19th Century

–5  Appletons’ Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events…1891. 1892, p. 254.

–5  Bedford Mail, IN. “Five Killed…Explosion of Dusard Brothers’ Saw-mill.” 6-5-1891, p3.

 

Narrative Information

 

“Joe Dusard galloped into town on a horse Wednesday forenoon about 9:30, with the startling intelligence that the boiler of the saw-mill owned by himself and brother, John, had exploded a short time before, killing and injuring a number of men. He was after physicians…

 

“The mill was a portable one…and had recently been purchased by the Dusards. It was stationed on William Pitman’s farm one mile north of Fayetteville…Wednesday morning a new engineer, Geo. Hayden, took charge. He did not arrive until about 8 o’clock, and John Dusard fired up. When the engine was turned over to Hayden it is said to have been carrying about 30 pounds of steam. The young man asked Dusard how many pounds of steam he wanted, and the latter replied about 60 pounds, as they were going to saw short, small logs, and would need but little power. John then went off a distance of about 75 yards with Joe Dusard, to attend to some horses, and had been gone but a few minutes when the boiler blew up.

 

“The force of the explosion was tremendous. The boiler, composed of iron 3-16ths of an inch thick was not ripped open, as is the case where excessive pressure is carried on weak boilers, but was shattered into a hundred fragments, as though it had been filled with dynamite. Some of the pieces were less than two inches in diameter, and were driven deeply into surrounding objects as though they had been shot out of a cannon. A large piece, several hundred pounds in weight, was hurled to a distance of 100 yards. The cast-iron fly-wheel was broken up fine and the pieces projected through the air with he force of grape-shot. The report was heard a distance of seven or eight miles, and was distinctly noticed by many persons in Bedford… The mill was totally demolished, and of the seven persons in it at the time five have died. The list is as follows:

 

“Dove Kern…about 21 years…of Fayetteville…blown some 40 feet against a lumber pile….

 

“James Perkins, aged about 20 years, unmarried, and lived at Fayetteville. He was thrown into the pit…he died within an hour…

 

“Edward Dusard, of Bedford, aged about 29 years…had both legs broken and was awfully scalded. He was taken to Fayetteville and lingered until nearly three o’clock….

 

“Gordon G. Evans, aged 22…of Fayetteville, had one leg broken and was scalded all over. He died at 4 o’clock p.m. at Fayetteville. He was a school teacher…Evans was the support of his mother, with whom he lived.

 

“George Hayden, a young man, married, was the engineer, and had been in charge of the engine less than twenty minutes when it blew up….”  (Bedford Mail, IN. “Five…” 6-5-1891, p. 3.)

 

Sources

 

Appletons’ Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1891 (Vol. 16, new series). “Disasters in 1891.” NY: D. Appleton and Co., 1892. Google digitized at:

http://books.google.com/books?id=FUcoAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Bedford Mail, IN. “Five Killed…Explosion of Dusard Brothers’ Saw-mill.” 6-5-1891, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=196315092&sterm

 

 

 

 

 

–9  Appletons’ Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of…Year 1891. 1892, 253.

–9  Tyrone Daily Herald, PA. “A Midnight Horror. Nine Lives Destroyed…” 4-7-1891, p. 1.

Narrative Information

“Rochester, Pa., April 7. – Nine persons met an awful fate here. The poor people were burned in their beds early yesterday morning. The scene of the horrible calamity was a block of houses on New York street, near Rochester avenue, in the business center of Rochester. The buildings burned were three small two-story frame houses. The first floors were occupied by stores. The second stories were occupied as tenements. The lire started in the house occupied by E. J. Keene, dealer in shoes, etc. It was about 12:20 in the morning that Tom McManus, flagman on the Cleveland and Pittsburg freight train No. 89, saw the fire. He ran to the building and secured a plank, by which means he climbed to the second story from a window of the middle house and looked in the window. He heard moans and struggles from the occupants, but the heat was so intense at that time that he could offer no assistance and was compelled to retreat.

Burned Like Tinder.

“From the time the fire was first discovered it was impossible for anyone to enter the buildings, as they were entirely enveloped in flames, such intense flames as only dry wooden buildings can

furnish. The buildings burned with fearful rapidity, being ruined or destroyed in less than thirty minutes after the fire was discovered. The destroyed building was a mere shell, and it is astonishing that any of the occupants escaped.  It was a large two-story frame structure. On the ground floor were three store rooms. The first was occupied by E. J. Keene as a shoe store and the family lived above the store. George Edward, a tea and coffee dealer, had possession of the second store, over which an Italian family and two boarders lived. Mrs. L. A. Hall had a millinery establishment in the third store, and with her husband and an assistant, occupied the rooms above.

“The origin of the fire is a mystery. It is supposed that the flames started in the rear of Keene’s store, but this is not certain, as the fire spread so rapidly that the entire building was enveloped before the occupants awakened. The scene was horrible beyond description. When the fire was discovered by several citizens the front of the building had been burned away, and the spectators could plainly see the frantic efforts of the victims to escape. The Italian girl, aged 17 years, rushed to a window and was about to jump to the ground, when her mother appeared and called her back. It is supposed the mother wanted assistance to save her baby. The girl returned to the window and jumped out, but the mother was not seen again. The girl escaped with slight injuries,

but was so shocked that she has not been able to speak since.

“All the bodies have been recovered, at least the number found corresponds with the list of persons thought to have been in the building at the time. All are so badly burned that it is impossible to recognize them. E. J. Keene and his son Walter, aged 11 years, were sleeping above the shoe store. Evidently they never awakened, as the two bodies were found directly under their bed room.

List of the Dead.

40. J. Keene, aged 40.

Walter Keene, his son, aged 9.

Baptisto Tecchio, aged 40.

Annie Tecchio, aged 35.

Yosef Tecchio, aged 13.

Rosa Tecchio, aged 8.

Annie Tecchio, aged 2.

Victorio Tecchio, aged 37, brother of Baptisto.

“All that is left of the buildings is a few feet of Mrs. Hall’s store, which adjoins the large brick building of the First National bank. Aside from this the structures were burned so completely as to leave only a mass of blackened embers. The heat of the flames was so intense as to crack the glass windows across New York street. It was with great difficulty that the flames were prevented from spreading. The three houses were owned by John S. Smith….”  (Tyrone Daily Herald, PA. “A Midnight Horror. Nine Lives Destroyed…” 4-7-1891, p. 1.)

Sources:

Appletons’ Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1891 (Vol. 16, new series). “Disasters in 1891.” NY: D. Appleton and Co., 1892. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=FUcoAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Tyrone Daily Herald, PA. “A Midnight Horror. Nine Lives Destroyed…” 4-7-1891, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=139248759&sterm=rochester+fire

 

 

 

 

 

 

–11  Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, IA. “Eleven of the Lunatics Perished.” 3-16-1891, p. 1.

–11  Daily Alta California, San Francisco. “The Nashville Asylum Fire.” 3-17-1891, p. 5.

–11  San Antonio Daily Light, TX. “More Added.” 3-16-1891, p. 1.

–11  Waterloo Daily Courier, IA. “Eleven of the Asylum Fire Victims.” 3-17-1891, p. 2.

–10  American Journal of Insanity. “Notes and Comments.” Vol. 47, April 1891, p. 587.

–10  Daily Sentinel, Carroll, IA. “Ten Lives Lost at Nashville.” 3-17-1891, p. 1.

–10  The News, Frederick, MD. “Victims of the Asylum Fire.” 3-16-1891, p. 1.

—  9  Appletons’ Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1891. p. 253.

—  9  Galveston Daily News, TX. “Insane Asylum Burned.” 3-15-1891, p. 4.

—  8  NYT. “An Insane Asylum on Fire. Eight…Inmates…[TN]…Burned to Death.” 3-15-1891.

—  8  Prince. The Fire Protection of Hospitals for the Insane, p. 12.

—  6  Goshen Democrat, IN. “Six Lunatics Cremated.” 3-18-1891, p. 1.

—  6  Laredo Daily Times, TX. “An Asylum on Fire.” 3-15-1891, p. 1.

—  6  Newark Daily Advocate, OH. “Insane Asylum Burned.” 3-14-1891, p. 1.

 

Narrative Information

 

American Journal of Insanity: “The Fire at the Nashville Hospital. – Once more we are called upon to record a disastrous fire in a hospital for the insane. On the night of March 13, 1891, the entire male wing of the Central Hospital for the Insane, situated near Nashville, Tennessee, was destroyed by fire, and ten patients were burned to death. The origin of the fire was in a patient’s bedroom; its cause could not be ascertained. The deplorable event occurred during a dark, cold and stormy night, and with a most unfavorable wind. When discovered, at 11 o’clock, the fire was confined to one room and a hallway, but the only means at hand to fight the flames were buckets of water handed from one to another. The Nashville fire department was notified by telephone, but an engine was not on the scene until about 2:30 a.m. All of the patients were safely removed from the burning building except eight occupying rooms on the first and second floor, approach to which was prevented by flame and smoke. The lives of two others were lost by their rushing back into the flames after their rescue had been accomplished.

 

“In an official report of the disaster to the Governor and Assembly of Tennessee, it is mentioned that temporary accommodations have been afforded the houseless unfortunates at the West Tennessee Hospital at Bolivar. Insurance was held to the amount of $75,000, and it is estimated that the building will be re-built without expense to the State. The catastrophe forcibly illustrates the necessity of having good local protection from fire, especially in institutions situated at a distance from organized fire departments.” (American Journal of Insanity. “Notes and Comments.” Vol. 47, April 1891, pp. 587-588.)

 

Prince: “March 13, 1891, 10:15 p.m. West wing Tennessee Central Hospital, Nashville. Origin – unknown. Loss, $50,000. Eight lives lost.”

 

Newspapers

 

March 13:  “Nashville, Tenn., March 13 – Fire broke out at the Central Insane asylum, one mile from this city at about 11 o’clock tonight. It started in the rear of the male wing, which has been destroyed, and the flames continue to rage. There were twenty-eight patients in the wing and six of them were burned to death.  The fire has reached the main building. The inmates are escaping. Governor Buchannan has ordered out the state militia and will leave for the scene on a special train.”  (Laredo Daily Times, TX. “An Asylum on Fire.” 3-15-1891, p. 1.)

 

March 14:  “Nashville, Tenn., March 14….The scene within the quadrangle in the rear of the superintendent’s office was all glare and confusion at 1 o’clock [a.m.] when an Associated Press representative arrived. In the hall connecting the east and west wings and in the corridors of the east wing the unfortunates were huddled together – men, women and bed-clothes being so intermingled that it was hard to distinguish between them. They did not seem to comprehend the awful situation.

 

“At 3:17 the inmates, who had been huddled for several hours in the yard in front of the main building, were returned to the east wing. About 25 had escaped, the majority of whom were harmless. The dangerous lunatics were kept locked up all the time in the east wing, and none of them were subjected to exposure or danger during the progress of the flames.

 

“At 3:47 the fire was reported fully under control, and the inmates were comfortably housed, and all was quiet….”  (Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, ME. “A Pile of Ruins.” 4-16-1891, p. 1.)

 

March 14:  “Nashville, Tenn., March 14. – The Center insane asylum, situated seven miles from here, was almost entirely burned last night. Half a dozen unfortunate inmates were burned to death. The following is a corrected list of those killed [9 names]:

 

Dr. Frank Hollowell of Davidson county,

John Poindexter of Wilson county,

1. R. Goodlett of Davidson county,

John S. Johnson of Rutherford county,

1. J. Settles of Wilson county,
2. H. Beasley of Hickman county,^[1]
3. Brooks of Davidson county,
4. Kelly of Wayne county,

John Nance of Smith county.

 

“Those who escaped number between thirty and forty, many of whom have been captured, some of them many miles from the scene of the fire.  Loss to the building is estimated about $50,000, fully insured. The fire is supposed to have been caused by Lee Alford, an inmate, who in some mysterious manner escaped. It is reported that he was recaptured  today. About 125 of the inmates will be transferred to the West Tennessee asylum until the asylum here is rebuilt.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Insane Asylum Burned.” 3-15-1891, p. 4.)

 

March 14:  “Nashville, Tenn., March 14. — Fire last night, partly destroyed the insane asylum seven miles from this city. There were about 500 inmates, and of those six were burned to death, as follows:

 

1. S. Johns,
2. Burt Dexter,

Blue Preston,

John Kelly,

1. H. Bearsley, and
2. F. Holloway.

The loss is not known, but the insurance — $75,000 — will cover it.”  (Goshen Democrat, IN. “Six Lunatics Cremated.” 3-18-1891, p. 1.)

 

March 14:  “Nashville, Tenn., March 14. Today the beautiful central insane asylum, situated seven miles from this city is almost a mass of ruins; beneath it are the charred bodies of nine of  the unfortunate inmates; in the outhouses nearby are huddled the poor demented creatures, who found an asylum in the grand old structure now laid low; and on the lawn the long, parched trees, denuded of branch and foliage, stand; the spectral trunks with gaunt outstretched arms marking the spot where stood the massive building, alive with human beings, the observed of all who passed that way, and one of the most beautiful and attractive spots in lovely middle Tennessee….

 

“There were twenty-eight men in the wing when the fire caught, and twenty-two of them were quickly removed to the main hall, the other nine [?] being left to the fate behind their impassable wall of flame….[provides names of nine male fatalities]….

 

“The scene within the quadrangle in the rear of the superintendent’s office was all glare and confusion at 1 o’clock when an Associated Press reporter arrived. The flames in the west wing were towering above the parapeted walls and guards were hurrying hither and thither. A moment later the inner wall of the burning building fell in with an awful crash, and clouds of sparks covered the entire visible heavens. In another instant a shower of cinders and charred fragments of wood fell upon the roofs of the remaining buildings and rattled upon the stone-paved court. In the hall connecting the east and west wings and in the corridors of the west wing the terrified unfortunates were huddled together like sheep…

 

“Dr. Callender sat in his office with an expression of despair on his features and great beads of perspiration stood upon his brow. Crouching in the corners were the figures of inmates, who, perhaps, had a clearer appreciation of the impending danger than their companions and had stolen in, thinking themselves safe with the superintendent. By midnight nothing remained for the men who had fought so nobly to do but stand aside and await the coming of the engines of the city. It was a heartrending sight to see hundreds of men who had gathered from the country for miles around talking in groups or gazing helplessly on the work of destruction while within the hall, a few steps away, the wild eyes of a mass of miserable creatures glared about in the unearthly light, and the minds behind them were too weak to know that in a short while they might be out in the cold night wind with nothing but the sky for a covering.

 

“When one of the reporters was about a mile this side of the conflagration on the way out, he met a couple of lunatics in shirt sleeves trudging along the highway with their arms locked about each other’s neck. As they passed one of them cried out: ‘Fire, fire; cold, cold.’ On his return the same pair was overtaken just within the corporation line. This time they were heard to say: ‘We are free, we are free; but don’t you tell, don’t you tell,’ and, turning around, saw that their arms were still locked about each other’s neck. Hiding in the shrubbery immediately around the asylum were many who had escaped when the sudden exodus was made from the west wing. Most of them were partially dressed, but almost without exception their faces were covered with smiles, as if the downfall of their refuge was a source of pleasure to them and the biting wind a thing unfelt….

 

“It was reported at 3:30 this morning that one of the women inmates of the asylum had been drowned in the lake on the lawn, but her name could not be learned. The fire was at this time reported entirely controlled and the inmates were comfortably housed and all was quiet.

 

“The escaped numbered between thirty and forty, many of whom have been captured, some of them many miles from the scene of the fire…

 

“The fire is supposed to have been caused by Lee Alford, an inmate, who, in some mysterious manner, escaped. It is reported that he was recaptured today near Lavorgne [La Vergne]. About one hundred and twenty-five of the inmates will be transferred to the West Tennessee asylum at Bolivar until the asylum here is rebuilt.”  (Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Freed by the Flames. Lunatics Rejoice at Their Misfortune and Gaze on the Burning Asylum with Glee…Only Nine Lives Believed to Have Been Lost. A Sleepy Fire Chief Responsible for Much Loss.” 3-18-1891, p. 1.)

 

March 14:  “Nashville, Tenn., March 14. — This morning the Central Insane Asylum, situated seven miles from this city, is almost a mass of ruins, and beneath it are the charred bodies of half a dozen of the unfortunate inmates. At 10:15 last night Watchman Fitzhugh discovered an ugly tongue of flame breaking through the roof of the western main wing of the building. How it caught none could learn, but it reached from the ground through the second and third stories, and cut off the few rooms that were behind it. In a moment the alarm was given, and the 400 inmates of the institution were thrown into wild commotion. There were twenty-eight men in the wing when the fire caught, and twenty of them were quickly removed to the main hall, the other eight being left to their fate behind the impassable wall of flames.

 

“The city was telephoned to for aid, but Chief Carrell of the Fire Department could not be found, and his subordinates refused to move without instructions. Finally, after two hours’ delay, the Chief was found, and he, with two engines, left for the scene of the disaster. In the meantime the west wing had collapsed, the fire had spread, and the inmates, made frantic by their danger, were beginning to break from the guards and scatter like frightened animals over the surrounding country. The fire engines arrived on the scene at 2:15, and in a few moments a stream of water was playing on the main building. Previously, the inmates of the asylum, the servants, and the guards had rendered fire service with buckets and succeeded in holding the fire in check to some extent. The doomed inmates were in the west wing. They were all males and white.”  (New York Times. “An Insane Asylum on Fire. Eight of the Inmates of a Tennessee Institution Burned to Death.” 3-15-1891.)

 

March 14:  “Nashville, March 14. — The insane asylum, seven miles from this city, caught fire at midnight last night and was entirely destroyed. There was about 500 persons in the asylum at the time, but it is believed that all but six were rescued.”  (Newark Daily Advocate, OH. “Insane Asylum Burned.” 3-14-1891, p. 1.)

 

March 16: “The work of removing the bodies of the victims of the fire at the insane asylum, Nashville, Tenn., Friday night [March 13] was begun Monday morning [March 16], but at an early hour only one body had been taken out. This was so badly charred that it could not be recognized. It is thought all the bodies will be taken out soon, when the coroner will begin his inquiry.” (Banner Plain Dealer, North Vernon, IN. “Delving for Charred Corpses.” 3-18-1891, 6.)

 

March 16:  “Nashville, March 16 – A list of those who lost their lives in the fire at the insane asylum is now increased to eleven. Aside from those known to be dead now only one patient is missing, James Burton. As he is known to have made several attempts to throw himself into the fire, it is feared he, too, is among those who were burned to death.”  (Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, IA. “Eleven of the Lunatics Perished.” 3-16-1891, p. 1.)

 

March 16:  “Nashville, March 16^th. – The number of dead by the Insane Asylum fire has increased to eleven. One more missing inmate is believed to be in the ruins.”  (Daily Alta California. “The Nashville Asylum Fire.” 3-17-1891, p. 5.)

 

March 16:  “Nashville, March 16. – Victims of the Central Tennessee insane asylum fire now number eleven.”  (San Antonio Daily Light, TX. “More Added.” 3-16-1891, p. 1.)

 

March 16:  “Nashville, Tenn., March 16.—Following are the names of the person who perished in the insane asylum fire early Saturday morning [same names of nine male fatalities noted above]…It is reported, also, that a woman was drowned in a pond on the grounds, but it is not known who she is.”  (The News, Frederick, MD. “Victims of the Asylum Fire.” 3-16-1891, p. 1.)

 

March 17:  “Nashville, Tenn., March 17. – One hundred and twenty-five patients will be removed from the burned insane asylum here to-day to the West Tennessee asylum at Bolivar. A special train will carry the party. A corrected list of the dead now shows that ten lives were lost, all of them hopelessly insane. Several bodies were removed, but none of them were recognizable.”  (Daily Sentinel, Carroll, IA. “Ten Lives Lost at Nashville.” 3-17-1891, p. 1.)

 

March 17:  “Nashville, Tenn., March 17. – No effort has yet been made to recover the bodies of the Tennessee insane asylum fire victims. The list of the dead has lengthened to eleven.”  (Waterloo Daily Courier, IA. “Eleven of the Asylum Fire Victims.” 3-17-1891, p. 2.)

 

Sources:

 

American Journal of Insanity. “Notes and Comments.” Vol. 47, April 1891. Google preview accessed 12-28-2019 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=ok0XAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

 

Appletons’ Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1891 (Vol. 16, new series). “Disasters in 1891.” NY: D. Appleton and Co., 1892. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=FUcoAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, ME. “A Pile of Ruins.” 4-16-1891, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=10071263&sterm

 

Banner Plain Dealer, North Vernon, IN. “Delving for Charred Corpses.” 3-18-1891, p. 6. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=198266271&sterm

 

Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, IA. “Eleven of the Lunatics Perished.” 3-16-1891, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=52001361&sterm

 

Daily Alta California, San Francisco. “The Nashville Asylum Fire.” 3-17-1891, p. 5. Accessed at: http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18910317.2.93#

 

Daily Sentinel, Carroll, IA. “Ten Lives Lost at Nashville.” 3-17-1891, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=160035670&sterm

 

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Insane Asylum Burned.” 3-15-1891, p. 4. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=42764946&sterm

 

Goshen Democrat, IN. “Six Lunatics Cremated.” 3-18-1891, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=196627303&sterm

 

Indiana State Sentinel, Indianapolis. “Freed by the Flames. Lunatics Rejoice at Their Misfortune and Gaze on the Burning Asylum with Glee…Only Nine Lives Believed to Have Been Lost. A Sleepy Fire Chief Responsible for Much Loss.” 3-18-1891, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=198033330&sterm

 

Laredo Daily Times, TX. “An Asylum on Fire.” 3-15-1891, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=111416475&sterm

 

New York Times. “An Insane Asylum on Fire. Eight of the Inmates of a Tennessee Institution Burned to Death.” 3-15-1891. Accessed 12-3-2013 at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9501E0D81239E033A25756C1A9659C94609ED7CF

 

Newark Daily Advocate, OH. “Insane Asylum Burned.” 3-14-1891, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=441362&sterm

 

Prince, L. H., M.D. The Fire Protection of Hospitals for the Insane. Chicago, C. H. Blakely & Co., 1891. Google preview accessed 12-28-2019 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=CU0WAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

San Antonio Daily Light, TX. “More Added.” 3-16-1891, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=45385583&sterm

 

The News, Frederick, MD. “Victims of the Asylum Fire.” 3-16-1891, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=32861902&sterm

 

Waterloo Daily Courier, IA. “Eleven of the Asylum Fire Victims.” 3-17-1891, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=88020635&sterm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Listed as W. H. Heaseley in Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, ME. “A Pile of Ruins.” 4-16-1891, p. 1.

Document created by Wayne Blanchard, Dec 2019, for website: Deadliest American Disasters and Large-Loss-Of-Life Events. https://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

— 12,472  Blanchard compilation based on State breakouts below.

 

California                  (    13)

—     13  Apr                                        USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N21, 5-22-1891, 239

Connecticut               (     33)

—     33  Statewide      Apr                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N21, 5-22-1891, 239

—     26        “               May                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N26, 6-26-1891, 294.

Chicago, IL                (6,800)           

–6,800  Mar-Apr                    Evans. “The 1890 Epidemic…Influenza…Chicago…” ~1918, 845.

Iowa                            (    17)

—     17  Statewide      Apr                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N23, 6-5-1891, 261.

Michigan                    (    14)

—     14  Detroit           Apr                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N22, 5-29-1891, 251

Missouri                     (    13)

—    13  Kansas City    Apr                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N22, 5-29-1891, 252

New York                   (5,572)

–1,000  Statewide      Mar                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N23, 6-5-1891, 261.

–4,500^[1]       “             Apr                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N23, 6-5-1891, 261.

—     33  Buffalo          Apr                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N27, 7-3-1891, 304.

—     13        “               May                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N27, 7-3-1891, 304.

—     26  Rochester Last week Dec      Peck. History…Rochester, Monroe Co., NY, V1. 1908, 107

Rhode Island             (    10)

—    10                         Apr                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N22, 5-29-1891, 252

Narrative Information

Chicago, IL

 

“In 1891 the disease recurred for we find Dr. J. D. Ware, then health commissioner, saying in his annual report, “During March and April there were 3,400 deaths in each month largely due to pneumonia and influenza which seemed to be epidemic”.”  (Evans and Heckard (MD’s, Chicago Dept. of Health), ~1918, p. 845.)

 

Rochester, NY

 

In the latter part of 1889 the malady known as the grip (an Anglicization of the French form, la grippe) made its first appearance here, and throughout the succeeding winter it was very prevalent, being directly fatal in many cases but in a greater number bringing with it lifelong infirmity and the susceptibility to other diseases; the next year it was just as bad, twenty-six deaths occurring from it during the closing week of 1891…”  (Peck 1908, 107)

 

Sources

 

Evans, W.A. and M.O. Heckard (Chicago Dept. of Health). “The 1890 Epidemic of Influenza in Chicago and Its Influence on Mortality, 1890 to 1893 Inclusive.”  Circa 1918.  Accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1362262/pdf/amjphealth00232-0033.pdf

 

Peck, William F. History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York (Vol. 1). NY & Chicago: Pioneer Publishing Co., 1908.  Digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=ivssAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

 

United States Marine Hospital Service, Treasury Department. Abstract of Sanitary Reports, Vol. VI, No’s 1-52,1891.  Digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=ZMAsAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

 

[1] “…in April [“the epidemic of influenza or la grippe”] has apparently been the cause of 4,500 to 5,000 deaths, excess above April, 1890, all allowances being made.”  (NY Monthly Bulletin for April, in:  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N23, 5 June 1891, 261.)

–>109 Blanchard.*
— 109 Cole (Mine Safety and Health Administration, District 4). “History of MSHA,” slide 4.
— 109 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 312.
— 109 ExplorePAhistory.com. Mammoth Mine Explosion Historical Marker. Accessed 5-21-2020.
— 109 Mine Safety & Health Admin. Historical Coal Mine Disasters in the Anthracite Region.
— 109 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC. Mining Disasters. 2010.
— 108 Pittsburg Dispatch, PA. “Not Ready To Talk. Mine Inspectors Unable…” 1-30-1891, p.1.
— 100 Simonds. The American Date Book. 1902, p. 92.
–>100 Willsey and Lewis. “Pennsylvania,” Harper’s Book of Facts. 1895, p. 619.

* While 109 was the official death toll, a reading of the Pittsburg Dispatch of Jan 30, when the death toll was thought to be 108, discloses, just after the discovery of a dead boy in the mine, that “there are undoubtedly some bodies under the debris. There are four Hungarians missing, a trapper, two diggers and a hauler…” Our experience with reporting on other mine disasters at the time and for a long time to come, was that there were at times people in mines other than those officially on the mine payroll. Fathers would bring their sons or other relatives or “subcontractors” to help, particularly when pay was based not on hours worked but on tonnage attributed to a miner. Sometimes salesmen were in a mine, etc. Thus while there may well have been exactly 109 deaths, we use the symbol “>” to indicate “at least” 109 deaths.

Narrative Information

Cole: “Congress responded [to this and other recent mine disasters] March 3, 1891 – ‘An Act for the Protection of the Lives of Miners in the Territories.’ First federal statute for mine safety. (Cole, History of MSHA, slide 4)

• Established minimum ventilation requirements at underground coal mines.
• Prohibited operators from employing children under 12 years of age.
• No Enforcement Provisions. (Cole, History of MSHA, slide 5)

Willsey: “Over 100 miners killed by an explosion of fire-damp in the shaft of Frick & Co.’s coke works, near Mt. Pleasant…27 Jan. 1891.” (Willsey. “Pennsylvania,” Harper’s Book of Facts. 1895, p. 619.)
Newspapers

Jan 27: “(From a Staff Correspondent.) Mammoth, Pa., Jan. 27. – ‘More volunteers to go down the shaft,’ yelled a grimy-faced man at the shaft entrance to the Mammoth No. 1 mine, as he flashed his torch in the countenances of the men who crowded around. There was no lack of response, for down in the bowels of the earth lay the bodies of over a hundred of their comrades.

“At 9 o’clock this morning occurred the worst disaster ever known in a bituminous coal mine in the State of Pennsylvania, if, indeed, it was ever equaled in this country. Mammoth was the scene of the catastrophe.
The Scene of the Disaster.

“At this place on the Sewickley branch of the Southwestern division of the Pennsylvania Railroad are located the mammoth mines and coke works of H. C. Frick & Co. There are two mines, No. 1 and No. 2. The form4r is entered by a shaft 107 feet deep, and the latter by a slope. The two mines are connected by interior workings.

“Gas, or fire damp, the bane of a coal miner’s life, was remarkable here for its absence. No trace of it had ever been found, and for that reason the common coal diggers’ lamp was used.

“Early in the morning Fire Boss William Smith had made his tour of the mines, in accordance with the laws of the State, and had found everything apparently in the best of order.

Going to Work for the Last Time.

“The men were ordered to work – 110 of them is estimated – and went down the pit shaft where in so short a time they were to meet their death, with laughter and with jests.

“A few minutes after 9 o’clock there was a dull rumbling sound like the dim mutterings of thunder behind distant hills, a cloud of smoke and dust shot up the shaft of Mammoth No. 1, 50 feet above the tall derrick and slowly settled down.

“For a few moments there was silence, and then the workers from Mammoth No. 2 began pouring out of the slope and rushing toward the shaft of No. 1. Many of these men had been bruised and shaken up by the force of an explosion, but none were injured seriously.

Discovery of the Deadly Fire Damp.

“Superintendent George Keighley called for volunteers, and at once 20 men stepped forward and were lowered down the shaft in the cage, which had not been injured by the explosion. When the party reached the bottom of the shaft, one glance, and the odor of the deadly fire damp was enough. Death lurked in these underground corridors. He had seized all he found there and was clamoring for more victims.

“The party returned to the top of the shaft and the ventilating fan, one of the most powerful in use at any coal mine, was at once started up at its utmost speed.

“Again Superintendent Keighley and his party descended. The force of the explosion was visible on every hand. The coal wagons used in the mines were splintered to pieces in some cases. In other places several of them had been jammed together in a solid mass. Mules were seen which had been driven against the ribs of the workings with such force that their bodies had utterly lost all semblance to the living reality. Here and there lay human bodies.

Appearances of the Human Victims.

“Some were mutilated and all were blackened by the deadly flame which had swept through the works. The bodies of those who had been killed by the effects of the explosion lay in distorted attitudes while others, who had apparently escaped the flame and concussion, but had rushed from the rooms in which they were working into the flats had succumbed to the stealthy, suffocating fire damp.

“There they were, some at full length with heads resting upon their hand as if asleep, others face downward with their heads in pools of water. One man had climbed into a wagon which had not been wrecked, and there, with his dinner bucket by his side, had laid down as if to dream of pleasant things.

“Enough had been seen for experienced miners to know that all the men in flats Nos. 2, 3 and 4 of the No. 1 Mammoth mine had perished.

Spreading the Sad Intelligence.

“General Manager Thomas Lynch at once notified the managers of the other coal mines belonging to H. C. Frick & Co., and sent messengers to Mt. Pleasant, Greensburg, Scottdale and surrounding towns for physicians. Drs. Wilson, Painter, Brown, Myers, McCormack and Clark at once responded and while they could render no aid to the dead took charge of the arrangement of the bodies, attended the rescuers who were overcome while working in the still foul mine, and helped in many instances to distinguish traces of humanity in the heaps of debris which the less-learned miners were passing unheeded. The physicians took their turns below nothing daunted by the unaccustomed danger and worked with a vim.

“….50 coffins were brought from Pittsburg, with a similar consignment to follow to-morrow….

“As soon as the mine experts had arrived a systematic plan for the recovery of the bodies was agreed upon. The first party went down the shaft to the Forrest flat No. 4. Three hundred feet from the shaft they found a wall of earth, coal wagon and human bodies which blocked further progress. This was tunneled through and the party turned off at right angles along a haulage road. At the extremity of this was found a man with his head completely blown from his body.

Some of the Rescuers Overcome.

“At this point several of the party, among them Superintendents Robert Ramsey and Laird, were overcome by the after damp, and had to be carried back to purer air. The entrance to each room opening into three flats was hastily closed with brattices to give a clearer sweep to the air being forced into the mine, and a few of them were explored.

“In the haulage road of No. 4 flat 35 bodies were found, and 15 were counted in one heap in flat No. 2. One man had both legs blown off. The body of a boy was found with a stick driven through his arm. Fire Boss W. Snaith was torn almost to pieces, and a rubber boot was found still encasing the foot and leg of a miner. The big pumps, which lift tons of water out at a time, were broken and scattered as if they had been made of straw.

The First Body Brought to Light.

“It was but a few minutes after the explosion when the first body reached the surface. It was still warm, but life was utterly extinct. The next man brought up appeared to be still breathing, but the utmost exertions of the physicians failed to resuscitate the victim.

“Then commenced the dismal procession of the dead, to which rank after rank is added as the cage comes to the surface. All day long it moved across the open lot in front of the shaft, and as the daylight faded and the darkness of night settled down upon the frowning hills the line of stretchers, almost unbroken, kept passing from the shaft to the building which had been hastily utilized as a morgue.

“The morgue is a roomy two-story frame structure, formerly used as a residence by former superintendent. It is a roomy building, and the bodies were taken into what had formerly been the sitting room. Here the undertakers with sleeves rolled up and swathed in apronts, endeavored to bring back to the maimed, scorched and blackened bodies some semblance of their former appearance.

“Then they were garbed in black shrouds and laid out on the long back porch. The porch was soon filled with bodies, 20 lying in a row at one time. The caskets were brought up, and as soon as a corpse was identified it was placed in a neat black walnut casket and the vacant place occupied by a new arrival.” (Pittsburg Dispatch, PA. “A Horror Without Parallel.” 1-28-1891, p. 1.)

Jan 28: “Mammoth, Jan. 28. – Mammoth mine No. 1 has yielded up the bodies of 107 victims of the explosion and afterdamp and 79 have been returned to the earth in the little cemetery at Scottdale. The work of the rescuers was continued with unflagging energy from within a few minutes after the explosion occurred on Tuesday morning until noon to-day. Then Superintendent Keighley came out of the mine and said: ‘We can find no more bodies. I think we have got all of them out, with perhaps the exception of one or two who may be buried under the piles of debris piled together by the force of the explosion. It will take several days to clear this away. I am going home to sleep for a few hours.’

An Inspection of the Mine.

“During the day the mine was inspected by Mine Inspectors William Jenkins, of the Second district, Davis, of the Pittsburg district, Black, of the Fourth district, and ex-Inspectors August Steinert, Captain Schoomaker and General Manager Lynch. They arrived at the conclusion that the danger was over and that within a week or 10 days work would be resumed in the mine.

“Mine Inspector Jenkins, within whose jurisdiction this mine comes, was asked for a statement this evening in regard to the accident. He said, although with some reluctance: ‘We have carried out 107 dead men, and we can see no more bodies in the mine, still there may be some there yet, buried under piles of coal and earth caused by the explosion. I only know of one mine explosion which equaled this in its fatal results, and that was at Avondale in 1869, when 109 men were killed. The mine is all right, and as soon as all the after damp is forced out through the slope of No. 2, we can start work to repair whatever damage may have been done. I could not give an explanation of all the causes leading up to the explosion….

“There is no question but that, as stated in yesterday’s dispatches, the ordinary naked lamps and not the safety ones were used by the miners in the Mammoth. The officials explain this by stating that the pit was believed to be entirely free from gas.” (Pittsburg Dispatch, PA. “A Little Gas in No. 3 Flat Found to have been the Immediate Cause of the Mammoth Horror. Just 107 Bodies Have Been Recovered…” 1-29-1891, p. 1.)

Jan 29: “(From a Staff Correspondent.). Mammoth, Pa., Jan. 29. – The frightful disaster on Tuesday will result in abolishing the torchlight from the mines of the bituminous region, and in making the use of safety lamps imperative. This is the general opinion of the miners of Mammoth, and is indorsed by Mine Inspectors William Duncan, Thomas R. Adams, James Blick and William Jenkins, and ex-Inspector Davies.

“The Mine Inspectors seemed troubled today, the mine officials were reticent, and the atmosphere was impregnated with anxiety and apprehension. Here and there about the works stood knots of gloomy men talking in undertones of a public ball held at Mammoth on Monday night…

“Mine Inspectors Blick and Adams were interviewed immediately upon their ascension from the pit this afternoon. They were very reticent, would volunteer no information and were not eager to answer direct questions. The conversation went this way: ‘Have you found the vein of gas which caused the explosion, Inspectors?’ ‘No.’

Only One Fire Boss.

“‘Is it true that on the third flat, where a pillar had been withdrawn, a big block of slate, four feet thick, had fallen from the roof and exposed the rock?’ ‘Yes; I believe it is,’ replied Inspector Blick.

“‘Doesn’t the gas in such mines as these always come from the rock?’

“‘Generally it does.’

“‘Is it still coming into the mine?’

“‘There is no gas in the mine now.’….

No Opinion to Express.

“‘Then you cannot say what caused the explosion, or whether it was the result of negligence?’

“‘No; we are here just to help Mr. Jenkins, the Inspector in this district. He will make a report to the Secretary of Internal Affairs, and I presume he will testify at the inquest on Thursday….

“The body of Andrew Loras, a Bohemian boy, was found early this morning. It was lying in the mud in the fourth flat, and had been overlooked. The falls have not yet been cleared away, and there are undoubtedly some bodies under the debris. There are four Hungarians missing, a trapper, two diggers and a hauler, and how many others may be found can only be conjectured. Several of the men around the shaft insist that there are 20 or 30 bodies still in the pit.

“The company’s clerks yesterday prepared a list, giving the names of 92 of the 108 killed. Thirty-one of the victims leave wives and families, and 61 of those identified, and probably all the unidentified, are single….” (Pittsburg Dispatch, PA. “Not Ready To Talk. Mine Inspectors Unable or Unwilling to Explain the Causes Which Led to the Mammoth Disaster.” 1-30-1891, p. 1.)

Sources

Cole, Jesse P. (MSHA District 4 Manager). “History of MSHA,” Leadership Intensive Course Mine Safety and Health Administration. No date. 48 slides. Accessed 1-11-2009 at: http://www.usmra.com/repository/category/mining/modified_History_of_MSHA.ppt#256,1

Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.

ExplorePAhistory.com. Mammoth Mine Explosion Historical Marker. Accessed 5-21-2020 at: https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-2CA

Mine Safety and Health Administration. Historical Coal Mine Disasters in the Anthracite Region (District 1 – Coal Mine Safety and Health). Arlington, VA: MSHA, U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed 1-3-2009 at: http://www.msha.gov/District/Dist_01/Fatals/HISTFAT.HTM

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Safety and Health Research.. Mining Disasters (Incidents with 5 or more Fatalities). NIOSH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2-26-2013 update. Accessed at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/disall.htm
and http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/content/allminingdisasters.html

Pittsburg Dispatch, PA. “A Horror Without Parallel.” 1-28-1891, p. 1. Accessed 5-21-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/pittsburgh-dispatch-jan-28-1891-p-1/

Pittsburg Dispatch, PA. “A Little Gas in No. 3 Flat Found to have been the Immediate Cause of the Mammoth Horror. Just 107 Bodies Have Been Recovered…” 1-29-1891, p. 1. Accessed 5-21-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/pittsburgh-dispatch-jan-29-1891-p-1/

Pittsburg Dispatch, PA. “Not Ready To Talk. Mine Inspectors Unable or Unwilling to Explain the Causes Which Led to the Mammoth Disaster.” 1-30-1891, p. 1. Accessed 5-21-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/pittsburgh-dispatch-jan-30-1891-p-1/

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

Willsey, Joseph H. (Compiler), Charlton T. Lewis (Editor). Harper’s Book of Facts: A Classified History of the World. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1895. Accessed 9-4-2017 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=UcwGAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Document created by Wayne Blanchard, Dec 2008; revised Dec 2019, for website: Deadliest American Disasters and Large-Loss-Of-Life Events. https://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

 –5,840  Blanchard compilation based on State and local breakouts below.

Summary of State Breakouts

Illinois                        (2,000)            Chicago (2,000)                                 The Year

Massachusetts           (     42)            Lowell (24) and Boston (14)             Jan-March 14

New Jersey                (   695)                                                                        The Year

New York                   (1,926)                                                                        The Year

Ohio                           (   286)            Cincinnati (286)                                The Year

Pennsylvania             (   683)            Philadelphia (683)                             The Year

Washington, DC        (   208)                                                                        The Year

 Breakout of 1891 Typhoid Fever Deaths by State and Locality (where noted):

Illinois, Chicago                    (2,000)            The Year

–2,000  Chicago         Boston Med…Surg. Jour. “Typhoid Fever in Chicago.” 2-4-1892, 126-128.

–2,000  Chicago                     Historical Society. Encyclopedia of Chicago, “Epidemics.”

–1,582  The Year                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., Vol. VI, No’s 1-52, 1891.

—     18   Dec 27-Jan 3             USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N1, 2 Jan 1891, 7.

—     12  Jan 3-10                     USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N3, 16 Jan 1891, 20.

—     15  Jan 17-24                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N5, 30 Jan 1891, 46.

—     22  Jan 24-31                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N6, 6 Feb 1891, 55.

—     12  Jan 31-Feb 7              USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N7, 13 Feb 1891, 67.

—     16  Feb 7-14                    USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N8, 20 Feb 1891, 81.

—     19  Feb 21-28                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N10, 6 Mar 1891, 103.

—     14  Feb 28-Mar 7             USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N11, 13 Mar 1891, 117.

—     13  Mar 7-14                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N12, 20 Mar 1891, 128.

—     18  Mar 14-21                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N13, 27 Mar 1891, 147.

—     16  Mar 21-28                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N14, 3 Apr 1891, 157.

—     19  Mar 28-Apr 4             USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N16, 17 Apr 1891, 181.

—     25  Apr 4-11                    USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N16, 17 Apr 1891, 181.

—     25  Apr 11-18                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N17, 24 Apr 1891, 192.

—     26  Apr 18-25                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N19, 8 May 1891, 216.

—     55  Apr 25-May 2           USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N20, 15 May 1891, 230.

—   107  May 2-9                     USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N20, 15 May 1891, 230.

—     88  May 16-23                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N23, 5 Jun 1891, 263.

—     71  May 23-30                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N23, 5 Jun 1891, 263.

—     66  May 30-Jun 6            USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N24, 12 Jun 1891, 274.

—     40  June 6-13                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N25, 19 Jun 1891, 283.

—     45  June 13-20                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N26, 26 Jun 1891, 295.

—     29  June 27-July 4           USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N28, 10 Jul 1891, 318.

—     60  July 11-18                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N30, 24 Jul 1891, 341.

—     47  July 18-25                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N31, 31 Jul 1891, 351.

—     36  July 25-Aug 1           USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N32, 7 Aug 1891m 362.

—     51  Aug 8-15                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N34, 21 Aug 1891, 384.

—     41  Aug 15-22                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N35, 28 Aug 1891, 394.

—     29  Aug 22-29                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N36, 4 Sep 1891, 404.

—     39  Aug 29-Sep 5             USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N37, 11 Sep 1891, 418.

—     33  Sep 5-12                    USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N38, 18 Sep 1891, 429.

—     52  Sep 12-19                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N39, 25 Sep 1891, 442.

—     53  Sep 19-26                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N40, 2 Oct 1891, 457.

—     44  Oct 3-10                    USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N42, 16 Oct 1891, 481.

—     31  Oct 10-17                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N43, 23 Oct 1891, 493.

—     42  Oct 24-31                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N45, 6 Nov 1891, 516.

—     53  Oct 31-Nov 7            USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N46, 13 Nov 1891, 528.

—     38  Nov 7-14                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N47, 20 Nov 1891, 541.

—     32  Nov 14-21                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N48, 27 Nov 1891, 554.

—     27  Nov 21-28                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N49, 4 Dec 1891, 564.

—     31  Nov 28-Dec 5            USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N50, 11 Dec 1891, 574.

—     38  Dec 5-12                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N51, 18 Dec 1891, 585.

—     34  Dec 12-19                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N52, 25 Dec 1891, 601.

 

Massachusetts           (    42) Lowell (24) and Boston (14)             Jan-March 14

–42                                         Blanchard tally based on breakouts below.

–14  Boston, Jan 4-Mar 14     Blanchard tally based on breakouts below.

—  2   Jan 4-10.            Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 1-10-1891, p. 13.

—  3   Jan 11-17.          Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 1-17-1891, p. 15.

—  2   Jan 18-24           Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 1-24-1891, p. 13.

—  1   Feb 1-7              Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 2-7-1891, p. 15.

—  1   Feb 22-28          Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 2-28-1891, p. 18.

—  3   March 1-7         Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 3-7-1891, p. 17.

—  2   March 8-14       Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 3-14-1891, p. 16.

–24  Lowell Jan-Feb              Blanchard tally based on breakouts below.

–10  Jan                      Lowell Sun, MA. “Health Bulletin for January,” 2-28-1891, p. 8.

–14  Feb                     Lowell Sun, MA. “Health Bulletin for February.” 3-14-1891, p. 1.

—  1  Lynnfield, March 1        Boston Daily Globe. “Respected by All Classes.” 3-2-1891, p. 9.

—  1  Malden, Feb 12.             Boston Daily Globe. “Artist Pearson Dead,” 2-12-1891, p. 14.

—  1  Methuen, Jan 29~           Fitchburg Sentinel, MA. 1-30-1891, p. 6, col. 2.

—  1  Newton, March 6.          Boston Daily Globe. “Thomas M. Whidden Dead.” 3-7-1891, p.17.

 

New Jersey                (   695)            The Year

— 695  NJ Board of Health. Thirty-First Annual Report of the Board of Health… 1908, p. 10.[1]

 

New York                   (1,926)             The Year

–1,926  Statewide      New York Department of Health. 38^th Annual Report..., p. 540.^[2]

 

Ohio                           (   286)            Cincinnati (286)

–286  Cincinnati.       Mitchell. “History of Epidemics in Cincinnati.” U. of Cin. Med. Bul., 15.

 

Pennsylvania             (   683)            Philadelphia (683)

—   683  Philadelphia, the year. City of Philadelphia. Annual Report (V. III), 1907, p.102.^[3]

—       8  Jan 3-10                     USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N4, 23 Jan 1891, 30.

—     13  Jan 24-31                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N7, 13 Feb 1891, 67.

—     11  Jan 31-Feb 7              USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N8, 20 Feb 1891, 81.

—     14  Feb 7-14                    USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N9, 27 Feb 1891, 93.

—     10  Feb 14-21                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N10, 6 Mar 1891, 103.

—       9  Feb 21-28                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N11, 13 Mar 1891, 117.

—       9  Feb 28-Mar 7             USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N11, 13 Mar 1891, 117.

—     25  Mar 7-14                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N13, 27 Mar 1891, 147.

—     30  Mar 14-21                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N14, 3 Apr 1891, 157.

—     38  Mar 21-28                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N15, 10 Apr 1891, 167.

—     43  Mar 28-Apr 4             USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N15, 10 Apr 1891, 167.

—     20  Apr 4-11                    USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N16, 17 Apr 1891, 181.

—     22  Apr 11-18                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N18, 1 May 1891, 205.

—     30  Apr 18-25                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N19, 8 May 1891, 216.

—     26  Apr 25-May 2           USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N20, 15 May 1891, 230.

—     19  May 9-16                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N21, 22 May 1891, 242.

—     15  May 16-23                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N24, 12 Jun 1891, 274.

—     14  May 23-30                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N24, 12 Jun 1891, 274.

—       9  May 30-June 5          USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N24, 12 Jun 1891, 274.

—     11  June 5-13                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N26, 26 Jun 1891, 295.

—     15  June 19-27                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N28, 10 Jul 1891, 318.

—     12  June 27-July 4           USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N29, 17 Jul 1891, 328.

—     11  July 4-11                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N30, 24 Jul 1891, 341.

—       9  July 18-25                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N33, 14 Aug 1891, 372.

—     10  July 25-Aug 1           USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N33, 14 Aug 1891, 372.

—       9  Aug 1-8                     USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N34, 21 Aug 1891, 384.

—     10  Aug 8-15                   USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N35, 28 Aug 1891, 394.

—       4  Aug 22-29                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N37, 11 Sep 1891, 418.

—     14  Sep 5-12                    USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N40, 2 Oct 1891, 457.

—     17  Sep 12-19                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N40, 2 Oct 1891, 457.

—       8  Oct 10-17                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N44, 30 Oct 1891, 505.

—       7  Oct 24-31                  USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N47, 20 Nov 1891, 541.

—       4  Oct 31-Nov 4            USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N47, 20 Nov 1891, 541.

—       3  Nov 21-28                 USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N50, 11 Dec 1891, 574.

—       7  Nov 28-Dec 5            USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.VI, N52, 25 Dec 1891, 601.

 

Washington, DC        (   208)            The Year

—   208                                    USMHS. Weekly…San. Rpts., V.IX, N42, 19 Oct 1894, 936.

 

Narrative Information

 

Jan 12: “Lawrence, Mass., Jan. 12. – Mayor Collins has been notified by the state board of health to warn the people of this city against the water of the Merrimac river for drinking purposes without first boiling it at least fifteen minutes, and not to use the ice cut from the river this year. The board says that the results of weeks of investigation made by them show that the prevalence of typhoid fever and kindred diseases in Lawrence is due to the water. The Merrimac is the only water supply of the city, and the ice company’s house is already stocked largely with this year’s river cutting.” (Fitchburg Sentinel, MA. “Fever Germs in Water,” 1-12-1891, p. 8.)

 

Jan 23: “Lowell, Mass., Jan. 23. – The local board of health warns the people not to drink canal water, into which the hospital sewage goes, and which may cause an epidemic of typhoid fever. The order creates considerable comment, as this source of fever had not been suspected heretofore.” (Boston Daily Globe. “May Cause Typhoid Fever.” 1-23-1891, p. 9.)

 

Aug 24: “Newark, N.J., Aug. 24. – Eight new cases of typhoid fever, said to be due to the use of impure well water, have been reported in Newark since Saturday last. The polluted condition of the Passaic River has driven most of the people of Jersey City and Newark to use well or spring water wherever practicable, and in the latter city a number of wells, abandoned because of supposed contamination, have been reopened.” (New York Times. “Typhoid Fever in Newark.” 8-25-1891, p. 1.)

 

Aug 27: “Newark, N.J., Aug. 27. – During the last thirty-six hours there has been a startling increase in the number of deaths from typhoid fever in this city. The Board of Health refuses to give any information, but from the doctors at the hospitals it was learned that there are more than seventy-five cases of fever in the city at present and forty-eight cases have been reported within the last thirty-six hours.” (New York Times. “Typhoid Fever in Newark.” 8-28-1891, p. 2.)

 

Sep 21: “From the Hartford Courant, Sept. 21. Typhoid fever id quite prevalent in the part of the city south of and near to the Park River, east of Main Street. There are more than twelve cases, mostly of adults residing in Sheldon, Governor, and South Prospect Streets. The cause of the outbreak has not been ascertained, but it probably arises from local deficient sanitary arrangements. So far none of the cases are considered very serious.” (New York Times. “Typhoid Fever in Hartford.” 9-23-1891, p. 5.)

 

Sep 22: “From the Lewiston (Me.) Journal, Sept. 22. A prominent Lewiston physician says there are sixty cases of typhoid fever in the two cities, Lewiston and Auburn, a much larger number than usual at this time of the year.” (New York Times. “Typhoid Fever in Maine.” 9-27-1891, p. 12.)

 

On Typhoid Fever:

 

CDC: “Typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever are life-threatening illnesses caused by Salmonella serotype Typhi and Salmonella serotype Paratyphi, respectively. Most people in the United States with typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever become infected while traveling abroad, most often to countries where these diseases are common….” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Typhoid Fever and Paratyphoid Fever. Page last reviewed 8-22-2018.)

 

State of NY Department of Health: “Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection of the intestinal tract (bowels/gut) and occasionally the bloodstream caused by the Salmonella Typhi bacteria. This strain of bacteria lives only in humans….People with typhoid fever carry the bacteria in their bloodstream and intestinal tract (bowels/gut). In addition, a small number of people, called carriers, recover from typhoid fever but continue to carry the bacteria. Both ill persons and carriers shed Salmonella Typhi in their feces (poop). You can get typhoid fever if you eat food or drink beverages that have been handled by a person who is shedding Salmonella Typhi or if sewage contaminated with Salmonella Typhi bacteria gets into the water you use for drinking or washing food. Therefore, typhoid fever is more common in areas of the world where hand-washing is less frequent and water is more likely to be contaminated with sewage….

 

“Symptoms may be mild or severe and may include fever, headache, constipation or diarrhea (loose stool/poop), rose-colored spots on the trunk of the body, and an enlarged spleen and liver. It is common for symptoms to go away and then appear again. Death occurs in less than 1 percent of those who get antibiotic treatment. Symptoms generally appear one to two weeks after exposure to the bacteria….

 

“Typhoid fever is treated with antibiotics. Resistance to multiple antibiotics is increasing among the Salmonella bacteria that cause typhoid fever, complicating treatment of infections. People who do not get treatment may continue to have fever for weeks or months, and as many as 20% may die from complications of the infection.

 

“Most infected people may return to work or school when they have recovered, if they carefully wash hands after using the toilet. Children in daycare and health care workers must obtain the approval of the local or state health department before returning to their routine activities. Food handlers may not return to work until three consecutive negative stool cultures are confirmed….

 

“People can be reinfected if they come into contact with the bacteria again….

 

“A vaccine is available for people traveling to developing countries where significant exposure may occur. For more information about vaccination, speak to your health care provider. It is equally important to pay strict attention to food and water precautions while traveling to countries where typhoid is common. When drinking water in a developing country, you should buy it in a sealed bottle, boil it, or chemically treat it. When eating foods, avoid raw fruits and vegetables that cannot be peeled and washed, undercooked foods, and foods from street vendors. Additionally, food handlers may not work while sick with typhoid.” (New York State Department of Health. “Typhoid Fever,” Sep 2017 last review.)

 

 

Sources

 

Boston Daily Globe. “Artist Pearson Dead,” 2-12-1891, p. 14. Accessed 12-19-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-feb-12-1891-p-14/

 

Boston Daily Globe. “Lowell.” 2-3-1891, p. 6. Accessed 12-19-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-feb-03-1891-p-6/

 

Boston Daily Globe. “Lowell.” 2-5-1891, p. 6. Accessed 12-19-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-feb-05-1891-p-6/

 

Boston Daily Globe. “May Cause Typhoid Fever.” 1-23-1891, p. 9. Accessed 12-18-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-Jan-23-1891-p-9/

 

Boston Daily Globe. “Respected by All Classes.” 3-2-1891, p. 9. Accessed 12-19-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-mar-02-1891-p-9/

 

Boston Daily Globe. “Thomas M. Whidden Dead.” 3-7-1891, p.17. Accessed 12-19-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-mar-07-1891-p-17/

 

Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 1-10-1891, p. 13. Accessed 12-18-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-jan-10-1891-p-13/

 

Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 1-17-1891, p. 15. Accessed 12-18-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-jan-17-1891-p-15/

 

Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 1-24-1891, p. 13. Accessed 12-19-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-jan-24-1891-p-13/

 

Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 2-7-1891, p. 15. Accessed 12-19-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-feb-07-1891-p-15/

 

Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 2-28-1891, p. 18. Accessed 12-19-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-feb-28-1891-p-18/

 

Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 3-7-1891, p. 17. Accessed 12-19-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-mar-07-1891-p-17/

 

Boston Daily Globe. “Weekly Mortality,” 3-14-1891, p. 16. Accessed 12-19-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-mar-14-1891-p-16/

 

Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. “Typhoid Fever in Chicago.” 2-4-1892, pp. 126-128. Accessed 12-27-2008 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=Ya01AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Typhoid Fever and Paratyphoid Fever. Page last reviewed 8-22-2018. Accessed 8-7-2019 at: https://www.cdc.gov/typhoid-fever/index.html )

 

Chicago Historical Society. “Epidemics.” The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. 2005. Accessed 12-26-2008 at: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/432.html

 

City of Philadelphia. First Annual Message of John E. Reyburn, Mayor of the City of Philadelphia with the Annual Reports of the Departments of Public Health and Charities, Supplies, Public Education, Law, City Controller, City Treasurer, Commissioners of the Sinking Funds, Receiver of Taxes, and Board of Revision of Taxes for the Year Ending December 31, 1907 (Vol. III). Philadelphia: Dunlap Printing Co., 1908. Google digitized. Assessed 12-5-2012: http://books.google.com/books?id=0ihNAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Fitchburg Sentinel, MA. “Fever Germs in Water,” 1-12-1891, p. 8. Accessed 12-18-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/fitchburg-sentinel-jan-12-1891-p-8/

 

Fitchburg Sentinel, MA. [Typhoid death in Methuen] 1-30-1891, p. 6, col. 2. Accessed 12-19-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/fitchburg-sentinel-jan-30-1891-p-6/

 

Lowell Sun, MA. “Health Bulletin for February.” 3-14-1891, p. 1. Accessed 12-19-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lowell-sun-mar-14-1891-p-1/

 

Lowell Sun, MA. “Health Bulletin for January,” 2-28-1891, p. 8. Accessed 12-19-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lowell-sun-feb-28-1891-p-8/

 

Lowell Sun, MA. “Report of Deaths.” 1-10-1891, p. 8. Accessed 12-18-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lowell-sun-jan-10-1891-p-8/

 

Mitchell, E. W., M.D. “History of Epidemics in Cincinnati.” University of Cincinnati Medical Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 1, November 1920, pp. 10-18. Accessed 3-15-2015 at:

https://books.google.com/books?id=cvErAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

New York State Department of Health. Thirty-Eighth Annual Report of the State Department of Health of New York For the Year Ending December 31, 1917 (Vol. 1). Albany: J. B. Lyon Co., 1918. Google preview accessed 6-3-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=XE49AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

New York State Department of Health. “Typhoid Fever,” Sep 2017 last review. Accessed 6-26-2018 at: https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/typhoid_fever/fact_sheet.htm )

 

New York Times. “Typhoid Fever in Hartford.” 9-23-1891, p. 5. Accessed 12-18-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1891/09/23/106053632.html?pageNumber=5

 

New York Times. “Typhoid Fever in Maine.” 9-27-1891, p. 12. Accessed 12-18-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1891/09/27/103338829.html?pageNumber=12

 

New York Times. “Typhoid Fever in Newark.” 8-25-1891, p. 1. Accessed 12-18-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1891/08/25/103330097.html?pageNumber=1

 

New York Times. “Typhoid Fever in Newark.” 8-28-1891, p. 2. Accessed 12-18-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1891/08/28/103331727.html?pageNumber=2

 

United States Marine Hospital Service, Treasury Department. Abstract of Sanitary Reports, Vol. VI, No’s 1-52,1891.  Digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=ZMAsAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

 

 

[1] “Table 6. – Showing Number of Deaths in New Jersey from Certain Classified Diseases for Twenty-Eight Years, 1879-1906.”

[2] From: Table 19 — Movement of mortality from certain important causes of death in New York State, showing the annual number of deaths and death rates per 100,000 population: 1885-1917.

[3] Table entitled “Typhoid Fever Deaths from 1862 to 1907, inclusive, by Wards

 

–22  Adams and  Seibold.  Great Train Wrecks of Eastern Pennsylvania.  1992, p. 91.

–22  Appletons’ Annual Cyclopaedia…of the Year 1890 (Vol. 15). “Disasters in 1890, p. 255.

–22  Bradford Era, PA. “Scenes at the Wreck. Twenty-Two Persons Lost…” 9-22-1890, p. 1.

 

Narrative Information

Adams and  Seibold: “At precisely 5:42 p.m., on that fateful Saturday, the Pottsville Express was dispatched out of Reading. Aboard were hundreds of men, women and children who had converged on the city from such events as the State Firemen’s Convention in Chester and the Berks County Fair in Reading….John White was at the throttle, with fireman James Templin and conductor Harry Logan. All were from Pottsville. The baggage master was E.W. Logan, of Shenandoah.

“The train was building up speed as it approached the Perry Straightaway, about two miles north of the Shoemakersville station. The main line hugged the shores of the Schuylkill River, rising some 20 feet above the river at what was known as Mervine’s Hill….

“Earlier, two southbound coal trains had left the Perry station, just a bit farther north. The first, pulled by engine No. 347 and engineer A. B. Gehry, split as a coupling broke. Gehry backed up to retrieve the wayward cars.

“Another coal train was dispatched from Perry twelve minutes after No. 347. That train, behind engine No. 921, continued down with no knowledge that the 347 was occupying the track. Engineer Gehry had his train just about underway when James Vail, at the controls of the 921, rolled into the rear of the first coal train, knocking an eight-wheeler coal car off the tracks, spilling much of its cargo on the other tracks.

“As the passenger train completed the curve, and built speed to what one expert felt must have been close to 65 miles per hour, White doubtlessly looked up in horror as the wreckage of the two trains could be seen, far too close ahead to avert yet another collision. Later, it was determined that only about 90 seconds had transpired between the collision and the approach of the express. There was no time, it was felt, to place torpedo-style signals on the track as a warning, alerting engine crews with a loud, sharp, BANG!

“Along that remote track, on the dark side of dusk, the Pottsville Express plowed into the timbers and coals which had spilled from the previous wreck. The force sent the engine of the passenger train reeling down the embankment and another 150 feet or so into he river.

“Behind it, the tender, baggage car, mail car and three passenger cars struck the wrecked coal cars and followed in fatal plunges. “The horrors of the scene of disaster are simply indescribable,” was the testimony of one of the rescuers at the scent. “It will take the daylight of tomorrow to fully reveal the awful wreck and ruin wrought. The engine lies in the bottom of the river, whose waters are about five feet deep and the baggage, mail and passenger cars are also in the water.”

“Steam hissed and rose from the water as the estimated 150 passengers fought for their lives as the lights of the train were doused and all were forced to struggle in nearly pitch darkness.  Some managed to scramble from the wreck and find their way to Shoemakersville to summon help. Rescue crews in Reading were called, and by 10 o’clock, 300 workers were at the scene to render assistance. A man who lived close to the site of the wreck said the sound of the collision could be heard for miles, and was as loud as the report of a cannon.

“The full extent of the tragedy was not known for quite some time, since most of the dead were trapped beneath the cars, on the muddy, grassy floor of the river….

“There was no saving Engineer White or the other members of the crew. White was one of the most experienced engineers on the Reading, and his body was found beneath the firebox of the engine. The corpse of mail agent George Greenawald was found well after midnight, floating downstream in the Schuylkill. The discovery of several empty mail bags from the river several hours later confirmed that Greenawald was in the midst of doing his job when the collision took place.

“The recovery of the engineer’s body was not without the grisly details which often accompanied accounts of nineteenth-century railroad accidents. White’s was the 22^nd, and last body taken out of the wreck of the express. A worker saw the engineer’s arm extending from beneath the locomotive. He grabbed the limb, and as the newspaper article stated, “to his horror, it came off, having been crushed and severed at the shoulder.” White had also been decapitated, and his head was not found for another hour, wedged in the truck of the smoking car, several yards downstream.

“The search for the bodies and aid to the injured continued throughout the night. Volunteers even manned rowboats in the river to search amid the debris for any signs of life.

“The railroad’s new “traveling electric light plant” was brought to the scene to aid in the salvage and rescue efforts, and by midnight, Berks County Coroner Dr. John J. Hoffman arrived to start his grim tasks. He told a reporter at the scene there was no doubt that the wreck was the most devastating ever on the Reading. That reporter, in turn, commented in the Reading Eagle the next day, “It is universally regretted here because that road has made a record for itself in not having a serious accident in all its history.”

“Something called tragic irony was riding that train that night. One of the passengers on the express was George R. Kaercher, general counsel for the railroad. He had been one of the prime forces in the company’s prosecution of the Molly Maguires several years before. After its discovery around sunrise, his body was taken by special train to his waiting survivors in Pottsville.

“As daylight broke, the full impact of the wreck and its human toll was sickening. Passenger cars were hoisted from the water and up the embankment. In them were clusters of corpses. Some were crushed and disfigured, others were untouched. In the latter cases, the victims had apparently drowned…. In addition to the 22 killed, more than 30 others were injured in the wreck….

“A battery of inquiries and some revealing testimony followed what had been the most deadly wreck ever on the Reading.  Railroad observers and experts immediately rose to criticize the conduct of the crews on the coal trains. Based on documents submitted to probers, it was determined that a flagman would have had a good four minutes to dash only 200 yards to warn the oncoming express as it entered the site of the wreck.

“The engineer of the first coal train, Gehry, said the crash which caused the coal cars to roll over was not at all violent, and his locomotive had proceeded all the way to the Shoemakersville station, where the express engine seemed to pass by his locomotive safely.  The fatal wreck occurred beyond the distant curve, and Gehry said he didn’t know about it until brakeman Henry Kemp told him, “The express train is in the Schuylkill.”  Vail, the engineer of the second downbound coal train, said his train was nearly stopped when it hit the caboose of the first train. There was little damage, but the force was just enough to upset the coal cars.

“After several days of hearing testimony from survivors, crewmen and witnesses, the Coroner’s Jury determined that Kemp, the brakeman of the first train, was negligent when he did not deal swiftly with the collision of the coal trains and the oncoming express.  The 32-year old resident of Reynolds, Schuylkill County, was served with a warrant on September 26, and while he maintained his innocence, the blame for the wreck of the express was placed on his shoulders. He said there was not much he could have done, considering the timing and geography involved in the complex chain reaction.  In addition, the crews of both coal trains were suspended….”  (Adams and  Seibold.  Great Train Wrecks of Eastern Pennsylvania.  1992, pp. 85-94.)

 

Newspapers

Sep 20: “Reading, Pa., Sept. 20. – A wreck occurred on the Reading railroad, seventeen miles above this place, at about 6:45 last night.  If everything is borne out by subsequent developments it is the worst wreck that has ever occurred in this section in the history of the railroad company. The train which met with disaster left this city at 6:25, ten minutes late.  It is known as the Pottsville express and running at the rate of at least forty-five miles an hour.

“It had on board between 125 and 150 passengers, and consisted of engine, mail and express cars, and three passenger cars. Above Shoemakersville, about fifteen miles above the city, there is a curve where the railroad is about eighteen to twenty feet higher than the Schuylkill river. Here, shortly before 6 o’clock, a freight train ran into a coal train, throwing several cars of the latter on the opposite track.

“Before the train hands had time to go back to warn any approaching train of the danger, the Pottsville express came around the curve and ran into the wrecked coal cars on its track.  The engine went down the embankment, followed by the entire train with its human freight. The scene was one of great horror, and can be better imagined than described….

“Physicians and surgeons and a force of 300 workmen were taken to the spot and, with the aid of a traveling electric light plant, the work of clearing away the wreck was at once proceeded with.  The work was slow and the dead and drying were taken out with great difficulty.  Up to 10 o’clock six dead and some thirty wounded had been taken out of the latter.  Some were brought here and others taken to the miners’ hospital at Ashland.  The dead taken from the wreck are still on the ground….

“Direct communication has just been had with the scene of the wreck, and it is reported that the number of killed will reach forty or fifty.  It is rumored that George R. Kaercher, the famous lawyer, of Rending, is among the killed.  The wrecked train is still lying at the bottom of the river.  The actual number of the passengers is not known, and it is believed that there are still twenty-five or thirty bodies underneath the wreck or were carried away by the current.”  (Lebanon Daily News, PA. “A Terrible Wreck on the Reading Railroad at Shoemakersville.” 9-20-1890, p. 1.)

Sep 21: “Reading, Pa., Sept. 21. – When daylight dawned on the scene of Friday night’s wreck, Saturday morning, on the Philadelphia & Reading railroad, near Shoemakersville, the full realization of the indescribable horrors of the night was first fully realized, and the sickening spectacle of the wrecked train and its victims was presented in a startling picture. There lay the engine in four and a half feet of water, while the body of the engineer, John White, was still pinned underneath the heavy iron work, his arms extended in an appealing manner above the water. The engine is battered out of shape, and its ponderous machinery bent and twisted like a plaything.

“Next lay the tender on its side and then the baggage and mail cars and passenger coaches in the succession in which they left the track, the timbers broken and the cars overturned, pinning the un-rescued victims in a death embrace at the bottom of the river.  The speed at which the train was running can be imagined when it is stated that the distance from the point where the engine left the track going down the steep 25 foot embankment and then dashing over the rocky bed of the river is fully 150 feet.

“The work of searching for bodies continued all night and up to 8 o’clock this forenoon a number more had been taken out, now making the total number recovered about 21.  There is no longer any doubt as to the fate of George R. Kaercher, general counsel of the Reading railroad.  His body was taken out of the wrecked parlor car almost unrecognizable and badly disfigured….

“Thousands have flocked to the scene of disaster, and while they are willing to assist their aid is of very little service, where experienced men are required.

“The wreck occurred this way:  A down coal train separated above Shoemakersville.  Another coal train following after ran into the rear section.  Two loaded coal cars were thrown over on the other track just as the passenger train came dashing past, and the engine striking this obstruction the wreck of the passenger train followed.  It is claimed the passenger train followed so soon after the crash of the two coal trains that the employes had no time to go back to warn the approaching passenger train, which crashed into the wreck while going at the rate of 65 miles an hour….

“The body of an unknown man who was among the last to be taken from the wreck, was identified as George Lambert, of Tamauqua.  This places the number of killed at 22.  It is now believed that there are no bodies in the water and that this ends the death list.  All the cars were taken out of the river to-night.  A jury has been subpoenaed and will hold an inquest early next week….”  (Bradford Era, PA. “Scenes at the Wreck. Twenty-Two Persons Lost Their Lives in the Terrible Reading Collision.” 9-22-1890, p. 1.)

 

Sources

Adams, Charles J. III and David J. Seibold. Great Train Wrecks of Eastern Pennsylvania.  Reading, PA: Exeter House Books, 1992.

Appletons’ Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1890 (Vol. 15). New York: D. Appleton and CO., 1891. Google digital preview accessed 9-7-2017 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=nls0AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Bradford Era, PA. “Scenes at the Wreck. Twenty-Two Persons Lost Their Lives in the Terrible Reading Collision.” 9-22-1890, p. 1. http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=140111430

Lebanon Daily News, PA. “A Terrible Wreck on th Reading Railroad at Shoemakersville.” 9-20-1890, p. 1. Accessed 10-19-2012:  http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=126718863

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

–98 Blanchard estimated death toll.*

–97-180 Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991, 1993, p116. (Range of estimated drownings.)
— 100 US Gen. Weather Svc., USA Sig. Corp. Monthly Weather Rev., XVIII/7, Jul 1890, 182
— ~100 Willsey and Lewis. “Minnesota,” Harper’s Book of Facts. 1895, p. 516.
— 98 Bernard. “Before radar forecasts: The Sea Wing disaster…” MinnPost, 8-19-2014.
— 98 Budig. “98 People Killed…Excursion…Lake Pepin…Disasters on Upper Mississippi.”
— 98 Johnson. “Unlocking the Mysteries of the Sea Wing. MN History Mag., Sum. 1990, 72.
— 98 Supervising Inspector-General of Steam Vessels. Annual Report of… 1891, p. 5.
— 98 US Life-Saving Service. Annual Report…June 30,1891. 1893, p. 249.
— 97 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 262.
— 97 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 690.
— 90 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys.]…1990, 422.

* Blanchard estimated death toll: Though there are accounts which have the death toll at 90 or 97, or 100, or 96-180, we are persuaded by the accounts, some very detailed, showing ninety-eight deaths.

Narrative Information

Budig. “98 People Killed”:

“A wave lifted Harry Mabey onto the Minnesota shoreline, and he climbed out of the wind-whipped Mississippi River. It was late in the night of July 13, 1890. Short hours ago Mabey had been one of about 215 people enjoying a day-long excursion on Lake Pepin. Now he was a survivor of the one of the deadliest river disasters ever to occur on the Upper Mississippi. Mabey hurried along the shoreline until he reached Lake City. There, he began to clang the fire bell to summon help. Aroused towns people soon heard dreadful news. The steamboat Sea Wing had capsized on Lake Pepin during the evening storm. Although delayed by the violent weather, the steamboat Ethel Howard eventually is dispatched to search for survivors.

“The rescue boat docks at Red Wing early Monday morning, her deck laden with 42 bodies. Many more were still missing…..

“The Sea Wing was a stern-wheel rafter, 135-feet long, 22-feet in height — her height was said to make her skittish in wind — weighing about 110 tons. She was built in 1888 and operated out of Diamond Bluff, Wis., across the river and north of Red Wing. Powered by a six-piston steam engine, Sea Wing shepherded lumber and other commodities down the Mississippi River….

“The Sea Wing was captained and partly owned by Capt. David Wethern, 37-years-old, husband and father….Wethern would be accused of “unskillfulness” and temporarily lose his pilot’s license as a result of the disaster, but his loss cut deeper. His wife Nellie and 8-year-old son Perley accompanied him on the excursion to the National Guard camp at Lake City, and both drowned. Survivors remember Nellie sitting in a rocking chair outside a stateroom cabin in which Perley was napping after the picnic and military display at Lake City….

“Wethern testified at an inquest the boat carried more than 300 “floats” and seven life boats….

“Besides boasting a string orchestra — a band member later swam to safety by using his bass viola as a life preserver — excursioners could spend time lounging on the covered barge, Jim Grant, which would be lashed broadside to the Sea Wing….

“The majority of the 98 Sea Wing victims were from Red Wing, and a local undertaker would suffer a nervous breakdown because of the rush of bodies, it’s said….

“The Sea Wing and barge left Diamond Bluff at 8:40 a.m., picking up passengers at stops while enroute to Lake City. She reached at her destination at about 11:30 a.m. and passengers disembarked. Weatherwise, it was an active day. A tornado in the vicinity of St. Paul killed several people that afternoon and trees were uprooted and homes damaged in Hastings. Red Wing, too, was hit by storms later in the day….A local weather observer’s wind gauge measured gusts at 60 mph before being shredded by the wind. Storms plagued the military review at the National Guard camp, but Sea Wing excursioners were enjoying themselves. Some were reluctant to leave. Wethern agreed to remain until 7 p.m., though the Sea Wing may not have departed Lake City until about 8 p.m. Wethern apparently believed the storms were over. Of course, no form of accurate and timely weather reporting existed in 1890….

“The Sea Wing probably had made it less than halfway back to Red Wing when swallowed by storms. Wethern later testified he had been crossing Lake Pepin to seek shelter beneath bluffs on the Wisconsin side of the river when a “squall” came off the Minnesota shore. Wethern turned the Sea Wing into the approaching squall and held course for several minutes. The Sea Wing was likely abreast of Maiden Rock, a landmark on the Wisconsin shore.

“Wethern reportedly ordered passengers to don lifejackets sometime earlier. This was a change of heart and policy for the captain, for shortly after leaving Lake City he rebuked some young people who were putting on life jackets. “Take that off — you will frighten the ladies,” Wethern reportedly said. People were genuinely frightened as the squall bore down on the Sea Wing. Mabey recalled many women and children praying as wind and wave tossed the boat and barge. The clouds looked black and twisting, said Mabey. Crewmen Ed Niles reportedly spotted a funnel cloud crossing the lake about 500 yards ahead of the Sea Wing, though one contemporary meteorologist suggested that Wethern was correct — it was a squall. And a quick moving squall line appearing over the Minnesota bluffs probably was no more than five to ten minutes’ distance from the boat, he opined.

“Disaster, or the accumulated effect of bad judgment, struck Sea Wing at perhaps 8:45 p.m. Survivors remember the boat momentarily listing at about a 45 degree angle before Sea Wing, its cabin filled with passengers, keeled over. ‘The Sea Wing rolled over like an old water-soaked log,’ said Mabey….There may have been 100 or more passengers on the boat….

“The exact sequence of events of the disaster are still in question. That is, how did the barge — which in the end proved a sanctuary for perhaps everyone aboard it — become separated from the steamboat. And did the separation doom Sea Wing. One theory — a theory Wethern adhered to as an old man, anyway — suggests the barge lashed to the side stabilized Sea Wing as an outrigger stabilizes a Polynesian canoe. Wethern said decades later Sea Wing would not have capsized had the barge not been cut loose. But did he or another crew member order that done? Did passengers, some reportedly crying out to cut loose the barge, do it themselves? Or did the storm break the Jim Grant loose? In a letter to the St. Paul Dispatch three days after the disaster, Wethern wrote that the barge had not been cut loose until after the steamer had capsized and then only to save it from being swamped, too….

“Wethern was fighting for his life after the Sea Wing turned-turtle. Trapped underwater in the pilot’s house, he escaped by bracing his legs against the pilot’s wheel and pushing out a window with his back. Wethern swam for shore, saying he intended to seek help. But he succumbed to exhaustion once ashore, he later explained, and spent the night in a nearby home.

“At any rate, whether purposefully cut or broken loose, the barge drifted away from the Sea Wing. Perhaps 25 passengers clung to the keel of the capsized boat, a task possibly made more difficult because survivors report the Sea Wing uprighted herself and capsized several times. The weather was appalling, something out of purgatory. Besides violent wind and rain, egg-sized hail pelted the living and dead. One survivor ascribed the bruises he noted about the head and shoulders of Sea Wing victims the result of the bodies being battered by hail….It’s believed some 57 women were on the Sea Wing and barge on the return voyage and few survived….

“The barge drifted downstream and eventually nudged the Minnesota shore north of Lake City…. Mabey, who appears to have been a man of action that night, later said after alerting townspeople he and others went back to the Sea Wing on a skiff and ferried about 18 survivors ashore….The Sea Wing was towed near shore and National Guardsmen, hacking a hole in the hull, pulled free about 15 bodies from inside the wreck….On Tuesday only one body was recovered. But on Wednesday some 31 bodies floated to the surface of Lake Pepin. The last body, the 98th, that of an 11-year-old Red Wing girl, was found on Thursday….Wethern lost four relatives besides his wife and son….

“On Friday, July 25, 5,000 people crowded the streets of Red Wing for a memorial service honoring the victims of the Sea Wing disaster….” (Budig. “98 People Killed.”)

Grazulis: “MN July 13, 1890 The Sea Wing, a lumber shipping boat used as an excursion craft, capsized in a downburst on the Lake Pepin section of the Mississippi River. The range of estimated drownings was from 97 to 180.” (Grazulis 1993, p. 116.)

Harper’s: “Nearly 100 lives lost by a tornado on Lake Pepin…13 July, 1890.” (Willsey, Lewis. “Minnesota,” Harper’s Book of Facts. 1895, p. 516.)

Johnson: “….Ninety-eight were dead. Whole families had been killed. Of the 57 females on board, 50 had drowned….” (p. 72)

“The Sea Wing, a 109-ton steamer based in Diamond Bluff on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi, was returning from a pleasure cruise to Lake City when a storm struck. The vessel, with the barge Jim Grant lashed alongside, was carrying over 200 passengers and crew. David N. Wethern, the ship’s pilot and co-owner, steered to meet the storm, but his top-heavy craft was capsized by the winds. Those passengers who had crowded into the ship’s small cabin were trapped and drowned, while others were thrown into the water and lost….” (p. 73)

“A letter from Carol C. Lees of Vadnais Heights, the daughter-in-law of Sea Wing survivor Dr. Arnold F. Lees, provided…commentary on the barge and its role as a stabilizer. The letter contained a 1949 clipping from the Minneapolis Star, which included a brief biography of Dr. Lees in its territorial centennial observation. Lees told of his decision to jump from the Sea Wing onto the barge. He recounted the advance of the storm and how the steamer ‘capsized…instantly. The ship flipped over either three or four times while seemingly being held in one place in the river by the twister. The barge was ripped loose…and somehow stayed upright.’” (p. 73)

“….In 1986 Thomas A Hodgson, meteorologist and principal race officer of the White Bear Yacht Club, completed a detailed examination of how weather and river conditions would have affected the Sea Wing, In ‘A Meteorological Look at the Sea Wing Disaster,’ Hodgson analyzes the eyewitness and newspaper accounts of the storm and uses present-day knowledge of major trends of frontal thunderstorm systems to formulate his hypothesis. His conclusion: ‘the strong probability is that the wind that capsized Sea Wing was a line squall that preceded an extraordinarily strong thunderstorm cell.’

“Hodgson also considered the actual location and topography of the scene. Accounts at the time were confused on this point. Wethern’s report, made three days after the accident, noted that the ship had ‘proceeded up the lake about five miles.’ But newspaper reports named Central Point [MN], approximately one mile from Lake City [MN], as the accident site. It is likely that some reporters assumed the steamer had overturned off Central Point since many bodies were placed there in a temporary morgue. Using his first-hand knowledge of the lake and careful analysis of the storm track and eyewitness versions, Hodgson charted the likely path of the Sea Wing and the location of the accident”

The preponderance of the testimony shows Captain Wethern altering course to port to meet the storm coming off the Minnesota shore. This leads me to believe that the Sea Wing capsized in min-channel about two miles upriver from Central Point, about one half mile downriver from Maiden Rock [WI]

It is likely that the Sea Wing capsized in mid-channel, for there would have been few other locations on Lake Pepin that would allow a steamboat to turn turtle without touching bottom. (pp. 74-75)

(Johnson, Frederick L. “Unlocking the Mysteries of the Sea Wing.” Minnesota History Magazine, Summer 1990, pp. 72-77.)

US General Weather Service, USA Signal Corp. Monthly Weather Rev., XVIII/7, July 1890, 182:

“On the 13th, about 6 p. m., 75th meridian time, a tornado swept over New Canada township, Ramsey Co., Minn., caus¬ing the death of 6 persons, and injuring 23, demolishing build¬ings, uprooting trees, etc. The damage to buildings was es¬timated at $2,000, to crops $7,500, and to animals $500. A funnel-shaped cloud was observed moving toward se., or s. 25° e., attended by a roaring sound. The rainfall was heavy and most abundant before the passage of the cloud; hail-stones large enough to kill chickens fell some distance north of the path of destruction, and a few small hail-stones in the path; the tornado cloud had a whirling motion from right to left; it was attended by loud and frequent thunder and intense sheet and zigzag lightning, and articles were carried up by the storm. On the north side of the storm-track trees, etc., were thrown northeastward, on the south side, southeastward, and in the centre they were confused and indefinite. All build¬ings destroyed were wooden and of slight structure, and were actually torn into shreds. Foliage was stripped from trees and plants, and near the ruined buildings the trees were barked, possibly by flying debris. The area of destruction was about mile in length and from 400 to 800 feet in width. A remarkable feature of the storm was that 500 to 800 feet back of the buildings first destroyed, and from the commencement of the path of destruction, sticks of timber, which were un¬questionably portions of the buildings demolished, were found driven into the ground, the smaller or lighter ends being in¬variably downward. These sticks were apparently drawn up¬ward and thrown backward from the storm with a force much greater than that resulting from gravitation. A remarkable effect of the storm’s action was shown in the wreck of a buggy which was found about 75 feet from the place where it had been left in good condition. The axles and springs were un¬injured and both nuts were on the ends of the fore axle, but the hubs were gone. A hub and nut remained on one end of the hind axle, but the hub and nut on the other end were gone; the nut had not been unscrewed but had been forced off by tearing away the screw thread. About 9 p. in., 75th meridian time, a violent storm passed over Lake Pepin (Mississippi River), 50 miles southeast from Saint Paul, Minn., and overturned the excursion steamer “Red Wing” with over 200 persons aboard; 100 of these were drowned. The estimated loss to buildings in Lake City, a few miles from the scene of the disaster, was $10,000.” (General Weather Service, US. Monthly Weather Rev., Vol. XVIII, N7, July 1890, 182.)

United States Life-Saving Service: “1890, July 13. Sea Wing. American steamer. 110 [tons]. Lake City, Minn. [port sailed from]. Red Wing, Minn. [Port bound to]…98 [lives lost]. Near Lake City, Minn., Mississippi River [place of disaster].” (US Life-Saving Service. Annual Report…June 30,1891. 1893, p. 249.)

Way: Sea Wing. Sternwheel wood-hull rafter, built at Diamond Bluff WI in 1888, measuring 110 x 20.8 x 4.5. “….she was carrying an excursion on July 13, 1890, and capsized on Lake Pepin drowning some 90 persons including Capt. Wethern’s wife. The boat was returned to service….” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats of the Mississippi River System… (Revised). 1999, p. 422.)

Sources

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

Bernard. “Before radar forecasts: The Sea Wing disaster of July 13, 1890.” MinnPost, 8-19-2014. Accessed 10-29-2020 at: https://www.minnpost.com/minnesota-blog-cabin/2014/08/radar-forecasts-sea-wing-disaster-july-13-1890/

Budig, T.W. “98 People Killed: Day-Long Excursion on Lake Pepin Turns Into One of the Deadliest Disasters on Upper Mississippi.” Goodhue County Historical Society; ECM Publishers, Inc., undated. Accessed at: http://www.hometownsource.com/features/SeaWingDisaster/SeaWing.html

Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VE: Environmental Films, 1993, 1,326 pages.

Johnson, Frederick L. “Unlocking the Mysteries of the Sea Wing.” Minnesota History Magazine, Summer 1990, pp. 72-77. Accessed 10-29-2020 at: http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/52/v52i02p072-077.pdf

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.

Supervising Inspector-General of Steam Vessels. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector-General of Steam Vessels. Washington, DC: Treasury Department, Office of Supervising Inspector-General, 10-19-1891. Accessed 10-29-2020 at: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nnc1.cu09189980&view=1up&seq=269&size=125&q1=sea%20wing

United States General Weather Service, War Department, United States Army Signal Corp. Monthly Weather Review, Vol. XVIII, Jan, March, June-Dec, 1890 (No’s. 1, 3, 6-12). Washington, DC: Signal Office, 1890. Digitized by Google. Accessed 10-29-2020 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=c1gUAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:LCCN74648196#v=onepage&q=&f=true

United States Life-Saving Service. Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1891 (Treasury Department Document No. 1599). Washington.: GPO, 1893. Google Digitized. Accessed 10-29-2020 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=14EDAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=true

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.

Willsey, Joseph H. (Compiler), Charlton T. Lewis (Editor). Harper’s Book of Facts: A Classified History of the World. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1895. Accessed 9-4-2017 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=UcwGAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Additional Resource

Johnson, Frederick L. and Goodhue County Historical Society. The Sea Wing Disaster. Goodhue County Historical Society, 1990.

–77 Alaska Bureau of Ocean Energy Mgmt. Alaska’s Worst All Time Shipping Losses.
–77 Alaskashipwreck.com. Alaska Shipwrecks.” Alaska Shipwrecks 1800-1899.”

Narrative Information

Alaska BOEM: “Apr 26, 1890…Salmon packer…Oneida…Stranded…Hennig Rock, 8 mi SW of Sanak Island…77 lost, 78, rescued.” (Alaska Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Alaska’s Worst All Time Shipping Losses.)

Alaska Shipwrecks: “Oneida (1890). The 1,074 ton 179 foot wooden ship Oneida stranded and was lost near Sanak at 9:00 p.m. Saturday April 26, 1890. 77 Chinamen perished in the disaster. The vessel departed San Francisco with 28 crewmen and 127 passengers bound for Thin Point. The following are excerpts from the wreck report filed by F P Anderson, master of the Oneida:

“Light wind, foggy, rough sea, dark and foggy” “Uncertain currents, foggy weather” “Hamings Rock 10 miles SW of Sanak Alaska” “Stranding” “No sail set, vessel hove to, waiting fair weather” “Total loss”

“The vessel was carrying 550 tons of merchandise and provisions worth $50,000. The Oneida, valued at $15,000 and her cargo were total losses. The vessel was insured for $42,000 and her cargo for $15,000. Wreckage from the vessel washed up on area beaches for days. Combing through the debris, a seal hunter named Irwin found two zinc lined boxes containing $400 in Mexican money and 130 cases of opium. Fights over the loot ensued, but the drugs were eventually sold to Chinamen on Sanak for $4 a pound and the money split with a fellow sailor.

“Mapping and Location: South Central Alaska 54 28 20 N 162 55 40 N Chart 16520.

“Comment: I have charted this wreck at Oneida Rock (SSE of Hennig Rock) named so by Ferdinand Wesdahl, commander of the USC&GS steamer McArthur, who did surveys of the area in 1901.

“Additional Information: Tonnage 1130 Gross 1074.26 Net, Length 179, Breadth 36.5, Depth 23, Built 1856 Searsport ME, Registered San Francisco, ON 18864, Owner Lea Cross of San Francisco.

“Sources: 1. U S Customs Wreck Report June 3, 1890 at San Francisco, 2. San Francisco Chronicle (October 16, 1890) “Money Discovered on Sanak Island” Pg 2 Col 4.”

Sources

Alaska Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Alaska’s Worst All Time Shipping Losses. Accessed 11-8-2021 at: https://www.boem.gov/about-boem/alaskas-worst-all-time-shipping-losses

Alaskashipwreck.com. Alaska Shipwrecks. “Alaska Shipwrecks 1800-1899.” Accessed 11-7-2021 at: https://alaskashipwreck.com/alaska-shipwrecks-1729-2012/alaska-shipwrecks-1800-1899/

Alaskashipwreck.com. Alaska Shipwrecks. “Alaska Shipwrecks A – Z.” Accessed 11-8-2021 at: https://alaskashipwreck.com/shipwrecks-a-z/alaska-shipwrecks-o/