1916 — Oct 20/21, “Black Friday Storm” Colgate, Flyer, Merida Sink, Lake Erie –54-59

–54-59 Blanchard range from sources below.
— 58 Ohio Historical Society, October 20, 1916
— 58 Schmidlin and Schmidlin. Thunder in the Heartland. 1996, p. 249.

— 1 Barge Bell. Ohio Historical Society, October 20, 1916.
— 1 “ Schmidlin and Schmidlin. 1996, p. 250.

–23-26 Freighter Merida. Blanchard range from sources below.
— 26 “ Ohio Historical Society, October 20, 1916.
— 26 “ Schmidlin and Schmidlin. 1996, p. 250.
— 24 “ Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive, Report News Oct 20.
— 24 “ Alchem Incorporated. Erie-Ashtabula Shipwrecks.
— 23 “ Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, 254.
— 23 “ Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Merida, (St. S.), 1916.”
— 23 “ US Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report 1917, 17.
— 23 “ Ratigan, W. Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals. 1975, p. 218.

— 6 Schooner D.L. Flyer. Ohio Historical Society, October 20, 1916.
— 6 “ “ Ratigan, W. Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals. 1975, p. 218.
— 6 “ “ Schmidlin and Schmidlin. 1996, p. 250.

–24-26 Whaleback James B. Colgate. Blanchard range from sources below.
— 26 “ “ Boatnerd.net. “Today in Great Lakes History – Sep 21.”
— 26 “ “ Ratigan. Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals. 1975, p.218.
— 25 “ “ Alchem Incorporated. Erie-Ashtabula Shipwrecks.
— 25 “ “ Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia…Shipwrecks. 1972, 249.
— 25 “ “ Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive. Oct 21.”
— 25 “ “ Ohio Historical Society, October 20, 1916.
— 25 “ “ Schmidlin and Schmidlin. 1996, p. 250.
— 24 Steamer “ US Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report 1917, 17

Narrative Information

Alchem Inc.: “James B Colgate: Steel whaleback steamer of 302 ft sank on 10/21/1916 in one of the worst storms ever recorded on Lake Erie. The Colgate was transporting a cargo of coal when it rode up a huge wave and dove to the bottom killing twenty five crewmen. The captain was the only survivor.” (Alchem Incorporated. Erie-Ashtabula Shipwrecks)

Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive: “On 20 October 1916, Merida (steel propeller bulk freighter, 360 foot, 3,261 gross tons, built in 1893, at W. Bay City, Michigan) was heavily loaded with iron ore when she encountered the “Black Friday” Storm on Lake Erie. She sank about 24 miles east of Erieau, Ontario. All 24 onboard were lost. A few days later the wheelhouse was found floating 15 miles south of Port Stanley. 21 bodies were eventually found, but not the bodies of Capt. Harry L. Jones nor crewman Wilfred Austin. The wreck was found in 1975, by Larry Jackson, a commercial fisherman.” The M F Butters was also lost. (Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive. “Today in Great Lakes History – Oct 20.”)

Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive: “On 21 October 1916, James B. Colgate (whaleback bulk freighter, 308 foot, 1713 gross tons, built in 1892 at W. Superior, Wisconsin) was carrying coal off Long Point on Lake Erie in a storm. She struck bottom in a plunge off a huge wave in one of the worst storms ever recorded on Lake Erie — it’s called the “Black Friday Storm”. Of the 26 on board, only her skipper survived.” (Schultheiss. “Today in Great Lakes History – Oct 21.” Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive.)

Ohio Historical Society: “The deadliest winds known on Lake Erie took the lives of 58 sailors on four vessels on Friday evening, October 20, 1916. This wind had its origins as a strong hurricane that struck Alabama on October 18 and moved north to near Chicago by the 20th. Although no longer a hurricane, it remained a very strong low pressure storm center and gave several hours of winds of 60 to 75 mph over Lake Erie. Storm warnings had been issued Friday morning for the Great Lakes, but some vessels continued their work.” (Ohio Historical Society, October 20, 1916.)

Ohio Historical Society: “The James B. Colgate, a 302-foot steel whaleback, was steaming west from Buffalo with a load of coal when it went down off Long Point, Ontario, northeast of Ashtabula. Of the 26 men on board, only the skipper survived. In the same area, the 360-foot bulk freighter Merida was bound for Buffalo with a load of iron ore when it went down with the loss of 26 men. At the western end of Lake Erie, the 161-foot schooner D.L. Flyer sank off Bar Point near the mouth of the Detroit River with the loss of 6 of the 7 men on board. On the barge Bell, a man was swept overboard and drowned off Bar Point. On shore, strong winds caused scattered damage to property, fruit crops, and communication across northern Ohio. An early snow fell as the storm departed Friday night.” (Ohio Historical Society, “October 20, 1916: Deadly Lake Erie Gales.”)

Swayze:
James B. Colgate.
Official no. : 77019
Type at loss : propeller, steel, whaleback bulk freighter
Build info : 1892, MacDougall – American Steel Barge Co., W. Superior, WI
Specs : 308x38x24 1713g 1318n
Date of loss : 1916, Oct 21
Place of loss : off Long Point
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 25 of 26
Carrying : Coal
Detail: “Struck bottom in a plunge off a huge wave in one of worst storms ever recorded on Erie. Foundered and a total loss. She was lost the same night and a few miles away from the big steamer MERIDA…Only her skipper survived.”

(Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter C.)

Merida
Official no. : 92514
Type at loss : propeller, steel, bulk freight
Build info : 1893, F. Wheeler, W. Bay City hull# 95
Specs : 360x45x21, 3329g 2389n
Date of loss : 1916, Oct 20
Place of loss : off Wheatley, Ont., 40 mi SE of Long Point
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 24 [all]
Carrying : iron ore
Detail : Heavily loaded and bound Ft. William, Ont., for Buffalo, she foundered in the “Black Friday Storm” with all hands.
Owned by Valley Camp Steamship Co., Cleveland.
Built as an unusual bulker with her engine amidships, but it was moved aft in 1904.
Wreck located in 1975.”

(Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter M.)

Sources

Alchem Incorporated. Lake Erie Shipwreck Map “C” and Index. Accessed 1-30-2009 at: http://www.alcheminc.com/asht.html

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

Boatnerd.net. “Today in Great Lakes History – September 21.” Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping. Accessed at: http://www.boatnerd.com:80/

Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive. “Today in Great Lakes History – October 20.” Accessed 3-7-2020 at: http://www.boatnerd.com/news/archive/10-09.htm

Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Merida, (St. S.), 1916, Official No. U92514.” 9/11/2009 at: http://www.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/GreatLakes/wrecks/Details.asp?ID=7320

Ohio Historical Society, “October 20, 1916: Deadly Lake Erie Gales.” 2006. Accessed 3-7-2020 at: http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/swio/pages/content/1916_gales.htm

Ratigan, William. Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals (New Revised and Enlarged Edition). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1975.

Schmidlin, Thomas W. and Jeanne Appelhans Schmidlin. Thunder in the Heartland: A Chronicle of Outstanding Weather Events in Ohio. Kent State University Press, 1996, 362 pages. Partially digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=QANPLARGXFMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Schultheiss, N. “Today in Great Lakes History – Oct 21.” Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive. Accessed 3-7-2020 at: http://www.boatnerd.com/news/archive/10-00.htm

Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter C. Accessed 9/6/2009 at: http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/c.htm

Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter M. Accessed 9/7/2009 at: http://greatlakeshistory.homestead.com/files/m.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