1786 — Dec 5, Gale, sloop grounds, Lovell’s Island, Brig at Pt. Shirley, Boston Harbor, MA–18
–18 Snow, Edward Rowe. Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. 1943, pp. 81 & 86.
–13 Hypothermia. Sloop grounded on Lovell’s Island, Boston Harbor.
— 5 Hypothermia. Party from brig Lucretia, grounded at Point Shirley.
–13 Ludlum, David M. Early American Winters 1604-1820. 1966, p. 71.
Narrative Information
Ludlum: “Triple Big Snows in Early December 1786….A sloop from Penobscot went ashore on Lovell’s Island on the 5th with 13 out of the crew of 15 perishing.[1]
(Ludlum, David M. Early American Winters 1604-1820. 1966, p. 71.
Snow: “There is an almost unbelievable sequence of freak events and terrible occurrences all along the New England coast because of the December gale of 1786. in Plum Island Sound two men floated for hours on a haystack before they were rescued. Thirteen persons in Boston Harbor were frozen to death, while near Plymouth a shipwrecked party on the Gurnet Beach walked five miles before reaching safety….
“During the…storm a sloop from Damariscotta, Maine, crashed on the beach at Lovell’s Island, Boston Harbor. All the passengers and crew, thirteen in number, reached the safety of the island but looked in vain for shelter. At the top of the hill there was a large rock which gave them some protection against the fierce blizzard then raging, and there the people huddled in their wet clothing. The temperature in surrounding towns and villages dropped far below zero that bitter night. One by one the freezing cold claimed its victims.
“With the coming of dawn, a fisherman on a neighboring island, Thomas Spear by name, crossed over to Lovell’s Island. Up by the rock he saw shapeless forms outlined under the snow and found the entire party apparently frozen to death. Among the group were two young lovers, Miss Sylvia Knapp and a young man whose name is not known, who were on their way to Boston to purchase furniture for their new home. The lovers were found locked in death in each other’s arms….
“Three miles away from Lovell’s Island, the brig Lucretia, under Captain Powell, was being pushed ashore at Point Shirley by the waves. The brig crashed on the beach about nine in the morning, and five of the men jumped into the raging surf. They succeeded in reaching the deep snow on Shirley Gut Plain and disappeared from the view of others aboard the brig. Floundering around in the waist-deep snow, the men were quickly exhausted, sinking into the drifts. All five perished, including Mr. Sharp, a part owner of the vessel.” (Snow, Edward Rowe. Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. 1943, pp. 81-86.)
Sources
Ludlum, David M. Early American Winters 1604-1820. Boston: American Meteorological Society, 1966.
Snow, Edward Rowe. Storms and Shipwrecks of New England. Boston: Yankee Pub. Co., 1943.
[1] Cites: Mass. Centinel (Boston), 13 & 16 Dec 1786.