lornajarrettblanchard

–13-23 Blanchard estimated death toll range.*

— 30 Gaston, Joseph. The Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1911, Vol. 1.
— 23 BattleRockPark.com. “Battle Rock Park.”
— 23 Gaston, Joseph. The Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1911, Vol. 1. 1912, 396-397.
— 23 News-Review, Roseburg, OR. “Survivors of Indian Battle at Port Orford…”1-7-1951.
— 23 Smith, R. Gess. A Place Called Oregon. “The Battle of Battle Rock – Oregon 1851.
–20-22 Schwartz, E. A . The Rogue River Indian War and its Aftermath, 1850… 1997, p. 33, 35.
— 20 Gibbs, Jim. Oregon’s Salty Coast. Seattle: Superior Publishing Co., 1978.*
–13-20 Hamell.net. The Seven Toughest Men in Oregon History…Survivors of Battle Rock.
–13-20 Kirkpatrick. “Correspondence…” Oregon Statesman, Oregon City, 7-15-1851, p. 2.*
— ~19 Lewis. “Battle Rock the First Colonization on the Southern [OR] Coast.” Quartux. 3-16-2019.*
— 17 Michno, Gregory F., Encyclopedia of Indian Wars…1850 – 1890. 2003, p. 12.

*Blanchard note on fatalities: We use thirteen as the low-end of our estimated death too range based on Kirkpatrick’s own account of thirteen Native fatalities. His later notation of about twenty deaths was from what he was told by another Native more than two weeks later, after he reached safety. Thus number would have had to have been second or third hand – or invented. We use the number twenty-three fatalities in that four of the sources we cite note twenty-three deaths, and one notes a range of 30-22. We do not use the Gaston number of thirty fatalities in that we have been unable to locate another source noting more than twenty-three deaths. Thus we do not find this number to be supportable.

*Gibbs: Gibbs writes (p. 38) that thirteen natives [Qua-to-mah ] were killed in the initial attack on the 10th. There were two follow-on attacks and then a 14-day truce was made because the whites told the natives they would be picked up in 14 days. When they did not happen another attack was made and preparations made for one more. At this point, Gibbs writes that “20 of them had fallen in battle as opposed to four injured white men.” But, before another attack was undertaken the whites made an escape through the woods.

*Kirkpatrick: Kirkpatrick, in this letter to the editor describes himself as the leader of the party of nine dropped off at “Point Orford.” He writes that in the initial attack, his cannon discharge killed “some six or eight,” and that after an approximate fifteen minute fight “the Indians broke and ran, leaving thirteen dead on the ground.” He then writes that after their escape more than two weeks later “I learned…from an Indian an Indian at the mouth of Umpqua, who could speak jargon, that there were 20 killed and 15 wounded.” The twenty death toll number is thus, at best, second hand.

*Lewis: Lewis does not provide a total death toll. He notes “upwards of 17 native deaths” in the first attack. “After this skirmish, two other attempts were made by the Native people to take the rock and each time marksmen in the party shot and killed the leaders, causing the natives to stop their attacks.” We assume at least two deaths when Native leaders were killed in two follow-on attacks, bringing the total to approximately 19.

Narrative Information

Gaston: “About June 1st, 1851, the steam coaster Sea Gull, Captain William Tichenor, master, landed a party of nine men at Port Orford in Curry county, as the first installment of a force that was intended to establish a trading establishment at that point, and open a pack trail from there to the gold mines in Jackson county. The names of these men were, J.M. Kirkpatrick, J.H. Eagan, John T. Slater, George Ridoubs, T.D. Palmer, Joseph Hussey, Cyrus W. Hedden, James Carigan, and Erastus Summers.

“Tichenor was under contract with the men to give them supplies, rifles and ammunition for defense in case of an attack from the Indians; but on landing the men found they had only three old flint-lock muskets, an old sword and a few pounds of lead and powder and one rifle owned by one of the men. Complaining of this miserable outfit, the gallant captain assured them they needed no arms at all, but these would do to show and scare the Indians as well as good guns. But to make sure of more efficient defense in case of an attack, the men carried off the signal gun from the ship which was about a four-pound cannon.

“Soon after the men were landed the Indians gathered around and by signs warned them to leave. This intimation [sic] of danger proved their salvation, for they at once set about making ready for an attack. The old cannon was dragged up the sloping end of an immense rock rising out of the edge of the ocean. And upon this rock the men took their outfit of food and blankets, loaded the old cannon with powder and slugs of lead and awaited the attack they felt was coming. As soon as the ship sailed the Indians again ordered the men to leave. There was now no chance to leave.

“The next morning, June 10, 1851, the great rock was surrounded on the land side with a hundred yelling Indians. Their chief made a loud speech to his warriors, after which with a chorus of yells fifty Indians made a rush for the rock and the balance of them filled the air with arrows aimed at the nine white men. The rock is so shaped that before the Indians could reach the white men they would have to crowd upon and along a narrow space for thirty feet. The old cannon had been trained to sweep that approach, and as the first Indian reached the muzzle of the cannon, and the narrow approach was crowded with yelling Indians, Captain Kirkpatrick applied the match and thirty Indians were hurled into eternity in the twinkling of an eye. Besides the outright killing of half the attacking party, the balance of the Indians on the rock were so shocked by the loud explosion that they tumbled off into the ocean or rolled down the sides in deadly terror. This terrific repulse sent the whole band remaining alive or unmangled back to their camp in wailing. And that night the defenders packed their pockets and knapsacks with food and set out in the night on foot to reach the white settlements in Umpqua valley more than a hundred miles distant; and finally after incredible hardships in hiding from the pursuing Indians, wading streams, sleeping on the ground in wet clothing and living on snails and wild berries they all safely reached the houses of white men. The great rock has ever since gone by the name of Battle Rock…” (Gaston, Joseph. The Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1911, Vol. 1. 1912, pp. 396-398.)

Hamell.net: “Battle Rock is one of the most well documented conflicts in Oregon history. Two of the major participants wrote diaries and newspaper articles about it, plus submitted articles to the Oregon Historical Society Quarterly Magazine in 1902.

“In June of 1851, 9 men were landed at what is now known as Port Orford, Oregon. Their goal was to plat the town of Port Orford as a supply depot between the California Gold Fields and Portland. Armed with only a few ancient and not reliable muskets, plus the ship’s four inch cannon that they demanded at the very last moment, these men suddenly found that the previously friendly Indians had turned hostile when their passage out steamed away.

“Finding themselves outnumbered 40 to 9, they camped on a rock part way in the ocean. The cannon was pointed down the only accessible path up the rock and they proceeded to attempt to hold off the Indians. The next morning about 60 Indians including a Chief started climbing up the rock into the camp. The Chief attempted to wrestle a musket out of the hands of one of the men and was clubbed over the head for it. A volley of arrows fired over the camp and J.M. Fitzpatrick fired the canon into the crowd. After the fifteen minute battle, 13 Indians were dead on the ground, four of the party were wounded. Later accounts say that there were 20 dead and 15 wounded Indians.

“The Indians kept firing muskets at the party camped on the rock, but never hit anything. That afternoon another Chief came and asked to remove the dead. They informed him that they would be gone in 14 days (when the ship was scheduled to come back). At that point the Indians left them alone.

“Unfortunately, urgent repairs to the ship delayed it’s sailing from San Francisco on time, so on the fifteenth day the Indians attacked again, this time in much greater numbers. The attack was repelled and the Indians would not attack again, instead firing arrows towards the rock which fell short. At this point the party on the rock was running short of ammunition.

“Luckily, a large group of the Indians set up a camp to the south of the rock near a creek. A small party remained to watch the rock. Those on the rock started building up fortifications in preparation for another attack. Satisfied that they were not leaving, the remaining Indians joined the rest of their party at the creek. Using this opportunity those on the rock managed to get into the woods undetected. As most of their ammo and food was gone they subsisted on salmonberries and a few roots. After four days of being followed and tracked by the hostile Indians, they managed to get a friendly tribe of Coos Indians to ferry them across the river by trading their shirts for passage. J.M. Fitzpatrick carried one of his comrades most of the way, despite demands to be left so the rest could get away. After eight days of constantly traveling through the woods with little to eat, and 4 wounded men to care for, the party managed to make their way to Umpqua City on the Umpqua River.

A second party of 67 men was put together with enough supplies to last four months. These men built two blockhouses and managed to later create the city of Port Orford. Another similar incident happened several months later. This was also a party of 9. Five of those were of the first party. But this time they only had to run for two and a half days. These two battles signify the start of the Rouge Indian Wars which lasted from 1851 to 1856.” (Hamell.net. The Seven Toughest Men in Oregon History, Part 5, Survivors of Battle Rock.)

Michno: “June 10, 1851 Battle Rock (Port Orford, Oregon)

“Capt. William Tichenor sailed his steamer Sea Gull to the southern Oregon coast, hoping to establish a town. He dropped of nine men, supplies, and a cannon to start the fledgling burg, which would later become Port Orford. Tichenor departed promising to bring more men in two weeks. The Quatomah band of Rogue River Indians, however, did not appreciate the intrusion and menaced the new colonists. The newcomers pulled back to a rocky promontory between the ocean and the tidal flats and prepared a defense.

“The Indians held a war dance and advanced on the position with about 100 warriors. The colonists’ leader, J.M. Kirkpatrick, directed the firing of the cannon, the defenders fought tenaciously. With only 2 of their own wounded, they killed 17 Rogues, and wounded 10 more. The Indians retreated, but kept the whites under siege for two weeks. When Tichenor did not return on the promised date, the stranded colonists abandoned their rock and fled north, eventually finding safety among the friendly Indians at Coos Bay.” (Michno, Gregory F. Encyclopedia of Indian Wars: Western Battles and Skirmishes, 1850-1890. Missoula, MT: MP Mountain Press, 2003, p. 12.)

Schwartz: “According to the nineteenth-century Oregon historian Frances Fuller Victor, the operators of the Pacific Mail steamship line decided in 1851 that they wanted an Oregon port nearer to San Francisco than Astoria, on the Columbia River. So the company hired William Tichenor, a thirty-six-year-old New Jersey-born miner turned sea captain, to establish a settlement at a place to be called Port Orford, twenty-eight miles north of the mouth of the Rogue River. Tichenor and four other men, among them craggy-faced, forty-five-year-old William G. T’Vault, who seven years before had been the first editor of Oregon’s first newspaper, the Spectator, would be the proprietors of Port Orford.

“There are two distinctly different versions of what happened next. According to the story told by J. M. Kirkpatrick, who described himself as captain of the landing party, the inhabitants of the country who observed Tichenor’s initial landing on June 9 of nine men and a four-pound cannon were somewhat friendly and seemed to want to trade, but their attitude changed after the steamer left. Then, Kirkpatrick said, the Indians ‘grew saucy and ordered us off.’ The would-be colonizers planted themselves on ‘a small island or rock’ and the next morning repulsed about forty Indians, killing half of them. In the afternoon, a leader of the Indians came to have a conference, and Kirkpatrick supposed that he had communicated by signs that his party would leave in fourteen days.

“No one came to take them away, however, and on the morning of the fifteenth day, according to Kirkpatrick, the Indians attacked again. But after an ineffectual exchange of shots and arrows at three hundred yards, the Indians went away. The would-be colonizers decided the time had come to escape from their perch on what would become known as Battle Rock.

“The nine Americans walked for two days and nights to what Kirkpatrick told the readers of the Statesman was the mouth of the Rogue River but probably was the Coquille; the fugitives were going north toward the Coquille, not south toward the Rogue. After five more days they reached the mouth of the Coos River, where, Kirkpatrick said, they found friendly Indians who gave them food. But to get these Indians to ferry them across the mouth of the river, he said, ‘we had to give them the shirts off our backs.’

“Kirkpatrick had mistaken the Coos for the Umpqua River, which is about twenty miles north of the Coos, and spent a futile day on a twenty-mile hike looking for two newly established white towns on the Umpqua. On the following day, the eighth day after they had fled from Port Orford, Kirkpatrick and his men finally reached the white settlements on the Umpqua.

“The alternative to Kirkpatrick’s story was written by Anson Dart, who was superintendent of Indian affairs for Oregon in 1851. Dart did not write his somewhat garbled account until more than twenty years after the Port Orford fight. It was published in the San Francisco Chronicle during the Modoc War in northern California when that paper was taking a position sympathetic to Indian people. Dart said he went to Port Orford (which he misplaced about twenty miles north of the California border) aboard the steamer Sea Gull about two weeks after learning of what had been represented to him as the massacre of a white settlement. ‘The first fact that I learned was, instead of an Indian massacre of a white settlement, it was an atrocious massacre of peaceable and friendly Indians,’ he said.

“The landing party had included about sixty Californians. Eight men were sent immediately to look for a route into the Rogue River country. About thirty Indians came down to the shore and helped unload the boat that had brought the landing party. Dart said the whites brought ashore two brass six-pound cannon, ‘one of which, with the assistance of the Indians, was taken to the top of a large rock, standing three sides in the water. The only approach to it was a narrow way from the land side.’

“The cannon was pointed down the narrow path, and the Indians were told ‘a little before dark’ to go to the rock to get their pay. ‘When all the Indians were on the narrow way,’ Dart said, ‘the piece of cannon was discharged by one of the parties who came up on the schooner.’ Twenty-two Indians were killed, and the rest escaped by jumping into the ocean. The next morning ‘more than two hundred Indians, all painted for war, appeared in the vicinity and exhibited unmistakable signs of hostility.’ The Californians ‘hastened on board of the schooner and put out to sea, leaving the eight men of the exploring party to take care of themselves.’

“Dart went on to confuse the trek made by Kirkpatrick and his comrades with an expedition led by T’Vault from the interior later in the year. Garbled though his account was, he was clear about the heart of the matter concerning the ‘battle’ of what would soon be known as Battle Rock; the cause was not an Indian effort to drive off the foreigners, as Dart saw it, but rather a deliberate and unprovoked attack by the foreigners.

“Kirkpatrick’s own description of Captain Tichenor’s attitude toward the Indian peoples supports the Dart version. When Tichenor recruited him in Portland, Kirkpatrick said, ‘He told me that there was not a particle of danger from the Indians, that he had been ashore among them many times and they were perfectly friendly.’ When Kirkpatrick asked for arms for defense against them, Tichenor insisted again that there was no danger and gave the men only three flintlock muskets and a rusty sword. Kirkpatrick and some of his men had brought their own weapons, however; Kirkpatrick had an army-issue rifle bought at the last minute that ‘proved to be a magnificent shooting gun,’ plus a pair of derringers.

“When they landed on the beach at Port Orford, Kirkpatrick said, the few Indians in sight appeared friendly. Nonetheless, Kirkpatrick told Tichenor that he ‘did not like the looks of things at all and those Indians meant mischief.’ Kirkpatrick asked Tichenor for the cannon on the Sea Gull. ‘He laughed at us at first for wanting it, but when we told him we wouldn’t stay without it he studied at bit and then said all right he would send it ashore’.” (Schwartz, E. A. The Rogue River Indian War and its Aftermath, 1850–1980. 1997, p. 35.)

Smith: “The Battle of Battle Rock – Oregon 1851 Which took place in the edge of the Pacific Ocean in 1851, and where nine men with four old muskets and an old signal gun repulsed an attack of 150 Indians, killing 23 of them and getting away with their lives.” (Smith, R. Gess. A Place Called Oregon (website). “The Battle of Battle Rock – Oregon 1851.)

Sources

BattleRockPark.com. “Battle Rock Park.” Accessed 10-18-2012 at: http://battlerockpark.com/

Enjoyportorford.com. “Battle Rock Park.” Accessed 7-1-2021 at: https://www.enjoyportorford.com/battlerockpark.html

Gaston, Joseph. The Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1911, Vol. 1. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1912. Google digitized; accessed 7-1-2021 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=uWUUAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Gibbs, Jim. Oregon’s Salty Coast. Seattle: Superior Publishing Co., 1978.

Hamell.net. The Seven Toughest Men in Oregon History, Part 5, Survivors of Battle Rock. Accessed 10-18-2012 at: http://www.hamell.net/tag/massacre/

Kirkpatrick, J.M. “Correspondence of the Statesman.” Oregon Statesman, Oregon City, 7-15-1851, p. 2. Accessed 7-1-2021 at: https://truwe.sohs.org/files/battlerock.html

Lewis, Dr. David G. “Battle Rock the First Colonization on the Southern Oregon Coast.” Quartux (Journal of Critical indigenous Anthropology). 3-16-2019. Accessed 7-1-2021 at: https://ndnhistoryresearch.com/2019/03/16/battle-rock-the-first-colonization-on-the-southern-oregon-coast/

Michno, Gregory F. Encyclopedia of Indian Wars: Western Battles and Skirmishes, 1850-1890. Missoula, MT: MP Mountain Press, 2003. Partially Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=MmNtF5n-VuEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

News-Review, Roseburg, OR. “Survivors of Indian Battle at Port Orford…”1-7-1951. Accessed 7-1-2021 at: http://www.douglascountyhistoricalsociety.org/2011/01/06/the-battle-of-battle-rock-1851-oregon/

Schwartz, E. A. The Rogue River Indian War and its Aftermath, 1850–1980. Norman and London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997. Partially Google digitized. Accessed 9-7-2012 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=OZwAnfQj62cC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Smith, R. Gess. A Place Called Oregon (website). “The Battle of Battle Rock – Oregon 1851. Accessed 10-18-2012 (website no longer operational)

–30-~40 Blanchard estimated death toll.*

–40->60 Bragg. Historic Names…Places on…Lower Miss. Riv. “Kentucky Bend,” 1977, p. 137.
— ~40 Daily Morning Press, Pittsburgh. “Burning of the Steamer Webster.” 5-5-1851, p. 3.
— 40 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994…Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, p. 482.
— 30-40 Daily Constitutionalist, August, GA. “Burning of a Steamer.” 5-8-1851, p. 6.
— ~30 Port Gibson Herald, MS. “Steamer Webster Burned.” 5-9-1851, p. 3.

* Blanchard estimated death toll. All of the sources we cite, other than the Port Gibson Herald (30) note 40 deaths, or about 40 deaths or 30-40 deaths or 40-60 deaths. In that we have seen very little reporting noting specific fatalities, we cannot identify a definitive death toll. Thus we choose to employ a range of 30 to about 40. We have seen no reporting of a death toll below thirty. The only source we have seen noting more than forty deaths is Bragg, who showed a range of 40 to about 60 deaths. Again, since we have been able to identity from sources only a small number of specific deaths, we do not think it appropriate to go beyond about 40 deaths in our estimated death toll.

Narrative Information

Bragg: “Kentucky Bend. Mile 518.0 AHP, Map 28….On May 2, 1851, there was a tragedy…at the head of Kentucky Bend, when the Cincinnati steamer Webster suddenly burst into flames. The fire spread so rapidly that panic struck both passengers and crew, and the boat was not run to the shore.

“J.A. Frazier of New York, a passenger on the ill-fated boat, gave a Vicksburg newspaper this graphic eyewitness account of the horrifying disaster.

‘Not one minute, seemingly, elapsed between the alarm ere the flames, beaten up by the wind, clung to and enveloped the whole boat. Some of those who escaped had to cling for hours to a snag—among them the writer of this account—with, unfortunately, no power to render assistance and doomed to be sad spectators to the terrible scent. Gracefully the burning boat, now completely on her own course, bore away with her the load of agitated victims, the flames bursting from her in every part, and through which, with a despairing scream, passenger after passenger plunged or was precipitated into the river.’

“Estimates of the number of deaths varied from 40 to ‘more than 60.’ The boat’s papers and cargo, as well as money and luggage belonging to the passengers, were all lost. Islands No. 86 and No. 87 were originally in Kentucky Bend, but both have retreated several miles inland and are now a part of the State of Arkansas.” (Bragg. Historic Names…Places on…Lower Miss. Riv. “Kentucky Bend,” 1977, p. 137.)

Way: “Webster…Cincinnati, Oh., 1848 [built]. 324 tons…Four boilers…Built to pass through the canal locks at Louisville. Burned in the head of Island 86, Mississippi River, about 4:00 p.m., May 2, 1851. Life loss was set at 40 persons, including her master, Capt. Sam Reno, whose body was located almost 100 miles below some days later. The large life loss was attributed to the burning boat having left the shore, floating out into midstream, after having been landed. The wreck was raised and returned to Cincinnati along in June, but was scrapped, including machinery.” (Way. Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, p. 482.)

Newspaper

May 3: “Vicksburg, May 3. The steame4r Webster, Capt. Samuel Reno, took fire yesterday afternoon, May 2nd, and was burned to the water’s edge, at the head of Island 86, 110 miles above Vicksburg. The fire was first discovered and the alarm given about 3 o’clock, and almost instantly the boat was enveloped in flames. – The Pilot, Mr. Ruckman (to whom much credit is due, having charge of the wheel, immediately endeavored to run the boat ashore, in which he partly succeeded, until the flames finally drove him from his post, and the boat becoming unmanageable, floated again – thus depriving the passengers and crew from their first and last hope of safety.

“A the first alarm, a scene ensued which it is impossible to describe, mingled, as it was, with the burning boat, from which the flames issued in all directions – it became terrible in the extreme – many rushed into the flames, while others crowded by the side of the boat, clinging convulsively to it till driven away by the fire, when they finally threw themselves into the current. It was with difficulty that the females were saved – many of them being separated from their husbands and friends.

“About 12 or 15 of the passengers jumped from the boat, and, with difficulty, saved their lives by clinging to the snags, until relieved by the yawl and skiffs from shore.

“As soon as the fearful truth was known by the inhabitants on shore, 3 or 4 boats were quickly rowed to the scene, and they succeeded in saving the lives of several persons who were clinging to the boat and snags. They were taken on board the store boat Grey Eagle, Capt. J. L. Case, who did all that could be done to afford an asylum to the few women and children who were saved. The number of passengers and hands was about 100; of whom only about 60 can be found – the rest are supposed to have perished with the boat.

“The steamer New Orleans, from St. Louis, bound for New Orleans, hove in sight about an hour after the accident occurred, and stopped, and most kindly took on board all the surviving, and rendered all the assistance that could be wished for.

“The following are the killed and missing: Capt. Saml. Reno and wife; Mr. Henry Harrison and child; the wife of the Pilot; one child of Ruckman; George Bliss, chief Clerk; Jno. Campbell, 2nd Clerk; a child of Mr. Robwin of New Orleans; Mary Buckner; a colored chambermaid, name unknown; colored barkeeper, from Cincinnati; J. McCarty, Lynchburg; and a girl belonging to Mr. Marty. Several others are missing, whose names are unknown.

“The boat’s papers and money, are all lost. The above is a true statement as given us by the crew and passengers saved.” (Daily Morning Press, Pittsburgh. “Burning of the Steamer Webster.” 5-5-1851, p. 3.)

May 5: “New Orleans, May 5….The steamer Webster has buried over forty of the missing, including the captain, his wife, and child; also, both clerks, and the pilot’s wife and child.” (Madison Dollar Weekly Courier, IN. “From New Orleans.” 5-7-1851, p. 3.)

Sources

Bragg, Marion. Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River. Vicksburg, MS: Mississippi River Commission, 1977. Accessed 9-15-2020 at: ftp://ftp.library.noaa.gov/noaa_documents.lib/NOAA_related_docs/US_Army/Mississippi_River_names_1977.pdf

Daily Constitutionalist, August, GA. “Burning of a Steamer.” 5-8-1851, p. 6. Accessed 11-6-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/augusta-daily-constitutionalist-may-08-1851-p-6/

Daily Morning Press, Pittsburgh. “Burning of the Steamer Webster.” 5-5-1851, p. 3. Accessed 11-6-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/pittsburgh-daily-morning-post-may-05-1851-p-3/

Madison Dollar Weekly Courier, IN. “From New Orleans.” 5-7-1851, p. 3. Accessed 11-6-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/madison-dollar-weekly-courier-may-07-1851-p-3/

New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Another Steamboat Accident.” 5-5-1851, p. 2. Accessed 11-6-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-albany-daily-ledger-may-05-1851-p-2/

Port Gibson Herald, MS. “Steamer Webster Burned.” 5-9-1851, p. 3. Accessed 11-6-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/the-port-gibson-herald-and-correspondent-may-09-1851-p-3/

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.

1851 — March 24, boats collide, Lowell sinks, Captina Isl., OH Riv. ~Moundsville WV– 15

— 15 Blanchard on estimated death toll and locale.*

–15-20 Brooklyn Daily Eagle, NY. “Another Terrible Disaster on the Ohio.” 3-27-1851, p.2, c4.
— ~20 Daily Sanduskian, OH . “Dispatches by Telegraph,” March 26, 1851, p. 3.
— 1 First Engineer
— 2 Firemen
–12 Deck hands
–~5 “A large family consisting of a many, wife and a number of children…” Bedford, PA.
— >20 Elyria Courier, Elyria, OH. “Terrible Steamboat Collision.” 4-1-1851, p. 2, col. 2-3.
— 1 First Engineer
— 2 Firemen
–12 Deck hands
–~5 Family consisting of man, “his wife and a number of children,” from Bedford, PA.
— 15 Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA. “Dreadful Steamboat Collision,” March 31, 1851, p. 3.
— 15 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 131.
— 15 Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1856, p. 294.
— 1 First Engineer J. B. McKeon
— 2 Firemen
–12 Family of twelve from Bedford, PA.
— 15 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 235.
— 15 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys.]…1999, 297.

* Blanchard estimated death toll: We choose to rely on the book accounts by Berman, Lloyd, Lytle and Holdcamper, and Way. There was much confusion in newspaper reported concerning how many deck hands and how many Bedford, PA family members died.

On the locale: While Captina Island is indeed downriver from Wheeling, a look at a map (we used Google Maps) shows that upriver of the Island the first sizeable community (at least today), is Moundsville, WV, which is located after the bend in the river which begins at downstream-end at Captina Island and, and after coming out of that bend and through a second to the south, a short distance further upriver. Wheeling is about another eleven miles upriver from Moundsville.

Narrative Information

Berman: “Lowell. St. w. 124 [tons]. 1849 [built]. Mar 24, 1851. Collided. With S. F. Vinton, Captina Island, Wheeling, VA [WV], 15 lives lost.” (Berman 1872, 131)

Lloyd: “Collision Of The Lowell And Vinton. – These steamers came in collision on the Ohio river, just below Wheeling, on the night of the 24th of March, 1851, the Lowell sinking in a few moments. Drowned – J. B. McKeon, first engineer; two firemen, and a family of twelve persons from Bedford, Pa. Mr. D. Evans, carpenter, and part owner of the Lowell, had a very narrow escape from death, being cut out from the deck as the boat was going under.” (Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1856, p. 294.)

Lytle and Holdcamper: “Lowell…124 [tons] collided [footnote: “With S. F. Vinton]…3 24 1851…Captina Island, Wheeling, Va. …15 [lives lost].” (Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1807-1868. 1952, p. 235.)

Way: Lowell. Sternwheel wood-hull packet, built in Brownsville, PA in 1849, at 124 tons, measuring 142x24x4.5. “On Mar. 24, 1851, collided with S. F. Vinton at Captina Island, Ohio River, sand in 30 seconds. Cabin parted from the hull. The crew of the Vinton rescued the survivors. The Messenger No. 2, Capt. took her Cincinnati passengers. Fifteen lives were lost.”

Newspapers

March 24: “Wheeling, March 24.—A fearful collision took place between the steamers Lowell and S. F. Vinton, about 25 miles below Wheeling, which resulted in a terrible destruction of life and property. The Lowell sunk almost immediately, carrying down with her to instant destruction fifteen of those on board, among whom were the chief engineer and a lady with her three children. The whole cargo of the Lowell is a total loss, including the mails, and an iron boat; which she was carrying to its destination. The Vinton escaped uninjured.” (Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA. “Dreadful Steamboat Collision,” March 31, 1851, p. 3.)

March 26: “Pittsburgh, March 26. A gentleman who was present at the collision between the steamboats Lowell and Vinton, says that both boats were heavily loaded, and that the accident took place near Captina Island below Wheeling, at half past ten o’clock at night. It was very dark at the time and the noise of the collision was tremendous. The Vinton being a large boat, some 900 tons. The Lowell sunk in about 30 seconds after the accident, and many of her passengers and crew were forced to escape in their night clothes.—The first engineer, two firemen and 12 deck-hands were drowned. A large family consisting of a man, wife and a number of children, belonging to Bedford Pa., were also among the victims.” (Daily Sanduskian, OH. “Dispatches by Telegraph,” March 26, 1851, p. 3.)

March 27: “Pittsburgh, March 27th. A gentleman who was present at the collision between the steamers Vinton and Lowell says both boats were heavy loaded, and the accident took place near Captoma [sic.] Island below Wheeling at half past ten at night –very dark at the time, and the force of the collision was tremendous.

“The Vinton sunk in about 30 seconds [sic., Lowell sank], and many of the passengers and crew were forced to escape in their night clothes. The 1st engineer, 2 firemen and 12 deck hands were drowned. A man, his wife and a number of children belonging to Bedford, Pa., were also among the victims. The boat was insured for only fifteen thousand dollars.” (Elyria Courier, Elyria, OH. “Terrible Steamboat Collision.” 4-1-1851, p. 2, columns 2-3.)

Sources

Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, PA. “Dreadful Steamboat Collision,” 3-31- 1851, p. 3. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=35099417

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

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, NY. “Another Terrible Disaster on the Ohio.” 3-27-1851, p.2, c.4. Accessed 9-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/brooklyn-daily-eagle-mar-27-1851-p-2/

Daily Sanduskian, OH. “Dispatches by Telegraph” [Steamboat Lowell sunk]. 3-26-1851, p. 3. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=6395049

Elyria Courier, Elyria, OH. “Terrible Steamboat Collision.” 4-1-1851, p. 2, columns 2-3. Accessed 9-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/elyria-courier-apr-01-1851-p-2/

Lloyd, James T. Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. Cincinnati, Ohio: James T. Lloyd & Co., 1856. Digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JlYqAAAAYAAJ

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

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.

–20-21 Blanchard estimated death toll.*

— 70 Democratic Expounder, Marshall, MI. 3-14-1851, p. 2.
— 60 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 184.
— 60 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 682.
— 60 Springer, Adele I. “Principal marine disasters since 1831.” Page 246 in U.S. Congress.
–>40 Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA. “Steamboat Explosion…” 3-10-1851, p. 3, col. 4.
— 23 Daily Sanduskian, OH. “Terrific Steam-Boat Explosion.” 3-12-1851, p. 2.
— 21 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 236.
— 21 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, 357
— 20 Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1856, p. 197.
— 18 Fisher/McCord. “Steamboat Explosions…Fifty-Five Years.” In Scharf 1883, p. 1108.
— 18 Gould, E. W. Fifty Years on the Mississippi… 1889, p. 437.

* Blanchard estimated death toll: We choose to rely on Lloyd for the low-end of our estimated death-toll range in that he provides a listing of twenty fatalities. We rely on Lytle and Holdcamper as well as Way for the high end (21) of the estimated death toll in that both are generally reliable sources. We could not locate newspaper reporting that identified enough victims to enable us to get an impression that the death toll was indeed much higher that 20-21.

Narrative Information

Berman: “Oregon. Mar 2, 1851. Exploded. Mississippi River. 60 lives lost.” (Berman 1972, 184)

Lloyd: “The terrific explosion of the Oregon took place near island No. 82 in the Mississippi river, at one o’clock, P.M., on March 2d, 1851. All the boilers exploded at the same moment, carrying away the forward cabin, and killing, scalding or mutilating about sixty persons. The boat was heavily laden at the time, and carried about one hundred pas¬sengers.

“Dinner was just over, and most of the passengers were in the social hall and on the forward guards. Immediately after the explosion the boat took fire, and burned to the water’s edge. But for the timely as¬sistance of the steamer Iroquois, which was about a mile off when the accident took place, all on board must have perished, as the Oregon was an unmanageable wreck in the middle of the channel. Capt. Lee, of the Iroquois, hastened to the assistance of the Oregon, but was obliged to stop to make some repairs. He succeeded, however, in reaching the Oregon, just as the flames were bursting through the hurricane deck. Men, women and children, almost surrounded by the raging flames, were collected on the after-part of the wreck….

“The captain of the Iroquois ran his boat aft of the Oregon; a communication was then made by placing ladders on the lower deck of the Iroquois and resting against the Oregon’s upper deck; and on these ladders all the people on the wreck who were able to exert themselves, passed on to the Iroquois….

“The cabin servants, who were at dinner, were nearly all killed. Eight…firemen, who were dining in the cabin at the same time, likewise perished. The clerk’s office was entirely blown away, with all’ the .books and papers of the boat. Owing to this circumstance, the names of comparatively few of the passengers who were lost can be ascertained ; and hence the list of killed must be regarded as very in¬complete.” [Provides listing of 20 fatalities.] (Lloyd 1856, 195-197.)

Way: “Oregon. SW p wh b [Sidewheel packet, wood hull, built] New Albany, Ind., 1849. 582 tons. 275x35x8….Owned and commanded by Capt. Ed Montgomery in Louisville-New Orleans trade. She was downbound at Island 82, Mar. 2, 1851, the passengers just finishing noon dinner, when she exploded, took fire, and sank in the channel. The Iroquois was wooding about a mile distant and came to aid, taking dead and wounded to Memphis. Twenty-one lives were lost. Capt. Montgomery was in command.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats… Mississippi River System. 1994, p. 357.)

Newspapers in Chronological Order:

March 4: “New Orleans, March 4. The magnificent steamer Oregon, from Louisville to New Orleans, burst a boiler on Saturday, the 1st instant. The Clerk was killed, the Captain severely injured, and 30 were missing. The boat is supposed to be a total lose.” (Ohio Repository, Canton. “Steamboat Explosion – Loss of Life.” March 12, 1851, p. 3.)

March 7: “Louisville, March 7, P.M. The steamer Oregon, bound hence to New Orleans, when passing through chute at Island 82, in the Mississippi, about one o’clock, P.M., on the 2d inst., burst her boilers….

“The clerk’s office was entirely blown away with all the books and papers of the boat, and George Brown, the first clerk, was in the office at the time, and was killed. The cabin crew were at dinner and were all killed except the steward. Eight white firemen were also killed, but it is impossible to give a correct list of the number or the names of those lost, the books being gone….

“The Bulletin came up soon after the occurrence, and undertook to extinguish the flames with her engine, but did not succeed.

“Mr. Williams and other passengers on the Bulletin, rendered great assistance, and remained on board the Iroquois until she reached Memphis, where the wounded were taken to the hospital. It is said that the cabin floor of the Iroquois was covered by persons blackened, bruised and literally skinned, many of whom were in the agonies of death, eleven of whom died before the boat reached Memphis.” (Daily Sanduskian, OH. “Terrific Steam-Boat Explosion – Great Loss of Life – Full Particulars.” Mar 12, 1851, p. 2)

March 7: “Louisville, March 7, 1851. The Courier Extra says the steamer Oregon bound down from Louisville to New Orleans, when passing through the chute of Island 82, about 1 o’clock P.M., on the 2d inst., burst her boilers with a tremendous report, carrying away the forward cabin and upper deck, killing and scalding at least 60 persons. She was heavily laden and had on board from 80 to 100 passengers. The passengers had just finished dinner, and were generally collected in the hall and forward guard, at the time of the explosion. She took fire immediately after and burnt to the water’s edge; and, being in the channel of the river, and under full headway at the time, would have consumed all on board, but for the assistance of the steamer Iroquois…

“Upon seeing the explosion, Captain Lee of the Iroquois, gave orders to go to their relief, which was delayed but a few minutes, by the cylinder head being off – with one of her engines she was along-side in a few moments. The Iroquois then in an instant reached the Oregon, as the flames burst through the hurricane roof – men, women and children were collected together on the after part of the boat, without means of getting away, but by jumping into the river – the flames surrounding them, and the steps carried away by the explosion.

“The shrieks of women, and frenzy of men, ready to leap overboard into the river to escape a more horrible death by fire, and groans of children dying, together with piteous lowing of cattle, was a scene calculated to arouse the deepest feeling of our nature. Captain Lee ordered the Iroquois to run her bow aft of the Oregon; and ladders being placed from the upper deck of the Oregon to the lower deck of the Iroquois, all on board that were able to walk, were taken on board; but with the greatest danger of the Iroquois taking fire. Captain Montgomery was the last man to leave the wreck, which he did just as the Iroquois was backing away….” (Zanesville Courier, OH. “Further Particulars of the Oregon,” March 7, 1851, p. 2, col. 4.)

March 9: “New Orleans, March 9. The loss of life on the Oregon is greater than was supposed; 70 persons at least missing and probably lost.” (Democratic Expounder, Marshall MI. 3-14-1851.)

March 10: “The steamer Oregon exploded her boiler on Monday last, near New Orleans, and was afterwards totally destroyed by fire. Above Forty persons lost their lives by this calamity, some by being injured by the explosion, others by burning, and others jumped overboard and were drowned….It is supposed they were mostly emigrants.” (Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA. “Steamboat Explosion…” March 10, 1851, 4, col. 4.)

March 19: “.…about sixty persons killed and wounded….The wreck now lied in deep water, near the ill-fated John Adams. The loss of life, as yet, has not been correctly ascertained. The steamer Iroquois received twenty-five of the wounded on board, eleven of whom died before reaching Memphis. The Oregon was owned and commanded by Capt. Edward Montgomery, upon whom the loss falls heavily. She was nearly a new boat; and had gained a good reputation in the Louisville and New Orleans trade.” (Weekly Wisconsin. Milwaukee. “Full Particulars of the Oregon Explosion,” Mar 19, 1851, 7.)

Sources

Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, PA. “Steamboat Explosion and Great Loss of Life.” 3-10-1851, p. 3, col. 4. Accessed 10-12-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/gettysburg-adams-sentinel-mar-10-1851-p-3/

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

Daily Sanduskian, OH. “Terrific Steam-Boat Explosion – Great Loss of Life – Full Particulars.” 12 Mar 1851, 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=6393239

Democratic Expounder, Marshall, MI. [Steamboat Oregon Boiler Explosion]. 3-14-1851, p. 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=120360025

Fisher, Captain S.L., and Captain James McCord. “Steamboat Explosions for Fifty-Five Years.” In Scharf, J. Thomas. History of Saint Louis City and County, From the Earliest Periods to the Present Day: Including Biographical Sketches of Representative Men. In Two Volumes, Illustrated. Volume II (Chapter XXVII. Navigation on the Mississippi River). Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts & Co., 1883. Digitized by Northern Illinois University, NU Libraries Digitization Projects at: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.4487:4.lincoln

Gould, E. W. Fifty Years on the Mississippi; or, Gould’s History of River Navigation. St. Louis: Nixon-Jones Printing Co., 1889, 750 pages. Digitized by Google. Accessed 2008 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=udyywXOVBvsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Lloyd, James T. Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. Cincinnati, Ohio: James T. Lloyd & Co., 1856. Digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JlYqAAAAYAAJ

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

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.

Ohio Repository, Canton, OH. “Steamboat Explosion – Loss of Life.” March 12, 1851, p. 3. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=3962536

United States Congress, House of Representatives. Hearings Before the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, United States Congress (74th Congress, 1st Session). “Safety of Life and Property at Sea.” Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1935. Accessed 8-9-2020 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Safety_of_Life_and_Property_at_Sea/l9xH_9sUuVAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq

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.

Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “Full Particulars of the Oregon Explosion,” March 19, 1851, p. 7. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=120024548

Zanesville Courier, OH. “Further Particulars of the Oregon,” March 7, 1851, p. 2, col. 4. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=13916302

— 20 Blanchard estimated death-toll.*

–20-22. Missouri Whig, Palmyra, MO. “Steamboat Explosion.” 2-27-1851, p. 2, col. 3.
— 21 Lloyd. Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1856, p. 294.
— 20 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 289.
— 20 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 232.
— 20 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 682.
— 20 Steamboat Times. “St. Louis.”
— >20 Warrick Democrat, Newburgh, IN. “Another Dreadful Explosion.” 3-4-1851, p. 2, c. 5.
— 20 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys.]. 1994, 412.

* Blanchard estimated death-toll. While we note two sources which report 21 or possibly 22 fatalities, we choose to rely on the range of sources reporting twenty deaths. Our attempt to create a compilation of fatalities identified in the sources we cite, shows 23 deaths, this is only by the inclusion of seven unrecovered and unidentified drowning victims. We do not view this as reliable.

Narrative Information

Lloyd: “St. Louis. – The ferry boat St. Louis exploded her boilers at St. Louis, March 23 [sic], 1851, killing [we break paragraph out into separate lines]

Wm. W. Benson, first engineer;
Paul Trundley, second do. [ditto – (engineer)]
Alex. McKean, pilot;
Sebastian Smith, fireman;
John W. James, aged about sixteen years;
a daughter of Mr. Louis Jarvis, aged fifteen years;
Albert Wells,
Ernest Augustus Smidt,
Isaac Coop;
Meriwether S. Smith;
a boy, name unknown;
Dr. Truitt, Illinoistown;
an Irish boy, name unknown;
a young man named Robert Hardin or Harding, whose body was blown about one
hundred yards on the levee.
And seven others drowned –

“sixteen badly wounded.” (Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1856, p. 294.)

Steamboat Times: “St. Louis. Built: 1847, New Albany, Indiana
“Type: Sidewheel, wooden hull.
“Size: 210 tons…

“The St. Louis exploded her boilers on February 20, 1851, at St. Louis, with the loss of 20 lives.”
(Steamboat Times. “St. Louis.”)

Way: “St. Louis. SW ferry wh [Sidewheel Ferry, Wooden Hull] b [built] 1847, 210 tons. Exploded boilers at St. Louis, Feb 20, 1851, with loss of 20 lives.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, p. 412.)

Newspaper

Feb 24: “The St. Louis Intelligencer of the 24th, contains a detailed account of the recent terrible disaster at St. Louis, caused by an explosion of the larboard boiler of the ferry boat St. Louis. We extract from that paper the following (abridged) account of the occurrence: The boat, the St. Louis, was on the point of leaving the landing when the explosion took place, making a perfect wreck. Wm. W. Benson and three others were found dead near the levee. Seven persons were stretched upon the lower deck, five of whom were dead, and two expiring. Of thirty persons on board at the time, only eight or ten escaped with life. Several bodies were known to have been blown over board. The pilot house was blown high into the air, and the pilot to the height of one hundred and fifty feet, and falling on the levee, lived but a short time. Pieces of the boiler were picked up at a distance of several hundred yards. Of the several persons seen floating in the river, not one was picked up. Of the four females on board, one is missing, probably blown overboard. Of the several bodies on the boat, but one was recognized. But three or four of the dead were scalded, their injuries principally resulting from the flying fragments.

“We regret to find among the names of the killed, that of Alfred Wells, a very promising youth, and son of Mr. Claiborne Wells, of this county. His remains were brought to this place on Tuesday last for interment.” (Missouri Whig, Palmyra. “Steamboat Explosion.” 2-27-1851, p. 2, col. 3.)

Listing of Fatalities from Sources Noted Herein

1. Benson, William, W. 1st engineer. (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
2. Coop, Isaac (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
3. Hardin or Harding, Robert (young man blown onto levee) (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
4. James, John Walter. 14-16 years old. (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
5. Jarvis, daughter of Louis Jarvis, aged fifteen years (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
6. McGlaughlin (young man) New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Explosion of…St. Louis.”
7. McKean, Alexander pilot (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
8. Smidt, Ernest Augustus (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
9. Smith, Meriwether S. (Skelton; “youth”) (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
10. Smith, Sebastian fireman (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
11. Thompson, Godfrey young son of Wm. W. Thompson; afterwards from injuries.
12. Truitt, Dr. William H. Illinoistown (Lloyd / New Albany Ledger)
13. Trundley, Paul. 2nd engineer (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
14. Wells, Albert (employed by O. D. Filley) (Lloyd / Warrick Democrat)
15. Unidentified boy (or young man from interior of Illinois) (Lloyd)
16. Unidentified Irish boy (named William) (Lloyd)
17. Unnamed person drowned, 1 of 7 (Lloyd)
18. Unnamed person drowned, 2 of 7 (Lloyd)
19. Unnamed person drowned, 3 of 7 (Lloyd)
20. Unnamed person drowned, 4 of 7 (Lloyd)
21. Unnamed person drowned, 5 of 7 (Lloyd)
22. Unnamed person drowned, 6 of 7 (Lloyd)
23. Unnamed person drowned, 7 of 7 (Lloyd)
“Unknown boy, supposed to be one named John, who sells fish in the market.” [St. Louis]

Sources

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

Iowa State Gazette, Burlington. “Dreadful Calamity at St. Louis, February 23d [sic].” 3-5-1851, p. 2, col. 1. Accessed 10-25-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/burlington-iowa-state-gazette-mar-05-1851-p-2/

Lloyd, James T. Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. Cincinnati, Ohio: James T. Lloyd & Co., 1856. Digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JlYqAAAAYAAJ

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

Missouri Whig, Palmyra, MO. “Steamboat Explosion.” 2-27-1851, p. 2, col. 3. Accessed 10-25-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/palmyra-missouri-whig-feb-27-1851-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 Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Explosion of the Steam Ferry boat St. Louis.” 3-3-1851, p. 2, col. 3. Accessed 10-25-2020: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-albany-daily-ledger-mar-03-1851-p-2/

Steamboat Times. “St. Louis.” Accessed 4-3-2011 at: http://steamboattimes.com/steamboats_1811~61_p4.html

Warrick Democrat, Newburgh, IN. “Another Dreadful Explosion.” 3-4-1851, p. 2, col. 5. Accessed 10-25-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/newburgh-warrick-democrat-mar-04-1851-p-2/

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.

–~30 Blanchard*

— 34 Adams Sentinel…General Advertiser, Gettysburg, PA. “A Terrible Scene.” 3-24-1851, p7.
— 30 Adams County, MS Genealogical & Historical Research. “Natchez, Adams County, MS.”
— 30 Bragg. Historic Names…Places…Lower Miss. R. “Bayou Goula Landing, LA,” 1977, 217.
— 30 Burlington Hawk-Eye (IA). “Lightning Despatches,” Feb 13, 1851, p. 4, col. 7.
— 30 Hunter and Hunter. Steamboats on the Western Rivers. 1994, 276.
— 30 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 682.
–~30 Ruskey. Rivergator. The Lower Mississippi River Water Trail. “Baton Rouge to New Orleans.”
— 10 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 157.

*Blanchard. We choose to use “approximately” 30 as the death toll, given the number of sources noting 30 or approximately 30 lives lost. Perhaps there were thirty-four deaths, but in that we have one far-removed newspaper source noting thirty-four deaths, we choose not to use. We choose not to use Berman’s 10 deaths in a range in that his number differs so much from all other sources reviewed.

Narrative Information

Bragg: “Bayou Goula Landing, Louisiana. Mile 195.6 AHP…. In 1851 a steamboat collision in Bayou Goula Bend attracted wide attention. Both of the boats involved were well-known steamers. The accident occurred when the steamer Autocrat, northbound in the bend, met the steamer Magnolia, southbound at Bayou Goula.

“The rules for passing were perfectly clear, and when steamboat pilots followed them…, boats could pass even in a fog without danger. On this February morning in 1851, there was no fog. The pilots exchanged signals, and the two boats came together with a resounding crash.

“On board the Magnolia, which had suffered no great damage from the collision, ladies screamed and ran about the decks in panic. On board the Autocrat, which was sinking rapidly, the passengers were too busy to cry out. Forty or fifty men jumped overboard. The ladies scrambled to the highest part of the sinking boat and waited nervously for rescue. The wind was high, and when the Magnolia came alongside the sinking vessel to offer assistance, the wind caught the two boats and banged them together again.

“The crew of the Magnolia persisted, and all the people who had stayed on board the damaged Autocrat were saved. About 15 of the people who had jumped overboard were picked up, but it was estimated that 30 and drowned.” (Bragg. Historic Names…Places…Lower Miss. R. “Bayou Goula Landing, LA,” 1977, 217.)

Ruskey: “195.6 RBD Bayou Goula Landing….In 1851 a steamboat collision in Bayou Goula Bend attracted wide attention. Both of the boats involved were well-known steamers. The accident occurred when the steamer Autocrat, northbound in the bend, met the steamer Magnolia, southbound at Bayou Goula…. On board the Magnolia, which had suffered no great damage from the collision, ladies screamed and ran about the decks in panic. On board the Autocrat, which was sinking rapidly, the passengers were too busy to cry out. Forty or fifty men jumped overboard. The ladies scrambled to the highest part of the sinking boat and waited nervously for rescue. The wind was high, and when the Magnolia came alongside the sinking vessel to offer assistance, the wind caught the two boats and banged them together again. The crew of the Magnolia persisted, and all the people who had stayed on board the damaged Autocrat were saved. About 15 of the people who had jumped overboard were picked up, but it was estimated that 30 had drowned….” (Ruskey, John. Rivergator. The Lower Mississippi River Water Trail. “Baton Rouge to New Orleans.”)

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana: “In February; 1851, the steamboat Autocrat, (of the largest class,) bound on a voyage up the Mississippi river, had a collision with the steamboat Magnolia, (of the same class,) near Butler’s plantation, in the parish of Iberville, and was sunk, occasioning the death of several persons and the loss of the boat.

“The libel charges that the Magnolia was seen rounding out from Robertson’s wood-yard, on the east bank of the river, and going apparently square across. That the pilot of the Autocrat tapped her alarm bell, to signify her intention to go to the right, and proceeded towards the east bank; and then the Magnolia tapped her bell, signifying her intention also to go towards the east bank, and did so accordingly;—thus the boats were brought into collision, by this unskillful or reckless procedure. The Magnolia answers, that she was rounding out from Robertson’s wood-yard, on the starboard wheel only, and had reached to near the middle of the river, and was nearly stationary, her head pointing down, when the Autocrat, with a full head of steam and with great rapidity, “came upon her”—that the Autocrat left her usual and proper track without any necessity, to come upon the proper track of the Magnolia, and in disregard of the signal bell, which she rang upon the first perception of this movement. This abandonment of the proper track of the Autocrat, and this neglect of the signal bell, are pleaded as the causes of the great calamity.

“The officers of the respective boats who were on duty at the time, have been examined, and to them we are indebted for an account of what took place. I conclude from that testimony, that the collision took place a short distance above Butler’s house, about one hundred miles from New Orleans, and near the middle of the river; that when the Magnolia left Robertson’s Landing the Autocrat was crossing from the head of Bayou Goula bar to the western bank of the river, with the view of prosecuting her voyage along that bank, aiming to come close to it, near Butler’s house, and was, when first seen, nearly two miles from the Magnolia; that when the Magnolia commenced her movement this purpose of the Autocrat was discovered, and that her officers acted upon that conclusion, and that the fact that the Magnolia was a descending boat, was ascertained by those aboard of the Autocrat when she was a mile distant; that the course of the Autocrat was about midway between the west bank and the middle of the stream until the signal bell referred to in the libel was rung, and that her velocity was fully ten miles an hour. In reference to the signal bells, in comparing the different accounts, my conclusion is that the bells were rung almost simultaneously, the Autocrat ringing hers first, but that the signal of the Magnolia was not rung as a reply, but that it was an anxious, convulsive movement, to warn the Autocrat of the imminent risk and peril of the course she was taking, and to admonish her to desist, rather than a response. I cannot understand the evidence of the officers of the Magnolia to bear any other interpretation.

“The pilot of the Autocrat furnishes the following explanation of his conduct:—”They were pretty nearly a mile apart, when he made up his mind she (Magnolia) was a descending boat, from the way she was worked. It was then witness varied his course from the line leading to X, (a point on the map near Butler’s and near the west bank,) and straightened the Autocrat up stream so as to give the descending boat room to pass on the right shore. If witness had not varied his course under this impression, and with the desire to give more room to the Magnolia, but had continued on to the letter X, he thinks the collision would not have taken place, as the Magnolia continued rounding out into the middle of the stream. But if he had gone to letter X, and she had continued down the river and kept the shore, as I supposed she would do, we would most inevitably have come together, and it was to avoid this that I diverted from the course to the letter X.”

“We have here an explanation of the conditions in which the Autocrat was placed, the motives which they originated with her pilot, and the conduct which resulted.

“The testimony proves that the pilot misconceived the design of those who managed the Magnolia. This is shown by his own statement. He says, “up to the time he rang the signal bell he thought the Magnolia was going into the right shore, but perceiving from her bow that she was leaving the bend, or the west bank, I rang the signal bell.” He was also mistaken as to the mode in which the Magnolia was managed, and her rate of speed—for he “judges that both boats were running at the same rate of speed.”

“These misconceptions require me to examine into the condition of the boat in reference to watches and assistance available to the pilot. The captain of the Autocrat was not on duty. The mate who supplied his place “was sitting behind the chimneys,” and was only aroused by the tapping of the bell of the Magnolia. He then came forward, but so little did the pilot profit by his presence, that he testifies the mate went below at this critical moment. There was a watchman in the pilot-house, but he seems to have said nothing. The mate and watchman, however, testify they had observed the Magnolia was moving on one wheel, and the engineer had no doubt, from her movements, that she was a descending boat. The inquiry will arise, whether the Autocrat, “which does not answer her wheel readily,” was sufficiently supplied with efficient and active officers and men at this time. For the present, we will consider the facts contained in the statement I have quoted from this testimony. The course from which the pilot departed was certainly the correct one. He says, “the line witness has marked on the map, terminating at X, he would have run if the river had been entirely clear and he had no boats descending.” That is the usual course for ascending boats of the Autocrat’s size at the then stage of the water.” The pilot, Paris, also of the Autocrat, says: “In running the river at the stage of the water at the time of collision, witness has been in the habit of holding a straight course from the head of Bayou Goula bar to the point above Butler’s house, falling in to the left shore, ascending, about Butler’s house, and this is the usual manner of running the river at that point at low stage of water.”

“These opinions are sustained, and the evidence of the practice supported, by the mass of the pilots who have been examined. This narrows the inquiry to an examination of the causes for the deviation in the circumstances of the particular case.

“The Magnolia had an equal right to pursue her voyage, and was subject to the same conditions as the Autocrat, to adopt the ordinary and reasonable precautions, which skill and experience had ascertained, to avoid disasters. When her officers came to the deck to arrange for their departure from Robertson’s, they were to consider whether the necessary evolution of bringing her out and around, could be performed without crossing the track of the Autocrat, and without awakening a well-grounded apprehension of such a peril. The Autocrat was within sight, and had indicated her character as an ascending vessel. It is a favorable circumstance in the case of the Magnolia, that both her pilots were now on deck, and her movements were conducted at first under the observation of both, and also that the captain was at his place and attentive to his duty.

“No doubt seems to have been felt by either of these experienced men, that they could bring their vessel to its proper place without peril; and the result shows that she performed her circuit and was in the middle of the stream when the collision occurred, and was nearly abreast of the point X, on the west bank, to which the Autocrat had been directed.

“In this connection the statements of the protest of the officers of the Autocrat and of the witnesses, to the place of collision, are important. There is, too, the confession of the pilot, that but for his deviation there would have been no collision.

“Was the movement of the Magnolia proper, and properly performed? It is a fact to be noticed, that neither in the protest, nor in the libel, nor in the testimony of the pilot of the Autocrat, who was on duty, is there any complaint of the departure of the Magnolia from the landing in the manner and at the time it was performed. The attention of the pilot at the wheel was brought directly to the point, and his answers are clear and exculpatory. He says : “Witness would have done as the pilot of the Magnolia did to get her head down stream, from leaving the wood-yard.” He describes the manoeuvre he would have executed, corresponding to that performed by the Magnolia. The pilot, Robb, of the Magnolia, says : “From what I saw of the collision, I believe the Magnolia was managed as well as she could have been. In descending the river at that point, boats keep in the middle of the river; the ascending boat, at that stage, crosses over into the bend, just above Bayou Goula, and runs the right shore for four or five miles. In saying everything was done that was proper, by the Magnolia, to avoid the collision, I say the engine was stopped ready to back, and the boat was in her right place in the middle of the river, and on her right course.”

“The pilot, Duffey, examined for the libellants, says: “The proper course for an ascending boat, at Butler’s, and for a mile above, is close in to the left shore, ascending; at Butler’s, the descending boat should be about the third of the river from the Butler shore, with her head pointing about one hundred yards above Bayou Goula bar.” The pilot, Scott, says: “The descending boat, about Robertson’s wood-yard, ought to be in the middle of the river.” Captain Thomasson, of the Magnolia, says : “The Magnolia was in about the middle of the river at the time of the collision, if anything slightly nearer the Butler shore, just in the position she would have been, as a descending boat, if she had not made a stoppage, except her head was pointing, &c. &c.” The weight of the testimony is, that under ordinary circumstances, the middle of the river is the proper place for the descending boat at this place. But it sometimes happens that the descending boat, for business objects, or to take the bend below, crosses to the western bank, and in the present case a recollection of this influenced the pilot of the Autocrat. The allegation of the libel is, that the Magnolia was apparently going square across the river. The officers of the Magnolia disprove this allegation, and say there was no design to cross the river; that she moved with one engine, her larboard engine being at rest, and that they came around as quickly as possible, “rounding all the time,” and were ready to go ahead when the diverging movement of the Autocrat was discovered, and then orders were given to stop the engines, which were promptly obeyed. The evidence is not clear as to the length of the circuit described by the Magnolia, nor as to the space required for this evolution; but there is reason to conclude that within two-thirds of the distance across the river it could be performed with facility, and was so on this occasion. Without any headway of consequence from the time the Autocrat took the alarm, we find the Magnolia, at the time of the collision, in the middle of the stream—her range to the west of that line could not have been a wide one.

“Before proceeding to the complaint presented in the libel, I will notice the testimony of the pilots examined by the parties, and especially those by the libellants, relative to the management of boats and the customs of the river. I select the testimony of Capt. Swan, with the view of collecting about it the mass of concurring opinion that these depositions afford.

1st. He says: “If a steamboat upon a descending trip were at a wood-yard at night, and another boat should be coming up, and so near that a meeting would take place by the time the descending boat could make her rounding, it would be imprudent for the descending boat to start out or leave the shore.

2d. “That he has frequently rounded out when there was an ascending boat in sight below him, but not when such boat was very near.

3d. “Thinks, if a boat was within a mile of him, of a dark night, it would not be safe to round out.

4th. “If a boat were more than a mile below, there ought not to be more danger from rounding out than from meeting a boat in a dark night.

5th. “If a descending boat was rounding out, and had her head down stream, and a collision were to occur between her and an ascending boat, in a part of the river where the descending boat was in her proper place, and the ascending boat out of her proper place, witness does not think the fact of collision would be evidence of imprudence in the descending boat rounding out.”

“This testimony was given in the direct and cross-examination, and applies to the case I have examined. The witnesses generally lay down the first proposition as it is found in the foregoing statement.

“The imprudence of leaving the shore is ascertained by the test, “whether the boat would cross the line of the ascending boat’s course;” and some of the witnesses used these words, (Allen and Clements.) Duffey says, “she ought not to leave unless she had time to round out, get across the river, and straighten down under headway, before meeting the ascending boat.”

“A number of the witnesses, looking to the facts that the river at this place is wide, straight, and deep, with ample room for either boat to move in her appropriate track, without interference, find no reason for any restriction when a descending boat, under the circumstances, and say there is none in the daily management and conduct of boats. Without declaring any judgment upon this, my opinion is that the Magnolia did not fall under any of the restrictions found in the testimony of this witness, and those who agree with him.

“Upon his re-examination, the same witness (Swan) says, “he thinks it would be more proper in an ascending boat, seeing a descending boat leaving and rounding out from Robertson’s, to make for that shore, and for the descending boat to make for the other shore, and thus a collision would be avoided. This would be proper, no matter what, under ordinary circumstances, was the proper track of an ascending boat.

2d. “But, if he were dropping in to the left bank, ascending, and he were to see a descending boat rounding out from the opposite bank, and so far round that her bow was pointing down in the direction of the ascending boat, but still rounding out, witness’s boat being nearer the left shore than the right, he thinks the proper course for the ascending boat to avoid the collision would be to keep to the left shore.”

“These opinions are received with more hesitation by the body of pilots, and the weight of the opinion is, that the ascending boat would hardly be justified in leaving her appropriate shore, by the single fact of seeing a boat coming out. But if the ascending boat were to promptly pass to the shore left by the other, before the other came round, the chance of collision would probably be avoided.

“With this qualification, the opinion seems unobjectionable.

“The Autocrat did not cross to the shore left by the Magnolia. Her pilot, assuming that the Magnolia designed to cross the river at a point above him, made a provision for that contingency, but made none for the more probable contingency of her descent in the ordinary and usual manner.

“On the contrary, he took the measures which brought about the collision, when the contingency occurred. His testimony is, “the reason he indicated his intention to go to the starboard was, that the Magnolia was at the time closer to the right bank, descending, than the Autocrat was, and he could not go to that shore without crossing her bows. When the Magnolia gave her signal, he does not think she was more than from three to five hundred yards distant. The Magnolia was coming round, when she rung her signal, and so continued until she struck the Autocrat. He did not know whether she was on one wheel or two, but he knows she never stopped.” On his cross-examination he says: “Up to the time he rung the signal bell, he thought the Magnolia was going in to the right shore, (western,) but perceiving from her bow that she was leaving the bend or the right bank, he rung his bell, &c.”

“At this time the Autocrat could not have been more than one-third, or perhaps fourth, of the width of the river from the western bank. The Magnolia was then rounding, and upon a single wheel, with but little headway, and, upon the sight of the Autocrat’s movement, immediately suspended the action of her engine. The course of the Autocrat was direct to the opposite bank, and her velocity was great, yet she encountered the Magnolia in the middle of the stream. The Magnolia could not, within the time, have materially altered her position with respect to the opposite shores. The testimony of the captain, mate, pilots, watchman, steward, and one passenger of the Magnolia, is, that they saw the approach of the Autocrat from the western bank. The pilot says : “When the Magnolia had got nearly round, and when deponent, who was at the wheel, had slacked her up, and was about to go ahead with the larboard engine, he perceived the Autocrat leaving the right bank, and coming towards the Magnolia. Deponent then, instead of going ahead, on the larboard engine, stopped the starboard, and rang both bells to back. The Autocrat was then heading towards the wood-pile we had left, and we were heading down stream. It was not more than a minute after deponent rung the engine bells to back, before the collision took place.” The captain says, “that seeing this movement of the Autocrat, he exclaimed to the pilot to stop the engines and to back the boat, and that he rung the signal bell, and that the second tap of his bell, and the single tap of the bell of the Autocrat, were simultaneous.”

“The statements of these officers are sustained by the evidence of witnesses on their respective boats.

“I do not look for concordance in the statements of witnesses in these cases. Discrepancies must arise, in consequence of the excitement and alarm under which witnesses receive their impressions. Especially must we look with hesitation upon all statements in regard to time and distance, and in this case, the exact solution of the questions of fact materially depend upon evidence in regard to time and distance. This exhibition of the evidence is sufficient to enable me to declare the opinion I have formed upon the whole case.

“I am forced to the conclusion that an important cause which operated to produce this melancholy catastrophe, in which life and property were sacrificed, is that the Autocrat had not on duty a complement of efficient and attentive officers and men at this time. The character of the pilot is good, his testimony in the case is clear and frank, and, with competent aid, seems to have been adequate to the duties of his place. For any practical purpose, he was the only person in charge of the boat. The mate was where he could see nothing—the watchman said nothing—the captain was asleep in his room. The pilot having thus a large boat, running with great speed, not easy of management, commits a series of mistakes which have led to fatal consequences. When he ascertained the Magnolia was a descending boat, he supposed she was moving square across the river. He did not discover that she was moving only on a single engine; and at the last, when she was a sluggish mass, nearly stationary, supposes she was running with the speed of the Autocrat. I cannot but think that if he had obtained the information which an intelligent and responsible officer, stationed in front of the vessel, (10 Howard, 557,) would have given, this calamity might not have taken place. In the important case of the Mellona, 5 Notes of Cases, 450, the Judge of the Admiralty Court says: “With respect to the second proposition, I worded it very carefully, I asked the Masters whether, if there had been a good lookout, there was a possibility that the collision might have been avoided; and the answer was, that such a possibility did exist; and I am of opinion, in point of law, that if there had been previous negligence, in not keeping a good lookout, then that party is responsible for all the consequences which might by possibility have been prevented. If, indeed, a party is to blame, but by no possibility whatever could injurious consequences have resulted from that culpability, then the Court might not hold him responsible; but if a party is to blame in the manner in which it is now satisfactorily established this party was to blame, I hold that he is liable for the consequences, which, by possibility, he might have prevented.” The cases of the Iron Duke, 2 W. Rob. 378, and J Europa, 2 Eng. L. and Eq. 557, are to the same effect.

“The Supreme Court of the United States, 12 Howard S. C. R. 443, employs, in the case of the Genesee Chief, a line of argument and a force of expression which are applicable to the circumstances of this, and the case of St. John vs. Paine, 10 Howard, 557, has an important bearing upon it.

“In the navigation of the Autocrat there were two capital errors, which materially contributed to produce this disaster, and its fatal consequences. This boat was run in a dark night, at great speed, (some rating it as high as twelve and fourteen miles an hour,) at a time when a descending boat was visible, and the pilot at her wheel doubtful of the course she was taking. This pilot, testifying under the belief that the speed of the two boats was alike, says: “If the Magnolia had stopped, the collision would not have taken place.” But the Magnolia was nearly stationary, and it was to the excessive celerity of the Autocrat that we must charge this misadventure, which left no time for prudential calculations, or for measures of evasion or escape.

“It is certainly true, that commerce has greatly profited from the energy and daring that are displayed in the steam navigation of the United States. But the convenience and profit of commercial men must be held subordinate to the security of life and property, and no prospect of commercial advantage can justify or excuse those who employ this great power in exposing incautiously to peril the lives and property confided to them. Under the circumstances, the pilot should have eased his engines or stopped his boat, until he was assured there would be no collision ; 3 W. Rob. 75 ; 2 W. Rob. 202. Nor was the Autocrat justified in attempting to cross the river at the time her signal bell was rang. This maneuver was commenced when the circuitous movement of the Magnolia was apparent, and her direction to the middle of the stream ascertained. The pilot (who seems to have discovered this after the engineer and watchman) then left the ordinary and usual track of vessels of this class, and in doing so, encountered a descending boat at her proper place in the river. There may be circumstances which suspend the rules and usages of navigation, and make a rule for the particular case; but the circumstances must be controlling. A pilot cannot depart from a rule upon a surmise, conjecture, or a speculation on probabilities. He assumes, in every case of a departure, to show a palpable necessity. If this were not so, there could be no confidence in navigation, no assurance to pilotage—perils would be increased, and security correspondingly diminished. The Flint, 6 Notes of Cases, 271; the Gazelle, 5 Notes of Cases, 101; 1 W. Rob. 471.

“The Magnolia, from the time her officers discovered the Autocrat to be an ascending boat, to the time the signal bells were rung, was managed with reference to the fact that the Autocrat had a track defined by the usages of the river navigation, which they were not to encroach upon. That this was not done, is apparent from the evidence already quoted.

“In the circumstances attending the use of the signal bells, which formed the gravamen of the complaint of the libellant, I can find no ground for a decree against the Magnolia. It is probable that the conduct of the officers at the time was injudicious; but conceding that a responsive affirmative of the signal of the Autocrat would have been preferable, in the facts of this case, the responsibility would not have been changed by this failure. The circumstances of peril were then imminent, creating apprehension and confusion of mind. The inquiry must be, whose fault was it that such conditions existed? A party who has involved himself and others in peril, cannot be heard to complain of their want of the clearest judgment in the selection of the modes of extrication.

“Upon a careful examination of the testimony, I do not find the charges of ignorance, recklessness, or neglect of the rules of river navigation, made against the officers of the Magnolia, sustained. By remaining at the landing place, by the free use of signals and other measures of strict caution, which are always praiseworthy, the Magnolia might have avoided the catastrophe. She would thus, by extraordinary care, have been secured against the faults I have exposed in the management of the Autocrat. But it would be unjust to give a sentence of condemnation for her failure to provide for remote and contingent dangers, arising from the errors of those who require the indemnity.

“The importance of this case, the sacrifices of life and property which so often occur in cases of this description, have led me to sift the questions of law and fact, which arise upon the record, and to expound at length the doctrine of the Court applicable to them.

“A firm and impartial enforcement of these doctrines will serve to promote order and security in this vast department of the social economy, and give stability to the interests embraced within it.
Decree of reversal; libel dismissed, with costs.” (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, November 1854, in Admiralty. “Recent American Decisions; The Steamers Magnolia and Autocrat; Shute vs. Goslee; Goslee vs. Shute.” Pages 465-477 in The American Law Register (Vol. III, From November 1854 – To November 1855). Philadelphia: D.B. Canfield & Co., 1855.)

Way: “Autocrat….She was sunk in collision at night with the Magnolia at Bayou Goula, La., Feb 10, 1851. Ten lives were lost….” (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 Edition). 1999, p.34.)

Newspapers

Feb 11, Burlington Hawk-Eye: “New Orleans, Feb 11. The magnificent steamer Autocrat bound from this place to Memphis, with heavy freight and a number of passengers, came in collision with the steamer Magnolia on the 9th inst., the Autocrat sunk immediately, and it is supposed that thirty passengers were lost, including several cabin passengers, belonging to Tennessee….” (Burlington Hawk-Eye (IA). “Lightning Despatches,” Feb 13, 1851, p. 4, col. 7.)

March 24, Adams Sentinel: “A passenger who was on board the Autocrat at the time of the collision with the Magnolia, one hundred miles above New Orleans, has given the Louisiana Courier a brief description of the scene. The collision was at daybreak, weather clear, and the whole wide Mississippi for a channel. All the deck passengers, thirty in number, one engineer, and three cabin passengers were lost….The Autocrat sunk in five minutes, in deep water.” (Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, PA. “A Terrible Scene.” 3-24-1851, p. 7, c.3.)

Sources

Adams County, Mississippi Genealogical and Historical Research. “Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi.” 4-12-2009 at: http://www.natchezbelle.org/adams-ind/silver.htm#accidents

Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser, Gettysburg, PA. “A Terrible Scene.” 3-24-1851, p. 7, col. 3. Accessed 8-8-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/gettysburg-adams-sentinel-mar-24-1851-p-2/

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

Bragg, Marion. Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River. Vicksburg, MS: Mississippi River Commission, 1977. Accessed at: http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/history/MRnames/MissRiverNames.htm > Also at:
http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/Portals/52/docs/MRC/MRnames%28Intro-end_final2%29.pdf

Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. “Lightning Despatches. Telegraphed for the Burlington Hawk-Eye.” 2-13-1851, p. 4, col. 7. Accessed 8-8-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/burlington-hawk-eye-feb-13-1851-p-3/

Hunter, Louis C. and Beatrice J. Steamboats on the Western Rivers: An Economic and Technological History. NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 994, 684 pages.

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

Ruskey, John. Rivergator. The Lower Mississippi River Water Trail. “Baton Rouge to New Orleans.” Accessed 8-8-2020 at: https://www.rivergator.org/river-log/baton-rouge-to-venice/baton-rouge-to-new-orleans.cfm/pg/12/

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, November 1854, in Admiralty. “Recent American Decisions; The Steamers Magnolia and Autocrat; Shute vs. Goslee; Goslee vs. Shute.” Pages 465-477 in The American Law Register (Vol. III, From November 1854 – To November 1855). Philadelphia: D.B. Canfield & Co., 1855. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=ixRLAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

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 Edition). Athens OH: Ohio University Press, 1994-1999.

— 123 Blanchard estimate of loss of life.*

— 140 Daily Crescent, New Orleans. “Disasters on the Western Rivers.” 1-30-1851, p. 2.
–~140 Daily Morning Post, Pittsburgh. “By Telegraph.” 2-4-1851, p. 3.
–~140 Daily Union, Washington, DC. “More of the Steamboat Disaster.” 2-1-1851, p. 3.
— 130 New York Times. “Principal Events of 1851.” Jan 1, 1852.
— 130 Warrick Democrat, Newburgh, IN. “Sinking of the John Adams.” 2-4-1851, p. 2.
— 123 Adams County, MS Genealogical & Historical Research. “Natchez, Adams County, MS.
— 123 Brooklyn Daily Eagle, NY. “The Loss of the Steamer ‘John Adams.’” 2-5-1851, p. 2.
— 123 Childs. A History of the U.S. In Chronological Order From…1492…to…1885. 1886, 134.
— 123 Hunter, Louis C. and Beatrice J. Steamboats on the Western Rivers. 1994, p. 274.
— 123 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 234.
— 123 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 682.
— 123 Simonds. The American Date Book. 1902, p.9.
— 123 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys.]…1999, 249
— 120 Daily Democrat, Madison, WI. Feb 1, 1851, p. 3, col. 4.
–>100 Bragg. Historic Names…Places on…Lower Miss. River. “Ashbrook Cutoff,” 1977, 128.
–>100 Daily Free Democrat, Milwaukee. “Dreadful Calamity,” Jan 31, 1851, p. 2.
–>100 Daily Sanduskian, OH. Jan 30, 1851, p. 3, col. 1.
–>100 New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Rumored Steamboat Disaster.” 1-31-1851, p. 2.**

*Blanchard estimate on loss of life: We accept as definitive the Brooklyn Daily Eagle account of February 5, the most detailed newspaper account we have seen. It is probably not coincidentally the number of lives lost reported by Childs, Hunter, Lytle and Holdcamper, Nash, Simonds, and Way.

**New Albany Daily Ledger: Writes that more than 100 deck passengers were killed, and that additionally “all the deck hands and firemen except two, also perished.”

Blanchard on date of loss: We have highlighted in yellow below the different reporting on the date of the loss – either January 27 or 28. We follow the reporting of the several newspapers below which note January 27 as the date of loss which also note the day of the week of the loss. Given that several of these are date-lined January 28 and refer to the snagging as having occurred on the previous day, it would not be possible that the accident happened on the 28th. In that there were many January 28 date-lined reports which did not indicate that the event took place the day before, we speculate that those sources (such as Way) had one or more of these sources in hand when drafting their accounts.

Blanchard on location of loss. The reporting is that the snagging occurred at Island No. 82 in the Mississippi River just above Greenville, MS. Bragg reports the loss as at what is known today as Miller Bend (apparently where Island No. 82 use to be). The State placement is tricky in that the boundary between Arkansas and Mississippi in this vicinity meanders considerably today. Additionally, Way notes that the snagging took place to the west of where the Mississippi currently runs. In that according to one map we have seen (eBird) locates the once (but no more) Island No. 82, on a map, it still appears that this loss would have taken place in Mississippi waters not Arkansas waters, but this is not crystal clear to us. If one Google “Miller Bend,” the map places a red dot directly on the boundary line between Arkansas and Mississippi, with the bend of land itself to the west protruding from Arkansas. However, if one looks further to the west beyond “Old River,” one sees the State of Mississippi border occupying land north and west of Arkansas – because of the meandering boundary between the two states in this vicinity.

Narrative Information

Bragg: “Ashbrook Cutoff. Mile 549.4 AHP [Above Head of Passes]….In the early steamboat days, the [Miller] bend had been filled with snags and was notoriously difficult. It was in this bend that the big sidewheel steamer John Adams had struck a snag on January 28, 1851. The boat sank so rapidly that most of the 123 deck passengers on board disappeared with it and were never seen again. Fortunately for the cabin passengers, the cabin had separated from the hull as the boat went down, and all of them were rescued.

“Contemporary accounts of the accident gave few details. The 100 or more people who had died were mostly Irish and German immigrants and even their names were not known. Most newspapers dismissed the tragedy in a brief paragraph, and some of them were not even certain just where the accident had occurred or why.” (Bragg. Historic Names…Places on…Lower Miss. River. “Ashbrook Cutoff,” 1977, p. 128.)

Childs: “The steamer John Adams struck a snag on the Ohio [sic.]…and sunk immediately, causing a loss of one hundred and twenty-three lives, mostly emigrants.” (Childs 1886, p. 134.)

Hunter: “The John Adams struck a snag in the Mississippi about two hundred miles below Memphis while on her way upriver from New Orleans. The hull was broken in two by the shock of the concussion, and the boat sank almost immediately. Of the 230 person reported on board only 107 were known to be saved.” (Hunter. Steamboats on the Western Rivers. 1994, p. 274.)

Lytle and Holdcamper: “John Adams…298 [tons]…snagged…1 28 1851…Island No. 82…123 [lines lost].” (Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 234.)

Simonds: “1851, Jan. 27, John Adams strikes a snag in the Ohio [sic.], 123 lost.” (Simonds 1902, p. 99.)

Way: John Adams. Sidewheel wood-hull packet, built in Cincinnati in 1848 at 298 tons. “Built by Capt. Henry A. Jones of Cincinnati and others for the New Orleans trade. She was upbound at Island 82 above Greenville, Miss., on Jan. 28, 1851, when a snag broke the hull in two and she sank immediately with life loss set at 123 persons. The larger share of the casualties were deck passengers and deck crew. The scene of this tragedy was considerably west of the present course of the Mississippi.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats of the Mississippi River System…(Revised). 1999, p. 249.)

Newspapers

Jan 29, Daily Free Democrat: “Louisville, Jan. 29…The Steamer John Adams, from New Orleans to Cincinnati, sunk yesterday at 3 o’clock A.M. [Jan 28] near Granville [Greenville?] in five minutes. Her cabin parted from the hull and broke in two. It floated to Granville [sic.] and grounded. All the deck passengers, over 100 were lost, also all the deck hands and firemen, excepting two. No cabin passengers were lost, but not of their effects were saved.” (Daily Free Democrat, Milwaukee, WI. “Dreadful Calamity,” Jan 31, 1851, p. 2.)

Jan 29, Daily Sanduskian: “Louisville, Jan. 29. The steamer John Adams, bound for New Orleans, sunk yesterday at 3 o’clock A.M. [Jan 28], near Greenville. In five minutes her cabin parted from the hull and broke in two. It floated to Greenville and grounded. All the deck passengers, over 100, were lost: also all the deck hands and firemen except two. No cabin passengers were lost; but none of their effects were saved.” (Daily Sanduskian (OH). Jan 30, 1851, p. 3, col. 1.)

Jan 30, Daily Crescent: “We have to record another terrible accident. The John Adams was snagged at Island 82, and one hundred and forty passengers lost. This is a fearful argument in favor of internal improvements.” (Daily Crescent, New Orleans. “Disasters on the Western Rivers.” 1-30-1851, p. 2.)

Jan 30, Daily Democrat: “Cairo, January 30. The steamer John Adams struck at the head of island 82 last Monday morning [Jan 27], and sunk entire; 120 lives lost, and those who saved themselves by swimming and other-wise escaped with their lives only. The boat had a considerable number of emigrants on board, all of whom with the deck passengers went down with the wreck and perished. None of the officers and but few of the cabin passengers were lost: Those who escaped passed up the Ohio to-day on the Petona [Peytona?] She will prove a total loss. She was commanded by Capt. Henry Jones and owned in Cincinnati. Both rivers receding slowly.” (Daily Democrat (Madison, WI). Feb 1, 1851, p. 3, col. 4.)

Jan 31, New Albany Daily Ledger: “The following dispatch is copied from the Louisville Courier – not a very reliable source:

“Vicksburg, Miss., Jan. 28, P.M.

“The steamer John Adams, Capt. Jones, from New Orleans bound for Cincinnati, sunk at 3 o’clock yesterday morning [27th], at Island No. 80. In five minutes, the cabin parted from the hull and broke in two, and floated to Greenville and grounded.

“All of the deck passengers, more than one hundred in number, were lost, and all the deck hands and firemen except two, also perished. All of the cabin passengers were saved, but they lost all their clothing, baggage, &c.” (New Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Rumored Steamboat Disaster.” 1-31-1851, p. 2.)

Feb 1, Daily Union, DC: “New Orleans, Jan. 30 – It now appears that there have bee in all about one hundred and forty lives lost by the sinking of the steamer John Adams, among whom were eight or ten cabin passengers. The accident occurred near Island No. 82, not far from Vicksburg.”
(Daily Union, Washington, DC. “More of the Steamboat Disaster.” 2-1-1851, p. 3.)

Feb 4, Daily Morning Post, Pittsburgh: “Louisville, February 3. The Peytona brings full particulars of the sinking of the John Adams. She had large quantities of groceries on board for Cincinnati. The loss of life was about 140, including about 25 in the cabin.” (Daily Morning Post, Pittsburgh. “By Telegraph.” 2-4-1851, p. 3.)

Feb 4, Warrick Democrat, Newburgh, IN: “On Monday morning, 27th, at 3 o’clock, the steamer John Adams, on her way from New Orleans to Cincinnati, when opposite the head of Island 82, struck a snag or stump, and sank in two minutes. The cabin broke from the hull, which went down in about 65 or 70 feet water. 130 lives supposed to have been lost. Officers all saved, and with the surviving passengers were taken on board the Peytona. Many of these passengers were in a destitute condition, having lost their all.” (Warrick Democrat, Newburgh, IN. “Sinking of the John Adams.” 2-4-1851, p. 2.)

Feb 5, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, NY: “On Monday morning, 27th January, at 3 o’clock, the steamer John Adams, Capt. H. A. Jones, with a heavy freight and a large number of passengers, bound for Cincinnati, when near the head of Island 82, struck a snag or stump, and sank in two minutes. The cabin parted from the hull, and the latter went down in about 60 feet water. She had about 90 or 100 deck passengers, a few of whom only were saved. The cabin, in breaking from the hull, separated in the middle; which doubtless was the cause of many of the cabin passengers saving their lives. The ladies in the cabin were all saved. After suffering many hours in the water, they were enabled to get ashore at the plantation of a Mr. Carter. The forward portion of the cabin, including the fixtures, floated down to the head of the Island 83, where it grounded. About 3 P.M., the Peytona came along, and took the passengers on board from that part of the wreck, thence she proceeded with all possible haste to the other portion of the wreck, where she took all on board with the exception of Capt. Jones and his family, Mr. Wilson, the mate, and a few others.

“Owing to the time of her sinking, everyone being asleep, and it being so sudden, few were able to get sufficient clothing to cover themselves, and many of them are indeed in a most destitute condition. The number on board was as follows: Cabin passengers 100, deck 87, officers 11, crew firemen and hands 32; total, 230. The number saved, as near as can be ascertained, is as follows: cabin passengers 84, deck passengers 5, officers 11, crew, &c., 7, total 107. Showing the number lost, to be 123. The deck passengers were Californians, and German and Irish emigrants going to Cincinnati. The cargo was also for Cincinnati.” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, NY. “The Loss of the Steamer ‘John Adams.’” 2-5-1851, p. 2.)

Sources

Adams County, Mississippi Genealogical and Historical Research. “Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi.” 4-12-2009 at: http://www.natchezbelle.org/adams-ind/silver.htm#accidents

Bragg, Marion. Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River. Vicksburg, MS: Mississippi River Commission, 1977. Accessed at: Accessed 9-15-2020 at: ftp://ftp.library.noaa.gov/noaa_documents.lib/NOAA_related_docs/US_Army/Mississippi_River_names_1977.pdf

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, NY. “The Loss of the Steamer ‘John Adams.’” 2-5-1851, p. 2. Accessed 9-15-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/brooklyn-daily-eagle-feb-05-1851-p-2/

Childs, Emery E. A History of the United States In Chronological Order From the Discovery of America in 1492 to the Year 1885. NY: Baker & Taylor, 1886. Google digitized. Accessed 9-4-2017: http://books.google.com/books?id=XLYbAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Daily Crescent, New Orleans. “Disasters on the Western Rivers.” 1-30-1851, p. 2. Accessed 9-14-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-orleans-daily-crescent-jan-30-1851-p-2/

Daily Democrat, Madison, WI. [Loss of the John Adams] Feb 1, 1851, p. 3, col. 4. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=34936777

Daily Free Democrat, Milwaukee, WI. “Dreadful Calamity” [Loss of Steamer John Adams], Jan 31, 1851, p. 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=33322904

Daily Morning Post, Pittsburgh. “By Telegraph.” 2-4-1851, p. 3. Accessed 9-15-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/pittsburgh-daily-morning-post-feb-04-1851-p-3/

Daily Sanduskian, OH. [Steamer John Adams Sinks] Jan 30, 1851, p. 3, col. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=6385923

Daily Union, Washington, DC. “More of the Steamboat Disaster.” 2-1-1851, p. 3. Accessed 9-15-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/daily-union-feb-01-1851-p-3/

eBird. “Mississippi River–Island No. 82 Miller Bend dikes.” Accessed 9-15-2020 at: https://ebird.org/hotspots?hs=L1825136&yr=all&m=

Google Maps. “Miller Bend, Lower Mississippi River.” Accessed 9-15-2020 at: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Miller+Bend/@33.4521183,-91.1598783,14z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x862b8cb8d34f10db:0x3668bb4e3655ec61!8m2!3d33.4501149!4d-91.1181644

Hunter, Louis C. and Beatrice J. Steamboats on the Western Rivers: An Economic and Technological History. NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1994, 684 pages.
New York Times. “Principal Events of 1851.” January 1, 1852. Accessed at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=2&res=9501E2DC1331E234BC4953DFB7668389649FDE

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

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 Albany Daily Ledger, IN. “Rumored Steamboat Disaster.” 1-31-1851, p. 2. Accessed 9-14-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-albany-daily-ledger-jan-31-1851-p-2/

New York Times. “Principal Events of 1851.” January 1, 1852. Accessed at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=2&res=9501E2DC1331E234BC4953DFB7668389649FDE

Simonds, W. E. (Editor). The American Date Book. Kama Publishing Co., 1902, 211 pages. Google digital preview accessed 9-8-2017 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JuiSjvd5owAC

Warrick Democrat, Newburgh, IN. “Sinking of the John Adams.” 2-4-1851, p. 2. Accessed 9-15-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/newburgh-warrick-democrat-feb-04-1851-p-2/

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.

— 3,314-3,322  Blanchard compilation based on data below.[1]

State and Territorial Summary

Alabama                                     52

Arkansas                                     37

Idaho                                             1

Illinois                              ~721-727

Indiana                                                >132

Iowa                                        >124

Kansas                                      ~61

Kentucky                                >152

Louisiana                                  489

Missouri                             955-956

Ohio                                   258-259

South Dakota Territory          ~340

Tennessee                               >115

Wisconsin                                 >20

Indian Country                              ?

Riverine Maritime                  >141

Westward Wagon Trains          >25

Other                                             1

 

Alabama                    (        52)         [Cross-listed below in Maritime.]

— 52  Steamboat Arkansas, Feb?  Tallapoosa River, Mobile to Wetumpka, Elmore Co., AL.[2]

 

Arkansas                    (        37)

—   ?  Fort Smith, May            31       Peters. “Résumé of the Cholera of 1867,” Chicago Med. 1868, 20.[3]

— 27  Fort Smith, by mid-June, Fifth Infantry. Foreman. The Five Civilized Tribes, 1934, p.138.[4]

— 1      “          June 11, General Matthew Arbuckle.[5]

— 1      “          Col. Ben T. DuVal.[6]

— 10  Fort Smith, Jul 4-26.     Newport Daily News, RI. “Health of the Country.” 7-26-1851, 2.

—   ?  Sulphur Springs            Vache. Letters on…Cholera. 1852, p. 54.

 

Idaho                          (            1)

—  1  Madison.                        Elyria Courier, OH.  “The Cholera in the West.” 7-29-1851, 2.

 

Illinois , Jun-Sep        (~721-727)      Blanchard tally based on locality breakouts below.[7]

—  46  Alton, Madison Co.      Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. “The Health.” 8-8-1851, p. 2, c. 2.[8]

–1     “             July 1  Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. “Cholera.” 7-11-1851, p. 2, col. 5.[9]

–1     “             July 5  Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. “Cholera.” 7-11-1851, p. 2, col. 5.[10]

–3     “             July 7  Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. “Cholera.” 7-11-1851, p. 2, col. 5.[11]

–1  Alton                    Alton Telegraph, IL. “The Health…Interments.” 7-25-1851, 3.

—  16  Alton Penitentiary        Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. 7-11-1851, p. 2, col. 4.[12]

—    8  Astoria[13]                       Pereyra, K. E. “Harrison Gilbert.” Geni.com. 11-5-2014 update.

—  18  Athens                          Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. 7-17-1851, p. 1, col. 1.

—    ?  Belleville                      Vache. Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54.

—    ?  Bethel                           Vache. Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54.

—    1  Bluff City, Fayette Co. Chapman, Chas. History of Fulton County, Illinois. 1879, 903.[14]

—    4  Bunker Hill, Macoupin Co. Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. 7-11-1851, p. 2, col. 4.[15]

—    2  Cairo, Alexander Co., June 3. Dexter (transcriber). “Obituaries and Death Notices…”[16]

–100  Carlinville & railroad.[17]  Frank, Jim.  History of Shipman, Macoupin County, IL.

—    2  Carrollton, Green Co.  Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. 7-11-1851, p. 2, col. 4.[18]

—  12  Carthage, July 16-25.   Hall. “An Account of…Epidemic Cholera…1851.” 1855, 158.[19]

—    3       “        vic.  Aug 17. Hall. “An Account of the Epidemic Cholera…1851.” 1855, 159.

—  14  Charleston, Jul 14-25.[20] Charleston Courier, IL. “The Cholera…Ravages.” 7-31-1851.

–120  Chicago, Aug               Goodspeed & Healy (Eds.) History of Cook County, IL. 1909, 224.

–1  “        Sep (Jairus Wilcox)           Field. Centennial Address. 1853, p. 251.

—    1  Coonville, Warren Co. Alton Telegraph, IL. “Items.”  7-25-1851, 3.

—    1  East Alton, Madison Co. (Anton Rustemeier). Norton (ed.). Centennial History of…, p.925.

—    ?  Galena                          Vache. Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54.

—    4  Goosenest Prairie, July. Charleston Courier, IL. “The Cholera and its Ravages.” 7-31-1851

–11-15 Greenbush, Warren Co. Amer. History and Genealogy Project. “Cholera in Greenbush.”[21]

—    1  Jersey Twp. and Co.[22]  Thomas Stanley.[23]

—    1  Kickapoo Point, Aug 21, Franklin J. Von Deren, editor of Charleston (IL) Courier.[24]

–~40  Lewiston[25]                   Jacobs. “The Cholera Epidemic of 1851.” Lewistown Democrat.[26]

— 3-4  Lima                            Elyria Courier, OH.  “The Cholera in the West.” 7-29-1851, 2.

—    2  Low Point                    Perrin and Hill. Woodford County, Illinois. “Low Point.” 1878, 362

—    6  Monmouth[27] Jul-Aug.  Monmouth Atlas, Monmouth, IL, from 1851 (abstracts from).[28]

—    1  Mount Vernon, June 25. Pulaski County Sheriff, Joseph Street.[29]

— 5-6  Mulberry Grove vic.    Alton Telegraph, IL. “The Health…Interments.” 7-25-1851, 3.

—    4  Nashville, Washington Co.      Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. 8-22-1851, p. 2, col. 4.[30]

—    2  Olney, Richland Co.   Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. “The Cholera.” 7-11-1851, p.2, c.5.[31]

—    7  Payson, Adams Co.      Elyria Courier, OH.  “The Cholera in the West.” 7-29-1851, 2.

—    2  Peoria, May 22-23       Schuller. Excerpts from Reverend Levi Spencer Diaries. 1993.[32]

—    1  Peoria,[33] June 24 (George Overend I). Geni.com. “George Overend, I.”

—    1  Peoria, Peoria Co., July 20. Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. “Dr. H. H. Waite.” 7-31-1851, p.5.

—    2  Perry, Pike Co., by July 7. Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. “Cholera.” 7-11-1851, p. 2, c. 5.[34]

—    ?  Pisgah, Morgan Co.      Vache. Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54.

–200[35] Quincy, the year.        IL State Hist. Society. Transactions…1915. [Quincy] 1845-60, 164

–28 “   June 24-30      Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. “Quincy.” 7-11-1851, p. 2, col. 4.[36]

–20 “  July 1-7           Newport Daily News, RI.  “Health of the Country.” 7-26-1851, 2.

–31 “   July 9-15         Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “Cholera in Illinois.” 7-30-1851, 5.[37]

–30 “  Aug 25-31       Newport Daily News, RI. “Health of the Country.” 7-26-1851, 2.[38]

—    9  Richland County.         Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. “The Cholera.” 7-11-1851, p.2, c.5.[39]

—    2  Rushville, Schuyler Co.[40] Sangamon Daily Journal, Springfield, IL. 7-15-1851, p. 3.[41]

—    3?         “                           Sangamon Daily Journal, Springfield, IL. 8-23-1851, p. 3, c. 1.[42]

—    3  Savanna, Carroll Co., July 20. Rockland County Messenger, NY. “Died.” 8-7-1851, p2.[43]

—    4  Shipman, Macoupin Co.  Frank, Jim.  History of Shipman, Macoupin County, IL.

—    3  Smooth Prairie             Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. 7-11-1851, p. 2, col. 4.[44]

—    2  Sparta.                          Alton Telegraph, IL.  8-1-1851, p. 1.

—    8  Springfield.                  Alton Telegraph, IL. “Items.” 7-25-1851, p. 3.

–1    “        June 26, A. G. Caldwell.[45]

–1    “        Miss Sarah Holland, 35.   Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. 8-7-1851, p. 2.

–1    “        Mrs. Mary Mathers.         Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. 8-7-1851, p. 2.

—    4  Sugar Tree Grove vic.  Alton Telegraph, IL. “Items.” 7-25-1851, p. 3.[46]

—  36  Vermont, Fulton Co., Jun 7-Sep 3. Chapman. History…Fulton County [IL]. 1879, 902-3.[47]

—    1  Warsaw (Water Street Hotel), Hancock Co., A. H. Parsons. Monmouth Atlas, 9-12-1851.

—  20  Waverly, Morgan Co.  Alton Telegraph, IL.  8-1-1851, p. 1.[48]

—    4  Winchester, Scott Co. Alton Telegraph, IL. “Items.” 7-25-1851, p. 3.

 

Indiana                       ( >132) Blanchard tally of locality breakouts below.

—    5  Aurora, Dearborn Co., Aug-Sep. Sutton. Report to IN State Med. Society… 1853, 119.[49]

–>10  Bloomington[50]             Hall. Historic Treasures, “Cholera Visits Town.” 1922, 25.[51]

—  >4  Brazil, Clay Co., Late June-July. Sutton. Report, Med. Soc., 1853, p. 151.[52]

—    ?  Brennan                                                Vache. Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54.

—    2  Cox’s Mills vicinity.                Aurora Standard, IN. “Cholera on the Canal.” 7-3-1851, 2.[53]

–~50  Evansville, Vanderburgh Co.   Sutton. Report, Medical Society, 1853, p. 157.[54]

—    2  Greenville, Floyd Co.              Sutton. Report, Medical Society, 1853, p. 155.[55]

—  ~6  Hendricks County, Sep-Oct     The Friend, Covington, IN. 10-18-1851, p. 3, col. 1.[56]

—    ?  La Grange                                 Vache. Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54.

—    1  Madison, Jefferson Co.                        Daily Banner, Madison, IN. 7-7-1851, p. 2, col. 1.[57]

—    5  Martinsville, Morgan Co.        Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. 7-10-1851, p. 2.[58]

—>25  Newport (now Fountain City), Wayne Co., Aug-mid Sep.[59]

—    2  Petersburgh Bluffs.[60]               Aurora Standard, IN. “Cholera on the Canal.” 7-3-1851, 2.[61]

—    5  Pleasant Garden, Putnam Co. Late June-July. Sutton. Report, Med. Soc., 1853, 149-150.[62]

–>10  Point Commerce, Greene Co. Weems. IN Magazine of History, 1916, pp. 60-83. [63]

—    ?  Port Royal                                Vache. Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54.

—    4  Salem, Washington Co. July.   Sutton. Report, Medical Society, 1853, p. 153.[64]

—    1  Terre Haute, Sep 20                 Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. 10-9-1851, p.4, c.1.[65]

 

Iowa, Jun 4-Aug 7     (   >132)[66]       Blanchard tally based on locality breakouts below.

–100’s  Statewide.      July                 Gue, B. F. History of Iowa… Vol. 1, Chapter XXI. 1903.

—    9  Bellevue, Jackson Co.  Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. “Cholera at Bellevue.” 8-14-1851, 2.[67]

—    9  Black Hawk Twp., Jefferson Co. Moore. “Old Settlers Day…” Fairfield Tribune, 8-23-1899.[68]

–1       “          July 3. Mr. Solomon Shafer.  Moore. “Old Settlers Day…”

–1       “          July 4. Mrs. Polly Shafer       Moore. “Old Settlers Day…”

–1       “          July 5. Leander Shafer, son of Solomon.  Moore. “Old Settlers Day…”

–1       “          July 10. James H. Haywood (son of James L.) Moore. “Old Settlers Day.”

–2       “          July 11. Mr. and Mrs. James L. Haywood.  Moore. “Old Settlers Day…”

–1       “          July 12. Benjamin Haywood (son of James L.) Moore. “Old Settlers Day.”

–1       “          July 14. Mrs. Elijah Stevens.  Moore. “Old Settlers Day…”

–1       “          July 17. Elizabeth Haywood (daughter of James L.) Moore. “Old…”

—  28  Burlington, Des Moines Co., July. Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. [Aspen Grove Cem.] 8-14-1851.

–2  “                July 24            Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. “Cholera.” 7-26-1851, p. 2.[69]

—    1         “               Aug 5              Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. [Edwards Obituary] 8-7-1851.

—    ?  Davenport, Scott Co. Burlington Hawk-Eye IA. “Cholera at Davenport.” 8-14-1851, 1.[70]

—    4  Denmark Twp., Lee Co.          Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. 8-14-1851, p. 3, col. 3.[71]

—  >3  Dubuque, Dubuque Co., by July 23. Prairie Du Chien Patriot, WI.  “Cholera.” 7-23-1851, 2.[72]

–1                                           Mrs. Sabina Finn.[73]

—    5  Fairfield vic., Jefferson Co.     By July 24       Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. 7-24-1851, 1.[74]

—  10  Fort Madison, Jul 28-Aug 1. Burlington Hawk-Eye. “Cholera in Fort Madison.” 8-7-1851.[75]

–3   “  Lee Co., July 25.         Burlington Hawk-Eye. “Cholera in Fort Madison…” 7-31-1851.[76]

–6   “     “      by July 30         Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. 8-14-1851, p. 4, col. 4.

—    8  Keokuk, Lee Co., July 24 or 31. Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. 8-14-1851, p. 4.[77]

—  20  Mt. Pleasant, Henry Co. June 4-26      Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA.  “Cholera.” 6-26-1851. 

—    2  Rome vic., Henry Co.   June 4-26      Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA.  “Cholera.” 6-26-1851. 

–~30  West Point, Lee Co.,                Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa (V2), p810.[78]

–27     “     July 3-Aug 8        Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. 8-14-1851, p. 2, col. 7.

—  7     “                                 Keokuk Dispatch, IA. “Deaths from Cholera.” 7-28-1851.[79]

—  5    “                                  Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. “West Point.” 8-7-1851.[80]

–1/10^th of pop.“ [?]                            Daily Banner, Madison, IN. 10-1-1851, p. 2, col. 2.[81]

 

Kansas                       (      ~61)

—   51  Fort Leavenworth, May-?       Gillett. The Army Medical Dept., 1818-1865. 1987, 139.[82]

–?         “            June-July     Peters. “Résumé of the Cholera of 1867,” 1868, p. 21.[83]

–~10?  Mann’s Fort[84]             Indiana State Sentinel. “From New Mexico.” 8-14-1851, p. 3.[85]

 

Kentucky                   (   >152)          Blanchard tally based on locality breakouts below.

—  25  Bell’s Coal Mine, Crittenden Co.? Elyria Courier, OH. “The Cholera in…West.” 7-29-1851, 2.[86]

— >5  Brandenburg, Meade Co.          KY Genealogy. “Brandenburg, Meade Co., Kentucky.”[87]

—   1  Brandenburg, Priscila Fulton Richardson. Find A Grave. “Louis R. Richardson.” 7-5-2012.

—   ?  Covington, Kenton Co.             Wikipedia. “Linden Grove Cemetery.” 4-9-2015 mod.[88]

—   3  Cynthiana, Harrison Co.           Collins and Collins. History of KY. 1882, p. 62.[89]

— 58  Grassy Creek,[90] Pendleton Co. Daily Courier, Louisville. “Cholera in Pendleton.” 9-1-1851.[91]

—   1  Green County, Frederick Cabell, Nov 17.  Cabell / Penick Family Cemetery (website).

— 35  Louisville, Jefferson County     Blanchard tally of breakouts below.

–~3  “             by May 8         Indiana State Sentinel. “Cholera.” 5-8-1851, p. 3, col. 4.[92]

—  1  “              May 13            Robert Pringle. Rootsweb.ancestry.com. “Kentuckiana-L.”

–31  “              Aug 14-16.      Collins and Collins. History of KY. 1882, p. 62.

—   9  Newport Barracks, Campbell Co., Sep. McClellan. “A History…Army…” 1885, p. 84.[93]

—   1  Paducah, McCracken Co., mid-June?[94]

— ~8  Princeton,[95] Caldwell Co., May 30-mid June.[96]

—   6  Versailles, Woodford County.              Collins and Collins. History of KY. 1882, p. 62.

 

Louisiana                   (      489)

—     2  Lafayette.     Jul 5-11. Milwaukee Daily Sentinel. “Health of New Orleans.” 7-29-1851, 2.

—   59  Lafourche Parish.        Plymouth Pilot, IN. “Cholera.” 5-28-1851, p. 3, col. 2.[97]

— 430  New Orleans. Peters. “General History of the Disease…up to 1885,” Wendt, 1885, p. 30.

— 106              “       Jan 107   Danville Weekly Advertiser, IN. “Mail Clippings.” 1-25-1851, p. 2.

—   14              “       Jul 5-11. Milwaukee Daily Sentinel. “Health of New Orleans,” 7-29-1851, 2.

—   25              “       Week ending Nov 22. Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. “Cholera.” 12-18-1851, 1.

 

Missouri                     (955-956)        Blanchard tally based on locality breakouts below.

—     ?  Cottleville, St. Charles Co.     Vache (“Letters on Yellow Fever, Cholera…” 1852, p. 54.

—     1  Hannibal, Marion County, Aug 7, Miss Eliza J. Kidd, about 15 years old.[98]

—   19  Independence, Jackson CO., June 14-20. Daily Banner, Madison, IN. 7-7-1851, p. 2.[99]

–~10? Independence, July. Newport Daily News, RI.  “Health of the Country.” 7-26-1851, 2.[100]

—   15  Jefferson Barracks, Lemay, St. Louis Co.      McClellan. “A History of…” 1885, p. 83.[101]

—>19  Jefferson City,[102] Cole Co., Aug. Meagher. History…Cole…Counties, Missouri. 1849.[103]

—     ?  Lexington, Lafayette Co.        Vache (“Letters on Yellow Fever, Cholera…” 1852, p. 54.

—   19  Liberty, Clay Co., June 13-20. Weekly Tribune, Liberty, MO. “Cholera.” 6-27-1851.[104]

–1 “     June 13                        Weekly Tribune, Liberty, MO. “Cholera.” 6-27-1851.[105]

–3 “     June 14                        Weekly Tribune, Liberty, MO. “Cholera.” 6-27-1851.[106]

–1 “     June 15                        Weekly Tribune, Liberty, MO. “Cholera.” 6-27-1851.[107]

–6 “     June 16                        Weekly Tribune, Liberty, MO. “Cholera.” 6-27-1851.[108]

–2 “     June 17                        Weekly Tribune, Liberty, MO. “Cholera.” 6-27-1851.[109]

–1 “     June 18                        Weekly Tribune, Liberty, MO. “Cholera.” 6-27-1851.[110]

–3 “     June 19                        Weekly Tribune, Liberty, MO. “Cholera.” 6-27-1851.[111]

–2 “     June 20                        Weekly Tribune, Liberty, MO. “Cholera.” 6-27-1851.[112]

—     1        “     June 22                        Weekly Tribune, Liberty, MO. 7-11-1851.[113]

—     1  Liberty vic., Aug 4      Weekly Tribune, Liberty, MO. 8-8-1851.[114]

—     1  Platte Co., early July   Weekly Tribune, Liberty, MO. 7-18-1851.[115]

— 845  St. Louis, year.            Moore. “Notes Upon…History of Cholera in St. Louis.” 1855, 47.

— 845         “        year.  Nat. Park Svc. Year of Disaster…St. Louis…Cholera Epidemic of 1849.

— 845         “        year.            Peters. “General History of the Disease…to 1885,” 1885, p. 31.

—    2      “        Jan.             Moore. “Notes Upon…History of Cholera in St. Louis.” 1855, 47.

—    1      “        Mar.            Moore. “Notes Upon…History of Cholera in St. Louis.” 1855, 47.

—    9      “        Apr.             Moore. “Notes Upon…History of Cholera in St. Louis.” 1855, 47.

—  47      “        May.           Moore. “Notes Upon…History of Cholera in St. Louis.” 1855, 47.

–505      “        June.           Moore. “Notes Upon…History of Cholera in St. Louis.” 1855, 47.

—  74      “        July 4-11     Republican Compiler, Gettysburg. “News of all…” 7-28-1851, 3.

–21“        July 4-5      Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. 7-11-1851, p. 2, col. 4.[116]

–11“        July 4          Daily Banner, Madison, IN. “St. Louis, July 5…” 7-7-1851, p.2.[117]

–10“        July 10        Evansville Daily Journal, IN. 7-12-1851, p. 2, col. 5.[118]

— 7 “        July 11        Elyria Courier, OH. “The Cholera in the West.” 7-29-1851, 2.

—    7      “        July 14        Newport Daily News, RI. “Health of the Country.” 7-26-1851, 2.

—  12      “        July 14        Prairie Du Chien Patriot, WI. “Cholera.” 7-23-1851, 2.

—    8      “        July 15        Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “St. Louis.” 7-30-1851, 5.

—  50      “        July 15-21  Milwaukee Daily Sentinel. “Health of St. Louis.” 7-29-1851, 2.

—    3      “        July 26-27   Alton Telegraph, IL. 8-1-1851, 2.

–233      “        July.            Moore. “Notes Upon…History of Cholera in St. Louis.” 1855, 47.

—  37      “        Aug.            Moore. “Notes Upon…History of Cholera in St. Louis.” 1855, 47.

—  9“        Aug 2-3.     Alton Telegraph, Alton, IL. “The Health.” 8-8-1851, p. 2, col. 2.

—   9       “        Sep.             Moore. “Notes Upon…History of Cholera in St. Louis.” 1855, 47.

—   2       “        Nov.            Moore. “Notes Upon…History of Cholera in St. Louis.” 1855, 47.

— 25  Weston, Platte Co.        Plymouth Pilot, IN. 7-9-1851, p. 2, col. 1.[119]

–4-5  Weston, Platte Co. July 18-24.            Daily Banner, Madison, IN. 7-25-1851.

 

Ohio                           (258-259)

— 200  Cincinnati, mainly July.  JAMA. “Asiatic Cholera…” Vol. XIX, No. 10, 9-3-1892, 294.

— 2  “   May 4.  Daily Tribune, Madison, IN. “Cholera in the Hospital.” 5-5-1851, 2.[120]

–43 “   June 27-July 3. Sheboygan Lake Journal, WI. 7-23-1851, 2.[121]

–17 “   July 11-17.        Newport Daily News, RI.  “Health of the Country.” 7-26-1851, 2.

—   12  Dodsonville vic.            Sheboygan Mercury, WI. “Cholera in Ohio.” 8-2-1851, 2.

—     4  Lynchburg.                    Sheboygan Mercury, WI. “Cholera in Ohio.” 8-2-1851, 2.

—     1  Madison, Jefferson Co. Madison Daily Banner, IN. 7-7-1851, p. 2, col. 1.

—  2-3  Marion.                         Sheboygan Mercury, WI. “Cholera in Ohio.” 8-2-1851, 2.

—     3  Newport Barracks.       Weekly Wisconsin. “Cholera in Newport Barracks,” 10-8-1851, 7.

—     5  Princeton.                      Sheboygan Mercury, WI. “Cholera in Ohio.” 8-2-1851, 2.

—     ?  Shelby                           Vache. Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54.

—   20  Waverly.                        Alton Telegraph, IL. “The Health…Interments…” 7-25-1851, 3.[122]

—   12  West Union, by Jul 26. Newport Daily News, RI. “Health of the Country.” 7-26-1851, 2.

 

South Dakota Territory (~340?)      Blanchard tally based on breakouts below.[123]

— ~40? Fort Pierre. Traders/trappers. Robinson/Kerr. A History of South Dakota. 1907, 31.[124]

–~300  Dakota Sioux. Robinson and Kerr. A History of South Dakota. 1907, 31.[125]

–~300  Three Tribes. Shane. “A Short History of…Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.” 1959.[126]

—      ?  Rees (or Arikara or Sahnish).[127]

 

Tennessee                   (     >115)        Blanchard tally based on locality breakouts below.[128]

—  ?  Clarksville          Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Cholera.” 6-22-1851, p. 1.[129]

–14  Franklin, by March 3. Madison Dollar Weekly Courier, IN. “From Louisville.” 3-5-1851, 3.

–94  Memphis            Shanks. “Report of…Mortuary Statistics…Memphis…1851.” 1852, 13.[130] –93             “       G.B. Thornton, M.D. “Six Years Sanitary Work in Memphis.” 1886, 440.

—  1 “   April   Shanks. “Report of…Mortuary Statistics of Memphis…1851.” 1852, 13.

–24 “   May     Shanks. “Report of…Mortuary Statistics of Memphis…1851.” 1852, 13.

–47 “   June     Shanks. “Report of…Mortuary Statistics of Memphis…1851.” 1852, 13

–2   June 22. Elizabeth and Rufus M. Farrington.[131]

–17 “   July     Shanks. “Report of…Mortuary Statistics of Memphis…1851.” 1852, 13

—  1 “   Oct      Shanks. “Report of…Mortuary Statistics of Memphis…1851.” 1852, 13

—  4 “   Dec      Shanks. “Report of…Mortuary Statistics of Memphis…1851.” 1852, 13

—  1  Nashville, by Mar 3. Madison Dollar Weekly Courier, IN. “From Louisville.” 3-5-1851, 3.[132]

 

Wisconsin                  (      >20)

— >10  Bonnet Prairie vic.     Gjerset/Hektoen. Health Conditions…Early Norwegian Settlers.[133]

—     ?  Madison                      Vache. Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera. 1852, p. 54.

— >10  Muskego                     Historical Marker Project. “Muskego.”[134]

—     ?  Watertown                   W. F. Jannke III. “Cholera in Watertown Wisconsin.”[135]

 

Indian Territory       (       ?)

— ?                                           Vache. Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera. 1852, p. 54.[136]

 

Maritime                   ( >141) [Including Arkansas outbreak in Alabama tally.]

–>135  Blanchard tally of individual breakouts below (recognizing this is incomplete record).

—    52  Steamer Arkansas, Feb?  Tallapoosa River, Mobile to Wetumpka, Elmore Co., AL.[137]

—      1  Steamboat Belle Key; Mr. Anderson Chambers of Monroe County, IN.[138]

—      5  Steamer Bostona, Mississippi River, New Orleans upbound trip.[139]

—      1  Steamboat Fanny Smith; Mr. Warren, clerk of the Fanny Smith (in Louisville).[140]

—      1  Steamboat Fashion.   Elyria Courier, OH.  “The Cholera in the West.” 7-29-1851, 2.

—  ~25  Steamer Grand Turk. Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Cholera.” 6-22-1851, p.1.[141]

–1  Steamboat Grand Turk,[142] June 1, male buried in MO, opposite Cairo, IL.[143]

—    12  Steamboat Iroquois, upon arrival in St Louis from New Orleans, April 24.[144]

—      4  Steamboat Ohio, by June 22. Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Cholera.” 6-22-1851, p. 1.

—      1  Steamer Paul Anderson, Pittsburgh vicinity, June 18.[145]

—      1  Steamboat Pike No. 9, Ohio River, near Evansville, June 10; 2^nd mate.[146]

—    25  Steamer Pride of the West. Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Cholera.” 6-22-1851, p.1.[147]

—    13  Steamer St. Ange.[148]  Elyria Courier, OH.  “The Cholera in the West.” 7-29-1851, 2.[149]

 

Westward Wagon Trains (>25)[150]

— 25  Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Cholera on the Plains.” 6-26-1851, p. 1, col. 2.[151]

 

Other                          (            1)

—     1     ?        April 11           Daily Ledger, New Albany, IN. “Cholera.” 4-19-1851, p. 2.[152]

 

Arkansas

 

Peters: “In May 1851, cholera was again carried to Fort Smith by two companies of the 5^th infantry, who came from Corpus Christi, Texas, with cholera.” (p. 20 in Peters, John C. M.D. “Résumé of the Cholera of 1867,” The Chicago Medical Examiner, Vol. IX, No. 1, Jan 1868, pp. 18-32.)

 

July 26 paper: “Of the cholera at Fort Smith, Ark., the Herald of the 4^th says: — ‘Since our last, ten persons have died from this disease. Rumors in the country are exaggerated ten fold. The panic amongst or citizens has almost entirely ceases.  The disease is easily managed if taken in time’.” (Newport Daily News, RI.  “Health of the Country.” 7-26-1851, 2.)

 

Illinois

 

June 1-Aug 27, Vermont:  “About the first of June, 1851, Esq. Jechoniah Langston went from here to St. Louis on business. Soon after his return he was taken ill.  Not knowing the disease to be cholera, the people attended to him as was the custom.  He died on the 7th of June.  The remains were taken to the church of which he was a member, and a funeral preached, the coffin opened, and the body viewed by those present.  The weather was very warm, with southeasterly winds and frequent rains.

 

“John McHenry and several of his family were taken down the day after Langston’s death.  There not being room in his house for all of them, he was taken to the Christian church, where he received all the care and attention that was possible; but he died shortly after. Four of his children died — Samuel on the 8th, Enos on the 10th, Thomas B. on the 12th, and Mary A. on the 17th of June.

 

“On the 20th a young man named Thomas Kent Woodward died at the American House, and on the same day another young man, a stranger, died at Nathan Searl’s.  On the 20th a young man by

the name of Wm. Haney, employed as clerk for Dr. John Hughes, died. Mrs. Elizabeth Hughes, wife of the Doctor, died on the 19th.

 

“Mrs. Mary E. Blanton, a friend of the Doctor and his family, was taken ill about this time and died on the 23^rd.  Two colored boys also died at this house, — one on the 21st and one on the 23d. Wm. Boswell, a saddler, also died on the 21st.

 

“Dr. Isaac B. Bacon, who had recently come to the place, and who had gained quite a reputation for his close attention to the sick, came home from the country with the disease about dark on the

evening of the 27th, and died about daylight the next morning.

 

“James B. Fowler and a Mr. Frankenbury lost two children each about this time.

 

“Wm. P. and Rebecca J. Edie died on the 23d and 24^th respectively.

 

“Grandfather Euclid Mercer was buried about this time.  As the friends returned from his burial, the man who made his coffin (a Mr. Murphy) came for Dr. Nance to go and see his mother-in-law.  The Doctor with I. B. Witchell went out there.  The man met them at the door, and showed clear symptoms of cholera.  They were both buried before 12 o’clock that night.

 

“John Kirkbride, a brother of David Kirkbride, died June 27th, on the farm beyond Sugar creek, in McDonough county, now owned by Robert Andrews. His brother Eliakim died in town a few days after.

 

“Mrs. Jane Andrews, mother of Robert, died at the house of Joseph Crail July 4th.

 

“Bird Anderson, brother of Mrs. Cephas Toland, was taken down about this time. He was thought to be dead, his coffin was prepared and the preparations for his burial made.  But he recovered and lived to serve his country faithfully in the war of 1861, removed to Kansas where he died five or six years ago.

 

“A young woman named Maria A. Patterson died at the Hayes House July 2nd.

 

“David Merrick died on his farm just west of town July 11th.

 

“Elizabeth, wife of John A. Craig and sister to Mrs. William Alexander, died on the 24th, and her sister, Mrs. Taylor, died soon after.

 

“Oscar D., son of James A. and Elizabeth Russell, died Aug. 1st.

 

“Julia A., wife of Wm. Hayes, died July 31st.

 

“Philip Weaver died August 27th;

 

“Elizabeth Davis August 6th, and Richard C. Johnson, brother of Mrs. T. Hamer and Mrs. J. A. Russell, on Sept. 3d.

 

“Lemuel Burson, one of those who waited on the sick during the whole time, was taken down among the last cases and went to join those he had helped to care for.

 

“These are the names of a majority of those who died, although there were others whose names we could not get.  There were also many others who recovered.

 

“Mr. Witchell says he waited on some seventy cases.  During the prevalence of this dread disease in our midst many cases of extreme sadness occurred, and some that were mirth-provoking—among the latter being a man who came to town with a lump of tar sticking under his nose. All business was suspended, except to furnish what was needed for the sick and dead. Mr. Mellor kept open the store of Stephens & Winans for that purpose.

 

“During this trying time Mansfield Patterson kept the Hayes House, and kept his table set at all hours for those waiting upon the sick and dying.

 

“In this, as in all cases of the prevalence of epidemic or contagious disease, a few persons took hold and in a systematic manner waited on and cared for every one of the sick during the whole time of this dreadful calamity, forgetting self and thinking only of the suffering around them….

 

“Mr. Clark, after the cholera ceased here, went to Bluff City[153] where the cholera soon made its appearance. He again waited on and nursed the sick, was himself taken down and died, being the last case.

 

“Of all these it can truly be said, they did all that men and women could do during that trying time, and during all these 28 years since, those who survive have ever been ready and willing to aid the sick and relieve the distressed wherever and whenever their services were needed, and this without ostentation or display. Such self-sacrifice will never go unrewarded. No person is more to be remembered for what he did during those trying days than Esq. H. S. Jacobs.”  (Chapman, Chas. C. & Co.  History of Fulton County, Illinois.  “The Cholera of 1851.” 1879. 901-903.)

 

June 15-26, Greenbush:  “It was in June, 1851, that the cholera made its appearance in Greenbush and vicinity. There were about twelve deaths from this disease at that time. Lawson Walker was the first one. He died June 15, 1851. Abner Walker and his daughter Abigail died on the same day, June 24, 1851, making three deaths in the same family. Abner Walker lived on the north side of the square in the village and was engaged in keeping hotel. The following-named persons also died: Juliet, wife of Dr. Thomas M. Luster, June 26, 1851; Joseph Sisson, June 23, 1851; Abijah Roberts, June 23, 1851; Sullivan, son of Alfred Osborn; Lafayette Ratekin, George Tally, Jacob Perkins, and A. J. Willey.

 

“Several families left the village and did not return until after the disease disappeared. Porter J. Jack and John C. McCall took an active part in doing everything they could for the sick and dying. Philip Karns was also very helpful in removing the dead to the cemeteries and burying them.” (American History and Genealogy Project. Warren County Illinois Genealogy & History. “Cholera in Greenbush.” 7-15-2006 update.)

________

 

June 29-Aug 17, Carthage and vicinity:  “The village of Carthage, Illinois, is situated in the open prairie near the centre of Hancock County.  The land on which the village is built is higher than that around it….

 

“On the 29^th of June a German came into this village, stopped a while at one of the taverns, and complained of having diarrhoea; he stated that he had come off the Mississippi river where cholera was prevailing.  After resting awhile, he started on, and went nearly two miles, when he stopped at a farm near the road, crawled into a straw pen, and was found soon after in almost a speechless condition.  I saw him just after he was discovered, and found him in collapse from cholera, and he rapidly sank and died….After the remains of this poor fellow were buried, the cautious farmer set fire to the pen in which he died, and it was burned up.

 

“No more cases of cholera occurred in the neighborhood, nor any unusual amount of diarrhoea, till the 16^th of July following.  On the 15^th of July a circus company performed in this place, several of the men connected with which had diarrhoea.  They left that night, and on the next morning, the 16^th, three young women and a man, at the tavern where most of the circus company put up the day before, were suddenly attacked with cholera; and in spite of every means used to save them, they all sank into collapse and all died before 10 o’clock that night.  Two of the women had been hard at work the day before their death, but the other one, and the man, had not.  The house in which these cases occurred was a large one, and so constructed that it could not possibly be ventilated.  Near the house was a large stable, around which were large heaps of manure and straw which had been exposed to the action of the rains and heat.  About forty feet down from the house was a large privy, and under the porch a cistern filled with water, in which much refuse matter had been thrown.  The exhalations from the stable, privy, and cistern, produced a stench perceptible for some distance from the house.

 

“On the 17^th, the day after the death of the above cases, another woman at this tavern was taken with the disease, and, like the others, died in a few hours.

 

“On this day too (the 17^th), a man who had been engaged in attending to the other cases, and who had been much about the tavern for several days, though living at some distance from it, took the disease, and died.  This man was an habitual toper,[154] and had used liquor freely, as a supposed preventive.  On the same day, also, the father of one of the young women first attacked, left with his partner in business, and their wives, and went to a village 18 miles distant, where all were taken with cholera, and the two men died soon after their arrival.  The two women recovered.  On the next day, the 18^th, four more men took the disease at the tavern where the above cases occurred, three of whom recovered, the other died.  The next day, 19^th, a young woman took the disease at the same house, and though she lived through the first stage of it, she died on the sixth day from the secondary or choleraic fever.

 

“As fears were entertained that the disease would spread, most of our citizens left with their families, and no more cases occurred till the 25^th of that month (July).  On this day, two men, both of whom had been much with the sick at the tavern, were taken with the disease.  These men were both habitual drinkers, and had both used brandy freely for some days before their attack.  One of them recovered, the other died.  Here the cholera ceased in the village, and no cases followed in the neighborhood till the 17^th of August succeeding, when three young men, four miles from this place, were suddenly taken with cholera, and they all died, in a few hours (4 or 5) after they were first taken.  The next day a brother of two of them was attacked less violently, and recovered.  No more cases followed.  These men lived in a low wet place, and were remarkably filthy in their habits.  They had all been engaged at hard labor in the harvest field, and had all used whiskey to excess for several days before they were taken sick.

 

“By many the above account will be taken as favoring the theory of the contagious origin of cholera.  But I think the results are explicable without the aid of contagion.  In the summer of 1851, cholera prevailed extensively in the small towns and villages in the West; and wherever a nidus existed in which the disease, or the poison on which it depends, could germinate, so to speak, the disease prevailed, and it prevailed in no other places….in the country where the cases occurred, local causes existed, sufficient to form a bed for the poison, extensively diffused through the air, to increase in, and the depression below the standard of full health, in those who had the disease, produced by hard labor, and liquor, made them susceptible to the influence of the poison, while others in the neighborhood, not so much predisposed, did not have cholera.”  (Hall, George W.  “An Account of the Epidemic Cholera as it Prevailed in the Town of Carthage, Illinois, in the Summer of 1851.” Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. LIII, No. 8, 9-20-1855, pp. 157-159.)

 

July 1-14, Quincy:  “The cholera still continues to carry off the citizens of Quincy, Ill; but it is far from being as universal throughout the States as the two previous seasons.  In Quincy, for the week ending July 7^th, there were 20 cases reported, and for the week ending July 14^th, 31.  The Quincy Whig, speaking of the cholera, says:

 

The disease at first seemed to confine itself to localities where it first appeared – but this is not the case now.  It is no longer confined to particular neighborhoods or classes – but all, more or less, are compelled alike to acknowledge its presence and to mourn its visitation.

 

(Prairie Du Chien Patriot, WI.  “Cholera in Quincy.” 7-23-1851, 2.)

 

July 8 report, Lima:  “The Quincy (Ill) Whig of the 8^th inst., says:  We regret to hear that cholera has appeared in different places in the country.  In vicinity of Lima, in this Country, there had been several cases, and three or four deaths….There had been several cases near Bloomfield, but as yet no deaths.  In the neighborhood of Payson, there had been seven deaths, up to Saturday.” (Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “Cholera in Illinois.” 7-30-1851, 5.)

 

July 9-15, Quincy:  “There were thirty one deaths by cholera in Quincy, for the week ending the 15th inst.” (Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “Cholera in Illinois.” 7-30-1851, 5.)

 

July 23 report, Illinois State Penitentiary, Alton:  “The Galena Advertiser states that sixteen of the convicts in the Illinois State Penitentiary, at Alton, have recently died of cholera.”  (Prairie Du Chien Patriot, WI. 7-23-1851, 2.)

 

July 25 report, Waverly, Mulberry Grove:  “The town of Waverly has been severely afflicted with cholera, some twenty deaths having occurred there within the last three weeks.  We are gratified to learn that the disease is believed to have run its course; no new cases having occurred since Friday… Among others, the Rev. Mr. McMurray, his wife, and two children, and Dr…[unclear], are mentioned as having fallen victims to the scourge….

 

The last Greenville Journal says that the cholera is still dealing its death-blows in many parts of Bond county.  Some five or six deaths have occurred near Mulberry Grove; among whom were, Dr. Combs, Mrs. John Buchanan, a child of Mr. C. Pape [unclear], and a child of Mr. …[unclear].” (Alton Telegraph, IL. “The Health…Interments.” 7-25-1851, 3.)

 

July 25 report, Winchester, Springfield, Sugar Tree Grove, Coonville:  “Several cases of cholera have occurred at Moline, Ills., within a short time past.

 

“The cholera appeared at Winchester, Scoll county, on Tuesday of last week [15^th]; and up to Friday morning four deaths had occurred, as follows:  Mrs. Jane Watt, Miss Elizabeth Calton, Mrs. Evans, and Mrs. Betty Davis….

 

“Four deaths by cholera occurred in Springfield on Friday last, and a like number on Sunday….

 

“We were in hopes that the cholera was about to take leave of our town, but we hear of a few more cases of attack.  The physicians assure us however that the disease seems to have spent most of its virulence, and yields more readily to medicine.  It has assumed more the form of dysentery.  Several fatal cases have occurred n the country, which shows that the disease is no longer confined to the town.  Four deaths have taken place in the vicinity of Sugar Tree Grove, and today we hear of one at Coonville, a Mr. Rusk, aged some 18 years, who died very suddenly.  Monmouth Atlas,[155] 18^th.” (Alton Telegraph, IL. “Items.” 7-25-1851, 3.)

 

July 31 report, Charleston:  “July 31, 1851…..Owing to the prevalence of epidemic disease in the midst of our community, and indisposition in the families of the publishers, we have issued no paper from this office during the past two weeks. We hope and pray that the health of the town and country will soon be in such condition, that a returning confidence will manifest itself by a restoration of business in all its various branches. The EDITOR – W.D. Latshaw….

 

“Since the issue of our last (12th inst) that dire and awful scourge, Asiatic Cholera, with other concomitants, has been performing a work of death in our midst, which has stricken panic and alarm throughout our own and adjacent counties, to a greater or lesser extent. All manner of business in our village has measurably been at an…[end] during the past three weeks, the alarm through the country being such that few persons would venture into town, unless it were those who were in urgent demand of medical aid.

 

“We have been particular in our enquiries in relation to the number of persons who have been affected by the premonitory symptoms of Cholera, Diarrhoea, vomiting, Flux, etc. during the last twenty days, and find that about two hundred and fifty have been treated by our Physicians during that time, many of the cases being characterized by violence and great malignancy.  In nearly every fatal case, if not all, the predisposing cause has been traced to imprudence in diet, and more especially the eating of young potatoes, beans, cucumbers and other like matter.  The prompt and energetic administration of timely medical remedies, wherever the premonitory symptoms appeared, nearly always proved successful in curing the patient, and to this alone, aided by the blessings of an ever merciful Providence, may the fact be attributed, that many of our citizens have been saved from the fangs of death by Cholera.  Deeply as our community has been afflicted, we have great cause to be thankful that it has been no worse, when we take into consideration the large number of cases of sickness during the past three weeks.

 

“To our friends at home and abroad, we are at length enabled to state, that the disease appears to have spent its strength on the 25th, since which time we have had but one death in town from cholera, & but four additional cases of premonitory symptoms, which yielded readily to medical treatment, they now being convalescent. We therefore have good reason to believe that the ‘plague’ has gone from amongst us, perhaps to appear else where.  For the information of the public who may take an interest in the mournful record of deaths, that have taken place in this town and vicinity during the pendency of the epidemic, we give the names of all deceased with their disease and the respective date of their deaths, to wit:

 

“Jas. Cheek’s child, about one year old, of Cholera Infantum. Died on the 14th July.

 

“John Owens’ child, one year old, of Cholera Infantum. Died on the 17th of July.

 

“Franklin J. Van Deren, Esq., aged about 28 years, Cholera. Mr. Van Deren was the editor of the Charleston Courier, having but recently assumed that post. As a good citizen he was highly esteemed and loved by his friends and acquaintances. Mr. Van Deren was attacked by the premonitory symptoms some two weeks previously, but had been relieved by medical aid. Two days preceding his death, he went to his mother’s residence, distance some eight miles from town, for the purpose of being out of the way of the epidemic, where he was again attacked suddenly, and before a Physician could be procured, was in a collapsed state, and died in about eight hours from the time the attack came on. Died on the 18th July.

 

“John R. Merrifield, a hard-working laboring man, was attacked with Cholera on the evening of the 17th, and notwithstanding every effort was made by those in attendance, to save him, he continued to sink until the morning of the 19th, when he expired.

 

“Mrs. Wm. Hart, attacked with Cholera on the evening of the 20th and died about 9 o’clock on the morning of the 21st. The husband of Mrs. H. is now in California. She leaves four small children to be taken care of until their father returns to his charge. Mrs. H’s youngest child also died with an attack of Cholera on the 22d.

 

“Benjamin Eaton’s infant, 5 or seven months old, from Summer Complaint. Died on the 22d.

 

“Mrs. Alexander H. Perkins. Cholera. Attacked about 3 o’clock in the morning of the 22d – expired at 10 o’clock same day. Mrs. P. was aged about 35 years, and died with Christian faith and fortitude, highly respected by all who knew her….

 

“Christian Mock, aged about fourteen years, Cholera. Attacked on afternoon of 22d. Died on 23d, about one mile north of town.

 

“Widow Walker, mother-in-law of James M. Miller, merchant of this place, Cholera. Attacked several days preceding death; died on the morning of the 24th.

 

“Mrs. James M. Miller, daughter of Mrs. Walker, attacked with Cholera same morning of her mother’s decease, and expired at half past eleven, same night.  These two ladies were amongst our most respectable females and highly esteemed and respected by all.

 

“James B. Harris, Esq. School Commissioner, aged about 40 years. Attacked by Cholera on the 24th at eleven o’clock at night – died at seven o’clock on morning of the 25th.  Mr. H. was one of the most steady, sober and useful citizens in our community, beloved by all who ever knew him. His death to our town and county is a public loss.

 

“Wife of Samuel Goodrich, attacked on the afternoon of 24th and died about noon on 25th.

 

“Widow Peggy Grey, aged about 40 years. Attacked with Cholera on the night of the 24th – died on afternoon of 25th.

 

“Walter C., youngest son of Hon. O. B. Ficklin, aged about 16 months. Died of Cholera infantum, near Greenup.

 

“John Cline, Esq. of the Charleston Hotel. Attacked with fever, and during the alarm of last week, was removed to his Father’s near Grandview, where he died on Monday last. Mr. C. was an estimable and useful citizen.

 

“Infant of Rev. R.A. Mitchell, died…on 18th July, from Cholera Infantum….

 

“These deaths, including those of the three previously noticed, make an aggregate of 23 deaths, 14 of which have been from Asiatic Cholera. There has been some several deaths in other parts of the county, of which we have as yet had no account. We have been careful in making out this statement to get at correct information, and presume it will be found right in every particular.

 

“A large portion of our population have left for ‘other parts’. We think we may now say to them that they run but little risk in returning to their homes and their business. We have good reasons to believe that the worst has come and gone, and we ardently hope we may never see the like again….

 

“Since writing the foregoing, we learn that Cholera has broken out in Goose Nest Prairie, 8 miles south of this place, and that there has been 4 deaths, to wit: Grandmother Furry, wife of Peter Furry, who is now lying in a critical state, recovery doubtful, also his son Jacob’s wife & child, also the wife of James W. Parkinson. There are several other cases reported at that point.”  (Charleston Courier, IL.  “The Cholera and its Ravages.” 7-31-1851; transcribed by Kimberly Torp in “Epidemics in Coles County.”)

 

Aug 1 report, Waverly:  “Waverly. — We deeply regret to learn, through a letter from a friend in Waverly, written on Wednesday last, that the cholera has carried off several persons, in addition to those heretofore mentioned.  The names of the victims are as follows, viz:

 

Dr. Challen and son; his sister (a widow Corrington, from Jacksonville);

Drs. Malone and Hitchcock;

Rev. Mr. McMurray, wife, and three children;

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (old people);

Mr. T. K. Smith, wife and child;

1. Smith;
2. Smith;

A child of Mr. J. Woods;

Mrs. Phelps (an elderly widow lady);

and Mr. W. Cadwell.

 

“Our correspondent says:  — ‘It was truly a melancholy spectacle to notice our stoutest and most active citizens in the street at 6 P.M., and to see them placed in their long home the next day at 8 A.M.’  He adds – that no new cases have occurred since Monday night; and that strong hopes are entertained by the physicians…that the disease has finally disappeared.” (Alton Telegraph, IL.  8-1-1851, 1.)

 

Macoupin County: “In 1851, there was a serious outbreak of cholera in Macoupin County, especially in the towns and railroad camps along the railroad. At that time there were several cholera deaths in Shipman, and Carlinville lost one fifth of its population to cholera. In the cholera epidemic in Shipman, the first person to die was a Mr. Talman. He was a new blacksmith who had just moved to Shipman and set up in business. He died within a few hours of being stricken. His wife and baby both came down with cholera at the same time as he did. The baby died, but the wife recovered. Two women without dependent families were asked to volunteer to take care of the Talmans. One of those soon died; the other became ill but recovered. A woman who had been doing washings for the Talmans also died. Several other people living in Shipman died including the rail road construction workers boarding in a home in Shipman. An estimated 80 to 200 deaths from cholera occurred to railroad construction workers working on the railroad between Plainview and Carlinville. You can imagine the fear this deadly epidemic imposed on the daily lives at that time.”  (Frank, Jim. History of Shipman, Macoupin County, IL. (Based on presentation to the Macoupin County Historical Society.)

 

Iowa

 

“The season of 1851 will long be remembered for the vast amount of rain which fell during the spring and summer. The floods began early in May and continued into July. Rain fell in torrents until the sloughs and ravines were filled with water which flowed into the swollen creeks and rivers, carrying fences and bridges away. The roads became almost impassable, the cultivated fields were quagmires, the river bottoms were inundated miles in width.

 

“In a large portion of the State farmers were unable to put in crops, and where they had been planted the floods destroyed them. The low lands became vast lakes, while mud and water seemed to take possession of the farms, flat lands and valleys. The Mississippi River encroached upon the towns and cities along its banks, flooding business houses and dwellings and driving people with their movable property to the high lands. At Des Moines the river at one time reached a height of twenty-two feet above its ordinary stage. At Eddyville, Ottumwa, Iowaville and other towns, the people were driven from their homes, while driftwood and sand lodged in their lots, filling wells and cellars with mud and water. The farms along valleys and broad river bottoms suffered most. Stock was drowned, houses, barns and premises flooded, great ditches were cut through the fields, bridges and fences carried away and general desolation prevailed. When the rains ceased in July, hot dry weather came, baking the saturated soil, parching the vegetation which had survived the floods, so that crops were almost a failure throughout the State. Cholera broke out along the Des Moines and Mississippi rivers and the ravages of that plague added to the misery of the people. The frightful disease struck down hundreds in apparent robust health, often terminating in death within a few hours. In some localities famine threatened to add to the horrors of floods and pestilence, as the crops were so nearly destroyed that there was little food left for the people. This was the darkest period in Iowa’s history. The loss of crops had impoverished thousands.  The scourge of cholera had alarmed them; famine threatened and many sold their farms for half their value and left the State. Those who remained soon found the best market they had ever known for horses, oxen, cows and corn from the crowds of emigrants who were crossing Iowa for the California gold-fields.”  (Gue, Benjamin F.  History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century, Vol. 1, Chapter XXI. 1903.)

 

July 23 Newspaper:

“Cholera
“From the Mt. Pleasant Observer

“The following deaths have occurred west of Mt. Pleasant from this disease since our last issue, to wit:

Robert Woodworth, near Rome.

The wife and son of Thos. Smith, near Rome.

Geo. Rice and daughter, 2 miles west of Mt. Pleasant.

Miss Penelope Glover, 1 mile west of Mt. Pleasant.

Marion Park, 4 miles west of Mt. Pleasant.

 

“The whole number of deaths by cholera since it broke out (June 4th,) is twenty-two.
“The last death took place on the 16th. Mrs. Kean was considered past recovery on Sabbath last but is now on the mend and will in all probability get well. The Rev. John Harris is the only individual in Mt. Pleasant that has been attacked with the past week — he is on the mend.
“Mrs. Scott at Rome and Mrs. Berry near Rome died on the 16th, but not with cholera, if we have been rightly informed.

“It is now the general opinion that the epidemic has ceased its ravages for the present. We hope its last victim has fallen and that the citizens of our county will again be blest with health. Already the excitement occasioned by the disease has died away, but it is painful, indeed, to reflect upon the ruin that has been wrought. We have lost a number of our best and most enterprising citizens.”  (Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA.  “Cholera.” 6-26-1851.)

 

“The Dubuque papers record the death of several of the citizens of that city by cholera.  The disease seems to be confined to one locality, foot of Main street, the remaining portion of the city continues healthy.  But little alarm is felt.” (Prairie Du Chien Patriot, WI.  “Cholera.” 7-23-1851, 2.)

 

July 24 Newspaper: “The last Fairfield Sentinel says the Cholera has made its appearance in the neighborhood of that place.  The family of William Vermillion living three or four miles from town, and Solomon Shaffer and wife living seven miles north of the town died of cholera during the past week.  Others in the neighborhood have been attacked, but hopes are entertained of their recovery.”  (Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. 7-24-1851, 1.)

 

July 7 Newspaper: “Cholera in Fort Madison.

“The ‘Statesman’ says that the following persons have died in that place from Cholera, since its first breaking out, last Friday week:

 

Mrs. Ellen Stripe,

Maj. Jacob Hunor,

A.B. Beamish,

Rufus Burr,

Miss Iowa Anderson,

Mrs. Sarah B. Adamson,

George Cornwall,

Mrs. Mary Church,

Mrs. Simmons, and

son of W.B. Adamson.

 

“The ‘Statesman’ says that the health of the town on Friday, Aug. 1st was better than it had been during the week.

“West Point.
The deaths at this place from cholera last week, are as follows:

 

Jno. B. Richey,

Mrs. Elizabeth Grant,

Mrs. Lowry (wife of Dr. Lowry),

Mrs. Gilmore, and
a child of E. Perdew — the two latter in the vicinity of the town.

 

“James G. Edwards Obituary.
“Died, at his residence in this city, on Tuesday August 5th, at 3 o’clock, A.M., James G. Edwards, late editor of the Hawk-Eye, in the 50th year of his age.  Mr. Edwards was attacked on the 18th of July, with a bilious cholera morbus, which threatened for some days to prove fatal, but by the skill and assiduity of his physician, the disease was arrested and he was again
convalescent.  On Thursday last, he was able to walk about his rooms, and was making some arrangements to take a short journey for the benefit of his health.  Owing to some unknown cause he was violently attacked with Cholera the same evening; and was almost instantly thrown into a collapsed state, and lingered in that condition until Tuesday morning when his spirit took its flight.”  (Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. 8-7-1851.)

 

July: “Number of Interments in the Aspen Grove Cemetery [Burlington], in the month of July, 1851.  Total – 36, of this number, 28 were of cholera; the balance other diseases….”  (Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. 8-14-1851.)

 

Kentucky

 

July: “The Eddyville Telegraph of 11^th inst. says:  At Bell’s coal mines, near the mouth of Tradewater, this fatal disease has prevailed to a most alarming extent. We understand that about 25 or [more?] persons, mostly miners and their children, have fallen victims to its ravages.” (Elyria Courier, OH. “The Cholera in the West.” 7-29-1851, 2.)

 

Missouri

 

Chambers: “At St. Louis, on April 11, the steamer Latona arrived from the southern metropolis [New Orleans] with a boatload of cholera-infected immigrants. The disease spread and 845 deaths occurred.” (Chambers. The Conquest of Cholera, 1938, p. 253; cites U.S. Ex. Doc. No. 95, The Cholera Epidemic of 1873, p. 634.)

 

July 9, Weston:  “The cholera seems to have broken out afresh at Weslo [unclear – Westo or Weston?[156]], Mo.  The officers of the Saranak inform us that there were five cases in the town on the 9^th inst.  All the towns above, and with one or two exceptions, those below, are free of the dreadful disease.” (Elyria Courier, OH. “The Cholera in the West.” 7-29-1851, 2.)

 

July 10, St. Louis: “Deaths in St. Louis, for the week ending July 10^th, 216.  Seventy-four were of Cholera.” (Republican Compiler, Gettysburg, PA. “News of all Sorts.” 7-28-1851, 3.)

 

July 14, St. Louis:  “Number of interments in St. Louis on the 14^th from this disease, 12.”  (Prairie Du Chien Patriot, WI. “Cholera.” 7-23-1851, 2.)

 

July 15-21, St. Louis:  “During the week ending the 21^st the number of deaths in St. Louis was 250 [50 part is unclear], of whom 50 were by cholera.  No less than 104 were under five years of age.”  (Milwaukee Daily Sentinel. “Health of St. Louis.” 7-29-1851, 2.)

 

July 30: “St. Louis. – The mortality for the 15^th inst. was 30 – of which 8 were deaths by cholera.”  (Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “St. Louis.” 7-30-1851, 5.)

 

Ohio

 

July 16 Newspaper: “The Hillsborough (Ohio) Gazette of the 16^th says:  This dreadful disease is prevailing in the western part of this country.  At Dodsonville, and immediate vicinity, there have been ten fatal cases.  Six of the Gordon family, Rev. Mr. Daggy, Widow Ellis and two others have fallen victims.  In the neighborhood of Princetown, there were several cases, only two of which, so far as we have heard, proved fatal.  There have been several cases in the neighborhood of Lynchburg, three of which proved fatal!  There is considerable alarm in the infected district.”  (Elyria Courier, OH.  “The Cholera in the West.” 7-29-1851, 2.)

 

Aug 2 Newspaper: “A few cases are daily reported in Cincinnati, but no alarm exists. In Highland county it has prevailed in a few towns with considerable violence. In Dodsonville and neighborhood, twelve deaths have occurred.  The towns are mostly deserted.  In Lynchburg, there has been four deaths.  In Princeton five.  At Marion, two or three fatal cases have been reported.” (Sheboygan Mercury, WI. “Cholera in Ohio.” 8-2-1851, 2.)

 

Oct 8 Newspaper: “The Cincinnati Commercial of Thursday says” ‘We learn from Major Vandorn, that the cholera broke out among the soldiers in Newport Barracks day before yesterday. Up to yesterday at 4 o’clock, twenty-two sere attacked, three of whom had died….” (Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “Cholera in Newport (Ohio) Barracks,” 10-8-1851, 7.)

 

Tennessee

 

Shanks: “At a meeting of the Memphis Medical Society, held March 17, 1852, on motion of Dr. Shanks (President of the Board of Health) the quarterly reports upon the diseases and mortuary statistics of the city for the past year to be forwarded to the Board of Health of the city of New Orleans, in compliance with a request made last year, that all interesting information on these subjects should be reciprocally communicated. In discharge of this duty the following report is respectfully transmitted to the Secretary of the Board of Health for the city of New Orleans….

 

[From Table on Mortality in the City of Memphis for the year 1851, amongst the categories of death and numbers for each were cholera, 94; diarrhea, 56, dysentery, 8, cholera infantum, 40; digestive system, 37; and not specified, 197; out of a total of 717 deaths. There is a note to the table, however, which notes that “The Hospital is a State Institution – is out of the City limits – the deaths there are not reported to the Board of Health, and therefore are not embraced in the above table.”

 

“The table showing the mortality for each month, and the aggregate mortality for the year 1851 in the city of Memphis, presents a large number of deaths for the year; the greatest mortality, in proportion to the population, that has occurred in the past 15 years….The same returns made the aggregate deaths for the year ending June 1^st, 1850, amount to 354….Notwithstanding the mortality from Cholera, however, the number of deaths during the year only amounted to about 3 per cent of the population of the city and suburbs….

 

“May….Cholera commenced in families who had not been exposed to the disease in 1849; having emigrated here from the interior of Mississippi but a few months before the disease commenced among them. They were otherwise rendered more susceptible to the disease from want of proper accommodations, and the imprudent use of crude vegetables and fish. Fatal cases had occurred at various places along the river below, and several deaths on the opposite bank, before it commenced here….

 

“June….The register shows 47 deaths from Cholera, 34 from other diseases of the digestive system, 20 of whom were from Cholera Infantum, to which may doubtless be added a large portion of the 32 registered – disease not specified. Of the 12 deaths from diseases of the respirative system, most of them were produced by the Cholera influence. To the epidemic Cholera, the great excess of mortality of May and June may fairly be attributed….Total number of deaths for June, 145.

 

“July….The register shows 17 deaths from Cholera, 6 from Diarrhoea, 1 Dysentery, 12 Cholera Infantum, 7 Fever, 13 diseases not specified, most of whom, probably, died of Cholera. The total number of deaths in the month 87….

 

“August….Total number of deaths 61….

 

“September….Total number [of deaths] for the month 73….

 

“October….The large mortality for this month was produced by bowel affections, and fevers of a congestive form, complicated with inflammation of the digestive system. Total number of deaths for the month 72….

 

“November….The diseases of the respirative and digestive systems produced the chief mortality. Total number of deaths 38.

 

“December….Four deaths from Cholera are registered, and the remnant of Cholera influence increased the mortality for the month. The total number of deaths were 50….

 

“The four first months of 1851 five an aggregate of 118 deaths. These months, ordinarily, in Memphis, are nearly as fatal as the average of the year; and notwithstanding the mortality of April was increased by Cholera, the same proportion for the other months would only make an aggregate of 354 deaths for the whole year. This would be more than a full ordinary amount of mortality for the city, with its present population. The prominent causes, then, of the great excess of mortality for the past year, must be traced, from their effects, in the last eight months.

 

“The first cause worthy of special notice is the fact that an unusual amount of grading of streets and lots had been done during the previous fall and winter. Numerous repeated and careful observations have demonstrated the fact that the extensive exposure of the sub-soil in the Mississippi valley, which is highly vegetable in its composition, is productive of disease when acted upon by heat and moisture of the spring and summer, in this and the more Southern latitudes.

 

“The second cause of mortality, prominent for its effects, which extended through much of the summer, though much marked by its complications with other causes, is demonstrated by its recorded fatality in the table – viz. Cholera….

 

“The third cause, or causes, require more full and particular consideration, for the purpose of understanding the various influences which produced so large an amount of mortality after Cholera had subsided as an epidemic – a great mortality extending to the month of Demember

 

“In the past fifteen years, more cases of fever have occurred during high water, when its surface was covered with drift and vegetable matter, and immediately after the water subsided in midsummer, than under any other circumstances. The past summer and fall these most efficient causes of diseases, as demonstrated from the observations of many previous years, continued in active operation until December….”

 

(Shanks, Professor and M.D. “Report of the Mortuary Statistics of Memphis, Tenn., for 1851 (Made by a Committee appointed by the Medical Society).” New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. 8, Part First, July, 1852, pp. 12-21.)

 

July 26 Newspaper: “Deaths at Memphis (Tenn.), for the week ending 5^th inst., 29.  From cholera, 6.” (Newport Daily News, RI.  “Health of the Country.” 7-26-1851, 2.)

 

Steamer St. Ange

 

“The steamer Saranak arrived at St. Louis on the 11^th  from Council Bluffs, on thee Missouri River.  She reports having met the steamer St. Ange on the 25th of June above the mouth. of the Vermillion River — Up to that time there had been thirteen deaths from Cholera on board, including in the number Rev. Father Hoyan, who, in company with Rev. Father De Smith had started on a religious mission to the various Catholic stations among the Indians and in Oregon Territory.  The second engineer of the St. Ange had also died of the prevailing disease.  When met, the sickness had entirely abated.”  (Elyria Courier, OH.  “The Cholera in the West.” 7-29-1851, p. 2.)

 

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Burlington Hawk-Eye IA. “Cholera at Davenport.” 8-14-1851, p. 1, col. 1. Accessed 4-23-2015: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/iowa/burlington/burlington-hawk-eye/1851/08-14/page-5?tag

 

Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. [Cholera, Athens, IL] 7-17-1851, p. 1, col. 1. Accessed 5-1-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/iowa/burlington/burlington-hawk-eye/1851/07-17?tag

 

Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. [Cholera, Fairfield IA] 7-24-1851, 1.  Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=492854

 

Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. “Cholera in Fort Madison.” 8-7-1851. Accessed at:  http://www.iowaoldpress.com/IA/Desmoines/1851/AUG.html

 

Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. “Cholera in Fort Madison and West Point.” 7-31-1851, p. 5, col. 5. Accessed 5-1-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/iowa/burlington/burlington-hawk-eye/1851/07-31/page-5?tag

 

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Burlington Hawk-Eye IA. “West Point [Cholera].” 8-7-1851. Accessed at:  http://www.iowaoldpress.com/IA/Desmoines/1851/AUG.html

 

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Chapman, Chas. C. & Co. History of Fulton County, Illinois. Peoria: C. C. Chapman & Co. 1879. Accessed at:  http://archive.org/details/historyoffultonc00chas

 

Charleston Courier, IL. “The Cholera and its Ravages.” 7-31-1851; transcribed by Kimberly Torp in “Epidemics in Coles County.” At:  http://genealogytrails.com/ill/coles/cholera.html

 

Collins, Lewis and Richard H. Collins. Collins’ Historical Sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky By the late Lewis Collins, Judge of the Mason County Court. Revised, Enlarged Four-Fold, and Brought Down to the Year 1874, by his son Richard H. Collins (Vol. I). Covington, KY: Collins & Co., 1882. Accessed 2-16-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=xMM6AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

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Daily Banner, Madison, IN. “St. Louis, July 5, 8 p.m.” 7-7-1851, p. 2, col. 4. Accessed 4-30-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/indiana/madison/madison-daily-banner/1851/07-07/page-2?tag

 

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Daily Courier, Louisville. “Cholera in Pendleton.” 9-1-1851. Transcription accessed 4-25-2015 from nkyviews.com at: http://www.nkyviews.com/pendleton/text/cholera.html

 

Daily Ledger, New Albany, IN. “Cholera in Alabama.” 2-19-1851, p. 2. col. 2. Accessed 4-21-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/indiana/new-albany/new-albany-daily-ledger/1851/02-19/page-2?tag

 

Danville Weekly Advertiser, IN. “Mail Clippings.” 1-25-1851, p. 2, col. 3. Accessed 4-20-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/indiana/danville/danville-weekly-advertiser/1851/01-25/page-2?tag

 

Dexter, Darrel (transcriber). “Obituaries and Death Notices, The Cairo Sun, 10 Apr 1851-26 Feb 1852, Cairo, Alexander County, Illinois. Accessed 5-1-2015 at: http://rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilgssi/Cairo/obits_1851-52.html

 

Elyria Courier, OH. “The Cholera in the West.” 7-29-1851, 2. Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=29967277

 

Evansville Daily Journal, IN. 6-12-1851, p. 2, col. 1. Accessed 5-13-2015 at: https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=EDJ18510612.1.2&srpos=8&e=01-01-1851-31-12-1851–en-20–1–txt-txIN-cholera—–#

 

Evansville Daily Journal, IN. [Cholera, St. Louis] 7-12-1851, p. 2, col. 5. Accessed 5-14-2015 at: https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=EDJ18510712.1.2&srpos=86&e=01-01-1851-31-12-1851–en-20–81–txt-txIN-cholera—–#

 

Field, David D. Centennial Address, with Historical Sketches of Cromwell, Portland, Chatham, Middle-Haddam, Middletown and its Parishes. Middletown, CT: William B. Casey, 1853. Accessed 4-28-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=hwsWAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

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Foreman, Grant. The Five Civilized Tribes: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole.  Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1934. Accessed 4-22-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=-Dp4qxWDOMUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

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Frank, Jim. History of Shipman, Macoupin County, IL. (Based on presentation to the Macoupin County Historical Society.) Accessed 5-7-2012 at: http://macoupinctygenealogy.org/history/shipman.html

 

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Gjerset, Knut, and Ludvig Hektoen. Health Conditions and the Practice of Medicine Among the Early Norwegian Settlers, 1825-1865 (Vol. I). Accessed at the Norwegian-American Historical Association website on 5-11-2015 at: http://www.naha.stolaf.edu/pubs/nas/volume01/vol1_01.htm

 

Goodspeed, Weston A. and Daniel D. Healy (Editors). History of Cook County Illinois (Vol. 1 of Two). Chicago: Goodspeed Historical Association, 1909. Google Digitized at: https://books.google.com/books?id=odQpAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Gue, Benjamin F. History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century, Vol. 1, Chapter XXI.  NYC:  Century History Company, 1903. Accessed 5-8-2012 at:  http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/History_of_Iowa_From_the_Earliest_Times_to_the_Beginning_of_the_Twentieth_Century/1/Title_page

 

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Hall, George W. “An Account of the Epidemic Cholera as it Prevailed in the Town of Carthage, Illinois, in the Summer of 1851.” Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. LIII, No. 8, 9-20-1855, pp. 157-159. http://books.google.com/books?id=SwUHAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

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Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Cholera.” 6-22-1851, p. 1, col. 1. Accessed 5-13-2015 at: https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=ISSN18510612.1.1&srpos=4&e=01-01-1851-31-12-1851–en-20–1–txt-txIN-cholera—–#

 

Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Cholera.” 8-7-1851, p. 2. Accessed 5-14-2015 at: https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=ISSN18510807.1.2&srpos=117&e=01-01-1851-31-12-1851–en-20–101–txt-txIN-cholera—–#

 

Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Cholera at Keokuk, &c.” 8-14-1851, p. 4, col. 4. Accessed 5-14-2015 at: https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=ISSN18510814.1.4&srpos=106&e=01-01-1851-31-12-1851–en-20–101–txt-txIN-cholera—–#

 

Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Cholera at Newport.” 8-28-1851, p. 1, col. 4. Accessed 5-15-2015 at: https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=ISSN18510828.1.1&srpos=123&e=01-01-1851-31-12-1851–en-20–121–txt-txIN-cholera—–#

 

Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Cholera Below.” 5-8-1851, p. 3, col. 3. Accessed 4-23-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/indiana/indianapolis/indianapolis-indiana-state-sentinel/1851/05-08/page-3?tag

 

Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. [Cholera, Fort Madison] 8-7-1851, p. 3. Accessed 5-15-2015 at: https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=ISSN18510807.1.3&srpos=118&e=01-01-1851-31-12-1851–en-20–101–txt-txIN-cholera—–#

 

Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. [Cholera, Martinsville, IN] 7-10-1851, p. 2. Accessed 5-15-2015 at: https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=ISSN18510710.1.2&srpos=131&e=01-01-1851-31-12-1851–en-20–121–txt-txIN-cholera—–#

 

Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Dr. Lane Dead.” 6-22-1851, p. 1, col. 5. Accessed 5-13-2015 at: https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=ISSN18510612.1.1&srpos=4&e=01-01-1851-31-12-1851–en-20–1–txt-txIN-cholera—–#

 

Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “From New Mexico.” 8-14-1851, p. 3, col. 4. Accessed 5-15-2015 at: https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=ISSN18510814.1.3&srpos=129&e=01-01-1851-31-12-1851–en-20–121–txt-txIN-cholera—–#

 

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Madison Dollar Weekly Courier, IN. “From Louisville.” 3-5-1851, 3. Accessed 4-21-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/indiana/madison/madison-dollar-weekly-courier/1851/03-05/page-3?tag

 

Martin, Myra N. “Illinois Sesquicentennial.” Waverly Journal, Waverly, Morgan Co., IL: April-Oct, 1968. Transcribed for rootsweb.ancestry.com. Accessed 4-28-2015 at: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilmaga/newspapers/sesqui.html

 

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Meagher, John. History of Cole, Moniteau, Morgan, Benton, Miller, Maries, and Osage Counties, Missouri. Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1849. Cole County section transcribed by Tim Casey and Judy Milan, for Rootsweb.ancestry.com, “Cole County History…Municipalities.” 2002-2004. Accessed 4-25-2015 at: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mocole/municipalities.htm

 

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Moore, Col. W. S. “Old Settlers Day…” Fairfield Tribune, Jefferson County, IA. 8-23-1899, p. 6, cols. 3-4. Posted as “1851 Cholera Epidemic” by Debbie Nash for iagenweb.org, 3-1-2005 at: http://iagenweb.org/boards/jefferson/documents/index.cgi?read=68934

 

Moore, Robert. “Notes Upon the History of Cholera in St. Louis.” Pp. 41-47 in A Sanitary Survey of St. Louis, George Homan (Ed.), Concord, NY:  Republican Press Association, 1855. Google digitized: http://books.google.com/books?id=cllNAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

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Newport Daily News, RI. “Health of the Country.” 7-26-1851, 2. Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=56842780

 

Norton, W. T. (Editor and Compiler). Centennial History of Madison County, Illinois and Its People 1812-1912 (Vol. 1). Chicago and NY: Lewis Publishing Co., 1912. Accessed 4-28-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=Ox84AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Oldt, Franklin T. and Patrick Joseph Quigley. History of Dubuque County, Iowa; being a general survey of Dubuque County history, including a history of the city of Dubuque and special account of districts throughout the county, from the earliest settlement to the present time. Chicago: Goodspeed Historical Association, 1911. Accessed 4-24-2015 at: https://archive.org/details/historyofdubuque00oldt

 

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Perrin, W. H. and H. H. Hill. The Past and Present of Woodford County, Illinois. “Low Point.” Chicago:  Wm. Le Baron, Jr., & Co., 1878. Google digitized at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=-kkTAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Peters, John C. “General History of the Disease and the Principal Epidemics up to 1885,” Section I in Wendt, Edmund Charles (Ed.). A Treatise on Asiatic Cholera. NY: William Wood and Co., 1885. Digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=bk4gp1QXHM4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

 

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Plymouth Pilot, IN. “Cholera.” 5-28-1851, p. 3, col. 2. Accessed 5-13-2015 at: https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=PP18510528.1.2&e=01-01-1851-31-12-1851–en-20–1–txt-txIN-cholera—–#

 

Plymouth Pilot, IN. [Cholera, Weston, MO] 7-9-1851, p. 2, col. 1. Accessed 5-13-2015 at: https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=PP18510709.1.2&srpos=6&e=01-01-1851-31-12-1851–en-20–1–txt-txIN-cholera—–#

 

Prairie Du Chien Patriot, WI. [Cholera, Illinois State Penitentiary, Alton] 7-23-1851, p. 2. Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=33426574

 

Prairie Du Chien Patriot, WI. “Cholera in Quincy.” 7-23-1851, p. 2. Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=33426574

 

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Republican, Princeton, KY. “The Cholera.” 6-31-1851. Transcribed by Ruth Nichols and sent to Kenneth E. Gilkey, 4-10-2002 for upload to: Rootsweb.ancestry.com. “KYCAKDWE-L Archives.” Accessed 4-25-2015 at: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/KYCALDWE/2002-04/1018468103

 

Republican Compiler, Gettysburg, PA. “News of all Sorts” [Cholera]. 7-28-1851, 3. Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=2918676

 

Robinson, Doane (compiler), revised by Robert Floyd Kerr. A History of South Dakota From Earliest Times. Mitchell, S.D.: The Educator School Supply Co., Publishers, 1907. Accessed 4-23-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=9w47AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Rockland County Messenger, NY. “Died.” 8-7-1851, p. 2. Assessed from Hudson River Valley Heritage Historical Newspapers, 5-1-2015 at: http://news.hrvh.org/cgi-bin/newshrvh?a=d&d=rocklandmessenger18510807.2.12&cl=&srpos=0&st=1&e=——-20–1—–all

 

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Sangamon Daily Journal, Springfield, IL. 8-23-1851, p. 3, col. 1. Accessed 4-30-2015 at: http://idnc.library.illinois.edu/cgi-bin/illinois?a=d&d=SJO18510823.2.276#

 

Schuller, Gregory A. (transcriber). Excerpts from Reverend Levi Spencer Diaries (Nov 21, 1850-May 24, 1851). Transcribed 1993 from microfilm of the Illinois State Historical Society, Springfield. Accessed 5-1-2015 at: https://sites.google.com/site/peoriapastandpresent/home/peoria-cemeteries/peoria-public-burial-ground

 

Shane, Ralph M. “A Short History of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.” North Dakota History, Vol. 26, No. 4, Oct 1959. Abstracts excerpted by State Historical Society of North Dakota and accessed 4-23-2015 at: http://www.history.nd.gov/archives/manuscripts/inventory/10513.html

 

Shanks, Professor and M.D. “Report of the Mortuary Statistics of Memphis, Tenn., for 1851 (Made by a Committee appointed by the Medical Society).” New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. 8, Part First, July, 1852, pp. 12 (esp. 13)-21. Accessed 4-5-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=KuhDAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Sheboygan Lake Journal, WI.  [Cholera, Cincinnati]  7-23-1851, 2. Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=34208748

 

Sheboygan Mercury, WI. “Cholera in Ohio.” 8-2-1851, 2. Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=33316473

 

Sutton, George, M.D. “A Report to the Indiana State Medical Society, on Asiatic Cholera, as it Prevailed in this State in 1849-50-51-52.” Pages 109-175 in Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Indiana State Medical Society, held in the City of Lafayette, May, 1853. Indianapolis: Elder & Harkness-Steam Press Print, 1853. Accessed 3-1-2015 at:

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The Friend, Covington, IN. 10-18-1851, p. 3, col. 1. Accessed 4-24-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/indiana/covington/covington-peoples-friend/1851/10-18/page-3?tag

 

Thornton, G. B., M.D. “Six Years Sanitary Work in Memphis.” Mississippi Valley Medical Monthly, Memphis, TN, Vol. VII, No. 10, October, 1886, pp. 437-450. Accessed 4-21-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=HMNXAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

United States Department of the Interior. Indian Affairs. “Fort Berthold Agency.” Accessed 4-23-2015 at: http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/RegionalOffices/GreatPlains/WeAre/Agencies/FortBerthold/index.htm

 

Vache, Alexander F., M.D. “A Brief Historical Sketch of the Rise and Progress of Cholera, Etc., Etc., in a Letter Written to the Hon. C. D. Robinson, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Medical Societies and Colleges in the Senate of the State of New York.” 2-23-1850, in: Letters on Yellow Fever, Cholera, and Quarantine, Addressed to the Legislature of the State of New York: with Additions and Notes. NY: McSpedon & Baker, 1852. Accessed 4-24-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=44PeX7rlPCIC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Wabash Express, Terre-Haute, IN. 10-6-1851, p. 2, col. 1. Accessed 4-24-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/indiana/terre-haute/terre-haute-wabash-express/1851/10-08/page-2?tag

 

Weekly Tribune, Liberty, MO. “Cholera.” 6-27-1851. Transcribed by Ronald J. Reid 8-4-2007 for usgwarchives.net. Accessed 4-30-2015 at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mo/clay/newspapers/deathsin73gnw.txt

 

Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “Cholera in Illinois.” 7-30-1851, 5. Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=120024619

 

Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “Cholera in Newport [Ohio] Barracks,” Oct 8, 1851, 7. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=120024649

 

Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “St. Louis” [Cholera]. 7-30-1851, 5. Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=120024619

 

Weems, Robert. “Settlement of Worthington and Old Point Commerce.” Indiana Magazine of History. Vol. 12, Issue 1, March 1916, pp. 60-83. Accessed 4-21-2015 at: http://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/5962/5644

 

White, R. A. “Fort Mann, Kansas. ‘1846-1848.’” Accessed 5-15-2015 from the Santa Fe Research website at: http://www.santafetrailresearch.com/research/fort-mann-ra-white.html

 

Wikipedia. “Linden Grove Cemetery.” 4-9-2015 modification. Accessed 4-22-2015 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linden_Grove_Cemetery

[1] Compiled by B. Wayne Blanchard May 2015 for inclusion in website: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com

[2] Daily Ledger, New Albany, IN. “Cholera in Alabama.” 2-19-1851, p. 2. col. 2. Write-up: “The cholera broke out on board the steamer Arkansas, on the Tallapoosa river, lately on her way from Mobile with 360 emigrants, fifty of whom died, besides the pilot and cabin boy. Every one on board was sick. The emigrants were very unruly – the officers of the boat being obliged to keep them at bay with guns. One of the officers had more than forty fights with them. On landing at Wetumpka, the emigrants were so belligerent that the authorities had to order out the militia to suppress the riot.”

[3] “In May 1851, cholera was again carried to Fort Smith by two companies of the 5^th infantry, who came from Corpus Christi, Texas, with cholera.” McClellan writes: “At Fort Smith, Arkansas, on the 31^st of May, two companies of the 5^th U.S. Infantry arrived from Corpus Christi, Texas, with cholera which had broken out two days before their arrival. The companies had been transported on a Mississippi river boat. The disease infected the garrison and an aggravated epidemic occurred, which spread to the town and lasted until the following July. Of fifteen hospital attendants, seven (7) had cholera, two (2) died and four barely escaped with their lives.” Cites: Report of Acting Asst. Surgeon N. Spring, U.S.A.

[4] “Col. John J. Abercrombie in command of two companies of the Fifth Infantry arrived at Fort Smith from Fort Towson May 31 and the next day the cholera broke out in his command, twenty-seven men dying by the middle of June. The survivors were then moved six miles from the post to an isolated camp where they recovered their health.” (Cites AGO, ORD, Seventy Military Department, Fort Smith Letter Book No. 87; and Page to adjutant general, June 17, 1851, AGO, OFD, 117 B 51.)

[5] Grant Foreman. The Five Civilized Tribes.  Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1934, p. 137.

[6] Fort Smith Historical Society, Inc., The Journal (Sesquicentennial Commemorative Issue), “Early Settlers,” (From souvenir booklet entitled Old Fort Smith 1898). Vol. 16, No. 2, September, 1992, p. 24.

[7] Conservative numbers in that we have, for the most part, ignored deaths noted from diarrhea and other intestinal “complaints,” as well as the large number of deaths of individuals, cause not stated, in pieces noting cholera deaths.

[8] “It is a gratifying fact, that the health of this city has continued unimpaired since the departure of that fearful scourge, the cholera, from the banks of the Mississippi. The disease is now traveling towards the Lakes; and in its course visiting many places in the interior where it was never known before. –The total number of deaths by cholera in Alton this season—exclusive of 16 which occurred among the convicts in the Penitentiary—is 46; of whom a very large proportion were immigrants or strangers. The resident population were but slightly affected, as may be seen from the reports of mortality among organized societies. We take the Sons of Temperance and the Presbyterian Sunday-School as the largest and best examples for correct data among adults and children. The former number about 200 strong; and for the year just past but 3 deaths have occurred. The latter are about 200 scholars and teachers, and has lost but 2 members within the year. This will give a correct idea of the health of Alton, and also show to what class of citizens the mortality has been chiefly confined this season.”

[9] “Within the last week the cholera has made its appearance in our town and one or two other places in Pike county [to the north]. On Tuesday of last week [July 1] a lady was attacked with the disease in the forenoon and died about four o’clock.

[10] Elderly woman named as Mrs. Gwinn, who, it was written “had been traveling on the river.”

[11] Mr. and Mrs. David Aber, and “Young child of Mr. Thomas Cowden.” Also noted that “The last for cases occurred in one building, and so far as we can learn, in no other locality in or about our town…”

[12] “The whole number of deaths by cholera in the Penitentiary was but 16; and no new cases have occurred for two or three weeks.”

[13] Vache. Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54.

[14] This might have been Mr. David Clark, who, after caring for cholera victims in Lewiston, “went to Bluff City where the cholera soon made its appearance. He again waited on and nursed the sick, was himself taken down and died, being the last case.” (Jacobs, H. S. “The Cholera Epidemic of 1851.” Lewistown Democrat, IL, 6-5-1879.)

[15] “We learn that the cholera attacked an English family who recently settled near Bunkerhill, a few days since, and at the last accounts, four out of its five members had fallen victims to the disease.”

[16] David P. Abbott, about 24, and John Healey, about 22.

[17] This is our guestimate for Carlinville and the railroad construction work between Carlinville and Plainview.  Frank writes that “Carlinville lost one fifth of its population to cholera,” without noting the size of the population.  He adds that “An estimated 80 to 200 deaths from cholera occurred to railroad construction workers working on the railroad between Plainview and Carlinville.” Guestimating 100 fatalities is our attempt to be conservative.

[18] “There were several cases of cholera at Carrollton last week, and two deaths reported – Mr. and Mrs. Guthrie…”

[19] Noted in the August 8 edition of the Monmouth Atlas, Monmouth, IL (based on a note in the Quincy Whig, date not specified): “Deaths from cholera at Carthage, Hancock Co. Nearly all of the family of Mr. Artois Hamilton have died at the Carthage Hotel. Marvin, the eldest son, died Sat. Mr. Page, a boarder at the hotel, Alva A. Cole and Orville B. Chapin.” The Aug 16 edition of the Monmouth Atlas, citing the Warsaw Signal, notes: “Five members of the family of Artois Hamilton have been carried off by cholera. On the 16^th ult., daughter Amelia, sister Ada, a Miss Chapin and Mr. Frisbee. On the 17^th, Alvin A Cole and Orville Be. Chapin, father of Miss Chapin; on the 18^th, wife, Mrs. Atta B. Hamilton; on the 19^th, Marvin M., the eldest son and Mr. Page; on the 24^th, Miss Lavinia, a sister; on the 25^th Mr. Legrand Dolittle, a citizen of Carthage.” [This appears to name 11 victims.]

[20] This does not include about a dozen additional deaths attributed to cholera infantum, summer complaint, or fever.

[21] The American History and Genealogy notes eleven deaths. Another source lists fifteen deaths: (1) 16-year-old son of Abner Walker (Lawson H. Walker?, about mid-June), (2) Mr. Abner Walker, (3) Mr. Walker’s daughter, Abigail, about 12, (4) child of Mr. Holbrook, (5) Mrs. John Hoon, (6) John Green, (7) Mrs. Julia Luster, (8) Joseph Sisson, (9) Rollin Ransom, (10) Charles Bruth, (11) Abijah Roberts, (12) Lafayette Ratekin, (13) George Talley, (14) Jacob Perkins, and (15) A. J. Willey. (Excerpts from the Monmouth Atlas, Monmouth, IL, from 1851.) From the URL we gather that the transcribers are Warren Carmack and Marsh Rising and that the posting was 3-13-2010.

[22] Vache (Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54), notes cholera was present, without noting fatalities.

[23] Continental Historical Co. History of Green and Jersey Counties, Illinois. 1885, pp. 470-550 (Judy Griffin trans.).

[24] Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. 8-7-1851, p. 2.

[25] Vache (Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54) notes presence of cholera but not death toll.

[26] Article gives the names of 37 people who died from cholera, and writes that “These are the names of the majority of those who died, although there were others whose names we could not get.” A URL for article is in “Sources.”

[27] Vache (Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54) notes presence of cholera but not death toll.

[28] Mr. Philip Firce, about fifty; Mr. William Barrows, about thirty; Mrs. Wm. Barrows; Dency Barrows, 12-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Barrows; Mr. John Ginnivan (Aug 1); child of Mr. Eby, Aug 1 (though noted as diarrhea).

[29] Dexter, D. (transcriber). “Obituaries and Death Notices, The Cairo Delta, 11 Jan 1849-20 Sep 1849…Illinois.”

[30] “The Nashville, Ills., Era, says that but four deaths by cholera occurred in that town, and that the awful scourge left as suddenly as it had appeared.”

[31] “…two…[cholera deaths] occurred in the county seat, Olney. We are informed that business is entirely suspended in that heretofore healthy village. Many of the citizens have fled the place, and others we hear are preparing. Now if the cholera is not contagious – and we believe the medical faculty all agree that such is the fact – we think the absentees display a great deal more cowardice than common sense. – Salem Gazette, July 3d.”

[32] Friday. May 23, 1851: “….Cholera has again appeared in our city. A poor family were landed upon the river bank yesterday with a dead child; and soon after the father was taken down violently sick…They were taken into an empty house, where he lingered until about ten o’clock this morning when he died.”

[33] Vache (Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54), notes presence of cholera but not death toll.

[34] “At Perry, there had been up to Monday evening, some six cases, two of which had proven fatal.”

[35] This is if we are reading the text correctly – which states that “there were two hundred victims.”

[36] “The Whig of Tuesday says that the number of deaths in Quincy during the week ending on the 30^th ult. [Monday], amounted to 30; of which 28 were of cholera. It was hoped that the worst was over.”

[37] The Monmouth Atlas, IL, on Aug 16, ran article from the Aug 5 edition of the Quincy Whig naming 21 deaths.

[38] This may somewhat the cholera deaths in that it is not perfectly clear these are not total deaths as opposed to just cholera deaths for this and the next week.  This article, however, is concerned with the cholera and its fatalities.

[39] “….there have been eleven deaths in the county of Richland, two of which occurred in the county seat, Olney… Salem Gazette, July 3d.” [We note Olney deaths under that heading, and thus subtract those two deaths here.

[40] Vache (Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera... 1852, p. 54) merely notes cholera appeared in Rushville.

[41] “The Rushville Telegraph announces the appearance of cholera in that place. Mr. Agnew, and his wife, had died of it. There had been two or three other cases.”

[42] Our guestimated number based on: “The Bardstown Gazette says that the cholera still lingers in Rushville. Some few deaths occurred last week, and on Monday of this week three new cases were reported.” We assume that “a few deaths” is approximately three or more; and, this was in one week, with other cases following in the next week.

[43] “Died at his residence in Savanna, Carroll County, Illinois, of Cholera, on Sunday night the 20^th of July, Rev. James Hildreth, aged 38, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church at that place, also at the same time and place Theodore and Mary Rutgers, children…aged, the first 2 years and 3 months, the latter 10 months, they all died within one hour of each other and were buried together.”

[44] “It is stated that but three deaths of cholera have occurred on Smooth Prairie. These were Mrs. Harris, a child of J. C. Young, Esq., and a child of Mr. J. M. Foster.”

[45] Dexter (transcriber). “Obituaries and Death Notices, The Cairo Delta, 11 Jan 1849-20 Sep 1849…Illinois.”

[46] From another source we find the names of Mr. B. G. Barton, July 30, and Mr. John Mitchell, about 30. (Monmouth Atlas, Monmouth, IL, from 1851 (abstracts from).)

[47] Thirty-six named fatalities are recorded, along with the note that “These are the names of a majority of those who died, although there were others whose names we could not get.”

[48] Another source writes: “The 1851 [cholera] epidemic hit Waverly, the second largest town in the county. Many died and were buried in the southwest corner of East Cemetery. Among those who died at Waverly was a Methodist minister, Rev. Wilson S. McMurray, his wife and three children.” (Martin, Myra N. “Illinois Sesquicentennial.” Waverly Journal, Waverly, Morgan Co., IL: April-Oct, 1968.)

[49] “In the year 1851, Aurora…had a few cases of cholera… In August, one of our physicians, a few days after his return from Cincinnati, was attacked with cholera, and died after about eight hours’ illness; ten days afterwards, a woman who resided in the next house to the doctor’s was also attacked, and died in a few hours. On the 9^th of September, about 14 days after, a little girl residing in another part of the town was attacked with cholera and died; five days afterwards, her father had a severe attack, but recovered. About the same time, a little boy residing near these cases, died with symptoms of cholera; four days afterwards, his sister, who was a servant-girl at the house of one of our physicians, was attacked with cholera and died. These were all the deaths that occurred at Aurora and in its vicinity in the year 1851.”

[50] Vache (Letters on Yellow Fever…Cholera…, 1852, p. 54) notes presence of cholera, but not mortality.

[51] Our guestimated number based on: “Cholera swept this part of Indiana in 1851, and Bloomington did not escape, quite a number of her citizens dying from the dreaded disease. So dangerous became conditions from the epidemic that the State University closed down and the students were sent home. The Town Council purchased 200 bushels of fresh lime, which was scattered throughout the town. It was also decreed by the Council that all saloons be closed until the scourge was safely passed. This was indeed a wise move, as it was at this time (1851052) that the new railroad – the New Albany & Salem Railroad was being graded and construction work going on in the town of Bloomington, and great gangs of men were employed here.” Another source writes: “The cholera which prevailed at Bloomington for about ten days after the late College commencement, has entirely disappeared, and the usual good health of the place is already restored.” (Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Indiana University.” 10-9-1851, p. 3.)

[52] “Dr. S. Ritter informs me that while cholera was prevailing at Pleasant Garden, in Putnam County [1851], the disease made its appearance at Brazil, which is five miles from that town in the north part of this county. The Doctor writes, so far as it is known, the disease was not taken there, unless by the physicians, one of whom saw some of the cholera cases near Pleasant Garden. At the time he saw these cases, he was attending a woman who had just been confined. In a few days afterwards, this woman took the cholera and died. From this case the disease seemed to spread; there were several deaths in the family, and he writes that he has been informed that all who died, with the exception of one case, had visited this family. He says that at the house where it first made its appearance, there was a cellar filled with stagnant water, with dead animals in it….” We assume four or more deaths based on statements that the confined woman died, and “several” members of her family (which we take to be something like three). In addition it is noted that the disease spread to others, though no information is provided as to any fatalities.

[53] “On section 50 of the new let work, some four miles above Cox’s Mills, where too many hands had probably been crowded together, there were lately two deaths by Cholera. The laborers on the line are healthy, and there is no prospect of the work being interrupted by sickness.–Evansville Journal.”

[54] “From Evansville, Prof. G. B. Walker writes, ‘that cholera has prevailed with considerable mortality in this city and its vicinity, for the last four years….In the summer of 1851, and summer of 1852 it prevailed, but not to the same alarming extent [as 1849], carrying off about 50, or one-half of one per cent. of the population each season…”

[55] “Dr. Girdner writes from Greenville, in this county, and his remarks are endorsed by Dr. Links of the same place, that cholera prevailed in that neighborhood in 1849, 1850 and 1851….in 1851, three cases and two deaths.”

[56] Our number based on: “It would seem that the Cholera has made its appearance lately in Hendricks community. The Danville Advertiser of last Saturday [Oct 11?] says: We understand that several deaths have occurred in the south western part of this county, within the last two weeks, from a disease which the physicians pronounce cholera. It made its first appearance in an Irish shanty on the Railroad two or three miles from Springtown, and but one persons out of the seven or eight cases, survived the attack.”

[57] German emigrant “landed from the steamer North River” July 3 “in a dying condition and died in a few hours.”

[58] “There have been eleven cases of cholera in Martinsville and five deaths.”

[59] “About the 1^st of August, 1851, cholera appeared in Newport (now Fountain City). Dr. O. N. Huff, after investigation, states: ‘It probably continued forty or forty-five days. There were at least twenty-five deaths, and probably thirty to thirty-five. As near as I can judge there were perhaps seventy-five to one hundred cases. These were not confined to the town alone, but to the town and vicinity. All ages suffered from the disease.’” (Interstate Publishing Co. History of Wayne County, Indiana (Vol. 1). Chicago: 1884, pp. 589-590.) Another source: “Cholera a Newport. — This fatal disease has for some two weeks been at Newport and vicinity in this county. Up to Saturday night last thirteen deaths had taken place. A number of the inhabitants had left the place. – Wayne County Whig.” (Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. 8-28-1851, p. 1, col. 4.)

[60] Vache: “In Indiana, it [cholera] was on the canal, near Petersburgh, and in the neighborhood of that place…”

[61] “Mr. Samuel Forrer has just returned from a trip up the line of the Canal, and says that but few cases of Cholera had occurred among the workmen – not so many as might have been expected considering the exposure to which they are subjected, and the careless habits of many of their number. Two laborers died at Petersburgh Bluffs several weeks ago….–Evansville Journal.”

[62] “I received information from Dr. S. Ritter, of Pleasant Garden, that cholera appeared in the neighborhood of that village, in June, 1851. He writes that it was confined to an area of about two square miles. The inhabitants were farmers….There were ten cases seen by the Doctor and his partner…. He…[Dr. Ritter] remarks that it was the prevalent idea in the neighborhood that the disease was brought to the house of an old gentleman, by his son, who had just returned with his wife from St. Louis, where the cholera was ten prevailing. His son had the cholera on the boat, and his wife had the diarrhea when they returned….They returned on the 23d of June, 1851. On the 27^th, the old man was attacked, and died in six hours – his age was seventy. On the 29^th, his son-in-law, living in the same house, was attacked, and died in nine hours. The house was vacated by all but the man and his wife who had just returned from St. Louis. This house was cleaned…and there were no more cases until the 17^th of July; and between this time and the 28^th of the month, the others were attacked. All lived within three-quarters of a mile from where the first patients died, and were in attendance on them, with the exception of one who lived about two miles distant, and did not see any of these cases, but he was at the house while they were cleaning it. There were five deaths – three males, one young woman about twenty years of age, and one infant. All of the patients had vomiting, purging, cramps, great prostration, blueness of the skin, suppression of urine, &c. The persons who attended the sick, or who lived within the immediate vicinity, that escaped the disease, were affected with diarrhea.’”

[63] My “stand-in” number based on: “Scourged by Cholera. In 1851 the entire country was scourged with an epidemic of cholera, and the four doctors fell victims of the disease within three days of each other, leaving Point Commerce without a physician. This is the way some old residents remember the event. Others say that only two of the doctors died; another says three of the doctors died of cholera. However, one-fourth of the people died and others fled from the dreaded pestilence.”

[64] “Dr. Saml. Reid, of Salem [under heading of Washington County] informs me that….In 1851, during the month of July, there were four deaths.”

[65] “A person, whose name we did not learn, unknown to any one in this city, arrived here in a two horse wagon on Saturday evening last from the west, accompanied by his family, numbering a wife and five or six children, with symptoms of cholera, from which he died during the night….They were residents of Morgan county in this State, and had been on a visit west. – Terre Haute Journal 26^th.”

[66] Gue, in his history of Iowa, writes that “hundreds” died of cholera in 1851. We have found and noted 124 specific cholera deaths (see locality breakouts and footnotes).

[67] “There have been nine deaths from Cholera at Bellevue, at the latest dates; the disease, however, was subsiding.”

[68] “Col. W. S. Moore, of Des Moines, who was formerly a resident of Fairfield, read a paper on his ‘Reminiscences of 1851,’ in which he described among other things, the cholera epidemic of that year in Black Hawk Township…. `On the second of July 1851, cholera broke out in the neighborhood in which I lived in Jefferson County, six miles north of Fairfield, there being some 30 cases in the neighborhood. The fatalities, however, were confined to half a dozen families….It was brought into this, Jefferson County, neighborhood from Keokuk, by Michael Shafer, a young man of the neighborhood, who was taken with it after arriving at the home of his father, having been at Keokuk after goods for the merchants at Fairfield. The father of the young man, Solomon Shafer, and his mother, Polly Shafer, and brother, Leander Shafer, were stricken and died on July 3, 4 and 5 respectively….” [See notes.]

[69] “There were two deaths from cholera in this city day before yesterday – Mrs. Kenworthy, and her son, William.”

[70] “Two or three cases of cholera have occurred at Davenport.”

[71] All in the Starkie family.

[72] Our guestimate based on the report that “several” citizens had died. Another article writes: “The Dubuque Express says that during the prevalence of the cholera this season, several members of one family had died of the disease…” (Wabash Express, Terre-Haute, IN. 10-6-1851, p. 2, col. 1.)

[73] Franklin T. Oldt and Patrick Joseph Quigley. History of Dubuque County. Chicago: Goodspeed, 1911, p. 516. States she died “at Dubuque at the time of the cholera epidemic.”

[74] Our number based on the statement that one family and one husband and wife had died of cholera nearby.

[75] Another paper on the same date (Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. 8-7-1851, p. 3), wrote that “The cholera is raging in a violent manner at Fort Madison, on the upper Mississippi.”

[76] “On Friday last [July 25] the cholera made its appearance in Fort Madison, and the following deaths occurred in the course of the day at the Eagle Hotel: Mrs. Stripe (wife of the proprietor), Major Jacob Hunor, and Mr. Beamish.”

[77] “Cholera at Keokuk, &c. – The officers of the steamers Oswego and Kate Kearney, down this morning, report eight deaths from cholera at Keokuk, on Thursday last. The mortality had increased so rapidly that a panic was feared among the citizens, many of whom had already retired to the country….” Cites “St. Louis Int., Aug. 2.” August 2 was a Saturday. Not sure if “Thursday last” refers to July 24 or 31.

[78] Our number based on: “In 1839 he [Mr. Alexander, a cabinet-maker] emigrated to Iowa, landing at West Point, Lee county, on the 11^th of October of that year. Soon after his arrival he established himself in the cabinet-making and undertaking business, and during the cholera plague of 1851 he made sixty-five coffins, most of them being for victims of that disease.” We assume that our estimated number, at less than half, is a conservative attempt to derive a number in order to add to our tally.

[79] This is from a transcription by Joan Achille for Rootsweb at Ancestry.com. The victims are identified as Erastus Brand, B. Dingman, Mrs. Bertha Fletcher, William Green, David Groesbeck, ____ Hunt, and Levi Jackson. Appears to be a one-day tally of the dead.

[80] Five named cholera fatalities “since the first of August” are noted in another edition as: Wm. Newcomb, H. H. Richey, Mrs. Young, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Best. (Burlington Hawk Eye, IA. 8-14-1851, p. 3, col. 3.) Another name, from a July 31 paper, shows the name of a Mrs. Starkie. (Burlington Hawk-Eye, IA. “Cholera in Fort Madison and West Point.” 7-31-1851, p. 5, col. 5.)

[81] “It is stated that the village of West Point, Iowa, has lost one-tenth of its population by cholera the present season.”

[82] “In 1851 cholera struck the men of a detachment of dragoons and infantry recruits going through Fort Leavenworth bound for New Mexico, killing 15 of the 28 contracting it. One surgeon with these men was so constantly ill hat he was of little use and remained behind when the men left the post in May. A second surgeon died along with 35 of his patients.”

[83] “Fort Leavenworth has great historical interest in connection with cholera. It prevailed there in 1833, in June, 1849, July, 1850, June and July, 1851, May, 1852, June, 1854, and again in 1866 and 1867. It has regularly been brought there from St. Louis, and was handed along the great line of travel to Oregon, along the Platte River to Fort Kearney, and from thence to Fort Laramie, and from thence to the Pacific coast.”

[84] There was a Fort Mann, Kansas, on the Santa Fe Trail from 1846-1848, according to the Santa Fe Trail Research Site. According to the “Fort Mann, Kansas” section (apparently written by R. A. White), “…in August 1850 Colonel Edwin V. Sumner encamped near the site of Fort Mann and established Camp Mackay which was eventually renamed Fort Atkinson in June 1851. Fort Mann, at the time of Sumner’s no longer existed…”

[85] Our guestimated mortality based on: “….The troops, Col. Sumner’s command, went up the Bent Fort route, instead of the Cimarron. Disease was yet with them, to some extend, so says the surgeon of the post, Mann’s Fort. At this post the cholera has broken out, and from one to three of the soldiers are dying daily. While the mail men were there two soldiers were buried.”

[86] This is our supposition.  The paper cites the Eddyville Telegraph, which is in western Kentucky near the Illinois border.  There were coal mines in western Kentucky at the time.  The Tradewater is a Kentucky river.  The number “25” comes from the statement “At Bell’s coal mines, near the mouth of the Tradewater, this fatal disease has prevailed to a most alarming extent.  We understand that about 25 or [more?] persons, mostly miners and their children, have fallen victims to its ravages. We are making an assumption that by “fallen victims,” when married to the “most alarming extent” statement, these are deaths not sicknesses. We insert Crittenden County, in that there was at the time a Bells Mines town in KY near the Ohio River. According to Wikipedia article on “Bells Mines, Kentucky,” the name derived from the number of coal mines operated in the vicinity by the Bells Mine Coal Co.

[87] “Swan Brandenburg died of cholera June 30, 1851…This was the year that many of the citizens died of this awful scourge. Ben Gager Shacklett wrote for Ben Wooley Shacklett to come to Brandenburg. When…[he] arrived Ben Gager and his wife [Susannah Wimp] and oldest son [John W.] and a Negro woman were dead. The only survivor of the family was the youngest son who was away…Swan Brandenburg and many others were buried that night.”

[88] “Especially heavy years were 1850 and 1851, when cholera swept through the area. Those years there were more than 260 burials, compared to 160 in most other years.” Covington is across the river from Cincinnati which suffered on the order of 200 cholera fatalities. Thus, it very likely did spread into Covington.

[89] From another source we know that one of the victims was Daniel Musser. Ancestry.com. “Cynthiana.”

[90] Vache (“Letters on Yellow Fever, Cholera…” 1852, p. 54), notes cholera here without noting fatalities.

[91] Following is a transcription found on “nkyviews.com.” “A private letter from a gentleman residing in Pendleton county, Ky., under the date of the 26^th inst. [Aug], gives the following account of the prevalence of disease in its most malignant form in a portion of that county: The cholera is prevailing to an alarming extend on Grassy Creek, in Pendleton county, 5 miles from my house, in a neighborhood wherein a circle drawn with a diameter of two miles or less, there have already been 58 deaths. Some families have nearly all died. They got a physician from Kenton county on Thursday last, who has saved a few cases. Before he came, every case terminated fatally.”

[92] “There have been several deaths of cholera at Louisville, Ky.” We translate “several” into approximately three.

[93] “In September [1851] an epidemic outbreak occurred at Newport Barracks, KY. The disease had previously appeared in the city of Newport, and the epidemic was remarkable from the fact that but nine (9) deaths were reported in eighty-five (85) cases.”

[94] Dr. N. Lane. Republican, Princeton, KY. “The Cholera.” 6-31[?]-1851. There are 30 days in June. Also: “Dr. Newton Lane, former Sergeant-at-arms to Congress, and at the last election the Democratic candidate for Congress in the Louisville District, died of cholera at Paducah a few days since. The disease is said to be on the increase, and very fatal.” (Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Dr. Lane Dead.” 6-22-1851, p. 1, col. 5.)

[95] Vache (Letters on Yellow Fever, Cholera… 1852, p. 54), notes cholera in Princeton, but does not note deaths.

[96] “OURSELVES. We are under the necessity this week, of asking the indulgence of our readers for not making our usual appearance: The cholera has been raging in our town to an alarming extent. Many of our citizens have left, about one half, amongst them, some of the hands of our office. – The Editor is down with a slight attack of the prevailing epidemic, and those of us who are still here, and up, are in a very poor plight for labor, business of all kinds has been suspended….THE CHOLERA. This fearful scourge has again visited our town, and some of our citizens have fallen victims to its ruthless grasp, many others are suffering from its dreadful attack. A general fear seems to pervade all classes of our citizens, many of whom have fled for safety, to other, and more favored localities. Since our last issue, the following persons have fallen victims to this disease. Wm. Gray, one of our oldest and most respected citizens was taken on Saturday morning May 30^th, about 10 o’clock, and before sun down, the disease had performed its fearful mission. Elihu Calvert, after struggling with the disease for several days, died on Saturday night. A black girl of E. A. Calvert’s on Wednesday, June 4^th. Mrs. Robertson, wife of Mr. Rall Robertson, Wednesday night. Mrs. Strong, died very suddenly on Monday night, supposed to be fear or apoplexy. Area physicians report about 12 or 15 cases of actual cholera, having occurred, together with a number of other cases, from 32 to 50 as having all of the premonitory symptoms; but being taken in the first stages of the disease, readily yielded to the remedies used, most of whom are now up. Several deaths have occurred in the country. Mrs. Calvert left town to attend the burial of her husband, was taken the same evening and died in a few hours. Two negroes have died in the neighborhood and several other cases.” Republican, Princeton, KY. “The Cholera.” 6-31[?]-1851.

[The date given to this article on Rootsweb is June 31, but our 1851 cholera does not show a June 31, thus it would appear to be an incorrect date – perhaps June 30 or July 31?]

[97] “In Lafourche interior [unclear], Louisiana, the cholera has broken out on several plantations, and is confined mostly to the black population – a few cases among the whites have occurred. The New Orleans Delta announces 59 deaths from cholera at Falourche [sic], super-induced by excessive eating of fish, caught in quantities by means of the overflow.”

[98] Rootsweb.Ancestry.com. “Marion County, Missouri Obituaries from the Palmyra, Missouri ‘Whig.’”

[99] “The Independence (Mo.) Messenger, of the 21^st ult. [previous month], reports nineteen deaths from cholera for the preceding week.” [The 21^st of June was a Saturday. Thus we assume the previous week was from June 14-20.]

[100] Ten fatalities is our “swag” at a number, for estimation purposes, based upon the statement:  “At Independence, Mo., July 16, from three to five deaths daily, mostly by cholera.”

[101] “In 1851 cholera was still epidemic on the Mississippi river, and the record shows that Jefferson Barracks, in June of that year, again became a center of infection. It is not improbable that the epidemic of this year was caused by the arrival early in June of a detachment of ninety (90) recruits for the regiment of mounted rifles, who had been transported from Carlisle Barracks on a canal-boat to Pittsburgh, Penn., and thence by Ohio River steamboat to Jefferson Barracks. Cholera broke out while on the Mississippi river; none had died before they arrived at Jefferson Barracks, but quite a number were so ill on arrival that they were carried to hospital. In the first six days after arrival fifteen (15) had died.” Cites “Statement of Gen. E. A. Carr, U.S.A.”

[102] Vache (“Letters on Yellow Fever, Cholera…” 1852, p. 54), just notes occurrence, not death toll.

[103] “In August, 1851, cholera took possession of Jefferson City. Among the deaths recorded were Jane and Ann L. McHenry, Sarah Funk, Theo. T. Simonton, Adam Scherp, Ernst Gundelfinger, Maj. Elias Barcroft, William Barlow, I. Reed Christy, Felix Gantz, Margaret McLain, Sydney Parker, Louisa Liebert, Priscilla Matthews, Mary Tompkins, Atty.-Gen William A Robards, Mary Hoffman, John Anderson, and Samuel Allen.

Bakewell, in A History of Grace Episcopal Church (2012, p. 4), writes: “1851 was the beginning of the Missouri cholera epidemic, and Jefferson City was not excluded. Grace Church member, Dr. A. M. Davidson, used the church as a hospital for the deathly ill….It is likely that people died right inside Grace Episcopal Church during this dark time. One member of the congregation to die from cholera was Mrs. George S. Tompkins….”

[104] Notes as well as the breakout following “Some few cases of cholera have occurred in the country, some distance from town; but it does not seem to prevail to much extent.”

[105] “On Friday night, the 13^th inst., Child of Mr. J. W. Perry.”

[106] “Saturday — Son of Mrs. Flood; Mrs. Mitchell; and child of Mrs. West, who died a few days pervious.”

[107] “Sunday — Mrs. Ruffner, wife of James Ruffner.”

[108] “Monday – Mrs. Fox, wife of John Fox; child of James Ruffner; Negro girl at Jas. Ruffner’s; Mr. Wm. Hamilton; Negro man at John Kell’s; and child of Mrs. Murry, Irish woman.”

[109] “Tuesday – Mr. Conelly, Irish man; and Mrs. Fox’s child.”

[110] “Wednesday – A Mr. Springer, at the Independence House.”

[111] “Mr. Arnett, a Millwright, late from St. Louis; Mrs. Adkin’s child; and Negro woman of Mr. Isaac Hockaday’s.”

[112] “Friday – Daughter of Mr. Fagg; and an old gentleman by name of Duncan.”

[113] We assume date of death was June 21 in that Mr. Reid (the transcriber) has the date of the paper as July 11. The note itself notes “On Sunday morning the 22d inst. [which would be July], of cholera, at the Sisters’ Hospital, Mrs. Clarissa Jordan, consort of Rev. R. H. Jordan, of the Missouri Annual Conference.

[114] Daniel Brannin, 8, son of Edward M. Samuel.

[115] “We learn…that Mrs. Ann Hughes, daughter of Mr. C. Calvert, formerly of Liberty, died in Platte county a few days since of cholera.”

[116] “We are…gratified to learn…that the health of the city is gradually improving. The total number of interments on Friday and Saturday – the last days heard from – amounted to 63 – 21 being of cholera patients, and 37 of children of five years and under. This shows a great decrease of deaths from cholera from the corresponding dys of the preceding week.”

[117] “….The health of the city is improving. There were only twenty-six interments yesterday, eleven of which were from cholera….”

[118] Notes that deaths “by other diseases” the same day were 21.

[119] “We regret to learn, says the St. Louis Times, that on the 19^th ult. [June] there were about thirty-five cases of cholera at Weston, twenty-five of which proved fatal. There was a general panic in the place, and the town was almost deserted.”

[120] “A man by the name of Dominick Salary was taken to the Hospital yesterday morning, and died in a few hours. The physicians pronounced his disease Asiatic Cholera! The deceased was about 38 years of age, an Italian by birth, and had recently arrived in this city from New Orleans. A woman by the name of Naughton was taken from a steamboat to the Hospital, and died in a few minutes after she was taken into the house. Her disease was also supposed to be cholera. Her son, a lad of twelve years of age, was attacked with cholera in a short time after his mother’s death, and at 3 o’clock yesterday the physicians had given up all hopes of saving him. – Cincinnati Commercial.”

[121] Another source cites the Cincinnati Board of Health for the time-period of June 21 until approximately July 5 for 43 cholera deaths out of 243 total deaths for this time-period, while noting that “It has not found any cause to believe that cholera prevails as an epidemic, as every authenticated case was brought on by imprudence.” (Daily Banner, Madison, IN. “Cincinnati, July 5, 8 p.m.,” 7-7-1851, p. 2, col. 4.)

[122] Based on statement:  “The town of Waverly has been severely afflicted with cholera, some twenty deaths having occurred there within the last three weeks.”

[123] Robinson and Kerr write that scores of trappers and traders died in the cholera epidemic brought by those on board the St. Ange after it landed at Fort Pierre. If they are correct then scores must translate into at least two score or 40. They write that the epidemic spread to Indians in the surrounding area and hundreds died. They also write that the Indians in the surrounding area carried the cholera to neighboring tribes where “the death loss…was very great.” Shane estimates that 300 Three Tribes Natives died in the cholera epidemic. Thus we combine 40 and 300 for 340.

[124] Our guestimated number based on the statement that “scores of traders and trappers, and several hundred Indians died” after the steamer St. Ange brought cholera to Fort Pierre. A score is 20. The impression is that there were several score. We have made the assumption that if there were scores then there must have been at least two score, which is 40. Another source, drawing upon “a large collection of drawings and sketches, made by the Swiss artist, Friedrich Kurz, while among the Upper Missouri Valley tribes during the years 1850, 1851, and 1852…” writes that “Quitting Bellevue and Council Bluffs he [Kurz] continued up the Missouri: passing Fort Pierre where cholera was raging, he arrived at Fort Berthold on the 9^th of July, 1851, and remained until the 1s of September.”

[125] The guestimated number is ours as is the tribal affiliation. If “several Hundred Indians died,” we assume at least or approximately 300 died. In that this part of what is now South Dakota was at the time, the territory of the Dakota branch of the Sioux, and in that Robinson and Kerr mention in the next paragraph the 1851 U.S. government treaty with the “Dakota Indians, known as the treaty of ‘Traverse de Sioux,’) we make the Dakota Sioux assumption.

[126] “In the same year as the treaty, 1851, a cholera epidemic ravaged the Three Tribes, no doubt brought in with the trade goods on a steamboat. The Arikara were the hardest hit, an estimated three hundred deaths occurring before the epidemic subsided in October.” Several paragraphs above this statement Shane writes of the Three Tribes as the Gras Ventre, Mandans, and Arikara.

[127] Today one of the “Three Affiliated Tribes” (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation) headquartered at the Fort Berthold Agency, New Town, North Dakota. (MHA Nation website and U.S. Dept. of the Interior. Indian Affairs. “Fort Berthold Agency.”)

[128] A minimum number in out opinion in that (1) it does not include any of the possibly misdiagnosed deaths in Louisville from diarrhea, dysentery, cholera infantum and the “digestive system,” and (2) we feel confident we have not located other cholera deaths elsewhere in the state.

[129] “It is…stated that several cases have appeared in Clarksville, Tennessee.”

[130] From Table entitled: Mortality in the City of Memphis, for the year 1851, With a Classification of the Diseases. (Prepared from the Records of the Board of Health.) Same table shows 56 diarrhea deaths, 8 dysentery deaths, 40 cholera infantum deaths, 37 digestive system deaths, and then after a number of specified causes of death, 197 “not specified.”

[131] Memory Aldridge Lester (compiler). Old Southern Bible Records. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1974; reprinted, Clearfield Co. (Baltimore), 1990, 1996, 2002; p. 47.

[132] Dr. Alexander Vache also notes appearance of cholera in Nashville in 1851 (Letters on…Cholera), 1852, p. 54.

[133] Our number which we guestimate based upon: “At Bonnet Prairie and Spring Prairie, Wisconsin…there was an epidemic of cholera in 1851 and 1852. Preus’s son gives the following description of conditions there: ‘The courage of the pastor and his wife was often put to the severest test. Greatest perhaps were the difficulties during the cholera epidemic. Mr. Ziilner has told me that at one time he accompanied father from Portage to Bonnet Prairie. It was late before they started, and it soon grew so dark that they did not know where they were. They then decided to stop over night wherever they could find quarters. In the first house which they found all were dead. In the next house nearly all were sick with the cholera, and so they continued from house to house until they came home. Sickness and death they found everywhere’.” (Cites C. K. Preus. “Minder fra Spring Prairie Prestegaard,” in Symra. 2: 18 ff. (1906).

[134] Our conservative, we believe, guestimate based on marker inscription: “Muskego was a long-time home to Potowatomie people….Cholera nearly destroyed the Norwegians in 1851….”

[135] Writes that cholera visited Watertown each year from 1849 to 1854. Cites the Watertown Chronicle to the effect that it “reprimanded its readers in 1851 for this action [“fleeing into the county”] by saying nothing is to be gained by ingloriously fleeing the place; but every man should consider himself a nurse, and step forward to the relief of the suffering with cheerfulness and alacrity.”

[136] “In the Indian country it was among the troops at Fort Laramie; along the Yellow Stone river, at Fort Pierre, and on the Plains, near Fort Leavenworth.”

[137] “The cholera broke out on board the steamer Arkansas, on the Tallapoosa river, lately on her way from Mobile with 360 emigrants, fifty of whom died, besides the pilot and cabin boy. Every one on board was sick. The emigrants were very unruly – the officers of the boat being obliged to keep them at bay with guns. One of the officers had more than forty fights with them. On landing at Wetumpka, the emigrants were so belligerent that the authorities had to order out the militia to suppress the riot.” Daily Ledger, New Albany, IN. “Cholera in Alabama.” 2-19-1851, p. 2. col. 2.

[138] Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Cholera.” 6-22-1851, p. 1, col. 1.

[139] “On the steamer Bostona, during her trip from New Orleans there were five fatal cases of cholera among the deck passengers. They were chiefly flat-boatmen from Indiana, four of whom were buried at Mount Vernon, and the fifth at Mulford’s mines. Those who died were J. A. Beall, of Washington Co., Ia.; Pat. Madden of New Albany; Stratton Taylor, John Hudson and one other, name unknown. The deaths were sudden, three of the victims dying in a few hours after the first attack. – Louisville Courier.”

[140] Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Cholera.” 6-22-1851, p. 1, col. 1.

[141] “The steamers Grand Turk and Pride of the West buried some fifty persons who had died of cholera. They were principally emigrant passengers on their way from New Orleans to St. Louis.” [Not knowing how many people died on each boat we have chosen to split equally between the two.]

[142] See, as well, footnote for Pride of the West.

[143] Darrel Dexter (transcriber). “Obituaries and Death Notices, The Cairo Sun, 10 Apr 1851-26 Feb 1852.”

[144] “There were 19 cases and 12 deaths from cholera on the steamer Iroquois, which boat arrived at St Louis on the 24^th ult. There were also 36 cases of ship fever. She had 300 Irish emigrants on board, all of whom were landed at the quarantine ground.” Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Cholera Below.” 5-8-1851, p. 3, col. 3.

[145] “Pittsburgh, June 19. A man died of cholera yesterday on board of the steamer Paul Anderson.” Indiana State Sentinel, “From Pittsburgh.” 6-26-1851, p. 3, col. 1.

[146] Evansville Daily Journal, IN. 6-12-1851, p. 2, col. 1.

[147] “The steamers Grand Turk and Pride of the West buried some fifty persons who had died of cholera. They were principally emigrant passengers on their way from New Orleans to St. Louis.” [Not knowing how many people died on each boat we have chosen to split equally between the two.]

[148] While the Elyria Courier notes the number of fatalities, another source provides additional detail: “In 1851, the steamboat St. Ange, of the American Fur Company, arrived at For Pierre [South Dakota] with cholera on board. An epidemic of that dread disease followed, and scores of traders and trappers, and several hundred Indians died. The disease spread to neighboring tribes, particularly to the Rees, at the mouth of Grand river, and the death loss there was very great.” (Doane Robinson (compiler), revised by Robert Floyd Kerr. A History of South Dakota From Earliest Times. Mitchell, S.D.” The Educator School Supply Co., Publishers, 1907, p. 31.)

[149] One of the victims was Father Christian Hoecken, a Catholic missionary to the Kickapoo, who died on June 19. (Frank Wilson Blackmar (ed.). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History. Vol. 1, 1912, p. 862.)

[150] Probably tip of iceberg – thousands died of cholera while going West in 1849 and 1850, frequently carrying it from points of departure where cholera was epidemic (such as St. Louis).

[151] “Passengers who came down on the Statesman from Weston, announce that reports had reached that point, that there had been considerable sickness on the plains. It was ascertained that some 25 teamsters belonging to various trains, had died of cholera beyond Fort Leavenworth. – St. Louis Union June 12.”

[152] “A man by the name of Joseph Banks, died of cholera at the house of Mr. Burk, in this city, on Friday night last. He arrived here that evening on the steamer Peytona, from New Orleans, and, when taken to Mr. Burk’s was in the last stages of the disease. A physician was called in and every effort made to restore him to health, but in vain. We learn that he was Brownstown, Jackson county, where he leaves a wife and child. – Bulletin.”

[153] There is a Bluff City, Illinois, so we assume this is the proper place.

[154] Someone who habitually drinks alcohol to excess.  (The Free Dictionary.)

[155] Monmouth, Illinois is the county seat of Warren County.

[156] Weston is on the Missouri River.

–1,341 Blanchard tally from locality breakouts below.*

Chicago, IL ( 10)
–10 Typhoid. Jordan. “Typhoid Fever…in Chicago.” JAMA, 1902, p. 2.

New Orleans, LA ( 228)
–228 Typhus. Hinman. “History of Typhus Fever in Louisiana.” AJPH, V26, Nov 1936, p. 278.

New York City (1,103) Typhus and Typhoid
–1,103 Rosner. Hives of Sickness: Public Health and Epidemics in [NYC]. 1991, p. 31.

*This number represents only the three localities for which we have located data. There were undoubtedly many more fatalities. We should note that at this time distinctions between typhus and typhoid were not uniformly made.

Source

Hinman, Harold E. “History of Typhus Fever in Louisiana.” American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 26, Nov 1936, pp. 1117-1124. Accessed 3-24-2020 at: https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.26.11.1117

Jordan, Edwin Oakes. “Typhoid Fever and Water Supply in Chicago.” The Journal of the American Medical Association, 12-20-1902. Accessed 12-24-2019 at: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/10723.html

Rosner, David (Ed.). Hives of Sickness: Public Health and Epidemics in New York City. Rutgers University Press, 1991, 236 pages. Partially digitized by Google. Accessed 3-29-2018 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=o34QxI6lHwAC&pg=PA70&dq=1916+Polio+Epidemic&ei=Cy5DSZWvMIXAMpqalOYN#PPP7,M1