1919 — Nov 12-13, freighter John Owen sinks, Lake Superior storm, SE of Caribou Isl. MI– 22

–23 Swayze. Shipwreck!…Directory…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 181. (Nov 13)
–22 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 250. (Nov 12)
–22 Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. “Bits of Vessel Found in Lake Confirm Loss.” 11-18-1919, p.3.
–22 Lake Carriers’ Association. Annual Report Lake Carriers’… 1919, pp. 151-152. (Nov 13)
–21 men
— 1 woman
–22 McNeil. “John Owen (Prop.)…sunk, 12 Nov 1919.” Maritime History of the Great Lakes.
–22 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 697. (Nov 12)
–22 U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report…1920, p. 16. (~Nov 11)
–22 Wolff, Julius F., Jr. Lake Superior Shipwrecks…Maritime Accidents…Disasters. 1990, 162.

Narrative Information

Berman: “John Owen…2,127 [tons]. 1889 [built]. Nov 12, 1919. Foundered. Lake Superior, near Caribou Island, Mich. All lives (22) lost.” (Berman 1972, 250.)

Lake Carriers’ Association: “The storm that whipped Lake Superior for an entire week and caused waves of mountainous size, began with a heavy easterly wind on Monday morning, November 10. The wind shifted to the west by night and by Tuesday [11th] had turned into a full gale from the northwest. At its height, and covering a period of many hours, the storm reached hurricane proportions. The thermometer fell rapidly, touching the zero mark, and violent snow storms added to the difficulties of navigation. Warning of the seriousness of the gale having been sent out such vessels as could be reached were held in port or in the rivers, while others ran into shelter behind the Apostle Islands and other points as far east as Whitefish. Early on Tuesday morning, before the full storm broke, the steamer John Owen cleared from Duluth with 100,000 bushels of rye. What occurred on her voyage across Lake Superior will always be shrouded in mystery. Thursday afternoon, November 13, the steamers Wilpen and Thomas Barlum passed through wreckage that provided the first evidence of a disaster having occurred. The wreckage was found 50 miles east by southeast of Manitou Island and included was a pilot house that resembled the John Owen’s. As the hours went by without any information being received as to the whereabouts of the missing steamer, tugs were sent out from Sault Ste. Marie and after two days’ search more wreckage was encountered ten miles southeast of Caribou Island, and with the finding of a sign board marked ‘John Owen,’ all hope for the steamer was abandoned. The eastern end of Lake Superior and the shores were searched for the recovery of bodies but without a single success. The entire crew of 21 men and one woman had perished when the John Owen went down. Precisely when, where and under what circumstances the vessel met her doom never will be explained. The last seen of her was on Wednesday afternoon, when the steamer Edwin N. Ohl, upbound, passed her off Keweenaw Point. The John Owen was then laboring heavily in the tremendous seas but apparently making good weather of it….” (Lake Carriers’ Association. Annual Report 1919, pp. 151-152.)

“Statement of Death Benefits Paid.” [p. 52]

Geo. E. Benham. Master… 11-13-19 [Date of Accident]. Drowned in wreck of John Owen
Ira J. Falconer. Chief Engr… 11-13-19 “ Drowned in wreck of John Owen
Horace Fisher. Mate… 11-13-19 “ Drowned in wreck of John Owen
John L. Forchner. Asst. Engr. 11-13-19 “ Drowned in wreck of John Owen
Wm. H. Evans, 2nd Mate 11-13-19 “ Drowned in wreck of John Owen
Magnus A Peterson, Steward 11-13-19 “ Drowned in wreck of John Owen
Harry R. McKenzie, Watchman. 11-13-19 “ Drowned in wreck of John Owen
August Arman, Fireman… 11-13-19 “ Drowned in wreck of John Owen

McNeil on John Owen loss:

Reason: sunk
Lives: 22
Remarks: Total loss
….
Geographic Coverage: Stannard Rock, Michigan, United States.

(McNeil. “John Owen (Prop.)…sunk, 12 Nov 1919.” Maritime History of the Great Lakes.)

Nash: “1919….Nov. 12. John Owen. 22 [deaths]. The 2,128-ton steam-screw, built in 1889, sank on Lake Superior near Caribou Island, Mich.” (Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 697.)

Swayze: “John Owen. Composite bulk freight steamer of 2,127 t. [tons] and 281 ft., launched in 1889 at Wyandotte, MI. Lake Superior: A westerly fall gale was more than a match for this steamer’s iron-and-wood hull. On November 13, 1919, the Owen was beset by huge waves that tore her to pieces and sent her to the bottom northeast of the Manitou Islands [Canada], along the North Shore. She took all 23 of her crew to the lakebed and her cargo of barley as well.” (Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 181.)

U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service: “About November 11, 1919, the steamer John Owen foundered while en route from Duluth, Minn., to Midland, Ontario, loaded with 100,000 bushels of grain. The entire crew, consisting of 22 persons, was lost.” (U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report…1920. P. 16.)

Wolff: “The first of the ill-fated four to meet destiny apparently was the 261-foot, 2,117-ton John Owen, a 30-year-old composite ship commanded by Captain George E. Benham and belonging to the W.C. Richardson Company of Cleveland. Arriving in Duluth on November 7, the Owen had loaded grain over the weekend, then lay over a day awaiting weather, departing eastward at 10:25 a.m., Tuesday, November 11, presumably behind a giant storm that had belabored North Dakota and northern Minnesota for two days. The next day [12th] the Owen was observed by the crew of the 420-foot steel steamer Edwin N. Ohl off Keweenaw Point. The 1,650-horsepower Ohl was holding her own, but the Owen was obviously having a hard time, although there were no distress signals. Whatever happened thereafter is conjecture.

“Terrific seas bedeviled the whole of eastern Lake Superior. The 554-foot, 2,000-horsepowr Shenango freighter Wilpen reported she had encountered wreckage east of Manitou Island on November 14, though the Eagle Harbor Coast Guard lifeboat, putting out the following day, could find no sign of the Owen in that vicinity. Meanwhile, the steamer Westmount reported that she had sighted debris south of Caribou Island, and the tugs Iowa and Alabama were ordered out of the Soo to check that area. Approximately 20 miles southeast of Caribou Island, they discovered extensive flotsam, including a white pilothouse with the John Owen’s nameboard on it. The Owen had made her last trip, taking veteran Captain Benham and his 21-man crew to eternity. As far as is known, the bodies of only four were ever found, one the next spring at Crisp Point on the south shore and three more on Parisienne Island later in the summer. She was a financial liability of $90,000.” (Wolff, Julius F., Jr. Lake Superior Shipwrecks: Complete Reference to Maritime Accidents and Disasters. Duluth, MN: Lake Superior Port Cities, Inc., 1990, P. 162.)

Newspaper

Nov 15: “By Associated Press. Cleveland, O., Nov. 15. – Search in Lake Superior for the missing steamer John Owen of Cleveland and her crew of 22 continued without success Saturday. Six of the crew lived in Cleveland. One woman, Mrs. Magnus Peterson, a steward, was aboard.

“Marine men still clung to the hope that the vessel had put into one of the numerous harbors between Sault Ste. Marie and Keweenaw Point and had ridden the storm that for three days was swept over Lake Superior.” (South Bend News-Times, IN. “Cleveland Ship Missing With Crew of 22 Men.” 11-16-1919, p. 1.)

Sources

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

Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, OH. “Searchers Fail to Find Trace of Lake Vessel.” 11-16-1919, p. 7. Accessed 1-4-2021: https://newspaperarchive.com/cincinnati-commercial-tribune-nov-16-1919-p-7/

Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, OH. “Bits of Vessel Found in Lake Confirm Loss.” 11-18-1919, p. 3, col. 3. Accessed 1-4-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cincinnati-commercial-tribune-nov-18-1919-p-3/

Lake Carriers’ Association. Annual Report of the Lake Carriers’ Association 1919. Detroit, P. N. Bland Printing Co., 1919. Accessed 1-4-2021 at: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015010724394&view=1up&seq=11&q1=%22John%20owen%22

McNeil, William R. “John Owen (Propeller), U76818, sunk, 12 Nov 1919.” Maritime History of the Great Lakes (webpage). Accessed 1-4-2021 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/61365/data?n=1

Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters from Ancient Times to the Present. New York: Pocket Books, Wallaby, 1977, 792 pages.

Sandusky Register, OH. “Owen Victim Wed a Sandusky Girl.” 11-22-1919, p. 19, col. 1. Accessed 1-4-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/sandusky-register-nov-22-1919-p-19/

South Bend News-Times, IN. “Cleveland Ship Missing With Crew of 22 Men.” 11-16-1919, p. 1. Accessed 1-4-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/south-bend-news-times-nov-16-1919-p-1/

Swayze, David D. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. Boyne City, MI: Harbor House Publications, Inc., 1992.

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, 1920. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1920. Digitized by Google. Accessed 1-4-2021 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=oafNAAAAMAAJ

Wolff, Julius F., Jr. Lake Superior Shipwrecks: Complete Reference to Maritime Accidents and Disasters. Duluth, MN: Lake Superior Port Cities, Inc., 1990.