1900 — Sep 12, freighter John B. Lyon sinks, Lake Erie Storm, off Ashtabula, OH — 11

— 14 Daily Express, Defiance, OH. “Death-Dealing Gale.” 9-13-1900, p. 2, col. 6.
— 12 Commercial Tribune, Cincinnati, OH. “Twelve…Found Watery Graves.” 9-13-1900, 1.
— 11 Alchem Incorporated. Lake Erie Shipwreck Map “C” and Index.
— 11 Commercial Tribune, Cincinnati, OH. “Storm on Lakes Wrecks Vessels.” 9-13-1900, p. 1.
— 11 Swayze, David D. “Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter L.”
— 11 Swayze. Shipwreck!…Directory…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 137.
— 9 U.S. Steamboat Inspec. Svc. Annual Report…Supervising Inspector-General… 1901, p.79.

Narrative Information

Alchem Incorporated: “John B Lyon: Wooden freight steamer of 250 ft sank on 9/11/1900 while running for shore in a terrific storm 6 miles Northwest of Conneaut, Ohio. Eleven of the crew died and five survived. As the Lyon went down Captain Singhas gave his life-vest to a wheelsman who could not find one. The captain then lashed his wife and the wife of the Steward to a broken spar. They were joined in the water by the Lyon’s two wheelsmen. One survivor, the second engineer, washed ashore unconscious, while the two women and wheelsmen were found tied to the mast by rescuers after fifteen hours in the water.” (Alchem Incorporated. Erie-Ashtabula Shipwrecks.)

Swayze:

“Official no. : 76199
“Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
“Build info : 1881, T. Quayle & Sons, Cleveland
“Specs : 256x39x20, 1710g, 1330n
“Date of loss : 1900, Sep 11
“Place of loss : off North Girard, PA
“Lake : Erie
“Type of loss : storm
“Loss of life : 11 of 16
“Carrying : iron ore.

“Detail: Challenged the storm [actually a dying hurricane which had flattened Galveston, Texas], even though nearly all other traffic had left the lakes. She was overwhelmed, torn apart and sunk. Member of the Gilchrist Fleet, Cleveland. Master: Capt. A. H. Senghas (d). Damaged in collisions at both Chicago and Buffalo in 1881. Involved in other damaging collisions in 1882, 1884, 1891.” (Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter L.)

U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service: “Local District of Cleveland, Ohio. 1900….September 12. – About 3 a.m. steamer John B. Lyon, of Vermilion, Ohio, 1,710 gross tons, encountered a terrific gale on Lake Erie, off Ashtabula, and foundered. All officers except second engineer, and six of the crew, were lost. Total number lost, nine. The steamer is a total loss.” (U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector-General, Steamboat-Inspection Service, for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1901. 1901, p. 79.)

Newspapers

Sep 12: “Cleveland, Sept. 12. – The propeller John B. Lyons was sunk off Conneaut, O., early this morning. Of sixteen people aboard, five escaped to shore. The others were drowned. A tug was sent from here this afternoon to search for the bodies. The dead include the Captain, first and second mates and first engineer, all of Cleveland.

“The Lyons was owned by J. C. Gilchrist, of Cleveland. Captain A. H. Fenghan was in command of the Lyons. She carried a crew of sixteen men, most of whom lived in Cleveland. The Lyons was built in 1881 and had a gross tonnage of 1710. She was 255 feet long and thirty-eight foot beam.
(Commercial Tribune, Cincinnati, OH. “Storm on Lakes Wrecks Vessels.” 9-13-1900, p. 1.)

Sep 12: “Erie, Pa., Sept. 12. – While running to Erie Harbor for shelter at 1 o’clock this morning, the ore-carrying barge John B. Lyons foundered in the worst gale that has swept over Lake Erie in years. The Lyons carried a crew of fifteen men and a woman cook, and all but three men and the woman found watery graves.

“The first that was known of the wreck was learned when the four survivors, lashed to a mass of wreckage, drifted ashore west of this city in an exhausted condition after battling with the waves for fifteen hours.” (Commercial Tribune, Cincinnati, OH. “Twelve of the Crew Found Watery Graves.” 9-13-1900, 1.)

Sep 13: “Cleveland, Sept. 13. – The tail end of the West Indian hurricane, which swept over Lake Erie, proves to have been the most disastrous storm that has visited this section in several years. At least twos vessels were sunk, carrying down with them several persons, and a number of other vessels have reached port in a badly damaged condition. The John B. Lyon, a 255-foot steamer, owned by J. C. Gilchrist of this city, foundered about five miles off Conneaut, O., and all but two of her crew of 16 were lost.” (Defiance Daily Express, OH. “Death-Dealing Gale.” 9-13-1900, 2.)

Sep 21: “Twelve persons were drowned in the lakes in Tuesday’s gale, eleven going down with steamer John B. Lyon in Lake Erie. The following are the missing, and no hopes for their safety are entertained by the survivors: [We break paragraph into separate lines.]

Alaston, steward;
Brown of Cleveland, second engineer;
Nestor, Michael, watchman;
Oscar Olson, first mate;
Capt. A. H. Senghas of Marine City, Mich., master of the steamer;
George Tyler, second mate;
Tyler, watchman, father of the second mate;
Charles Willows of Cleveland, chief engineer;
Two deck-hands, names unknown;
Fireman, name unknown.”

(South Haven Messenger, MI. “Death and Loss in Lake Storm.” 9-21-1900, p. 5.)

Sources

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

Commercial Tribune, Cincinnati, OH. “Storm on Lakes Wrecks Vessels.” 9-13-1900, p. 1. Accessed 12-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cincinnati-commercial-tribune-sep-13-1900-p-1/

Commercial Tribune, Cincinnati, OH. “Twelve of the Crew Found Watery Graves.” 9-13-1900, 1. Accessed 12-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cincinnati-commercial-tribune-sep-13-1900-p-1/

Daily Express, Defiance, OH. “Death-Dealing Gale.” 9-13-1900, p. 2, col. 6. Accessed 12-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/defiance-daily-express-sep-13-1900-p-2/

South Haven Messenger, MI. “Death and Loss in Lake Storm.” 9-21-1900, p. 5. Accessed 12-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/south-haven-messenger-sep-21-1900-p-5/

Swayze, David D. “Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter L.” Accessed 9/11/2009 at: http://greatlakeshistory.homestead.com/files/l.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.

United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector-General, Steamboat-Inspection Service, for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1901. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1901. Accessed 12-5-2020 at: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066693110&view=1up&seq=85&size=125&q1=lyon%201900