1860 — Nov 24, freighter Dacotah grounds/breaks-up, Lake Erie storm, off Angola NY– 24

–24 Alchem Incorporated. Eastern Erie Shipwrecks.
–24 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 241.
–24 Chicago Daily Tribune, IL. “Shipwrecks Upon the Lakes for 1860.” 12-24-1860, p. 3, col. 5.
–24 Mansfield. History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co., 1899, p. 687.
–24 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 684.
–24 Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter D.
–24 Swayze, David D. Shipwreck!…Directory of…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 65.

Narrative Information

Alchem Incorporated: “Dacotah: Wooden steam freighter sank on 11/24/1860 in the worst autumn blizzard on Lake Erie recorded up until that time. Swayze, Boyer and other sources claim the vessel went down with all 24 crewmen in mid lake. The Dacotah carried a valuable cargo of copper ingots. Ackerman places the wreck aground and salvaged 3 miles South of Sturgeon Point, New York….The Dacotah was steering for shelter in a bay off Angola, New York when it struck a submerged rock tearing open its hull. The vessel immediately began breaking apart in the surf. The entire crew reached shore alive and climbed a steep bank to take shelter from the blowing snow in a nearby ravine Several days later their frozen bodies were discovered by the Erie County coroner named William Bennett while he was inspecting his property for storm damage. Ironically Bennett owned a fully stocked lodge and cabins just beyond the ravine!” (Alchem Incorporated. Eastern Erie Shipwrecks.)

Lytle and Holdcamper: “Dacotah. 698 [tons], stranded, 11 23-1860, Buffalo, N.Y., 24 [lives lost].”

Mansfield: “Total Loss of the Dacotah. – The season of 1860, as regards the loss of life and property was the most disastrous on record, and the loss of life the most deplorable since known. During the terrific gale in November, occurred the destruction of the propeller Dacotah, Capt. William Cross, on Sturgeon Point [NY] in Lake Erie, with 24 lives, not a soul being saved. It was a fearful night, and the suffering among vessels was above description. The Dacotah was 688 tons burden, and had been but three years in commission. She left Buffalo in the evening freighted with merchandise for Chicago, with no passengers. Nothing but fragments were ever seen afterward, so complete was her destruction. She was built by Luther Moses at Cleveland, and was valued at $33,600. She was owned by James F. Clark, of the New York Central railroad.” (Mansfield, John Brandts (Editor). History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co., 1899, p. 687.)

Swayze: “DACOTAH
Other names : also seen as DAKOTAH
Official no. : none
Type at loss : propeller, wood, freighter
Build info : 1857, Luther Moses, Cleveland
Specs : 198x30x13, 688 t.
Date of loss : 1860, Nov 24
Place of loss : near 18-mile Creek, close to Angola, NY [Evans Centre]
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 24 [all]
Carrying : copper ingots, cash
Detail: Though most sources say she went missing, she actually was driven ashore and destroyed quickly with her entire crew in one of the most powerful storms of the decade. Those aboard included members of the crew of the propeller Marquette, who had been traveling home after that vessel was laid up for the season. Her engine and boiler were salvaged by the tug HOMER the following July. Owned by New York Central Railroad. Master: Capt. Wm. S. Cross.” (Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter D.)

Swayze: “Dacotah or Dakotah. Wooden freighter.
“Lake Erie: This vessel was reported to have been carrying a valuable cargo of copper ingots and cash when she went missing with all 24 hands off Clear Creek, Ontario, in midlake [sic]. The date of her loss was November 24, 1860. A conflicting report says that she went aground near Angola, New York on the 11th [sic]

(Swayze, David D. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. Boyne City, MI: Harbor House Publications, Inc., 1992, p. 65.)

Newspapers

Nov 26: “….A large propeller, supposed to be the Dacotah, of the New York Central Railroad line, is ashore at Eighteen Mile Creek. She left Buffalo on Friday afternoon [23rd] with a double crew on board, all of whom have perished….” (Philadelphia Inquirer. “The Storm and the Weather.” 11-28-1860, p. 2, col. 1.)

Nov 28: “The gale on the Lakes last Friday and Saturday [23rd-24th]was probably the most severe, when taken in connection with the severity of the temperature, ever experience on our waters. News of sad disasters are reaching us from every point, some of which we chronicle below, as we find them in our exchanges.

“The propeller Dacota, which left Buffalo just before the storm, has been lost at Evan’s Centre with all the crew, together with the crew of the propeller Marquetta, who were returning home to Chicago. Portions of the wreck lie scattered along the shore for eighteen miles this side [southwest] of Buffalo. William Cross was commander, and Mr. Chas. H. Pease had been Steward, but the latter was not on board.” (Daily Commercial Register, Sandusky, OH. “Later Lake Disasters – Great Loss of Life and Property.” 11-28-1860, p. 3, col. 3.)

Nov 28: “The rumor of which we spoke in the Sentinel [Milwaukee Sentinel] of yesterday morning, turns out to be true. – The propeller Dacotah, Capt. W. S. Cross, suffered total shipwreck on Lake Erie, during the dreadful storm on Saturday last [24th], and all on board are supposed to have perished. The propeller Dacotah was a first-class propeller, and had on board a full cargo for Lake Michigan ports. This loss is covered in part, if not in whole by insurance; but there is another loss that no insurance can compensate. It is the loss of life; the loss of twenty or thirty stout seamen; the loss, above all of Capt. Wm. S. Cross, of this city [Milwaukee], as true a man, as good a sailor, as ever trod a vessel’s planks. Capt. Cross had been a resident of this city for the last 22 years….Capt. Cross was nearly 43 years old, and leaves a wife and two young children to lament his sad and sudden death…. – Mil. Sen., 28th.” (Racine Daily Journal, WI. “Loss of the Propeller Dacotah.” 11-29-1860, p. 2, col. 3.)

Dec 13: “By the loss of the propeller Dacotah, on Lake Erie, on Friday night of week before last, we regret to learn that a much esteemed young man by the name of Edwin Jerrod, abed about 27 years, of Cuylerville [NY], lost his life. He was engaged in shipping fruit to the West, and had on board the vessel several hundred barrels of apples which he was taking to Milwaukee for sale. When his body was found the clothing was nearly stripped off, nothing remaining except the waistbands of his pantaloons, and a portion of his vest and shirt. The palms of both hands were blistered as though he had for some length of time clung to something. – the pocket of the vest remained, and in it his watch was found. The deceased was the main support of a widowed mother, and was much respected by all who knew him. Not a soul on board the vessel was left to tell the fearful tale of the awful sufferings of the night. His remains were brought to Cuylerville where the funeral was attended on Monday last.” (Dansville Advertiser, NY. 12-13-1860, p. 3, col. 3.)

Dec 24: “….Prop Dacotah, at Sturgeon Point, Lake Erie; twenty-four lives lost.” (Chicago Daily Tribune, IL. “Shipwrecks Upon the Lakes for 1860.” 12-24-1860, p. 3, col. 5.)

Sources

Alchem Incorporated. Lake Erie Shipwreck and Dive Location Pages. Accessed 1-28-2009 at: http://www.alcheminc.com/shipwrck.html

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

Chicago Daily Tribune, IL. “Shipwrecks Upon the Lakes for 1860.” 12-24-1860, p. 3, col. 5. Accessed 11-21-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/chicago-daily-tribune-dec-24-1860-p-3/

Daily Commercial Register, Sandusky, OH. “Later Lake Disasters – Great Loss of Life and Property.” 11-28-1860, p. 3, col. 3. Accessed 11-21-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/sandusky-daily-commercial-register-nov-28-1860-p-3/

Dansville Advertiser, NY. 12-13-1860, p. 3, col. 3. Accessed 11-21-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/dansville-advertiser-dec-13-1860-p-3/

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

Mansfield, John Brandts (Ed. And Compiler). History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co., 1899. http://www.linkstothepast.com/marine/chapt36.html — Google digitized: http://books.google.com/books?id=iHXhAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

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.

Philadelphia Inquirer. “The Storm and the Weather.” 11-28-1860, p. 2, col. 1. Accessed 11-21-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/philadelphia-inquirer-nov-28-1860-p-2/

Racine Daily Journal, WI. “Loss of the Propeller Dacotah.” 11-29-1860, p. 2, col. 3. Accessed 11-21-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/racine-daily-journal-nov-29-1860-p-2/

Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter D. Accessed 9/10/2009 at: http://greatlakeshistory.homestead.com/files/d.htm

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

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

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.

Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter D. Accessed 9-10-2009 at: http://greatlakeshistory.homestead.com/files/d.htm

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