1851 — Nov 29, Steamers Molly Grath / Pontiac No. 2 collide, OH Riv. ~Owensboro, KY– 20

— 20 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 286.
— 20 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 238.
— 20 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 682.
— 20 Twaintimes. “1846-1856.”
— 20 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, 328.
— 0 New York Times. “Steamboat Sunk.” Dec 1, 1851.

Narrative Information

Berman: “Molly Grath. St.w. [Steam sternwheel]. 75 [tons]. 1851 [built]. Nov 29, 1851. Collided. With Pontiac No. 2. Below Owensboro, Ky. 20 lives lost.” (Berman 1972, p. 286.)

Newspapers

Nov 29, American & Commercial Daily Advertiser, Baltimore, MD: “Louisville…November 29. – The steamers Molly Grath and Pontiac came in collision on the Ohio river today. The latter boat was sunk and her cargo lost.” (American & Commercial Daily Advertiser, Baltimore, MD. Dec 1, 1851, 3.)

Nov 29, NYT: “Louisville, Ky., Saturday, Nov. 29. The steamer Molly Grath, bound for Florence, recently came into collision with the steamer Pontiac, near Owensburg [sic], and sunk. No lives were lost. The boat will be raised, but the cargo is lost.” (NYT. “Steamboat Sunk.” 12-1-1851, 2.)

Dec 2: “The steamer Molly Garth came into collision with the Pontiac No. 2 on the 28th ult., near Owensboro, Ky., and immediately sunk in 6 or 7 feet water. Her cargo consisted of merchandise, flour, whisky, bagging, &c., the most of which can be saved. It is thought that she can be saved.” (Madison Daily Tribune, IN. 12-2-1851, p. 2, col. 3.)

Sources

American & Commercial Daily Advertiser, Baltimore, MD. [Steamers Mollie Grath and Pontiac No. 2. Collision.] Dec 1, 1851, 3. At: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mlpBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nrcMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5345,5664374&dq=mollie+grath&hl=en

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

Lytle, William M., compiler, from Official Merchant Marine Documents of the United States and Other Sources; Holdcamper, Forrest H. (Editor, and Introduction by). Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1807-1868. “The Lytle List.” Mystic, CT: Steamship Historical Society of America (Publication No. 6), 1952. Accessed 8-16-2020 at:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015018039084&view=1up&seq=8&size=125

Madison Daily Tribune, IN. 12-2-1851, p. 2, col. 3. Accessed 10-9-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/madison-daily-tribune-dec-02-1851-p-2/

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.

New York Times. “Steamboat Sunk.” Dec 1, 1851, p. 2.

Twaintimes. 1846-1856. Accessed at: http://twaintimes.net/page3.html

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.