1919 — Sep 9~, steam freighter Lake Conway lost, storm?, Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico–31-32

— 32 Singer S. D. Shipwrecks of Florida (2nd Ed.), 1998, p. 22.
— 31 Boston Sunday Globe. “Shipping Board Steamer Lake Conway Missing.” 9-21-1919, p. 6.

Narrative Information

Singer: “Lake Conway – Steam freighter (steel) of Detroit, 1,948 tons, built in 1198 at Wyandotte, Mich., 251’ x 43.8’ x 18.5’. Left Philadelphia with a crew of 32, Sept. 3, 1919, bound for Havana. Not heard from since. Most likely sank in the September 1919 hurricane. Possible Florida wreck.”

U.S. Shipping Board. “Lake Conway…2,875 [dead weight tonnage]…Sept. 9, 1919 [date of loss]…Lost in hurricane in Gulf.” (U.S. Shipping Board. “Losses of Shipping Board vessels from July 1, 1919, to June 30, 1920, inclusive.” Fourth Annual Report of the United States Shipping Board, Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1920. 1920, p. 41.)

Newspaper

Sep 20: “Shipping Board Steamer Lake Conway Missing.”

“Washington, Sept. 20. – The Shipping Board steamer Lake Conway, which sailed from Philadelphia Sept. 2 for Havana, coal laden, has not been heard from. The Navy Department was requested today to search for her. %The Lake Conway carried a crew of 31.” (Boston Sunday Globe. “Shipping Board Steamer Lake Conway Missing.” 9-21-1919, p. 6, col. 1.)

Oct 10: “A Kokomo Man Missing.”
“Son of William Gaskin Believed Lost At Sea.”
“Was Member of Crew of S.S. Conway, Thought Wrecked By Storm In the Atlantic Ocean.”

“With the S.S. Lake Conway officially reported in the marine news as missing since September 20, William and Mrs. Gaskin, colored, 619 North Bell street, are fearful that their son, Worley Gaskin, known in this city, and a member of the ship’s crew, has been lost at sea.

“The missing steamer sailed from Philadelphia, her home port, September 3, bound for Cuba, and was never heard from again. A great storm swept down upon the Atlantic shortly after her departure and it is believed she was wrecked and sunk. The ship was one of the fleet controlled by the Atlantic Fruit company of New York City, and was used in the transportation of fruit….” (Kokomo Tribune, IN. “A Kokomo Man Missing.” 10-20-1919, p. 2, col. 2.)

Sources

Boston Sunday Globe. “Shipping Board Steamer Lake Conway Missing.” 9-21-1919, p. 6, col. 1. Accessed 3-2-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-sunday-globe-sep-21-1919-p-6/

Kokomo Tribune, IN. “A Kokomo Man Missing.” 10-20-1919, p. 2, col. 2. Accessed 3-2-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/kokomo-tribune-oct-20-1919-p-2/

Singer, Steven D. Shipwrecks of Florida: A Comprehensive Listing (2nd Ed.). Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press, Inc., 1998. Partially digitized by Google. Accessed 2-16-2021 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=6j6kjZQReqkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false

United States Shipping Board. “Losses of Shipping Board vessels from July 1, 1919, to June 30, 1920, inclusive.” Fourth Annual Report of the United States Shipping Board, Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1920. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1920. Accessed 3-2-2021 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Annual_Report/MydRAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=lake%20conway