 3.)

Jan 12, Bluefield Telegraph, WV: “Parkersburg, W. Va., Jan. 11. – Two more bodies were recovered this afternoon from the wreck of the Pittsburg and Charleston Packet Kanawha, lying in the Ohio river near here. One body was identified as that of Lloyd G. Gee, the negro steward of Gallipolis, O., and the other was believed to be that of Mrs. W. L. Hoblitzell, jr., of Washington, D.C., a passenger on the wrecked boat. The body brought up yesterday was identified as that of I. C. Bradley, of Moundsville, W. Va. To the present, eight bodies have been recovered from the wreck.” (Bluefield Telegraph, WV. “Packet Kanawha Gives Up Two More Bodies.” 1-12-1916, p. 1.)

Jan 13, Charleston Mail, WV: “On information furnished it by Chief Inspector A. D. Shepherd, who has just returned from Parkersburg, following an inspection of the steamboat Kanawha, which was wrecked near Hockingport, Jan 5, causing a loss of sixteen lives, the public service commission today sent a telegram calling on Captain W. E. Roe, owner of the boat, to make an organized effort to rescue the remainder of the bodies entrapped in the overturned vessel.

“The telegram, which is addressed to Captain Roe, is a reprimand for negligence and a terse order to organize a capable rescue party. It is as follows:

This commission regrets to learn from the report of its chief inspector that you have been negligent in efforts to rescue bodies from the wreck of the steamboat Kanawha, and that you have made no proper efforts for such recovery.

You are hereby instructed and ordered immediately to begin the work of recovering said bodies, and pursue the same diligently until all persons who lost their lives by the accident are accounted for as far as possible.

“Chief Inspector Shepherd, in discussing the situation this morning, declared that absolutely no organized efforts had been made, as far as he could learn, to rescue the bodies which evidently are now held under the wreckage of the boat. He was at the scene of the wreck Tuesday, at which time the water in the river had receded so that nearly all the boat was exposed, though there was no one present to direct the rescue work.

“He said he saw no instruments in the hands of any of the workmen except an ax and a cross-cut saw, and when he asked these men by whom they were employed, they simply replied that they had been told they could have anything they might get out of the wreck, and that they were to received no other pay.” (Charleston Mail, WV. “Captain of Kanawha Must Remove Bodies.” 1-13-1916, p. 1.)

Jan 15, Wheeling Intelligencer, WV: “Charleston, W. Va., Jan. 14. – The public service commission has received an official report on the sinking of the steamer Kanawha, near Hockingport, in the Ohio river, Wednesday, January 5, from E. E. Winters. This report includes a statement made by E. W. Edgarton, of Washington, D.C., who says that his mother and father, two of his brothers and their wives and his nephew were among the victims. He was a passenger on the boat and had a narrow escape. He says that the passengers had just finished supper and many of them were in the cabin playing cards when the collision occurred. After the first storm, this statement says, all the passengers put on life preservers. A little later, it says, Clerk Bert Wolf informed them that there was no danger and most of the passengers discarded the life preservers and in less than a minute the boat lurched and most of them were thrown into the water.” (Wheeling Intelligencer, WV. “Passengers Assured of No Danger.” 1-15-1916, p. 15.)

Jan 20, Bluefield Telegraph, WV: “Parkersburg, W. Va., Jan. 19. – The body of a white man, believed to be that of W. L. Hoblitzell, sr., of Washington, D.C., was taken from the wreck of the Pittsburg and Charleston Packet Kanawha near here today when the search for passengers, lost two weeks ago, was resumed. The body was brought to this city and efforts were made to locate his friends. This is the ninth body recovered since the wreck. Members of eh searching party expressed the belief that other bodies would be found when the cabin was town away.” (Bluefield Telegraph, WV. “Ninth Body Taken From Wrecked Packet.” 1-20-1916, p. 1.)

Feb 1, Charleston Mail, WV: “Offer or rewards has been made by relatives of persons who were drowned when the steamer Kanawha sank at Lock 19, below Parkersburg, the nigh of Jan. 5. Relatives of Burt Wolfe, one of the officers of the boat, have published noteices to the affect that they will give $200 to the person finding his body.

“Relatives of other persons missing since the catastrophe have been making an effort to stimulate interest in the search for bodies and residents along the river below the scene of the accident are making a daily search.” (Charleston Mail, WV. “Rewards For Bodies.” 2-1-1916, p. 14.)

Named Fatalities

1. Atkinson, Mrs. E. C. Racine, OH Body recovered Jan 10.
2. Beaver, Arthur, watchman. Dorcas, OH Missing, presumed drowned.
3. Beegle (or Beagle), Mrs. Ulysses Pittsburgh area, PA Body recovered Jan 10.
4. Bradley, I. C. Moundsville, WV Body recovered Jan 10.
5. Campbell, Anna, stewardess Pomeroy, OH Body recovered Jan 7.
6. Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Ollie Johnstown, PA Drowned according to Hoyt.
7. Fitzpatrick, son, 6, of Mrs. F. Johnstown, PA Drowned according to Hoyt.
8. Gee, Lloyd, steward Gallipolis, OH Body recovered Jan 11.
9. Hoblitzell, J. D. Washington, DC. Missing, presumed drowned.
10. Hoblitzell, Mr. W. L. Jr. Washington, DC Body recovered Jan 10.
11. Hoblitzell, Mrs. W. L. Jr. Washington, DC Body recovered Jan 11.
12. Hoblitzell, Mr. W. L. Sr. Washington, DC Body recovered Jan 19.
13. Hoblitzell, Mrs. W. L. Sr. Washington, DC Body recovered Jan 10.
14. Hoblitzell, W. L., 3rd, 5 months. Washington, DC Body recovered Jan 10.
15. Taylor, Harrison, fireman? Gallipolis, OH Missing, presumed drowned.
16. Wolfe, Burt, head purser. Rockland, OH Relatives offered reward for body.

Sources

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

Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. “Ninth Body Taken From Wrecked Packet.” 1-20-1916, p. 1. Accessed 9-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bluefield-daily-telegraph-jan-20-1916-p-1/

Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. “Number of Missing Increased to Fourteen.” 1-9-1916, p.1, c.3. Accessed 9-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bluefield-daily-telegraph-jan-09-1916-p-1/

Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. “Packet Kanawha Gives Up Two More Bodies.” 1-12-1916, p. 1. Accessed 9-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bluefield-daily-telegraph-jan-12-1916-p-1/

Charleston Mail, WV. “Bodies of 5 Found in Waters of Ohio; Victims of Disaster.” 1-10-1916, p. 1. Accessed 9-20-2020: https://newspaperarchive.com/charleston-daily-mail-jan-10-1916-p-1/

Charleston Mail, WV. “Captain of Kanawha Must Remove Bodies.” 1-13-1916, p. 1. Accessed 9-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/charleston-daily-mail-jan-13-1916-p-1/

Charleston Mail, WV. “Harrison Taylor Is Name Added to List of Kanawha Victims.” 1-26-1916, p. 2. Accessed 9-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/charleston-mail-jan-26-1916-p-2/

Charleston Mail, WV. “Rewards For Bodies. Relatives of Kanawha Victims…” 2-1-1916, p. 14. Accessed 9-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/charleston-mail-feb-01-1916-p-14/

Charleston Mail, WV. “Second Order Made to Explore Steamer.” 1-14-1916, p. 6. Accessed 9-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/charleston-daily-mail-jan-14-1916-p-6/

Charleston Mail, WV. “Twelve Are Dead in Boat’s Cabins.” 1-7-1916, p. 1. Accessed 9-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/charleston-daily-mail-jan-07-1916-p-1/

Charleston Mail, WV. “Wife Seek Husband.” 1-17-1916, p. 7. Accessed 9-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/charleston-daily-mail-jan-17-1916-p-7/

Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, PA. “Three Bodies are Recovered” [Steamer Kanawha]. 1-10-1916, 1. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=115683771

Parkersburg Sentinel, WV. “Sinking of Steamer Kanawha.” 1-7-1916. Accessed at: West Virginia Archives & History website, WV Department of Arts, Culture and History, 9-20-2020 at: http://www.wvculture.org/history/disasters/steamerkanawha02.html

Portsmouth Daily Times, OH. “Kanawha Wreck Goes for Song.” Jan 24, 1916, 13. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=61777206

Steamboat Building in Elizabeth, PA. “Wreck of the Kanawha.” Accessed 9-20-2020 at: http://www.elizabethmarineways.com/new_page_167.htm

United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat-Inspection Service to the Secretary of Commerce for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1917. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1917, 42 pages. Digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=KqfNAAAAMAAJ

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.

Wheeling Intelligencer, WV. “Five Bodies Are Found On The Kanawha.” 1-11-1916, p. 1. Accessed 9-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/wheeling-intelligencer-jan-11-1916-p-1/

Wheeling Intelligencer, WV. “Government Inspectors Probe Kanawha Wreck.” 1-8-1916, p. 1. Accessed 9-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/wheeling-intelligencer-jan-08-1916-p-1/

Wheeling Intelligencer, WV. “Passengers Assured of No Danger.” 1-15-1916, p. 15. Accessed 9-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/wheeling-intelligencer-jan-15-1916-p-29/

Wheeling Intelligencer, WV. “Will Take Body to Moundsville.” 1-12-1916, p. 3. Accessed 9-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/wheeling-intelligencer-jan-12-1916-p-3/