19th Century

–14-16 Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks.
–7-8 Jupiter. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter J.
–7-8 Saturn. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter S.
— 15 Thompson 2004, Graveyard of the Lakes. 1975, p. 61.
–7 Jupiter
–8 Saturn
— 15 Wolff. Lake Superior Shipwrecks: Complete Reference to Maritime Accidents… 1990, 19.

Narrative Information

Swayze: Jupiter
Type at loss : schooner-barge, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1872, (Detroit?)
Specs : 400 t.
Date of loss : 1872, Nov 27
Place of loss : near Vermilion Point, Upper Peninsula
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 7 or 8 [all]
Carrying : iron ore
Detail : Bound Marquette for Wyandotte, Mich., she was driven ashore and wrecked by
an arctic gale. Tow of steamer JOHN A. DIX with the schooner SATURN(qv),
when towline parted. The hull was probably recovered. Owned by Capt. Eber
Ward of Detroit. Master: Capt. Peter Howard(d). (Swayze. Great Lakes
Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter J.)

Swayze: Saturn
Official no.: 57662
Type at loss: schooner-barge, wood
Build info: 1872, New Jerusalem, Oh
Specs: 233 t.
Date of loss: 1872, Nov 27
Place of loss: just W of Whitefish Pt.
Lake: Superior
Type of loss: storm
Loss of life: 7 (8)[all]
Carrying: iron ore
Detail: Bound Marquette for Wyandotte, Mich., she was in tow of the steamer JOHN A.
DIX with sister JUPITER. She broke her towline in a gale and was driven
aground in the shallows, where she rapidly went to pieces.

Owned by E. B. Ward, Detroit. Master: Capt. Dick Stringleman(d). (Swayze. Great
Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter S.)

Thompson: “On the morning of November 27, 1872, the side-wheel steamer John A. Dix departed the ore docks at Marquette under the command of Captain Joseph Waltman and headed out onto Lake Superior. The Dix was towing the schooner-barges Jupiter and Saturn, a practice begun a few years earlier when Captain Eli Peck built the steamer R. J. Hackett and its barge consort, the Forest City. Winds and seas on Lake Superior continued to build as the convoy moved east toward Whitefish Point and the entrance to the St. Marys River. By suppertime, the three boats found themselves being buffeted by giant seas off Vermilion Point, still twenty miles west of Whitefish. The stout towlines connecting the two schooner consorts of the Dix were under great stress, fist slacking, then snapping taut as the ships rose and fell in the high seas. At about 5:30- p.m. the Jupiter’s towline snapped, and an hour later the towline to the Saturn also gave way. In the stormy seas, there was no way the lines could be reconnected, so the barges drifted away.

“While he was greatly concerned for the safety of the two schooner-barges, the worsening weather forced Captain Waltman to concentrate his complete attention on the welfare of the Dix. The captains and small crews on the two schooners would have to fend for themselves. Temperatures had plummeted to below zero, and as the towering seas swept across the deck of the steamer it was rapidly being encased in a heavy shroud of ice. In places the ice was already a foot thick, and if the Dix didn’t find shelter soon the heavy load of ice could sink her. Without hesitation, Waltman pointed the bow of the steamer in the direction of Whitefish Point and they eventually reached the protected waters of Whitefish Bay.

“With waves rolling over the decks of the Jupiter and Saturn, their crews were unable to set storm sails that might have allowed them to work their way along the shore to the shelter of Whitefish. They were adrift, and at the mercy of the wind and waves. In the terrifying blackness of that November night, the little schooners were eventually driven ashore. In the pounding surf, both broke apart. All seven crewmembers on the Jupiter and the eight on the Saturn died in the frenzied waters of Lake Superior. There was no way the fourteen men and one woman could have launched a lifeboat. Even if they had, it would surely have been capsized or wrecked in the pounding surf along the shore.” (Thompson 2006, 60-61)

Wolfe: “Worse was to follow 10 days later [after a Nov 12-13 gale] when a horrendous gale swooped down on Marquette, moving gradually eastward….The weather was immediately reinforced by more sinister blasts…the 400-ton-schooner-barges Jupiter and Saturn were loading iron ore in Marquette. They cleared port on the morning of November 27 in tow of the wooden side-wheel steamer John A. Dix under Captain Joseph Waltman….About 5 p.m. on November 27, the Dix and her tows were engulfed by enormous seas off Vermilion Point. In half an hour the Jupiter broke her towline and an hour later the Saturn broke hers. The Dix had to run for the shelter of Whitefish Point to save herself. Her decks were quickly covered with a foot of ice, as intense sub-zero temperatures accompanied the winds. The luckless schooner-barges were cast ashore; the Saturn three miles west of Whitefish Point and the Jupiter 12 miles further west of Vermillion Point. Apparently, both struck bottom, then were dragged by the undertow to deeper water, since only masts were visible. Their entire crews of 14 men and one woman were dead, either drowned or victims of exposure.” (Wolff, Julius F., Jr. Lake Superior Shipwrecks: Complete Reference to Maritime Accidents and Disasters. 1990, p. 19.)

Sources

Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwreck Files. “Alphabetical Shipwreck List – J.” Accessed 10-29-2021 at: https://greatlakesrex.wordpress.com/j/

Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwreck Files. “Alphabetical Shipwreck List – S.” Accessed 10-29-2021 at: https://greatlakesrex.wordpress.com/s/

Thompson, Mark L. Graveyard of the Lakes. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2004.

Wolff, Julius F., Jr. Lake Superior Shipwrecks: Complete Reference to Maritime Accidents and Disasters. Duluth, MN: Lake Superior Port Cities, Inc., 1990.

–27-41  Boston Fire Historical Society. Boston’s Fire Trail.  2007, p. 88.[1]

–25-41  Blanchard range.[2]

—      30  Docema. Damrell’s Fire. “Boston Burnt: The Great Fire of 1872.”  2003.

—      25  Blanchard tally of fatalities and missing, presumed dead, noted below.

–13-20  Boston Fire Historical Society. Great Boston Fire of 1872 (webpage).[3]

—      20  FEMA/NETC/LRC.  “Great Boston Fire 1872.” Historic Fires. 2011.

—      14  History.com. Nov 9, 1872.

—      14  Lowell Sun, MA. “Fires and Fire Losses,” April 30, 1908, p. 16.

—      14  Safety Engineering. “Boston’s Lodging House Holocaust.” V26,  No. 6, Dec 1913, 425.

—      14  Willsey and Lewis.  “Massachusetts,” Harper’s Book of Facts. 1895, p. 492.

—      13  NFPA. “100 Conflagrations Since 1900.” NFPA Quarterly, V29, N1, Jul 1935, 145.

—      12  Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 656.

 

Narrative Information

 

Boston Fire Historical Society (website): “This page contains basic information about the Great Boston Fire of 1872, which occurred on Saturday and Sunday, November 9 & 10, 1872. The fire destroyed 776 buildings across 65 acres of land, with the assessed value of the properties at nearly $13.5 million and personal property loss of $60 million dollars. The downtown area of Boston had undergone a rapid development in the years after the Civil War, but improvements, especially water mains, had not been upgraded during these years. The fire department at the time was dealing with an epizootic, a disease which affects equine animals, thus affecting the horses that pulled the heavy fire apparatus. The fire spread rapidly, creating its own energy or firestorm, due to the tremendous heat generated. Although many or most buildings were made of brick or stone, the window frames and other fixtures were made of wood, thus allowing the fire to communicate to nearby structures. During the course of the fire, which burned uncontrolled for more than 12 hours, buildings were blown-up using black gun powder in a controversial effort to create a fire break.

 

“The fire started in a building at 83-85 Summer Street, at the corner of Kingston Street, in the downtown area. The first alarm was received at 7:24PM from Box 52 located at Summer and Lincoln Streets. The fire had nearly total possession of the building of origin upon the arrival of the first fire engine, Engine Co. 7 from their quarters at 7 East Street, near South Station. Hose Company 2, from Hudson Street, is credited with getting the first water on the fire. Additional alarms were struck at 7:29, 7:34, 7:45 and 8:00PM. Further alarms were struck for Box 48 and Box 123. Urgent calls for help were sent by telegraph, but help was delayed due to many telegraph offices having closed for the evening. Nearly all the cities and town surrounding Boston sent help. Some cities sent steam engines by railroad, with many coming great distances, including from New Haven, CT. Chief Engineer John Damrell was in command at the fire, but his attention was frequently interrupted by city officials seeking meetings to discuss strategy and the political impact of the fire.

 

“The fire was finally stopped at corner of Washington and Milk Streets through the efforts of the firefighters to save the Old South Meetinghouse, on the opposite corner of Milk Street. The Old South, a fixture since colonial days, was (and remains) an important symbol of Boston’s heritage and every effort was made to save it.  Most accounts of the fire attribute credit for saving Old South to the Kearsarge Engine 3 of Portsmouth, NH, although that point is still debated. Despite the enormity of the fire, only two Boston fireman were killed, with the total deaths numbering between 13 and 20, depending on the source. Chief Damrell was heavily criticized and much of the blame for the fire was directed at him, despite his record of having sought improvements in the city’s fire safety infrastructure. By 1874, he was replaced with a Board of Fire Commissioners. He later served many years as the commissioner of the Boston Building Department.” (Boston Fire Historical Society.  Great Boston Fire of 1872.)

 

Boston Fire Historical Society (book): “….More than sixty acres and 776 buildings were devastated. The damage in today’s dollars would be close to $1 billion. Nine firefighters were killed fighting the ‘fire demon,’ as the inferno was dubbed. They were

 

William Farry [or Farril],[4] [or Farrie][5] foreman of Boston Hook and Ladder Company 4;

Daniel Cochrane, assistant foreman, Boston Hook and Ladder Company 4;[6]

Henry Rogers, volunteer, Boston Engine Company 6;

Lewis P. Abbott, ex-fireman and volunteer, Charlestown Fire Department;[7]

William S. Frazier, volunteer, Cambridge Fire Department;

Frank D. Olmstead, volunteer, Cambridge Fire Department;[8]

John Connelly, member, West Roxbury Hook and Ladder Company 1;

Walter S. Trombly, member, Malden Hose Company 2;[9] and

Thomas Maloney, member, Worcester Fire Department.[10]

 

“Two more firemen later died from their injuries:

 

Martin Turnbull, member, Charlestown Hose Company 3;[11] and

Albert C. Abbott, former member and volunteer, Charlestown Fire Department.[12]

 

“The exact civilian death toll was never determined, but it was probably sixteen to thirty people….” (Boston Fire Historical Society. Boston’s Fire Trail. 2007, p. 88.)

 

Commissioners Appointed to Investigate…Great Fire: “…on the 9th of November last, on a calm and mild evening, a fire broke out in the building numbered 83 and 85 Summer Street, and raged without control till the afternoon of the following day, spreading through the best business portions of Boston, covering sixty-five acres with ruins, destroying 776 buildings, assessed at the value of $13,500,000, and consuming merchandise and other personal property estimated at more than sixty millions of dollars.…

 

“It is conclusively proved that the fire began near the elevator in the rear of the basement of the building, and passed with great rapidity up the elevator to the upper stories. The positive testimony of the many witnesses who distinctly saw the fire in the basement first, and then saw it, in the language of one of them, “roaring up the elevator,” is not controlled by the negative testimony of those who from their position failed to see the flames in the lower part of the building, or of those who did not see the fire at all until it had mounted to the upper stories and the roof. The condition of the floor, after the ruin, shows that it probably began near the ceiling.

 

“To the more important question how the fire began, no answer can be given. There is no evidence whatever criminating any of the occupants of the building, nor is there anything to show that it caught from the furnace or the boiler, except the fact that it began in that portion of the building. And the condition of the boiler and its surroundings, after the lire and the excavations, as described by .witnesses, and as observed by members of the Commission, seem to show that it did not take from the heating apparatus, unless it took from some flue. Of this there is no evidence….

 

“The fire was first seen at 7:08 or 7:10 P. M. The first alarm was given at 7:24. The second alarm was at 7:29, followed by alarms at 7:34, 7:45, and at 8 P. M.  When first seen, the fire had made great headway, and yet there was a disastrous and strange delay of quarter of an hour in giving the alarm. We would call especial attention to the evidence of Messrs. Sargent and Brown, policemen of Charlestown, who saw the fire from Prison Point Bridge. We refer to their testimony, because they fix the time by a clock, and by a depot clock, which may well be supposed to have been accurate.  Their statement is, in general, confirmed by many persons present in Summer and Kingston Streets, and it leaves no doubt that, for fifteen minutes after the fire had become visible, even in a neighboring city, no steps were taken to call out the Fire Department of Boston….

 

“It is a remarkable fact that so little was done by the neighbors and bystanders towards giving the alarm. Some of them testify that they were criticizing the Fire Department, and wondering at their delay, while they, themselves, were neglecting to take the only means for calling them out. In this connection, we shall inquire, in another portion of our report, whether the city does not need more fire-boxes, freer access to them by the citizens, and a more general knowledge as to the places where keys are deposited. The annoyance of an occasional false alarm is not to be weighed against the dangers of delay.

 

“The rapid spread of the fire in the building first consumed was chiefly owing to this delay, and to the faulty construction of the elevator, which, like most other elevators in Boston, was sheathed with wood, and destitute of self-closing hatchways. If the proprietors of the building had procured automatic hatchways, such as are generally used in factories, and one of which was in use in a neighbor’s warehouse, our city would probably have escape this calamity, as the fire would not have reached the roof before the engines arrived.

 

Dangerous Architecture

 

“The uncontrolled spread of the conflagration from the first building through the great district swept by the flames, was principally owing to the delay of the apparatus in arriving, and to the general faulty construction of the buildings, and especially to the exposure of timber to the flames at a height which could not be reached by water, — an exposure which would deserve condemnation, even at a lower level. The dangers arising from this mode of building were greatly aggravated by the narrowness of the streets, and by the great height of the buildings.

 

“This danger had been foreseen, and our calamity had been foretold both here and abroad. There is sad interest in the statements of our State Insurance Commissioner, who tells us that just before the fire, English underwriters spoke to him, at Liverpool and London, of the probable fate of Franklin Street, Winthrop Square, and their surroundings, and proposed to cancel their policies, and to cease insuring in our city. While some of us were justly priding ourselves on the elegant architecture of this district, and boasting that if was practically fire-proof, English insurers were dreading a conflagration on this very spot, and preparing to withdraw their agencies from our city.

 

“These dangers had been brought to the attention of the public, and of our municipal authorities. The remarkable warning of Mr. Joseph Bird was given through the press in November, 1871. The members of the Fire Department protested in vain against the style of building; and the Chief Engineer, especially, declared, after the Chicago fire, that a similar disaster might occur in our own city, and on this very spot. It was plain to him and his associates that our style of building required larger provision for the extinction of fire than we had made.

 

“With this knowledge, the department should have taken all possible precautions, so that every fire might be met at the earliest moment. Seeing that our only salvation lay in confining every fire to the building where it began, no time should have been lost by the department in bringing all its available force to the scene of each fire.

 

Delay From Want of Horses.

 

“Unfortunately this was not done. During the prevalence of the horse distemper, the department relied upon hand-power to bring up the apparatus; and this error was one great cause of the terrible calamity that befell us on November ninth. It is no less our duty to censure this error, because rumor has greatly exaggerated the delays caused by it.  We know that many witnesses of the fire confounded the time that elapsed before the alarm with the time that elapsed after the alarm and before the arrival of the apparatus; and many added these two periods together in making up their charge against the department. We know that there is some difficulty in using untried horses in drawing steamers, but it was a difficulty which could be overcome, which has been overcome in other cases, and was overcome in some instances on that very night. The testimony shows that volunteers were enrolled in order to facilitate the arrival of engines, and that an order had been given to the police, designed to secure a more prompt alarm during the prevalence of the disease.  We admit also that the difference of speed between horse-power and hand-power is less than the general public suppose. But, with all these reasons for mitigating censure, the great fact remains; time was invaluable, and time was lost.

 

“The first piece of apparatus, Hose 2, came as soon as it could have come by horse-power. So did the first engine, No. 7. These were from the immediate vicinity. Engine 15 came as fast as it could have come by horse-power. Three engines were drawn by horses.  But all the other Boston apparatus was delayed from three or five minutes for the nearest, to forty minutes for the most distant.  No one can tell what was the cost of these minutes to our city.

 

“It will not be supposed that the horses were dispensed with from motives of humanity.  It is not denied by any one, however humane, that man has a right to overwork a beast in case of necessity, or to work a beast to death, if the need be sufficiently great. The horses of the department were not used, because they were generally unfit to be used, and could not have gone as fast as the men did.  Excepting, perhaps, a few that were convalescent, and excepting a few that were employed, they were rightly left in the stable or the hospital.  The fatal error lay in not having supplied their places with others able to do the work.  The evidence shows that at that time the disease had greatly abated; that horses were freely used on the omnibus and horse-railroad lines, and were in general use in the city, and before this time might readily have been obtained for the use of the Fire Department. There is no evidence that this occurred to any one, but it ought to have occurred to those whose especial duty it was to guard the community from the perils of fire.

 

“The fact that there was loss of time appears from the table of time (approximate) made by each piece of apparatus, printed in Appendix, and from the testimony of the officers who were all examined on this point.  It is the testimony of honest and heroic men, whose desires and feelings and prejudices would all lead them to uphold their department, and to protect their Chief, but who state facts as they occurred.

 

“We cannot but feel that the earlier arrival of aid, between 7:30 and 8 P.M., might perhaps have prevented the flames from crossing from Summer to Otis Street, both by throwing streams on the northerly side of Summer street, and by reducing the heat on the southerly side, which prevented such streams from being thrown on the opposite buildings. This was the “key of the fire” at its outset; and when it was lost, the flames became almost uncontrollable.  But even then, a larger force might, possibly, have checked the fire before it had crossed Franklin street. Whether the employment of horses would alone have achieved success at either of these points, it is impossible to form a definite opinion.

 

Want of Water in the Burnt District.

 

“The efforts of the firemen were greatly impeded by the want of water, especially in Summer street.  The demands of the Chief Engineer for larger mains, for more hydrants, and for the more efficient Lowry hydrant, had been unsuccessful. He had especially called attention to the exposed condition of this district; and his forebodings were fully realized. The insufficient supply of water was felt at the outset, and was, without doubt, one cause of the conflagration….

 

The Fire Department.

 

“The engines were generally in good order, and they continued to be so throughout the fire; the hose was generally excellent. Some difficulty arose in coupling, as the hydrant-couplings of different towns differ in size. This is not strange, and can only be remedied by a general law; but it does seem strange that Boston hydrant-couplings differ from each other, being of two sizes. Some of the Commission were surprised to learn that we have no engine of the largest size in Boston.  We need larger steamers, and in the city proper we need a larger number.  In the city proper we have but six engines. There are the same number in Ward 16.  The assessed value of the property of the city proper is $514,697,450.00. The assessed value of property taxed in Ward 16 is $31,395,300.00.

 

“In the most important element of a Fire Department — in its men — Boston has the best material. Words fail to describe the courage and devotion of our firemen. No battle-field ever witnessed nobler heroism than was seen in our streets. The story of the fire, as told simply and truthfully by the engineers, is a story of hardships endured and dangers braved in obedience to duty. More than one of our firemen has literally proved “faithful unto death.”…. The successful resistance of the firemen on the southern boundary of the district, and again in preventing the fire from crossing Washington Street, and finally on the northern line, when it was conquered, has left in the scorched and half-burned buildings now standing indisputable proofs of their great service.

The Chief Engineer.

 

“The Chief Engineer deserves all praise for his courage. He shrank from no exertion, and from no danger. Indeed, he sometimes exposed his life when it ought not to have been risked. He manifestly intended to do all that he could to subdue the flames. He is described as being cool, and, with perhaps one exception, as master of himself, of his temper, and of his faculties. But while seeing this, and while admiring his many good qualities, we cannot fail to see that there was a want of preparation for so great an emergency, a want of system when the emergency came, and especially the want of a leader capable of grasping the details of a great plan adapted to the terrible occasion. The fire was attacked piecemeal, as chances occurred. The heroism of individuals was too often wasted, because it was not directed by a master-mind.

 

“The Chief seems to have performed the duties of a fireman from time to time, now placing a ladder, now performing some act of humanity, now applying fire to a mine.  In a word, he tried to unite the services of a private with those of a commander-in-chief.  It seems to us that, at such a time, the Head of the Force should remain for the most part in some accessible place where he could command a view of the conflagration — a place known to his subordinates, where he could receive reports from them, and send them his orders. This would prevent much confusion; and orders would be issued more wisely and carried out more effectually than when the Chief is actually engaged in fighting the fire from place to place. For example, when aid from abroad was telegraphed for, the Superintendents of Railroads were not generally informed of this, nor were they requested to “give the track” to the coming engines. This necessarily delayed the coming of the desired aid. It is not strange that this did not occur to one who was risking his life in actual warfare with the flames. It would have occurred to one who was directing the contest, as a commander directs an army.

 

“Again: Mr. Damrell gave an excellent order to the Deputy Chief of Police, that a hundred officers should be detailed to combat the fire with wet carpets, or other woolen fabrics. This order was wholly ineffectual, because there were no men who could be so detailed. But there were thousands of good citizens in the streets — longing to be of some service — who would gladly have performed this duty under proper leaders. These would have been found if the Chief had allowed himself leisure to superintend the whole work, instead of spending his time and power in attending personally to details.  For the same reason, there was great lack of attention to the reception and disposition of engines from other towns. They were, no doubt, desirous of being directed by our Chief; and the law gave him nearly absolute power over all persons present. This power was by no means fully exercised….

 

“It is said…that great quantities of water were wasted by being thrown ineffectually against closed windows and granite fronts at the second and third stories, while the upper stories of the building were consumed by tho flames, and reached by no streams. This, undoubtedly, did occur, both early in the fire and afterward, when, from causes just mentioned, the roofs could not be reached by the men, who still desired to make some use, however slight, of the water and of the apparatus. A more thorough supervision of these men would have employed them and the engines in some better service….

 

Efforts of Citizens to Save Their Own Buildings.

 

“The occupants of some of…[the] buildings on Oliver Street have been summoned by the Commission, and have told their story modestly. Enough appears to show that they fought back the fire by their personal exertions, and put heart into the firemen by their example.  If the flames had passed this point, it is difficult to say where they could have been stayed. Thus a great service was rendered to the public. Like remarks apply to the owner and occupants of the store of Messrs. Hovey & Co., on Summer street. The story of their co-operation with the firemen, both at the great fire and at the renewal of that fire on Monday morning, deserves to be carefully read and remembered….

 

“The conduct of the gentlemen to whom we have referred as aiding the firemen by their personal exertions, was in marked contrast with the thoughtlessness of many spectators who crowded the streets, and greatly impeded the efforts of the department. In some cases violence was necessarily used toward these persons. Yet, many of them would have gladly joined in efforts to save property, if more well-directed efforts had been made to that end.

 

“We have received, and are compelled to publish, some evidence of misconduct by a few firemen, and by men who wore the badges of firemen. The instances were rare. We are glad to believe that much of the wrong-doing was by men who falsely represented themselves as belonging to the honorable body of firemen.  And we feel bound to condemn the grave mistake of those who gave away their stocks of goods when it was impossible to save them.  The motive was amiable, but the practice tended, to demoralize firemen and other citizens, to encourage theft by confounding thieves with honest men, and to bring about a time of plunder and confusion….

 

Dangers From Gas.

 

“The fire, like all great city conflagrations, was greatly aggravated by the escape of gas from the burning buildings.  The fall of heavy warehouses broke the main pipes, and on Monday morning, the escaped gas in the sewers exploded, and caused another fire, which destroyed a million of property, and cost two lives.  The officers of the Gas Company believed that their water-valves were sufficiently powerful to cut off the supply of gas, as they had proved to be hitherto, but found that the belief was an error.  The lack of valves properly constructed, and so placed as to isolate the burnt district, led to terrible loss, exposed us to the inconvenience and peril of total darkness during two nights, and endangered the whole city. The company have undertaken to repair this error by providing sliding-valves. The risk arising from the impossibility of isolating a burning district should never be incurred again.

 

Gunpowder.

 

“The peril from the combustion of gas was increased by the manner of using gunpowder. And this is only one of many dangers incurred by the unscientific use of explosives. The law governing the demolition of buildings by gunpowder, or otherwise, during a fire, is fixed by the statutes of the Commonwealth, and has been explained in several decisions. The power is given to three fire-wards, and in their absence, to other civil or military officers. In Boston, the power of fire-wards is given by statute to the Engineers; and the City Ordinance provides, that if the Chief is present, he must be one of the three Engineers consenting to the demolition of a building. When three fire-wards, or in Boston three Engineers, are present, no one else has by statute the right to destroy a building, in order to stay a fire. One fire-ward has no more right to do this than any other person, even when it is impossible, by reason of the fire, for three to be present; nor has one fire-ward a right to act, even when the Board has voted to grant the power to one, in case of an exigency. It is not enough, that three fire-wards concur that gunpowder must be used in general. No building can be destroyed, until it has been specially adjudged by the three there present, that the particular building must be destroyed. As the power to select a building for destruction cannot be delegated to one fire-ward, of course it cannot be delegated to any other person. It is necessary to state the law so far, in order to appreciate the action of various parties at this fire. For this reason we give in the appendix a statement of the laws and of the decisions in this Commonwealth.

 

“The common-law right, which exists independently of legislation, and which prevails every-where, to destroy a structure, in order to suppress a fire, is not taken away or superseded by the statutes of this state.

 

“There is a conflict of testimony as to the balance of good or evil arising from the use of gunpowder on November 9 and 10. It is less necessary to strike that balance accurately, because all witnesses agree, and all sane people will agree, that explosives never should he used again, as they were at that time, and that, if used at all, we should be prepared to employ them skillfully, carefully, and by a fixed plan. We have no word of censure for the citizens who volunteered to risk their lives in brave and energetic attempts to save the city. But they will all admit that the only justification for employing powder, as it was employed, is the fact that no proper provision had been made for the use of explosives; and they will concur with us, that the greatest wonder of that night was, that no life was lost, and no personal injury was incurred from the use of gunpowder.

 

“The Chief and his associates did not believe in explosives. They had studied the matter to some extent, and generally agree in condemning this method of attempting to check fires. This is one reason why no preparation had been made by storing a magazine, nor by providing means for confining powder when used, nor by drilling persons for its use. We were left to the chances of obtaining an inadequate supply at the shops, or of sending to a distant magazine, or of taking it from the powder boats. We were, also, left to the chances of finding skill and discretion to apply this dangerous remedy. Yet history had told us that gunpowder had often been used with good effect in staying great conflagrations. The story of the Fire in London was in the books of children. After the great Boston fire in 1678, the town was divided into four districts, each of which was provided with four barrels of gunpowder for use in case of fire. And in our own day the town of Nantucket had been saved from destruction, by the foresight and courage of one man, who prepared in advance to use gunpowder in the day of need, and who dared to use it when the day came.

 

“When it was at last decided to use powder, it was done by the Chief Engineer giving written authority to several public-spirited gentlemen to remove goods and demolish buildings. Some slight attempt at organization was made, but no proper system of action was devised; and in a short time the different parties were in confusion and at variance. Instead of three Engineers designating the buildings to be demolished, each man was left to act as he pleased. The Chief Engineer now heartily condemns his error in this respect, and we agree with him.  It is evident that he was still unconvinced of the wisdom of using powder, and that he yielded to the pressing demands made by many of our best citizens.

 

“The course actually pursued was objectionable, not because it was illegal, but because it was dangerous and inefficient. The action of the parties was not such as is provided by statute, nor such as is necessary to make the city liable for the property destroyed. But it by no means follows that it was unlawful. The courts of our own state and country, and of other states and countries have always held that, in case of necessity, it is lawful to demolish buildings, in order to stay the spread of a fire. And in our own state it has been distinctly declared that this right is not taken away by the statutes regulating Fire Departments. It was impossible to obtain the adjudication of three engineers, including the Chief, on each building selected for demolition. The assistant engineers could not be constantly withdrawn from their other duties without great injury to their work, nor was it possible for the Chief to be present at each building proposed to be destroyed. But it is to be deeply regretted that there was not a more thorough organization of the parties engaged in this service.

 

“The dangers of using gunpowder at a fire hardly need to be stated.  It demolishes the gas pipes, and thus creates a fierce fire when the gas is not shut off; it tends to scatter the flames; it drives back and discourages the firemen; and, above all, it causes long delay in attempting to quench a fire, when delay is ruinous. Added to this is the danger of premature and accidental explosions, especially when powder is carried in open kegs, as it was, at least in one case, at our fire.

 

Recommendations.

 

“Dangerous as explosives are, they must sometimes be used, and we suggest, as our first recommendation, that preparation be made for the future, for using a far more powerful and less dangerous explosive, and for training a number of men to use it skillfully.  The best explosive now known for this purpose is Dynamite, sometimes known as Giant Powder. It is ten times as powerful as gunpowder.  Its force as an explosive is so directed as to bring down a building, rather than to scatter its materials.  It does not, of itself, kindle any fire when exploded, nor does it explode when brought into contact with fire.  It may be dropped, or jarred in any way without danger; and cartridges containing it may be safely cut or broken; so that it is free from the peculiar perils that attend the use of other explosives, and especially of gunpowder.  It may be safely stored and conveyed to the midst of a fire. Some better article may be furnished by science; but, at present, this is clearly the best known material for the purpose under consideration.  A quantity of this material should be kept constantly in proper places.

 

“A portion of the force belonging to the Fire Department should be instructed in the use of it, and especially in the proper manner of using it at fires. These men might do other and ordinary work in the department; for it probably will not he thought expedient to keep a body of men exclusively for a service which may not be required for many years, and which we hope will never be required. They would act, of course, under the orders of the Chief Engineer, and the Chief, with some, or all. of his assistants, should be trained in the use of explosives.

 

“It seems to us that the law on this subject needs careful revision; and if general legislation is not desired, that a special Act should regulate the demolition of buildings in Boston in cases of fire, so as to secure more prompt action.

 

“MORE ENGINES. We need more fire apparatus, more men, and more powerful engines. It would probably be wise to procure a few larger steamers, and reserve them for great emergencies, as the lighter ones are more easily handled. We gladly record the construction of a powerful fire boat; and one member of the Commission has witnessed its successful use. The feasibility of using a self-propelling engine with advantage in our streets perhaps needs to be tested further.  In this connection we call attention to Richard’s Hose Elevator and Fire Escape, a sample of which is now attached to the Lawrence building, at West street. The new engines, or some of them, should be placed in the large districts still exposed and unprotected.

 

“WATER SUPPLY.  The city needs a better distribution of water, especially in the burned district. The six-inch pipe in Summer street was entirely inadequate to the needs of a street, which has changed its character, from a place of private dwellings to a street of great warehouses. Nor is this the only district where such a need exists.

 

“We also want more hydrants, and hydrants better adapted to the use of firemen. The Lowry hydrant, which is used in the neighboring towns, in the Highlands, in Ward 16, and in East Boston, is quite as necessary in the city proper. The evidence shows that while it is less liable to freeze than our hydrant, it will furnish four engines with two streams each. Such was the operation of the Lowry hydrant which was tried for a short time in Winthrop Square, in 1862, and its success then led to its adoption by Charlestown. This style of hydrant is attached to the main pipe, while ours are attached to four-inch branch pipes. It gives five times the supply of the Boston hydrant, which was fit only for the hand engines.  Abundant evidence has long shown that little or no trouble arises from the use of these hydrants during the season of snow, or at any time….

The Building Act.

 

“The Building Act passed at the extra session of the Legislature seems to us to need careful revision, aided by the testimony of skilful architects.  It is especially desirable that Elevators in warehouses should be forbidden, except such as are constructed with self-closing hatchways. Experience has shown that these can be made with little cost, and used without any inconvenience. They are not only a safeguard against the spread of fire, but they are of great value in preventing loss of life by accident.  If the existing law relative to fire-escapes could be extended to all warehouses, or, better still, to all buildings of a certain size, it would tend to save life, and to encourage firemen in their work.  It is well to consider whether every high warehouse ought not to have a permanent stand-pipe of iron capable of having hose attached to it….

 

Portable Apparatus.

 

“We would earnestly recommend the general use of Fire Extinguishers and Hand Pumps in every building. These would prevent many fires from becoming serious, and they would inspire confidence in cases of alarm of fire.

Finally.

 

“The Commission are unanimous in the opinion that His Honor Mayor Gaston intended to do his full duty, and labored faithfully to that end.  But Messrs. Philbrick and Firth hold that he failed to give that guidance, unity and efficiency to the efforts made to stay the fire, which the occasion required, and which the public had a right to expect from their Mayor.

 

“The majority had not supposed that a criticism of the Mayor [Gaston], favorable or otherwise, was expected from a Commission appointed….” (Commissioners Appointed to Investigate… Great Fire…  Report.  1873, iii-xxi.)

 

Docema: “Great fires plagued America’s cities during the 19^th century, such as the well-known fire in Chicago in 1871.  Most Bostonians today are not aware that a large swath of Boston’s commercial district was destroyed in a single fire just one year after Chicago.  The…fire spread north from Summer Street and raged on for 15 hours destroying 770 mostly commercial buildings in its path.

“Boston’s Great Fire started in the basement of a 5-story warehouse building at the corner of Kingston Street and Summer Street on Saturday November 9, 1872 just after 7PM.  No one was in the building when the fire began but early witnesses outside the building testified that the fire was first spotted in the basement windows. The exact cause of what started the fire was never determined but the common consensus is that coal spark from a steam boiler that powered an elevator in the building may have ignited dry materials stored near the boiler. Whatever started the fire became irrelevant as the blaze quickly spread from building to building, rooftop to rooftop, engulfing entire blocks of buildings that were commonly considered to be fire-proof.

 

Boston firefighters, led by Fire Chief John Damrell, were challenged by a coincidence of bad circumstances and bad politics:

“The Horse Flu: Boston’s fire department like any other at the time relied heavily on horses to pull fire engines, hose reels, coal carts, and ladder carts. However most of the horses in the Boston area were stricken by an epizootic flu forcing the fire department to organize teams of men to pull each piece of equipment to a fire. This added delays getting enough equipment to scene of the fire just after it began.

“The Water Supply: Boston’s fire chief John Damrell had warned the city officials that the water supplies in the commercial district were outdated and inadequate, and unfortunately this fire proved him right. In some areas firefighters stood helpless as blocks of buildings burned unable to find a hydrant with adequate water pressure to pump from.

“The Buildings: At the time of Boston’s Great Fire of 1872 building codes were mostly suggestive and seldom enforced. As a result, Boston’s downtown architecture although stately and ornate in appearance, was also mostly a fire hazard. The streets were narrow, the buildings often too tall to reach the upper floors with fire ladders and hoses, and the top floor of each building was often a wooden Mansard roof packed to the rafters with dry materials.

 

“The Gunpowder: During the fire a committee of concerned citizens gathered in city hall to lobby Mayor Gaston to permit the use of gunpowder to demolish buildings in the path of the fire. The idea was to form a break in the path of the fire to stop it from spreading further. Fire Chief Damrell at first objected strongly knowing the gunpowder would do more harm then good but eventually under political pressure Damrell relented and issued permits. Several improvised teams of people with no training or prior experience packed buildings with gunpowder kegs and lit a fuse. Soon the explosions were causing injury and flaming debris lighting adjacent buildings, Chief Damrell had to force a stop to the use of gunpowder.

“The Crowds: Boston firefighters struggled to do their job amongst streets jammed with spectators, looters, and panicked property owners. Crowds had to kept back from collapsing buildings, explosions, and fire hoses that were easily punctured by cart wheels and granite chucks falling off the cornices of buildings.

“After raging for 20 hours the fire was stopped short of Boston’s historic landmarks, including the Old South Meeting House, Faneuil Hall, and the Old State House. In the wake of the fire was the smoking rubble of bankrupted merchants, manufacturers, newspapers, and insurance companies.  Hundreds were made homeless and thousands jobless. Thirty people had died during the fire itself.

 

“Boston’s Great Fire has a lasting legacy in American history through the efforts of Boston’s Fire Chief John Damrell. Just after the fire, Damrell organized the National Association of Fire Chiefs, a key organization in establishing universal building safety codes. Damrell also became Boston’s inspector of buildings and made sure that building codes were legally enforceable.” (Docema. Damrell’s Fire.  “Boston Burnt: The Great Fire of 1872.”  2003.)

 

FEMA/NETC: “Fire started on November 9, 1872, in the basement of a commercial warehouse. Caused some 20 fatalities, destroyed 776 buildings and over $73.5 million in damage.” (FEMA/NETC, Learning Resource Center. “Great Boston Fire 1872.” Historic Fires. 2011.)

 

History.com: “On this day in 1872, a fire in Boston destroys hundreds of buildings and kills 14 people. In the aftermath, the city established an entirely new system of firefighting and prevention. The fire also led to the creation of Boston’s financial district.

 

“The fire began in the basement of a warehouse at the corner of Kingston and Summer streets. At the time, this area of the city contained a mix of residences and light industry. Its buildings and most area roofs were made mainly of wood, allowing the blaze to spread quickly as the wind blew red hot embers from rooftop to rooftop. In addition, as Boston streets were narrow, large flames from one structure could literally leap across them to nearby buildings.

 

“Firefighting units from Maine to New Haven, Connecticut, arrived to help, but efforts to fight the fire were plagued by difficulties. There was not enough water on hand to get the fire under control; the hydrant system did not work well because much of the equipment was not standardized; and even when firefighters got their hands on an adequate supply of water, the height of the buildings and the narrowness of the streets made it difficult to direct the water at the blaze from the optimum angle. Because a local equine epidemic had struck the city fire department’s horses, it was difficult to get the fire engines to the correct locations at the right times. In addition, some of the efforts were counter-productive. Explosions were used to attempt fire breaks, but this high-risk strategy was not executed with enough precision and served only to further spread the fire.

 

“The fire was finally stopped at the doors of Fanueil Hall the following morning, but it had already destroyed much of the downtown area. Boston’s officials realized that their fire-prevention efforts had been ineffective and, in the aftermath of the disaster, began to revise and strengthen all of the city’s fire laws and regulations. An inspection system was instituted and the local fire departments began to coordinate their efforts.

 

“The fire also helped fuel Boston’s growth. The business community saw the burned area as an opportunity to expand its presence downtown. The city’s financial district was established where the fire had hit hardest and Boston soon became a key business center of the late 19^th-century United States.”  (History.com.  This Day in History 1872: Fire Rips Through Boston)

 

Safety Engineering: “…the great fire of 1872…ten firemen and four citizens were killed.”

(Safety Engineering, “Boston’s Lodging House Holocaust.” Vol. 26,  No. 6, Dec 1913, p. 425.)

 

Newspaper

 

Nov 11: “There is nothing more remarkable in the dreadful calamity that has befallen our city than the awful rapidity that marked the progress of the flames. There is something appalling, too, in the contemplation of the success with which they persistently defied every means that were taken to conquer them. Whole blocks were literally mowed down by the flames like wheat before the reaper’s scythe. Granite was of no more avail against them than so much cardboard. No sooner did the heat touch it, than it began to crumble away piecemeal, and, gathering force and volume on its way, fell, crunching and thundering to the ground in huge masses, with the roar and resistless fury of an avalanche, blocking up the roads and blotting every trace of a street from view. The scene had more of the terrible than the grand in it. The sky was lighted up for miles around, and was disfigured by great patches of dun smoke, across whose discs burning fragments darted like angry meteors. Now it would be light as midday, and presently an ominous darkness spread like a pall across the heavens, and was only relieved by the lurid forks of flame that writhed tortuously through it, and disappeared in its depths.

 

“The air was filled with burning cinders that were hurled wildly above, where they hovered confusedly for a moment and then descended like a shower of gold to the earth, where they hissed, sputtered and crackled as though in malicious glee at the ruin of which they were a part. Every now and then a broad wave of light would suddenly show distant spires, sharp and clear against the dark sky, from which the next instant they would fade like specters, as the thick curling masses of smoke swelled upward and spread ghastly smears of black across the heavens….

 

“The march of the flames was as inflexible as fate, and as pitiless. There was no resisting them. Building after building, square after square, acre after acre was absorbed as steadily and as surely as the seconds swell into minutes and the minutes into hours. Men seemed stunned by the ruin that was so suddenly sown broadcast. Some, who a few hours before had enjoyed a full sense of that security which wealth bestows, and who were now beggared, stood gazing with a painful weariness and a listless apathy that were touching to look upon. Others shrugged their shoulders, lighted a cigar and went on their way with a true ‘Vive la Bagatelle’[13] air; though their pale faces and anxious brows told another story of the anguish they tried so hard to stifle.

 

“In the midst of all the bustle and confusion there suddenly started up without warning, numberless men, women and children bearing goods on their backs, in their arms, on their shoulders, and wagons filled with books and papers, thrown promiscuously in, burdened the roads. Here was to be seen a man carrying a trunk, and casting a look over his shoulder at the ruin from which he was hurrying away; and there, a number of boys carrying bushel baskets containing a curious mixture of odds and ends, hustled their way through the crowds that impeded them. People fought, struggled, cursed and stormed for the possession of wagons, carriages, hacks and even wheelbarrows. The sidewalks of the streets adjacent to the fire were heaped up with bedding, desks, furniture, boxes and goods of every description. The ‘birs of prey,’ who fatten on the calamities of their fellows, hovered about, eager to pilfer upon any opportunity that offered. They skulked in the shadows of the houses, watching with greedy eyes for a chance to gratify their rapacity. Well-dressed gentlemen were hustled by them with a view to watches and pocket-books. They crouched in dark niches, ready to dart forth and pounce upon any neglected trifle. They leered horribly in the faces of timid women, and uttered course jests in their hearing. Their brutal faces, low brows, small, snaky eyes, narrow lips and heavy jaws showed them to be the botchings of nature’s handiwork, and these distinctive and repulsive features were seen in distressing numbers in every direction. They grew so bold at last that the military were called in to keep them in check, and as the steady tramp of the soldiers was heard through the din, and their swords and bayonets reflected back the fire in cold and fitful flashes, this scum crept away to the dark holes from which they emerged, and gradually disappeared from the scene….

 

“The firemen seemed composed. They worked incessantly and with the most touching earnestness, but they were baffled completely, and were driven back step by step by the fire they sought to conquer. At length it was proposed to try the effect of powder in staying the progress of the flames.[14] A train was laid; the crowd was urged backward by the police to a position of safety. Some turned pale and fled, while others obstinately held their ground until they were compelled to retreat by main force. Then there was a moment or two of deathly silence, such as precedes a storm; then there is a low rumble, a trembling of the air, a lurid flash, and then the notes of thunder, accompanied by a deafening crash, a smothered shriek of alarm and a series of dull thuds in rapid succession as the heavy beams and blocks of stone struck the ground. The air is obscured by a thick cloud and tainted by a sickening odor. There is a momentary hope that the flames are stayed, but they break forth again in all their fury, apparently stimulated to fresh rage by the effort to thwart them. And these scenes are enacted over and over again with but little variation through the weary night, under the quiet sky and bright stars, till a faint gray of dawn imperceptibly creeps and swells into the broad glare of day, to find the swaying crowd, the battling firemen, the lapping flames, the hoarse cries of men, the sharp shrieks of engines, the wild confusion and the frightful havoc still at work, and a thick, blood-red cloud hovering over the city and filling the hearts of all with an ominous and indefinable mixture of terror and sadness.

Origin of the Fire and its Course

“The origin of this fearful calamity that has fallen thus heavily upon us was of so apparently trifling a nature that it is hardly possible, even now, with a full knowledge of the fact strong within us, to fully realize that results so awful in their magnitude could have arisen from so simple a beginning. The fire broke out in the large granite block on the southeast corner of Summer and Kingston streets, and was first discovered about a quarter-past seven o’clock on Saturday evening [Nov 9]. It began in the lower story, and probably caught from the engine. When the firemen arrived the flames had crept up to the fourth story, and the building being surmounted by a Mansard roof,[15] the fire soon sped upward and enveloped the woodwork. In a short time the whole building was in flames, and the adjoining blocks on Summer and Kingston streets, and also the blocks on the corner of Summer and Otis streets were almost completely enveloped.

 

“The building in which the fire originated was the first to fall, and soon after the block on the corner of Summer street and Otis place gave way. The flames ran rapidly up Summer street, pausing on the south side at Chauncy street, but on the other side, gaining force with every moment, it soon cleared the block between Otis and Arch, down which the flames poured as in a wind-fanned funnel, reaching Franklin square, some time before its course on Summer had swept to Hawley.

 

“From Arch street on Summer, the conflagration also moved through Devonshire, Federal, Purchase and Broad streets, with even greater rapidity than it did in the other direction, the buildings in its course being older, more inflammable and even closer together. As the buildings burned down Summer street each street opening into it became at once a funnel, through which the fire poured. Otis, Devonshire, Federal, High, Purchase and Broad became one after the other sheets of flame, which, leaping and licking from one side to the other, generally catching at the roofs, went roaring and cracking along the streets, wrapping block after block in flame….

 

“While the fire rushed down Summer to Broad, in a southeasterly direction, the main body of the fire swept through Arch into Franklin street, where…it acquired new force, as the fire which was then coming up Otis and Devonshire streets added force to its own movement, creating from each opening a motion which was almost a tornado, thus fanning the flames in Franklin street with the force of a hurricane. From this point the fire seemed to spread like a fan, the central pat of which was still Devonshire street to the new post-office building. Here the flames were checked for a time, and from that point it again spread out down Milk into Congress, Bath, Kilby and the adjacent streets. In the meanwhile Summer street had been swept to Broad street, while in its turn that was destroyed to Oliver, as the fire gained, passing up each street leading into the funnel, whose culminating portion was in the business blocks in and around the new post-office structure.

Summer Street.

 

“Summer street, beginning at Broad and extending towards Washington, presents a desolate appearance. On the entire north side there is but one house standing, that being at the corner of Washington… The walls of Trinity Church still stand, looking bare and grim enough, but everything perishable is seen only in the form of ashes. On the south side, the progress of the flames was stopped at Chauncy street, and even below that point there are two or three buildings still remaining. Yesterday afternoon, members of Company B, Ninth regiment, were guarding the ruins of the Freeman’s National Bank, No. 109, as the vault in falling had been burst in, and the contents were somewhat exposed. No injury has been done on the south side, above Chauncy street.

Franklin Street.

 

“Of Franklin street little can be said, except that of the magnificent buildings, by which, forty-eight hours ago, it was bordered, nothing now remains but huge piles of cracked and powdered stone and brick which cumber the street, making passage through extremely difficult, if not actually impossible. Not one of the many imposing edifices which were Boston’s pride, the Cathedral building, Donahoe’s block and others, now remains….” [Two further columns are devoted to street by street descriptions of damage.] (Boston Daily Globe, MA. “Devastation! A Terrible Conflagration in Boston.” 11-11-1872, p. 1.)

 

Nov 11, Boston Daily Globe from page 8: “The fate of the men who were in Walker & Co.’s on Federal street, is unknown.[16] The police say they cautioned them that they were in a dangerous position, but they did not heed the warning, and it is feared they perished in the building….

 

“Twenty-five thousand work girls were thrown out of employment by the fire….” (Boston Daily Globe, MA. “Devastation! A Terrible Conflagration in Boston.” 11-11-1872, p. 8.)

 

Nov 12: “Boston, Nov. 12.–This morning opened with a light but steady rain, which was the most welcome of all possible visitors, as it not only served to help quench the fire still smoldering in the ruins, but answered the equally happy purpose of keeping the streets clear of the curious crowds which yesterday impeded travel through the chief thoroughfares near the scene of the fire, and seriously interrupted business….

 

“To facilitate this business [of clean-up] the merely curious were strictly excluded from the limits, as was not the case yesterday, when any one was permitted to pass the lines uon his mere assertion that he had business within. Today, however, no one is allowed to enter without a pass signed by Gen. Burrill, commanding the military, and the ruins are thus kept free for the operations of those energetic merchants who already have gangs of men at work clearing away the debris…

 

“The buildings destroyed were so vast, and erected of such heavy material, that the whole space over which the fire swept is literally choked with broken blocks of granite, fallen iron columns and huge masses of bricks. In Chicago, where the streets are wide and the heat so intense as to crumble marble and brick into powder, the thoroughfares were cleared with comparatively little labor, where they were encumbered at all, which was seldom the case. But here the streets are narrow and crooked, and the buildings were composed of so much better material, that the wreck is much more difficult to get out of the way. All the streets are covered with the fallen ruins, so that it is impossible to take a horse and wagon anywhere in the burnt district, and the whole of the sixty acres are so thickly strewn with the debris that he who explores the area must clamber over granite blocks, hot piles of bricks, and stumble against the projecting ends of iron columns half buried in the mass of rubbish….

 

“Sunday morning two men, who were engaged in removing goods from one of the burning stores, were caught by the sudden fall of one of the side walls. One of these men was completely buried, and in all probability instantly killed, but the other was reserved for a more terrible fate, as he was caught only by the legs. He shouted for help, saying he was yet unhurt and if a few bricks were removed he could easily extricate himself. Several firemen, notwithstanding the heat was intense, and the danger from the other walls falling imminent, rushed to his assistance. While they were engaged in this work, the front wall fell, and not only was the first unfortunate buried under the ruins, but with him two of the noble firemen. As yet it is not positively known who these firemen were, but fears are entertained that Assistant Foremen William Ferry and Daniel Cochran, of Hook and Ladder No. 4, both of whom have been missing since that time. This afternoon a search will be made for these bodies….

 

Fault Finding.

 

“Considerable fault has been found with the manner in which the work of suppressing the fire was conducted. There are not wanting those who accuse the Mayor and Chief Engineer of vacillation and want of strength of character, in not taking means to blow up buildings before they did, and thus prevent the fire from spreading. It seems by the city statutes that the authority to do this is delegated wholly to the Chief Engineer, and as he appeared unwilling to assume this responsibility, the Mayor did not like to act in the matter. It is difficult to tell how far these officials are to be blamed. Certainly, in several instances the blowing up of buildings only added to the intensity of the fire; and the event proved that unless a large number were blown up under some system, and the shattered mass promptly drenched with water by the firemen, this means of prevention was worse than useless….

 

“Citizen soldiery are found here to answer the purpose of preserving the peace during a great crisis no better than they did during the days after the Chicago fire, and a public sentiment is forming on the subject which will probably compel their withdrawal, and remand the city to the police today or to-morrow. Several cases are reported where these soldiers were found intoxicated yesterday, with loaded muskets in their hands, and, besides their apparent uselessness as guards while in this condition, there was the constant danger that they would purposely or accidentally shoot somebody. There has been no such disorganization of society her as to call for the supersedure of the civil authorities, and the public will not patiently submit for another day to martial law. The police of the city has been happily managed, and shown admirable qualities during the crisis, so that the city runs no risk in giving them back their charge….” (New York Times. “Boston Alive Again.” 11-13-1872.)

 

Nov 13: “Boston, Nov. 13.–Today has been an extremely busy one among the ruins. The heavy rain of last night had entirely extinguished what little fire was left in the debris, and the gangs of workmen engaged in pulling down walls, clearing away the wreck, and digging for safes, worked with much greater facility than on the previous days. The streets are now almost entirely cleared, and a tour of the burnt district is no longer difficult….

 

“To-night the ruins are guarded by the militia as last night, and portions of the city are under martial law….” (New York Times. “The City of Boston…The Fire Entirely Extinguished by a Heavy Rain…” 11-14-1872.)

 

Nov 14: “Boston, Nov. 14.–It is now possible to make a list, nearly complete, of the loss of life and limb by the terrible conflagration. The following are the names:

 

Lewis C. Thompson, of Worcester, struck by a falling wall, and killed.

Frank Olmstead, of steamer No. 1, of Cambridge, fatally injured.

William Forry and Daniel Cochrane…steamer…4, buried under Weeks & Potter’s store.

Five unknown persons, also buried under Weeks & Potter’s store.

….

Joseph Burr and George Smith, the former of Dorchester and the latter of Neponsett, came in on Saturday evening [Nov 9] to see the fire; were last seen in the vicinity of Chauncy-street, and, it is feared, they have been killed by falling walls.

 

Walter F. Twombly, of Sheridan Hose Company No. 2, of Malden, has been missing since 3 o’clock Sunday morning. He was last seen on State-street, going toward Pearly-street. He was twenty-two years of age.

 

John Dillon, a machinist, aged eighteen, living at No. 122 Broadway, has been missing since 3 o’clock on Sunday.

 

Albert C. Abbott, an exempt fireman [volunteer], of Charlestown, lies in a very critical condition at the Massachusetts General Hospital from injuries received while at work at the site of the old Post-office, on Sunday afternoon. [Reported to have died.][17]

 

Lewis Porter Abbott, brother of Albert C., is missing, and is supposed to be buried in the ruins of Bradford & Anthony’s store, on Washington-street. He leaves three little children to the care of his aged and widowed mother at No. 11 Perkins-street, Charlestown. Albert was to have been married to a young lady of Charlestown on Thanksgiving Day, all the arrangements having been completed. His fiancée has been in attendance on him constantly since Sunday evening….” (NYT. “List of the Killed and Wounded…” 11-15-1872.)

 

Nov 16: “Boston, Nov. 16….The remains of two ladies taken from the ruins of the fire on Wednesday are in charge of an undertaker, and there is no way of identifying them except by patches of clothing. The remains of the mother of Miss Martha Hutchinson have been found among the ruins of Messrs. Shreve, Crump & Lowe’s store. Miss Hutchinson save herself by jumping from the window. Search continues for other bodies.” (New York Times. “Recovering from the Fire.” 11-17-1872.)

 

Nov 18: “Boston, Mass., Nov., 17….Recovering The Dead. The remains of Daniel Cochrane, late second foreman of Hook and Ladder Company No. 4, was exhumed from the ruins on Washington-street today. They were charred beyond recognition, but identified by a tag, with keys attached. He was thirty years of age, and leave a wife and two children. Shortly after finding Cochrane, Cat. William Farrie, of the same company, was exhumed and identified by a gold chain belonging to his wife. Michael Cuddy has been missing since Saturday night, and was last seen at the falling of the walls on Summer-street….” (New York Times. “Boston Yesterday…Two Dead Bodies Exhumed and Identified.” 11-18-1872.)

 

Nov 24: “Boston, Nov. 24.–This afternoon another body was taken from the ruins of the fire, but had not been identified up to a late hour. In the pockets of the pantaloons were some papers, but nothing to lead to identification of the body. A party of firemen from Cambridge have been searching throughout the day for the body of one of their own number, who is missing….” (New York Times. “Another Body Found in the Ruins of Boston–Search for a Missing Cambridge Fireman.” 11-25-1872.)

 

Summary of Deaths and Presumed Dead Noted Above

 

1. Abbott, Albert C. Volunteer firefighter and former member of Charlestown Fire Dept.
2. Abbott, Lewis Porter, ex-fireman and volunteer, Charlestown Fire Department.[18]
3. Burr, Joseph, of Dorchester. Last seen Chauncy St. area; thought killed by falling walls.
4. Cochrane, Daniel, assistant foreman, Boston Hook and Ladder Company No. 4.
5. Connelly, John, fireman, West Roxbury Hook and Ladder Company No. 1.
6. Cuddy, Michael. Still missing Nov 17 after last being seen at Summer St. falling walls.
7. Dillon, John, 18. Missing as of Nov 14. Resided at No. 122 Broadway.
8. Farrie/Farry/Farril/Forry, William. Foreman of Boston Hook and Ladder Company No. 4.
9. Frazier, William S., volunteer, Cambridge Fire Department.
10. Hutchinson, Mrs. (Identified as mother of Miss Martha Hutchinson.)
11. Maloney, Thomas. Firefighter, Worcester Fire Department.
12. Olmstead, Frank D., volunteer, steamer No. 1, Cambridge Fire Department.
13. Rogers, Henry, volunteer, Boston Engine Company No. 6.
14. Smith, George. Of Neponsett. Last seen Chauncy St. area; thought killed by falling walls.
15. Thompson, Lewis C., of Worcester, struck by a falling wall.
16. Trombly, Walter S., fireman, Malden Hose Company No. 2.
17. Turnbull, Martin. Firefighter, Charlestown Hose Company No. 3.
18. Unidentified female [body recovered wearing pantaloons] on Nov 24.
19. Unidentified female, body recovered Nov 16.
20. Unidentified female, 2^nd body recovered on Nov 16.
21. 1^st of five unknown persons buried under Weeks & Potter’s store.
22. 2^nd of five unknown persons buried under Weeks & Potter’s store.
23. 3^rd of five unknown persons buried under Weeks & Potter’s store.
24. 4^th of five unknown persons buried under Weeks & Potter’s store.
25. 5^th of five unknown persons buried under Weeks & Potter’s store.

 

Sources

 

Boston Daily Globe, MA. “Devastation! A Terrible Conflagration in Boston.” 11-11-1872, p. 1. Accessed 10-19-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-nov-11-1872-p-1/

 

Boston Fire Historical Society. Boston’s Fire Trail: A Walk Through the City’s Fire and Firefighting History. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2007.

 

Boston Fire Historical Society. Great Boston Fire of 1872. Accessed 10-18-2017 at:  http://bostonfirehistory.org/?s=great+boston+fire+of+1872

 

Docema LLC. Damrell’s Fire (DVD and website). “Boston Burnt: The Great Fire of 1872.” 2003. Accessed 10-18-2017 at: http://www.boston1872.docema.com/

 

Federal Emergency Management Agency. “Great Boston Fire 1872.” Historic Fires. 8-26-2011. Emmitsburg, MD: FEMA, National Emergency Training Center, Learning Resource Center. Accessed at: http://www.lrc.fema.gov/disasters_fires.html

 

History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, November 9, 1872. “Fire Rips Through Boston.”  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=11/9&categoryId=disaster

 

Lowell Sun, MA. “Fires and Fire Losses,” April 30, 1908, p. 16. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=56171711

 

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.

 

National Fire Protection Association. “100 Conflagrations Since 1900.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 29, No. 1, July 1935, pp. 129-156.

 

New York Times. “Another Body Found in the Ruins of Boston–Search for a Missing Cambridge Fireman.” 11-25-1872. Accessed 10-19-2017 at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=990CE0DE163BEF34BC4D51DFB7678389669FDE

 

New York Times. “Boston. Funeral of a Fireman Killed at the Great Fire.” 11-20-1872. Accessed 10-19-2017 at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9901E2DF163BEF34BC4851DFB7678389669FDE

 

New York Times. “Boston Alive Again.” 11-13-1872. Accessed 10-19-2017 at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D07EFD61F38EF34BC4B52DFB7678389669FDE

 

New York Times. “Boston Yesterday…Two Dead Bodies Exhumed and Identified.” 11-18-1872. Accessed 10-19-2017 at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9E00E3DF163BEF34BC4052DFB7678389669FDE

 

New York Times. “List of the Killed and Wounded…” 11-15-1872. Accessed 10-19-2017 at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D0CE0DA1439EF34BC4D52DFB7678389669FDE

 

New York Times. “Recovering from the Fire.” 11-17-1872. Accessed 10-19-2017 at:

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9907E4DF163BEF34BC4F52DFB7678389669FDE

 

New York Times. “The City of Boston. Progress of the Merchants in Resuming Business. The Fire Entirely Extinguished by a Heavy Rain…” 11-14-1872. Accessed 10-19-2017 at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9506E7DF163BEF34BC4C52DFB7678389669FDE

 

Safety Engineering. “Boston’s Lodging House Holocaust.” (26/6, Dec 1913, p. 425). From: Vol. 26, No’s 1-6, July-December, 1913. NY: Safety Press, Inc., 1913. Accessed 10-18-2017 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=L9YMAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:LCCNsc80000582&lr

 

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

 

 

 

[1] Nine firefighters fighting the fire and two later from injuries. “The exact civilian death toll was never determined, but it was probably sixteen to thirty people.” Thus, 11 firefighters plus 16-30 civilians comes to 27-41

[2] It appears from our listing of fatalities and missing/presumed dead below, that there were at least 25 deaths (and probably 27, as the Boston Fire Historical Society notes in Boston’s Fire Trail). We use as the high range of our estimate the figure of 41 also provided by the Boston Fire Historical Society notes in Boston’s Fire Trail, though our attempt to enumerate fatalities and presumed dead comes to only 25. (See footnote 1.)

[3] “Despite the enormity of the fire, only two Boston firemen were killed, with the total deaths numbering between 13 and 20, depending on the source.”

[4] “Farril” spelling is from New York Times. “Boston. Funeral of a Fireman Killed at the Great Fire.” 11-20-1872.

[5] New York Times. “Boston Yesterday…Two Dead Bodies Exhumed and Identified.” 11-18-1872.

[6] From New York Times: “The remains of Daniel Cochrane, late second foreman of Hook and Ladder Company, No. 4, was exhumed from the ruins on Washington-street today [Nov 17]. They were charred beyond recognition, but identified by a tag, with keys attached. He was thirty years of age, and leaves a wife and two children. Shortly after finding Cochrane, Capt. William Farrie, of the same company, was exhumed and identified by a gold chain belonging to his wife.

[7] Brother of Albert C. Abbott. (New York Times. “List of the Killed and Wounded…” 11-15-1872.)

[8] The Boston Daily Globe of Nov 11, page 8, notes: “Frank Olmstead, a fireman of Steamer 1 of Cambridge, about 10 o’clock Saturday night was in C. T. Walker & Co.’s carriage depository, 91 Federal street, getting out carriages with seven or eight men, when he was injured by a wall falling from the adjoining building striking him on the head. He was taken to the Second station, where Dr. Weston attended him, after which he was taken to the Massachusetts General Hospital on a stretcher, where he died from the effects of his injuries at two o’clock yesterday afternoon.”

[9] New York Times of Nov 15 notes he was last seen Nov 10 on State Street going toward Pearl.

[10] “Thomas Maloney…of Worcester, and twenty years of age, suffered the fracture of his ankle from…[falling of a wall], and is now lying at the City Hospital in a precarious condition. His only hope is amputation of the foot, which, however, he will hardly be able to endure and survive.” (Boston Daily Globe, 11-11-1872, p. 8.)

[11] “About eleven o’clock [9^th], Mark Turnbull, a member of Washington Hose Company No. 3 of Charleston, received an injury to his spine and head from the butt end of the hose which struck him knocking him down and also causing a compound fracture of two of his ribs. He was carried to the Second station, where Dr. Merriam attended him, when he was taken in a wagon to his home in Charlestown.” (Boston Daily Globe, 11-11-1872, p. 8.)

[12] The Boston Daily Globe of Nov 11, page 8, notes: “Albert C. Abbott, a member of Hose Company No. 1 of Charlestown, fell from a ladder, a distance of twenty-five feet, at the old post-office, about two o’clock yesterday afternoon, and was severely injured about the spine. He was taken to the Second station, and thence to the Massachusetts General Hospital.”

[13] In French “vive” means long lived, and “bagatelle” can mean something of trifling importance.

[14] Meaning to attempt to create a firebreak by dynamiting buildings at the edge of the fire.

[15] “Mansard roof, type of roof having two slopes on every side, the lower slope being considerably steeper than the upper.” (Britannica.com)

[16] Several paragraphs above, it is noted that a fireman, Frank Olmstead, was injured by a wall falling from an adjoining building into the one he “with seven or eight men” was in while trying to move carriages to safety. He later died. Presumably this reference is to the “seven or eight men” who were with him.

[17] Boston Fire Historical Society. Boston’s Fire Trail: A Walk Through the City’s Fire and Firefighting History.

[18] Brother of Albert C. Abbott. (New York Times. “List of the Killed and Wounded…” 11-15-1872.)

50-51  Blanchard tally from breakouts below.

 

New Orleans, LA      (39-40)                        July 11-Nov 19

–40      “          Galveston Tri-Weekly Civilian, TX. Yellow Fever at [N.O.] 11-29-1872, p. 4, c. 1.

–40      “                                  Kotar & Gessler. Yellow Fever: A Worldwide History. 2017,  274.

–39      “                                  Carrigan. The Saffron Scourge. 1961, p. 168.[1]

–39      “                                  New Orleans Public Library, Yellow Fever Deaths in [N.O.]…

—  0      “  July 11 rpt., 1^st case. Brownsville Banner, IN. “News of …week.” 7-11-1872, p. 2, c. 1.

—  5      “  Sep                          Galveston Tri-Weekly Civilian, TX. 10-16-1872, p. 4, col. 1.[2]

—  2      “  Sep 30-Oct 6.          Galveston News, TX. 10-11-1872, p. 2, col. 6.[3]

—  1     “  Nov 19 (last death) Galveston Tri-Weekly Civilian, TX. 11-29-1872, p. 4, col. 1.[4]

 

Galveston, TX           (    10)

–10  The year, out of 40 cases.           Galveston Daily News, 11-28-1873, p. 2, col. 4.[5]

 

Maritime                    (       1)             Trip from Mobile to Vineyard Haven, MA, ending Oct 18.

–1  Brig Shannon.       Trip from Mobile to Vineyard Haven (MA?), ending Oct 18.[6]

 

Sources

 

Brownsville Banner, IN. “News of the Week.” 7-11-1872, p. 2, col. 1. Accessed 5-6-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/brownstown-banner-jul-11-1872-p-2/

 

Carrigan, Jo Ann. The Saffron Scourge: A History of Yellow Fever in Louisiana, 1796-1905 (Doctoral Dissertation). Louisiana State University, LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses, 1961. Accessed 3-11-2018 at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1665&context=gradschool_disstheses

 

Daily State Journal, Richmond, VA. “Yellow Fever.” 10-18, 1872, p. 1, col. 7. Accessed 5-6-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/richmond-daily-state-journal-oct-18-1872-p-1/

 

Galveston Daily News, TX. [Yellow Fever, Galveston] 11-28-1873, p. 2, col. 4. Accessed 5-7-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-daily-news-nov-28-1873-p-2/

 

Galveston News, TX. 10-11-1872, p. 2, col. 6. Accessed 5-6-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-daily-news-oct-11-1872-p-2/

 

Galveston Tri-Weekly Civilian, TX. [Yellow Fever, New Orleans] 10-16-1872, p. 4, col. 1. Accessed 5-6-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-tri-weekly-civilian-oct-16-1872-p-4/

 

Galveston Tri-Weekly Civilian, TX. “Yellow Fever at New Orleans.” 11-29-1872, p. 4, col. 1. Accessed 5-6-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-tri-weekly-civilian-nov-29-1872-p-4/

 

Kotar, S. L. and J. E. Gessler. Yellow Fever: A Worldwide History. McFarland, 2017. Google preview accessed 5-5-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=e1YQDgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

New Orleans Public Library, Louisiana Division. Yellow Fever Deaths in New Orleans, 1817-1905. Accessed 3-7-2010 at: http://nutrias.org/facts/feverdeaths.htm

 

 

[1] Cites, in footnote 19, p. 168: Report of the Louisiana State Board of Health for 1872, p. 135.

[2] “The Board of Health report only five deaths from yellow fever in New Orleans, during the whole month of September.”

[3] “The whole number of deaths in New Orleans last week was ninety, against one hundred and three the week previous….two [died] of yellow fever….”

[4] “Yellow Fever at New Orleans. The whole number of deaths in New Orleans last week was 112, against 120 the week previous. Tone died…of yellow fever…There are now no cases of yellow fever under treatment in the city. The last death occurred on the 19^th inst., and all other cases have recovered. This year there have been eighty cases, of which forty resulted fatally. In 1871 there were fifty-four deaths, and in 1870 the bills of health show 587 deaths from this disease.”

[5] Cites the Texas Medical Journal.

[6] Daily State Journal, Richmond, VA. “Yellow Fever.” 10-18, 1872, p. 1, col. 7. There were two recovered cases.

–34-40 Blanchard estimated death toll.*

— ~80 Ohio Democrat, New Philadelphia, OH. “River Horror,” April 19, 1872, p. 2, col. 5.
— 70 U. S. Central Publishing Co. Important Events of the Century: 1776-1876, p. 169.
–60-70 Chicago Tribune. “Another Sad Calamity. Explosion…Boiler…Oceanus…” 4-12-1872, p. 1.
–60-70 New York Times. “The Oceanus Explosion,” April 13, 1872, p. 1, col. 1.
— ~40 Atlantic Almanac. “Notable Events and Deaths from Nov 1, 1871, to Nov 1, 1872,” 60.
— 40 Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 45, June-Nov, 1872, p. 153.
— 40 Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. “Every Day’s Record,” April 1889, p. 613.
— 40 Lossing. Harper’s Encyclopedia of U.S. History from 458 A.D. to 1902. 1902, p. 453.
— 40 Simonds. The American Date Book. 1902, p. 101.
— 40 U.S. Congress, House. Hearings. “Safety of Life and Property at Sea.” 1935, p. 247.
— 40 Vincent. Haydn’s Dictionary of Dates (Revised for American Readers). “Wrecks.” 1883, p758.
— 34 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys.]… 1999, p352.
— 32 The Republican, Henry, IL. “The Late Steamboat Accident on the Mississippi.” 4-18-1872, p1.

* Blanchard estimated death toll. We choose to use 34-40 as an estimated death toll so as to include Way (34), usually a reliable source, as well as the forty used by a number of almanacs and periodicals popular at the time. While frequently unreliable individually, their sheer number gives us reason to suspect that there might well have been a more or less accurate report of 40 deaths at the time, though we have not been able to locate what appears to be an original source. We have seen no evidence to support the alarmist, mostly survivor-based, reporting of sixty to eighty deaths.

Narrative Information

Harper’s: “The steamer Oceanus, from Red River for St. Louis, when twenty miles above Cairo, April 11, exploded her boilers, wrecking the boat and scalding or drowning upward of forty persons.” (Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 45, June-Nov, 1872, p. 153.)

Way: Oceanus. Sternwheel wood-hull packet, built in 1870 in California, PA, at 365 tons, and measuring 180 x 40-5 x 5.5, with three boilers. “….She was upbound 20 miles above Cairo in Dog Tooth Bend near Brook’s Point at 4:00 A.M. Apr. 11, 1872, the boilers exploded with loss of 34 lives. The John Lumdsen…was moored two miles below cooled down. Her pilot Thompson manned a yawl and rescued many. The Belle St. Louis came up, assisted, and delivered survivors to Grand Tower, Ill. Capt. Alhambra Reeder was master, native of Glasgow, Mo., and originally an engineer, married and no children. He lost his life, as did first clerk Henry M. Worsham, 40 years resident of St. Louis, and Charles Worsham (son), 2nd clerk. The wreck burned, taking the life of Harry Tripp, pilot, from Memphis, and also lost was George Wiggins, New Orleans, the Red River pilot. Four lions belonging to James Robinson’s Circus were lost. The wreck lay in the middle of the river.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats of the Mississippi River System…(Revised). 1999, p. 352.)

Newspapers

April 11: “Cairo, Ill., April 11. – Steamer Oceanus, from Red River to St. Louis, when near Brook’s Point, 30 miles above here, at 4 o’clock this morning, exploded her boil4r, blowing her upper-works almost entirely away, immediately after which the wreck took fire, burning to the water’s edge. Pilot Thompson, of the steamer John Lumsden, lying a few miles below, on seeing the light from the burning wreck, manned the yawl, and proceeded up the river to ascertain the cause. He found a small party of survivors on Head Island, but passed on to relieve those on the wreck. Ten or twelve were clinging to the wheel, but it dropped before he reached there, and all but four were lost. He found a deck passenger, name unknown, near the shore, badly scalded, who died before his arrival at Cairo. Steamer Belle St. Louis, bound up, took nearly all the survivors. Mr. Thompson rescued Pilot Harris. The latter states that Wiggins, their Red River pilot was drowned. Harry Triff, the pilot on watch, also Captain Reeder, were buried in the debris, and were heard calling despairingly for help, but the fire gained such headway that they could not be reached and were buried. Fisher, the carpenter of the ill-fated steamer, reached here on the Shreve. He was not seriously hurt. He states that the second engineer, Alex. Kennedy, was terribly scalded, was helpless and blind. Fisher put him on a stage plank with others. The stage soon capsized, drowning several, including Kennedy. Geo. Kenthley, first engineer, is supposed to be lost. Henry M. Worsham, first clerk, was not seen after the explosion. He expected to go through from Cairo by rail, but was seen on the boat after leaving here. Chas. Worsham, second clerk, Jules Dempewolf, steward, and Charley Muvay, cabin-boy, were found dead floating in the river, all with life-preservers on, and brought here by the steamer Shreve, supposed to be chilled to death.

“There were five lady passengers, all supposed to be lost. The bodies of four ladies were seen floating past Watson’s Landing today, but were not recovered. Fisher thinks Pilot Harris and himself are the only employes of the boat saved, though the Belle St. Louis may have picked up some. The officers of the Shreve state that there were about forty cabin and thirty-five deck passengers, making a total of about one hundred souls, about eighty of whom are supposed to be lost. The greater portion of the survivors being on the Belle St. Louis, no names of the passengers nor any reliable estimate of the loss can be obtained, except from her books.

“Fisher describes the effects of the explosion as terrific beyond conception, the whole upper works being lifted bodily, and falling on the boat and in the water completely shattered. He saved himself by securing a plank and floating until rescued by a yawl of the Lumsden. He was in bed at the time, and, though covered by debris, was only slightly bruised.

Later.

“The steamer Grand Tower, just arrived, reports the First Engineer and Mate saved; also thirty two other persons on the Belle of St. Louis. The Second Engineer was saved, but died of his injuries….

“The steamer Lumsden saved Jno. Meeker, Chas. Teasdorf, and John Martin. Wiggins, the Red River pilot, and Tripp, are both dead. Captain Worsham, first clerk; Captain Reeder, Colonel Malder, the steward, C. F. Huff, passenger of the Covington, and many others are missing. It is thought from sixty to seventy persons are lost.” (Chicago Tribune. “Another Sad Calamity. Explosion /of the Boiler of the Steamer Oceanus, near Cairo.” 4-12-1872, p. 1.)

April 12: “St. Louis, April 12. The steamer Belle of St. Louis arrived here this morning with twenty-eight of the survivors of the Oceanus disaster, and the bodies of seven who died on the way up. The books and papers of the steamer were lost. A complete list of the passengers and crew cannot therefore by given. The following is a list of the killed and missing and saved as far as is known:

“(The list as given comprises: Killed – passengers, 3, crew, 4. Missing – passengers, 6, crew 19. Saved – passengers 17, crew, 13. Many of the saved were badly, some probably fatally, injured or burned.)….

“It was stated that it was the middle boiler that exploded. The engineer said that he went on watch but a few moments before the explosion, and tried six gauges, in all of which he found plenty of water. He then waled back to get a cup of coffee and in five minutes the explosion occurred.

“George Keightly, the first engineer, who was on watch when the explosion occurred, says the boat had just struck a bar. The engines had been stopped, and Mr. Keightly just glanced at his watch to note the time when the explosion occurred, and with terrible force one of he boilers was blown back to the cylinders, and the whole forward part of he boat, including the pilot-house, texas and forward state rooms, were scattered right and left. The boat took fire instantly, and the startled and half-nude passengers that were not killed awoke to a terrible reality. But one boat was left, and that was badly broken. The officers did all they could to assist the passengers. Capt. Reeder and Clerk M. Worsham gathered together the life-preservers that were left in the back part of the cabin, and distributed them to the half-distracted passengers. There were but two females on board – Mrs. Constable and the chambermaid, named Wallace.

“Various statements have been made during the day by survivors of the Oceanus disaster, but they relate almost entirely to personal experiences, and throw little or no light on the cause of the explosion. The bodies brought up by the steamer Bell of St. Louis will be held for inquest. Those of the wounded not able to take care of themselves have been taken charge of by the city and sent to the hospitals. Most of the passengers remain her. One of he pilots states that it would have been impossible for the steamer to ground at the point the explosion took place, as asserted by George Keightley [sic.], the first engineer.” (The Republican, Henry, IL. “The Late Steamboat Accident on the Mississippi.” 4-18-1872, p. 1.)

April 14: “The inquest on the bodies of the victims by the explosion of the steamer Oceanus closed on the 14th. The jury’s verdict states that they were unable to determine the cause of the explosion.” (Edwardsville Intelligencer, IL, “The West,” 4-25-1872, p. 2, col. 2.)

Oct 19: “Washington, Oct. 19. – The Supervising Inspector General of Steamers, having examined the evidence in the case of he steamer Oceanus, reports that no action seems necessary in view that the boat was burned to the water’s edge, sunk in thirty-five feet of water, and all her licensed officers drowned except the Chief Engineer, who was exonerated from all blame. The immediate cause of the explosion was caused by the boat striking on a bar. Mr. Rogers, Supervising Inspector at New Orleans, who conducted the investigation, presents valuable information in regard to boiler explosions on the western rivers, and means for their prevention. The first general cause stated being an accumulation of mud sediment in the boilers, causing the fire [unclear] surfaces to be burned, thus weakening the strength of the plates. The second general cause, as stated, is the strain due to a change in the bearing of the boiler, resulting from a change of forms. These subjects will engage official attention.” (Daily Quincy Herald, IL. “Washington…Oceanus Investigation.” 10-20-1872, p. 1, col. 3.)

Sources

Atlantic Almanac. “Notable Events and Deaths from Nov 1, 1871, to Nov 1, 1872,” 60. Accessed 10-11-2020 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=VmkkAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Chicago Tribune. “Another Sad Calamity. Explosion /of the Boiler of the Steamer Oceanus, near Cairo.” 4-12-1872, p. 1. Accessed 10-11-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/chicago-tribune-apr-12-1872-p-1/

Daily Quincy Herald, IL. “Washington…Oceanus Investigation.” 10-20-1872, p. 1, col. 3. Accessed 10-11-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/quincy-daily-herald-oct-20-1872-p-1/

Edwardsville Intelligencer, IL, “The West,” 4-25-1872, p. 2, col. 2. Accessed 10-11-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/edwardsville-intelligencer-apr-25-1872-p-2/

Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Volume XLV [45], June to November, 1872. NY: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1872. Digitized by Google. Accessed 10-11-2020 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=Bg4wAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. “Every Day’s Record,” April 1889, p. 613. Accessed at: Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1889. Accessed 10-11-2020 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=nLURAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Lossing, Benson John (Editor). Harper’s Encyclopedia of United States History from 458 A.D. to 1902. NY: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1902. Digitized by Google. Accessed 10-11-2020 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=fnwQAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

New York Times. “The Oceanus Explosion,” April 13, 1872, p. 1, col. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=19717250

Ohio Democrat, New Philadelphia, OH. “River Horror,” April 19, 1872, p. 2, col. 5. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=16223383

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

The Republican, Henry, IL. “The Late Steamboat Accident on the Mississippi.” 4-18-1872, p. 1. Accessed 10-11-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/henry-republican-apr-18-1872-p-1/

United States Central Publishing Co. Important Events of the Century: 1776-1876. NY: U.S. Central Pub. Co., 1876. Google preview accessed 1-22-2018 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=OGZt1HGsgmEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

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

Vincent, Benjamin. Haydn’s Dictionary of Dates (Revised for American Readers). “Wrecks.” New York: Harp4re & Brothers, Franklin Square, 1883. Accessed 10-11-2020 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Haydn_s_Dictionary_of_Dates_and_Universa/Eqs-AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=steamboat+%22oceanus%22+boiler+explosion+fire+mississippi+river+april+11+1872&pg=PA758&printsec=frontcover

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.

–~60  Smith, Roger. Catastrophes and Disasters. 1992, p. 44.[1]

—  30  Appleton’s Annual Cyclopedia…Register of…Events…1872 (V. XII). “Earthquakes,” 266.

—  30  Boston Post. “The Earthquake.” 4-1-1872, p. 2.

—  30  History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, March 26, 1872. Deadly Earthquake Hits CA.

—  30  USGS. Historic Earthquakes: Owens Valley, California, 1872 03 26 10:30 UTC.

—  27  USGS. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes.  2008 update.

—  23  Lone Pine. Evening News, Indianapolis, IN. “Latest By Telegraph.” 3-30-1872, p. 1.

 

Narrative Information

 

Appleton’s: “California and Nevada suffered seriously from an earthquake, March 26th. The region most strongly affected was the eastern and western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, and the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Tulare Valleys, the movement extending into Mexico. The time of the first shock noted at Visalia, Independence, and Jackson, was 2.10 A. M.. and at White Pine, Nev., 2.45. The disturbance lasted about thirty hours, and fully 1,000 distinct shocks were felt. The direction of the vibrations was generally northwest and southwest.  Owens’s River Valley was the most afflicted.  At the village of Lone Pine…south of Independence, some fifty adobe houses were shaken to pieces, and 27 persons killed and 34 much injured; frame houses did not fall. At Independence, many buildings were prostrated, and some lives lost.[2] A loud rumbling sound, described as being ”like a train of cars, or like distant artillery,” preceded and accompanied the shocks.  Fissures, miles in length, and 50 to 200 feet wide, were reported opened along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada, near Big Pine Camp. At other places, the ground was heaped up in great ridges, large springs stopped running, and new springs burst forth.  Heavy snow-slides occurred on the Sierras, and great rocks rolled down the mountain-sides, blocking up the stage road….

 

“At Tibbet’s Ranch, 15 miles above Independence, 40 acres of ground sank about seven feet below the surface of the surrounding country. Big Owen’s Lake has risen four feet since the first shock. Owen’s River ran over its bank, depositing shoals of fish on shore; afterward it receded. For a distance of three or four miles through Lone Pine the earth is cracked. One side remained stationary, while the other sank seven or eight feet, leaving a wall of earth, extending over three miles in length, where formerly was a level plain. Innumerable cracks were made throughout the valley. Kern and Owen’s Rivers turned and ran up-stream for several minutes, leaving their beds dry; finally, they returned with largely-increased volumes of water….”  (Appleton’s Annual Cyclopedia…Register of…Events…1872 (V. XII). “Earthquakes,” 266-267.)

 

History.com: “An earthquake felt from Mexico to Oregon rocks the Owens Valley in California on this day in 1872, killing 30 people.

 

“California, with the large San Andreas Fault running through the entire state, is a prime area for earthquakes. At 2:30 a.m. on March 26, a large quake hit Inyo County in the Owens Valley of central California. Worst-hit was Lone Pine, where 52 of the town’s 59 homes were destroyed,

killing 27 people as they slept. The ground moved a full seven feet horizontally in some places near Lone Pine. Major buildings in every town in Inyo were also seriously damaged.

 

“Given the reach of this quake–people hundreds of miles away in Tijuana, Mexico, felt the shaking– it is estimated that it had a magnitude of 7.8.  One of most famous accounts of this earthquake came from explorer and scientist John Muir, the man who was instrumental in the establishment of Yosemite National Park. He was working as a caretaker at Black’s Hotel in the area at the time and witnessed the destruction of the famed natural landmark Eagle Rock.  He reported the following:

 

The shocks were so violent and varied, and succeeded one another so closely, one had to balance in walking as if on the deck of a ship among the waves, and it seemed impossible the high cliffs should escape being shattered. In particular, I feared that the sheer-fronted Sentinel Rock, which rises to a height of three thousand feet, would be shaken down, and I took shelter back of a big Pine, hoping I might be protected from outbounding boulders, should any come so far. Then, suddenly, out of the strange silence and strange motion there came a tremendous roar. The Eagle Rock, a short distance up the valley, had given way, and I saw it falling in thousands of the great boulders I had been studying so long, pouring to the valley floor in a free curve luminous from friction, making a terribly sublime and beautiful spectacle–an arc of fire fifteen hundred feet span, as true in form and as steady as a rainbow, in the midst of the stupendous roaring rock-storm.

 

“For the next two months, there were literally a thousand aftershocks, though none were deadly.”

 

(History.com. This Day in History, “March 26, 1872. Deadly Earthquake Hits California.”)

 

Hough and Hutton: “The 26 March 1872 Owens Valley earthquake is among the largest historical earthquakes in California. The felt area and maximum fault displacements have long been regarded as comparable to, if not greater than, those of the great San Andreas fault earthquakes of 1857 and 1906, but mapped surface ruptures of the latter two events were 2–3 times longer than that inferred for the 1872 rupture. The preferred magnitude estimate of the Owens Valley earthquake has thus been 7.4, based largely on the geological evidence. Reinterpreting macroseismic accounts of the Owens Valley earthquake, we infer generally lower intensity values than those estimated in earlier studies. Nonetheless, as recognized in the early twentieth century, the effects of this earthquake were still generally more dramatic at regional distances than the macroseismic effects from the 1906 earthquake, with light damage to masonry buildings at (nearest-fault) distances as large as 400 km. Macroseismic observations thus suggest a magnitude greater than that of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which appears to be at odds with geological observations. However, while the mapped rupture length of the Owens Valley earthquake is relatively low, the average slip was high. The surface rupture was also complex and extended over multiple fault segments. It was first mapped in detail over a century after the earthquake occurred, and recent evidence suggests it might have been longer than earlier studies indicated. Our preferred magnitude estimate is M_w 7.8–7.9, values that we show are consistent with the geological observations. The results of our study suggest that either the Owens Valley earthquake was larger than the 1906 San Francisco earthquake or that, by virtue of source properties and/or propagation effects, it produced systematically higher ground motions at regional distances. The latter possibility implies that some large earthquakes in California will generate significantly larger ground motions than San Andreas fault events of comparable magnitude.” (Hough and Hutton. “Revisiting the 1872 Owens Valley, California Earthquake.” Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol. 98, no. 2, 2008, pp. 931-949.)

 

USGS: “The most devastating effects of this earthquake occurred at Lone Pine, where 52 of 59 houses (mostly constructed of adobe or stone) were destroyed and 27 people were killed. A few[3] fatalities also were reported in other parts of Owens Valley. One report states that the main buildings were thrown down in almost every town in Inyo County. About 100 kilometers south of Lone Pine, at Indian Wells, adobe houses sustained cracks. Property loss has been estimated at $250,000.

 

“Faulting occurred on the Owens Valley fault along a line of a few kilometers east of the Sierra Nevada escarpment. The faulting near Lone Pine involved both dip-slip and right-lateral components of movement. The largest amount of surface deformation was observed between the towns of Lone Pine and Independence, but fault scarps formed along a length of at least 160 kilometers – from Haiwee Reservoir, south of Olancha, to Big Pine; cracks formed in the ground as far north as Bishop. The largest horizontal displacement of 7 meters was measured on the fault scarps west of Lone Pine. The vertical offsets clearly were smaller, averaging about 1 meter with the downthrown block on the east.

 

“A comparison of this earthquake to the earthquakes of 1857 and 1906 on the San Andreas fault shows the felt area and maximum fault displacements to be comparable. However, the shocks on the San Andreas fault ruptured the fault for significantly larger distances – 300 kilometers in 1857 and 430 kilometers in 1906.

 

“This earthquake stopped clocks and awakened people at San Diego to the south, Red Bluff to the north, and Elko, Nevada, to the east. MM intensity VIII or larger was observed over an area of about 25,000 square kilometers, and MM intensity IX or larger was observed over and area of about 5,500 square kilometers. The shock was felt over most of California and much or Nevada. Thousands of aftershocks occurred, some severe.” (USGS. Historic Earthquakes: Owens Valley, California, 1872 03 26 10:30 UTC.)

 

Newspapers

 

March 26: “San Francisco, March 26.–A shock of earthquake was felt throughout the State at 2:20 A.M. today. It was felt less in San Francisco than at Sacramento. No damage was done here. The central force of the earthquake appears to have been in the Sierra Nevada east of Visalia.[4] At Visalia the shocks were sufficiently strong to throw goods from the shelves in stores and to crack the walls of some buildings, the vibrations here lasted twenty seconds, but were not felt by more than one-tenth of the population.

 

“Parties at the foot of the hills twenty-four miles east of Visalia report a crash as of mountains rent asunder. The earthquake evidently proceeded from that point, and radiated with decreased force throughout the entire length of the State, but was strongest along the base of the Sierras. Some slight damage was done at Visalia, but none is reported elsewhere.” (New York Times. “Earthquake in California.” 3-27-1872, p. 1.)

 

March 30: “A California dispatch says that advices coming in from the volcanic country north of the Mojave river show that the earthquake on Tuesday was felt with terrific force there. At Lone Pine twenty-three people were killed and thirty wounded. Fifty houses were demolished and the town is in ruins.” (Evening News, Indianapolis IN. “Latest By Telegraph.” 3-30-1872, 1.)

 

March 31: “San Francisco, March 31.–Despatches have been received from the volcanic district in Inyo county, four hundred miles south of the earthquake disaster on Tuesday. Shocks still continue, though with decreased violence. It is remarkable that only a slight shock was felt in central and northern California. Cerro Gordo was badly damaged, having several buildings thrown down and one man killed. Lone Pine appears to have been directly over the centre of the disturbance. Among the killed at the latter place was Mr. Grey, aged 42, a native of Texas. The remainder were all Spanish Americans.

 

“The first shock is described as resembling a park of artillery fired directly beneath the town, Col. Whipple, who was in the second story of the Adalee House, states that he was just in time to jump from bed and get to the doorway when the house appeared to crumble to pieces beneath him. He was buried among the ruins, but succeeded in extricating himself from the debris, having received several severe but not dangerous wounds.

 

“The scene beggared description; nearly the whole populace was buried beneath the ruins. Cries for help and screams of pain from the wounded beneath the ruins filled the air, while those who escaped were calling for aid to rescue fathers and mothers, wives and children.

 

“Thfe first shock was followed in quick succession by three others. Over 300 distinct shocks were felt between half past 2 and sunrise. In fact the earth was in a constant tremble over three hours. A chasm was opened extending thirty-five miles down the valley, ranging from three inches to forty feet in width. Rocks were torn from their places and rolled down into the valley.

 

“At Swansea, Col. Fregalios, of the smelting works, was killed, and great desolation prevails among the inhabitants of Lone Pine. A dispatch to-day, from Visalia, says that several shocks were felt in that city last night, and were still coming from the southeast. Persons anticipate finding immense chasms in the mountains east of us as soon as the snow disappears enough to permit an investigation. There are rumors of a volcano in active operation, seen from the summit of Green Hood Mountain, sixty miles south of Visalia. The rumor is considered at least dubious. The Indians in that vicinity have all left, fearing a recurrence of the general convulsion of nature, which, according to tradition, occurred in that region some hundreds of years ago, and created what is known as Owens River valley, but which was before a chain of mountains. The section affected by the earthquake was sparsely inhabited, mainly be people engaged in working silver-bearing lead mines.

 

“Additional advices from Inyo county place the number of killed by the earthquake on Tuesday, at thirty, besides one hundred wounded. In the desert country, stretching from Owens Lake to the Mexican line, are innumerable craters not long extinct, besides several mud volcanoes…The schocks continued, decreasing in force, up to Thursday morning, when over a thousand had been counted, and at Tibbett’s Ranche, fifteen miles above Independence, forty acres of ground sank seven feet below the surface of the surrounding country. Big Owens lake has risen four feet since the first shocks, and Owens river ran over its bank, depositing shoals of fish on the shore. Afterwards it receded. For three or four miles through Lone Pine the earth cracked and one side remained stationary, while the other sank seven or eight feet, leaving a wall of earth extending over three miles in length where formerly there was a level plain. Innumerable cracks were made throughout the valley. Keen and Owens rivers turned and ran up stream several minutes, leaving their beds dry, and finally returned with largely increased volume. There has been no parallel to this earthquake since 1812, when the missions of San Juan Capistrano and La Purissima, in Southern California, were destroyed. The earthquake is a matter of common conversation throughout California, but creates no apprehension outside of the district affected.” (Boston Post. “The Earthquake.” 4-1-1872, p. 2.)

 

Sources

 

Appleton’s Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1872 (Vol. XII).  NY: D. Appleton and Co., 1873. Accessed 8-28-2019 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=FKQoAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Boston Post. “The Earthquake.” 4-1-1872, p. 2. Accessed 8-28-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-post-apr-01-1872-p-2/

 

Evening News, Indianapolis, IN. “Latest By Telegraph.” 3-30-1872, p. 1. Accessed 8-28-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/indianapolis-news-mar-30-1872-p-1/

 

History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, March 26, 1872. “Deadly Earthquake Hits California.”  Accessed 12/06/2008 at:  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=03/26&categoryId=disaster

 

Hough, Susan E. and Kate Hutton. “Revisiting the 1872 Owens Valley, California Earthquake.” Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol. 98, no. 2, 2008, pp. 931-949. Abstract accessed 8-28-2019 at: https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/bssa/article-abstract/98/2/931/350151/revisiting-the-1872-owens-valley-california?redirectedFrom=fulltext

 

National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA. Significant Earthquake Database, Accessed 8-28-2019 at: https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/form?t=101650&s=1&d=1

 

New York Times. “Earthquake in California.” 3-27-1872, p. 1. Accessed 8-28-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-times-mar-27-1872-p-1/

 

Smith, Roger. Catastrophes and Disasters. Edinburgh and New York: W & R Chambers, 1992.

 

United States Geological Survey. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes (Website). July 16, 2008 update. Accessed at: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/us_deaths.php

 

United States Geological Survey. Historic Earthquakes: Owens Valley, California, 1872 03 26 10:30 UTC, Magnitude 7.4. October 21, 2009 modification. Accessed at:  http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1872_03_26.php

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] “There were substantial landscape changes, with new ravines appearing and other ground uplifted, but the area was lightly populated at the time, so only about 60 people died.” Not using as estimated toll in that this figure is twice that of other sources and provides no source citation.

[2] For fatality estimating purposes “some lives lost” will here be counted as three.

[3] We translate “a few” to “3” for counting purposes.

[4] Visalia is on the western side of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the San Joaquin Valley. Lone Pine is on the other side (eastern) of the mountains.

---

— >9,742-9,744  Wayne Blanchard tally[1] based on State and/or locality breakouts below.^[2]

Summary of State Breakout

District of Columbia             (       75) 

Illinois                                    (   >656)          Chicago (655)

Kansas                                   (  15-16)          Especially Silver Lake near Topeka

Kentucky                               (       >2)

Maine                                     (       >6)

Maryland                               (  1,217)          Baltimore (1,215)

Massachusetts                       (  1,040)          Boston

Missouri                                 (~1,600)          St. Louis

New Jersey                            (   >201)          Camden County especially

New York                               (  1,666)          New York City

North Carolina                      (  10-11)

Ohio                                       (     663)          Cincinnati especially (658)

Pennsylvania                         (  2,591)          Philadelphia (2,585)

            Totals:                 9,742-9,744

Breakout of 1872 Cholera Fatalities by State and Locality (where noted)

District of Columbia^[3]           (    75) 

— 75  Wash, DC, year. Eliot in Annual Rpt. District of Columbia Commissioners. 1895, 1300.^[4]

—  2  Jan          “Mortuary Report,” in Report of the DC Health Officer, 1872, p. 184.

—  4  Feb         “Mortuary Report,” in Report of the DC Health Officer, 1872, p. 184.

–14  Mar         “Mortuary Report,” in Report of the DC Health Officer, 1872, p. 184.

–22  Apr         “Mortuary Report,” in Report of the DC Health Officer, 1872, p. 184.^[5]

—  8  Dec 27.  Daily Republican, Decatur, IL. “From Washington,” 12-30-1872. p. 4.

Illinois                                    (>656)             Chicago (655)

—    1  Bloomington, Jan 23. Son of Mrs. Tammany.[6]

—    ?  Camp Point Adams County. Cases reported Jan 13.[7]

–655  Chicago. Jan-Dec.  Illinois State Board of Health. Fifth Annual Report… 1883, p. 332.

–655  Chicago. US National Board of Health. Annual Report or….1883. 1884, p. 134.[8]

–12  Jan 7-13. Chicago Tribune. “Chicago’s Health….Small-Pox…” 1-17-1872, p. 4.

–19  Jan 21-27. New York Times. “Small-Pox in Chicago.” 2-1-1872, p. 1.[9]

—    ?  Peoria, Jan 11. Three cases reported.[10]

Kansas:                                  (15-16)            Especially Silver Lake near Topeka

— 1-2  Alma area. Western Home Journal, Lawrence. “Letter from Wabaunsee Co.” 2-22-1872, 2.

—    ?  Kansas City. Cases reported Dec 28. Leavenworth Times. “The Small-Pox,” 12-28-1872, 4.[11]

–~12  Silver Lake area, Shawnee County, near Topeka.[12]

–1  Dec 12. John Paul Moats, 36-37 years-old.[13]

—    2  South Cedar area, week of Dec 23-29.^[14] Fenton.

—    ?  Topeka. Cases reported Dec 28. Leavenworth Times. “The Small-Pox,” 12-28-1872, 4.

Kentucky                               (     >2)

—  ?  Lexington  “Nov 2. – 48 cases of small-pox in Lexington.”

—  ?  Louisville. “Nov. 12 – Over 100 cases of small pox at Louisville.”^[15]

—  ?  Louisville. Nov 20 report: “Louisville has the small-pox pretty badly.”^[16]

—  2  New Albany, Nov 24. Charles E. Hulse of Jeffersonville, and Miss Mollie Miller.[17]

Maine:                                    (     >6)

—  ?     Bangor, Dec 13. New York Times. “Small-Pox in Bangor, Me.” 12-14-1872, p. 1.[18]

—  ?     Bangor, Dec 17. “Small-pox is raging in Bangor, Maine.” Gazette, Port Jervis, NY.^[19]

—  2     Hampden, Dec. Daily Kennebec Journal, ME. “State News,” 12-21-1872, p. 3.

—  1     Portland, Dec. Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, ME. “From Portland,” 12-16-1872, 3.

—  3^[20]  Portland, Dec. Dubuque Herald, IA. Dec 22, 1872, p. 1.

Maryland:                             (1,217)            Baltimore (1,215)

–1,215  Baltimore. Quinan, John R. Medical Annals of Baltimore From 1608-1880. 1884, p. 45.

—       2  Beaver Creek. Mr. and Mrs. Denham, mid-Aug.[21]

Massachusetts:                      (1,040)            Boston

—  1,040  Boston   Total for duration. Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, 9-6-1894, 230.

—  1,029  Boston? Boston Med. Jour. “Registration Report of [MA] for the Year 1881.” 498-499.

–>1,000       “      Forgotten New England. “Worries of the Past: Smallpox and Boston’s…1872.”

—     738       “      Eliot in Annual Rpt. of District of Columbia Commissioners. 1895, p. 1300.

—       16       “      Oct 27-Nov 2. NYT. “Decrease of Small-Pox at Boston.” 11-3-1872, p. 1.[22]

—       53       “      Nov 24-30. NYT. “Another Fatal Fire…Small-Pox in Boston.” 12-1-1872, p1.[23]

—       51       “      One-week mid-Dec. Centerville Citizen, IA. 12-28-1872, p. 3.

Missouri:                               (~1,600)          St. Louis

—      >3  Kansas City. Deel. Storied & Scandalous Kansas City. “Pest House Island.” 2019, p. 132.[24]

            –1  Mary Ann (Gillis) Troost, Dec 27. Find A Grave. “Mary Ann Gillis Troost.”

—        ?  Sedalia, Nov 13, cases reported. Neosho Valley Register, Iola KS. 11-23-1872, p. 2.

— 1,600  St. Louis. May-Dec 5. Jones County Liberal, Monticello, IA. “The South,” 12-5-1872, 4.

— 1,591  St. Louis. AP. “St. Louis continues to be focal point against smallpox.” 12-28-2002.

–>1000       “  May-Nov. Jones County Liberal, Monticello, IA. “The South,” 11-28-1872, 1.

—    927       “  May 10-Nov 24. Daily Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME. 11-25-1872, p. 3.

—      95       “  Week ending Nov 3.   Alton Telegraph (IL). Smallpox in St Louis,” 11-29-1872, 3

—    105       “  Week ending Nov 10. Alton Telegraph (IL). Smallpox in St Louis,” 11-29-1872, 3

—    145       “  Week ending Nov 17. Alton Telegraph (IL). Smallpox in St Louis,” 11-29-1872, 3

—    139       “  Week ending Nov 24. Alton Telegraph (IL). Smallpox in St Louis,” 11-29-1872, 3

New Jersey                            (  >201)           Camden County especially

–>201  Blanchard tally from locality breakouts below.

—      1  Burlington County. Revaccinated adult. Med. Society of NJ. Transactions… 1872, 215.

—  157  Camden Co., Camden. Medical Society of NJ. Transactions of…[for] 1872. 1872, 248.

            –1  Charles Borton, Feb 19. Find A Grave. “Charles Borton.” 2-27-2009 addition.

—      ?  Cape May County. “…a few cases of Small Pox, imported from Philadelphia.”^[25]

—    >3  Cumberland County. “…endemic in Millville for a short time…”^[26]

—    24  Essex County, Newark. Med. Society of NJ. Transactions of…[for] 1872. 1872, p. 218.

            — Lewis Ross and Gottleib Schiller. NYT. “Small-Pox in New-Jersey.” 2-13-1872, p.1.

—      2  Gloucester County. Medical Society of NJ. Transactions of…[for] 1872. 1872, p. 219.

—    >3  Hudson County, especially Jersey City.^[27]

–1  Jersey City, Feb 12. Jacob Wilhelm. NYT. “Small-Pox in New-Jersey.” 2-13-1872, p.1.

–1  Jersey City, City Hospital, May 15. NYT. “The Small-Pox in New-Jersey.” 5-16-1872, p5.

–1  Jersey City, Aug 13. Male residing at No. 205 Railroad-avenue.[28]

—      1  Hunterdon County, Lambertville, out of ten cases.^[29]

—      ?  Mercer County, especially Trenton in July.^[30]

—      ?  Middlesex County.^[31]

—    11  Passaic County, out of 24 cases. Med. Society of NJ. Transactions…1872. 1872, p. 222.

–?  Patterson, Jan 4. Reported as “an epidemic in Patterson and other New Jersey towns.”[32]

–1  Paterson, April 5. Everett Torbett, 4 years 8 months. Find A Grave. Torbett.

—      ?  Warren County, Phillipsburg, “where it prevailed to a considerable extent.”^[33]

—      1  Location not noted, March 20, patient aged 22. Medical Society of NJ, 1872, p. 287.^[34]

New York:                             (1,666)            New York City

—       4  Brooklyn, bodies in “dead-house” of small-pox hospital at Flatbush, seen by Mayor.[35]

—       ?  Monticello, cases reported. NYT. “Small-Pox Excitement in Orange County.” 4-14-1872, 2.[36]

–1,866  NYC.  Rosner. Hives of Sickness: Public Health and Epidemics in [NYC]. 1995, 31.^[37]

–1,666     “      Jan-Dec. Atkins. Health, Housing, and Poverty in [NYC], 1865-1898. 1947.

–1,666     “      NYC Dept. of Health… Summary of Vital Statistics 2009. Dec 2010.^[38]

—   929     “      Annual Report of Dept. of Health of the City of New York…1911-1912, p. 227.

            –20  Jan 7-13. NYT. “The Public Health…Weekly Rpt. on Contagious Diseases.” 1-25-1872, 6.

–25  Jan 14-20. NYT. “The Public Health…Weekly Rpt. on Contagious Diseases.” 1-25-1872, 6.

—  8  May 12-13. NYT. “Contagious Diseases – Small-Pox Abroad.” 5-14-1872, p. 8.[39]

—       ?  Thompson City, cases reported. NYT. “Small-Pox Excitement in Orange County.” 4-14-1872, 2.

North Carolina:                    ( 10-11)

—     8  Summerville, Harnett Ct. Late Nov. Petersburg Index, VA. “NC Items,” 12-3-1872, 7.

— 2-3  Harnett Ct.  Mid-Dec. Petersburg Index, VA. “North Carolina Items,” 12-29-1872,  2.

Ohio                                       (   663)            Cincinnati especially (658)

–658  Cincinnati.        U.S. National Board of Health Bulletin, V3, N28, 1-7-1882, p. 229.[40]

            –172 Jan         –136 Feb        –113 March    –81  April       –59 May           –43 June

—  23 July        —  32 August   —    7 Sept.      —  4  October  —  5 November  —  3 Dec

–658  Cincinnati.       Twitchell. “The Prevention of Smallpox.” The Lancet-Clinic, 1906, p 693.

—    1  Washington Ct. Late Dec. Portsmouth Times, OH. “Brevities,” 12-28-1872, p. 3.

–3-4  West Newton.  Allen County Democrat, Lima, OH. “From West Newton,” 12-10-1872, 2.

Pennsylvania:                        (2, 591)           Philadelphia (2,585)

–2,591  Blanchard tally of breakouts below.

–2,585  Philadelphia  City of Philadelphia. Annual Report (Vol. III), 1907, p. 99.^[41]

–2,585  Philadelphia. Eliot in Annual Rpt. Of DC Commissioners. 1895, p1300.^[42]

–1,890  Philadelphia. Wells. “Meteorology and Epidemics of Philadelphia,” AJMS, 1873, 134-5.

            –347  Under one-year old.     Wells 1873, 134.

–188  1-2 years of age.           Wells 1873, 134.

            –293  5-10 years of age.         Wells 1873, 134.

            –152  10-15 years of age.       Wells 1873, 135.

            –195  15-20 years of age.       Wells 1873, 135.

            –474  20-30 years of age.       Wells 1873, 135.

            —    ?  Not listed

            –144  40-50 years of age.       Wells 1873, 135.       

            —  65  50-60 years of age.       Wells 1873, 135.

            —  35  60-70 years of age.       Wells 1873, 135.

            —    7  70-80 years of age.       Wells 1873, 135.

–1,000  Philadelphia, December.       Medical Society of New Jersey, 1872, p. 248.

—       2  Wellsburg, near Erie             Greenville Advance, Greenville, PA. 12-5-1872, p. 3.

—       4  Yorkville, Koch children.     NYT. “A Family Destroyed by Small-Pox.” 8-28-1872, 8.[43]

Narrative Information

Illinois

Jan 17: “The small pox is making its appearance in different parts of the State, and is very virulent, as a general thing, this season.” (Bloomington Daily Leader, IL. “Hash,” 1-17-1872, p. 4, col. 1.)

Kansas

Feb 8 report: “The small-pox is prevailing in Wabaunsee county, in the Bertine settlement, on the west branch of Mill creek, twelve miles from Alma. The Union has heard of fourteen cases in five families.” (Western Home Journal, Lawrence, KS. “State News.” 2-8-1872, p. 2., col. 4.)

Feb 12 report: “The small-pox has made its appearance in Wabaunsee county, on Mill creek, near Alma…and one or two deaths….” (Western Home Journal, Lawrence, KS. “Letter From Wabaunsee Co.” 2-22-1872, p. 2, col. 3.)

March 28 report: “In consequence of the prevalence of the small-pox at Alma, Judge Morton decided not to hold court in Wabaunsee county this spring.” (Western Home Journal, Lawrence, KS. “State News.” 3-28-1872, p. 4., col. 3.)

April 4 report: “Small-pox closed the Humboldt schools for a while,^[44] but they were in session during my visit though the number in attendance was small.” (Western Home Journal, Lawrence, KS. “Humboldt.” 4-4-1872, p. 2, col. 3.)

Dec 7 report: “Small pox is prevailing to an alarming extent in several of the cities east and the last reports show that it has made its appearance in different portions of Kansas. Take no chances but have the children all vaccinated before it is too late.” (Neosho Valley Register, Iola, KS. 12-7-1872, p. 3.)

Kentucky

“Thursday, November 28.  Lexington has 125 cases of small-pox.” (Logansport Weekly Journal, IN. “News of the Week,” 11-30-1872, p. 2.)

“The spread of small-pox through Kentucky during the last two weeks is alarming. The local papers of nearly every town in the central part of the State give lists of new cases.”(Ohio Democrat, New Philadelphia, OH. “General Variety,” 12-13-1872, p, 3.)

Maine

“Another case of small-pox has appeared in Calais.” (Daily Kennebec Journal, ME. “State News,” 11-30-1872, p. 3.)

“The Journal says there are but four cases of small-pox in Lewiston and four in Auburn, and these have all been removed to isolated places away from the thickly peopled parts of the cities.” (Daily Kennebec Journal, ME. “State News,” 12-19-1872, p. 3.)

Massachusetts

Forgotten New England: “….The smallpox epidemic of 1872 claimed over 1,000 lives before it finally abated in the first weeks of 1874.

“During the 1872 epidemic, smallpox victims, or even those suspected of having smallpox, were brought, sometimes against their will, to Gallop’s Island in Boston Harbor. During the epidemic, those who could not get to the island or afford care there, were re-directed to the city’s smallpox hospital on Albany Street. The hospital, overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of smallpox infections, quickly found its 30-patient capacity stretched to 48. Charges soon emerged that those admitted to the Boston Smallpox Hospital on Albany Street did not receive proper care or food and that they were forced to endure substandard conditions. The testimony provided by patients and medical staff has been preserved and provides some interesting insights into the experiences of 19th-century hospital patients.

“The main complaint emerging from the hearings seems to have been the casualness around the enforcement of the smallpox quarantine. Several hospital patients claimed seeing the hospital’s gates open at different times of the day.  Others reported seeing smallpox patients come in very close contact with women who came into the hospital yard to collect rags or boys who had come to collect nails. Several saw sailors near the hospital’s gates. Nearly all could not recall ever seeing the red flag (indicating smallpox contagion) hung at the gates to warn passersby and visitors of the smallpox infection inside.

“Another complaint involved the hospital’s water closet, or bathroom/restroom as we call it today. Nearly all patients complained that the water closets were filthy and that most did not work. Administrators did acknowledge that toilets did not always work and explained the difficulty in finding plumbers who were willing to enter the hospital, make the repairs, and risk infection. Nevertheless, the stench from some water closets was so oppressive that several patients took it upon themselves to clean the water closets.

“Lastly, many patients complained of the food, claiming that there wasn’t enough, or that it was of poor quality.  Several claimed that eggs or meat that had been served them had gone bad, and in the case of meat, contained maggots.

“In the end, the Smallpox Hospital was closed in September 1872, and patients were once again cared for either in the facilities on Gallop’s Island or in their own homes. Claims charging inadequate food or insufficient care were never substantiated. However, the claims that the hospital was overcrowded and lacked enough help were found to be true. The committee investigating the claims did decide that more nurses were needed, but also considered that patients, when sufficiently healthy, were expected to pitch in too. Regarding the broken toilets, the committee did find that it was indeed broken, but sympathized with the hospital, which claimed, probably quite truthfully, that no one would enter the hospital to fix them because they were afraid of being infected with smallpox themselves.” (Forgotten New England (blog). “Worries of the Past: Smallpox and Boston’s Epidemic of 1872.” 1-13-2012.)

Nov 29: “Boston, Nov 29. In the Massachusetts house of representatives to-day the following act was reported authorizing the State board of health to take measures to prevent the spreading small-pox:

Section 1. The State board of health shall provide immediately suitable accommodations on the main land in the city of Boston for persons sick with the small pos.

Section 2. They may take and use for such purposes any land or buildings necessary for their uses.

Section 3. They shall see that the laws relating to small-pox are enforced in every case where the safety of the people demands….” (Daily Kennebec Journal, ME. “Massachusetts Legislature – Extra Session,” 11-30-1872, p. 3.)

“Alderman Ricker [Boston] offered the following order, which was read twice and passed:

Ordered, that when a person sick with the smallpox cannot be safely removed, the city physician be and he is hereby authorized, as the agent of this board, to declare the house or building, in which said person may be at the time, a hospital; and that he be further authorized to take such measures as may be required to prevent the spread of the disease, either by displaying flags or by stationing guards around said house or building, as in his judgment may be expedient; the expense attending the same to be charged to the appropriation for the health department….

Section 65.  The Board of Health shall also have charge of any buildings which are or may be established by the City Council within the city limits, or on the islands in Boston harbor, for the admission of patients having the small-pox or other infectious diseases.  And they shall make such rules and regulations for the management and government of the patients and employes as they may deem necessary and proper, subject, however, to the approval of the City Council.  And the said board shall carefully guard against the introduction of any cases of infectious disease into any other buildings under their charge, than those appropriated for the purpose by the City Council. (Boston Daily Globe. “Board of Aldermen.” 11-30- 1872, p. 8.)

“There are now twenty-seven cases of small-pox and varioloid in this city.  Twelve red flags were hung out yesterday.” (Boston Daily Globe. “Charlestown,” 11-30-1872, p. 8.)

Dec 3 report: “There were 53 deaths from small pox in Boston last week, out of a total mortality of 176.” (Lebanon Daily News, PA. 12-3-1872, p. 1.)

Dec 19 report: “The Traveller says:  ‘Boston was never more clearly shown to be a great distributing centre than since the appearance of small-pox in this city.  All over New England and the British Maritime Provinces there is accumulating evidence on this point’.” (Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, ME. 12-19-1872, p. 2.)

Dec 28 report: “The small pox is raging in Boston. Last week, out of 133 deaths from all causes, 51 were from that disease.” (Centerville Citizen, IA. 12-28-1872, p. 3.)

Dec 28 report: “An…alarm was caused by the burning of the small pox hospital in the Highland district [Boston], which throws some three hundred small pox patients upon the community.”  (Dubuque Herald, IA. “Alarms of Fire—Small-Pox Hospital Destroyed,” 12-28-1872, p. 1.)

Dec 30 report: “The small-pox continues to spread in Boston and the Springfield Republican charges the city authorities with criminal recklessness. At Washington, also, the National Republican says there is an alarming increase of the pestilence.” (Titusville Herald, PA. 12-30-1872, p. 3.)

Michigan

“The small pox has become epidemic at Detroit, and the city Board of Health has adopted a resolution asking the Council for an additional pest house, the present one being overrun with patients.”  (Alton Weekly Telegraph, Alton, IL. “News Items,” 12-20-1872, p. 1.)

Missouri

“The small-pox in St. Louis has attained somewhat startling proportions.  Private advices from that city state that in places entire streets are cut off from travel by the prevalence of the disease in the buildings adjoining; that the pest house is overflowing; that a building used as a pest house up on the fair grounds is overcrowded, and that three boats along the levee have been chartered and filled with the sufferers.”  (Janesville Gazette, Janesville, WI. 12-20-1872, p. 1.)

New Hampshire and Maine

“The small-pox is getting an unpleasant strong foothold down east.  Portsmouth, Nashua, and other towns in southeastern New Hampshire, report cases, while in Portland and Bangor the matter is assuming a serious aspect.  The schools in the latter city have been closed a week earlier than usual on this account, and there have been several deaths at Portland.”

New Jersey

Health Commission of NJ: “The Reporter of the State Medical Society, in reviewing all our diseases in 1872, says: ‘Small pox has proved itself the scourge of the year.’ In many other years, it is noticed as epidemic in particular counties or districts, and sometimes so in the same city, two or three times….When such a city as Newark reports over two hundred cases in a single year, and Hoboken, Jersey City, Camden, Hudson and other cities have their due proportion, we do not wonder that it finds its way to our extreme counties, and even in rural districts becomes epidemic….” (Health Commission of the State of New Jersey. Report of the Health Commission of the State of New Jersey for the Year 1874. 1874, p. 12.)

Medical Society of NJ: “During the month of August, Small-pox made its appearance in the lower part of the city of Camden, in a neighborhood inhabited mostly by colored people. This part of the town had been only recently annexed to the city of Camden, and its sanitary and hygienic condition was bad in the extreme. The houses and yards were small and filthy, with pig-pens and privy-wells often overflowing, in close proximity to the houses, and a large portion of the houses unprotected by vaccination. Under such adverse circumstances, it was no wonder that the disease spread in this locality. The sanitary committee of the city councils took charge of this district, and had it thoroughly cleaned, and the nuisances removed as far as practicable, and for a time the disease seemed to be held in check, until some time in October, when it increased and spread to the surrounding districts.

“This was coincident with a rapid increase of the disease in the city of Philadelphia, where the weekly mortality increased from eight or ten to sixty-five, and soon assumed the character of an epidemic of unusual severity and fatality. The constant daily intercourse of a large portion of our citizens with Philadelphia no doubt tended greatly to increase the number of cases. So great was the increase in the number of cases, that a small-pox hospital was opened, and has continued in operation to the present time. It was placed under the charge of Dr. R. W. Morgan, one of the members of our District Society, from whom we have obtained some valuable statistics in regard to the disease and its mode of treatment; and it is but just to him to state, that the ratio of mortality of the cases under his care compare very favorably with other small-pox hospitals. The number of cases up to the present time treated in the small-pox hospital was 133, with  mortality of 18.02 per ct. [24] The cases treated at their own homes by the city physician was 104, with a mortality of 16.04 per ct. [16] The mortality among the unvaccinated was 34 per ct; this compares favorably with the statistics of the small-pox hospital in Philadelphia, where the total mortality of the whole number was 29.34 per ct.; and taking the unvaccinated cases the mortality was 65 per ct. Both in public and private practice much the larger part of the mortality was among the unvaccinated. Most of the deaths among those who had been vaccinated were from some intercurrent disease.

“Notwithstanding all that has been said and written on the protective power of vaccination, it must be confessed that there is still a great prejudice against it, especially among the less intelligent part of our population. Vaccination was freely offered to all who were unable to make pecuniary compensation for it, by the city authorities, yet many refused to avail themselves of the offer, and cases of natural small-pox were constantly met with during the whole winter.

“A published mortality of 1,000 persons in the month of December alone in Philadelphia, attest the extent of the disease, as well as its fearful mortality; and we are still far from realizing the boast of the immortal Jenner, who, in the first burst of enthusiasm caused by his great discovery, announced that we now had it in our power to banish from the earth one of the most loathsome as well most fatal diseases to which the human family were subject.

“There being no law in the city of Camden compelling physicians to report the cases of small-pox, we are without accurate data to ascertain the total number of cases but, as far as could be gathered from consulting the different physicians, the total number of cases of small-pox may be stated as one thousand in a population near twenty-three thousand. The deaths from small-pox have been 157, showing quite a large mortality from what has been considered by many as a preventable disease.” (pp. 247-248 )

“….It may be mentioned that the disease was very fatal among young children, who were unprotected by vaccination; and the neglect of this operation in many families very much increased our bills of mortality; in fact, as we have already mentioned, much the greater number of deaths were among those who had it in the natural way. Those adults who took the disease had never been vaccinated since infancy – in such cases the protective power of vaccination had been lost by time.” (p. 250)

“Your Reporter has made special inquiries from nearly all our physicians, as to the protective power of vaccination and revaccination, and all agree that it is of the greatest possible benefit. Of the many thousand persons who have been revaccinated during the past six months, but two cases have been reported as taking the small-pox; that is on those who have been revaccinated before exposure to the contagion. Both of these did well, and had the disease in a mild form. So that we may fairly infer, that although we have had so many cases during the past six months, had vaccination and revaccination been universally practiced we should have had very little of the disease. The experience of European countries where compulsory vaccination has been fairly carried out is, the disease has almost entirely ceased for a number of years.

“As a striking instance of the protective power of vaccination, we need only allude to the case of our own physicians, all of whom have been exposed to the contagion for more than six months, often in its most intense form, without a single one of them having the least symptoms of the disease. How different this from epidemics of yellow fever and cholera, where physicians so often fall victims to the disease…” (pp. 250-251) (Medical Society of New Jersey. Transactions of the Medical Society of New Jersey, 1872. 1872.)

Jan 29: “Notwithstanding the statements of the authorities, the small-pox is still said to exist, in an epidemic form, at Hoboken and Union Hill. At one time the disease was so virulent at the latter place that the authorities closed the schools, and they have not been opened, as the school moneys were wanted to secure a whole-sale vaccination. The disease was then thought to have  abated, but competent physicians now assert that there are more cases than ever before, and the number is variously estimated at from twenty-five to fifty. What the real number is, on account of the ineffectual measures taken by the authorities to secure returns, cannot be known. Rumor also assigns a large number of cases to the meadow lands back of Hoboken, but they are not reported to the health authorities, and the City Physician, who has been careful in his inquiries, does not believe the disease to exist to any great extent.” (New York Times. “Small-Pox in Hudson County.” 1-29-1872, p. 1.)

March 27: “The Medical Board of the Jersey City Hospital has declared the small-pox to be an epidemic of a virulent form, and has petitioned the Police Commissioners who have charge of the Health Department for increased accommodations, the buildings now used for the reception of contagious cases being overcrowded. They offer their services in the selection of a site, the arrangement of buildings or tents, and in the attendance on cases, and recommend to the people a more general vaccination. Despite the large number of cases, very few have thus far proved fatal.”

(New York Times. “Small-Pox in Jersey City.” 3-27-1872, p. 2.)

May 16: “The small-pox, which has been prevalent in the northern part of New-Jersey, for two years, is largely on the increase. Since the Fall of 1870, not a day, probably, has passed without some cases having been reported, but the number has never been so great as within the last week. This is, in Jersey City, believed to be largely due to the inefficiency of the Health authorities, and the failure to enforce cleanliness in the streets, vaccination and the use of disinfectants. Yesterday, in that city, six cases were reported, and there are now thirty-four patients in the City Hospital, an increase of twenty-six in one week, and a larger number than have ever been in that institution before. One patient died there yesterday, and many cases are known in private families, where they can be properly cared for. Yesterday no less than ten cases were reported in Newark, a larger number than was ever reported in one day before, and the disease is increasing proportionately in other cities.” (New York Times. “The Small-Pox in New-Jersey.” 5-16-1872, p. 5.)

Aug 14: “Cases of small-pox in Jersey City were reported to the Health Inspector yesterday in [17 locations]….The disease appears to be spreading, twenty-seven cases having been reported during the past two days. Thirteen small-pox signs were put up Monday and yesterday. The disease is mostly confined to children, not many adults having been recently affected.” (New York Times. “Small-Pox in Jersey City.” 8-14-1872, p. 5.)

New York

Jan 9: “The report of the Health Officer for last week [Jan 1-7] shows that there were 89 cases of smallpox reported, against 78 cases the week previous. There are 43 vaccinators at work, and they are making slow but sure progress.” (NY Times. “The Smallpox on the Increase.” 1-9-1872, p. 2.)

Jan 25: “The Board of Health met yesterday, President BOSWORTH in the chair. It was ordered that the tenement-house No. 423 West Thirty-sixth-street be vacated by noon on the 27th inst., owing to the prevalence of small-pox on the premises, there having been nine persons removed from the house suffering from small-pox, and three other cases distinctly traced to these. After being vacated the building will be thoroughly disinfected and fumigated.” (New York Times. “The Public Health. A Pest House to be Vacated – Statistics of the Small-Pox Hospital – Weekly Report on Contagious Diseases.” 1-25-1872, p. 6.)

Jan 29: “Health Officer George Cochrane reports a fearful increase of the small-pox during the past week. One hundred cases have been reported, and more are being discovered by the vaccinating doctors daily. Meantime desperate efforts are being made by various parties to discharge cargoes of foreign rags from infected ports, and the Health and Police Departments are engaging all their vigilance in guarding the shores from Green point to New York, to prevent the importation of small-pox.” (NY Times. “Small-Pox on the Increase in Brooklyn.” 1-29-1872, p. 8.)

Feb 18: “Surprise is expressed in all quarters that small-pox has been allowed to assume its present alarming proportions in this City, and the reason for it is freely ascribed by physicians to the neglect of proper disinfection. The Board of Health, which should guide the medical profession in this matter, appears to be the most remiss. In the case of a large number of physicians who faithfully report the facts of contagious diseases under their charge, and ask the advice and counsel of the Board of Health, it is charged that there have been the greatest neglect and inattention on the part of the latter body. The health inspectors are required to call promptly upon all reported cases of contagious diseases, and leave a card of printed directions for the use of disinfectants wherewith to destroy the poison in the air or infected houses, and also to purify the bed and body clothing of the sick. They are further required to call every second day in severe cases, and at least every third day where the disease assumes only a mild form, to assure themselves that the friends of the patient and the attendant physician carry out these instructions intelligently and faithfully. It is charged that until very recently this duty has been entirely neglected in a very large number of cases of small-pox, varioloid, typhoid and scarlet fevers, and other contagious diseases, and that until a few weeks ago families in infected houses and the attending physicians, have received none but the most meagre and indifferent instructions. That these diseases – especially small-pox – have been permitted to go uncontrolled until that have attained their present proportions, is directly attributed by many physicians to this official neglect, and there seems to be good grounds for their complaint….” (New York Times. “Small-Pox Disinfection.” 2-18-1872, p. 3.)

Nov 6: “The Board of Health met yesterday [6^th]…The Sanitary Committee presented a report from Dr. E. H. Janes, City Sanitary Inspector, in regard to the increase of small-pox in the City. After reviewing the cases and giving the localities, the doctor stated in his report that every new case has been followed with the proper sanitary measures for the protection of the public – such as isolation of patients, vaccination of exposed persons, together with thorough disinfection and fumigating of all infected premises, which measures he believed are amply sufficient to meet the present indications of the disease….” (New York Times. “Board of Health – The Small-Pox and Sanitary Committee.” 11-7-1872, p. 8.)

Dec 5: “The authorities are becoming thoroughly awakened to the necessity of taking active and stringent measures to avert the spread of the small-pox which is prevailing to an alarming extent in that city.”  (Titusville Herald, Titusville, PA. “Buffalo News,” 12-5-1872, p. 3.)

North Carolina

“Battleboro, N.C. Advance, December 14. The town of Nashville, in this State, is certainly the recipient of an unfortunate visitation.  Small-pox is now prevailing there in epidemical form, and in consequence the place is almost deserted.  Those who remain are cut off, as it were, from communication with the outside world.  Deprived of all conveniences….If any should conclude to go away now, so great is the terror among the people that they would be unwelcome visitors even among their own relations….”  (The World, NYC. “A Stricken Town,” 12-20-1872, p. 7.)

“The small pox has reached Franklin county, and several persons residing near Louisburg are down with it.”  (Petersburg Index, Petersburg, VA. “North Carolina News,” 12-27-1872, p. 5.)

Ohio

“The small pox seems to be working around this way, as cases have recently occurred in Wellsville, Bridgeport, and other Ohio river towns.” (Cambridge Jeffersonian, OH. 12-19-1872, 3.)

“A party of medical students at Cleveland, Ohio, a short time ago, in making a raid on a cemetery for ‘subjects,’ unfortunately exhumed the corpse of a small-pox victim.  Result – several students down with the disease, and a general panic in the college.” (Jones County Liberal, Monticello, IA. “The West,” 12-19-1872, p. 1.)

“West Newton, Dec. 19…A young man…near Maysville, was attacked with the small-pox, on the 8^th Inst.  This morning his physician…of West Newton, considered his case among the most virulent that ever came to his notice.  The young man had just returned from Michigan, where, as it is supposed, he came in contact with it….almost every State in the country suffering from it.  Some three or four in this township have died.” (Allen County Democrat, Lima, OH. “From West Newton,” 12-10-1872, p. 2.)

Philadelphia

“In looking upon the late epidemic of smallpox as a whole, extending into two years, we may consider it as lasting just one year (from September, 1871, to August, 1872, bot inclusive), for in the last week of August, of both 1871 and 1872, there were no deaths from that cause, and, although in all in the eight preceding months of 1871 there were 29, and in the four succeeding months of 1872, 18 deaths, yet these numbers are so small that I think we are justified in looking upon the epidemic as of just one year’s duration, in which year we find the unprecedented number of 4417 deaths from smallpox alone.  In comparing this with previous epidemics, we find not only the total number of deaths far greater, but that there were more deaths in each one of the four months from November 1871, to February, 1872, both inclusive, than ever before in any one year…..”  (Wells. “Meteorology and Epidemics of Philadelphia,” AJMS, 1873, p. 136.)

Texas

“From the Two Eagles, we learn that the small-pox is very bad in Laredo, from three to seven dying each day, and that some of the best citizens are lying at the point of death.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Texas News,” 12-20-1872, p. 1.)

Utah

“The Mormons set apart last Thursday to pray for the abatement of the small-pox that is raging in the Utah valley.”  (Portsmouth Times, Portsmouth, OH. “Items,” 12-21-1872, p. 2.)

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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

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

Daily Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME. “Massachusetts Legislature – Extra Session” [Smallpox in Boston]. 11-30-1872, 3. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=30685820

Daily Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME. [Smallpox in Boston], 11-30-1872, p. 2. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=30685819

Daily Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME. “State News” [Smallpox in Calais], 11-30-1872, p. 3.  Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=30685820

Daily Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME. “State News” [Smallpox in Hampden], 12-21-1872, p. 3. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=30685892

Daily Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME. “State News” [Smallpox in Lewiston and Auburn], 12-19-1872, p. 3. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=30685884

Daily Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME. “State News” [Smallpox in Hampden], 12-21-1872, p. 3. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=30685892

Daily Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME. “Telegraph News in General” [Smallpox in St. Louis], 11-25-1872, p. 3.  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=30685804

Daily Republican, Decatur, IL. “From Washington” [Smallpox]. 12-30-1872. p. 4. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=10163380

Deel, Karla. Storied & Scandalous Kansas City. “Pest House Island.” Lanham, MD: Globe Pequot, 2019. Google preview accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=4eWsDwAAQBAJ&ppis=_e&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

District of Columbia Board of Health. First Annual Report of the Board of Health of the District of Columbia, 1872. Washington, DC: Gibson Brothers Printers, 1873. Accessed 2-16-2015 at:  https://books.google.com/books?id=VjpsZhZLBQsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Dubuque Herald, IA. “Alarms of Fire—Small-Pox Hospital Destroyed,” 12-28-1872, p. 1.  Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=36143456

Dubuque Herald, IA. [Smallpox in NH and Maine], 12-22-1872, p. 1. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=36143440

Eliot, Llewellyn, M.D. “Report of Dr. Llewellyn Eliot, M.D.” Beginning at p. 1290 in Annual Report of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia for the Year Ended June 30, 1895. Washington: Gov. Printing Office, 1895. Accessed 2-16-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=ymE3AQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

Evening Gazette, Port Jervis, NY. “News Summary.” 12-17-1872, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/ThumbImage.ashx?i=203198253

Fenton, Dan (compiler). Selected Death Notices from Jackson County, Kansas, Newspapers, Volume I, 1872-1885. 1995. Accessed 1-26-2015 at: http://ks-jackson.manatron.com/Portals/ks-jackson/Fenton%20Vol%201%201872%201885.pdf

Find A Grave. “Charles Borton.” 2-27-2009 addition. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34252839/charles-borton

Find A Grave. “Everett Torbett.” Record added 11-12-2014. Accessed 1-27-2015 at: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=138644568

Find a Grave. “John Paul Moats.” Added by Nate Bramlett, 9-29-2014. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136586533/john-paul-moats

Find A Grave. “Mary Ann Gillis Troost.” Posting created by Linda Dukes, 8-15-2011. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74965188/mary-ann-troost

Forgotten New England (blog). “Worries of the Past: Smallpox and Boston’s Epidemic of 1872.” 1-13-2012. Accessed 1-26-2015 at: http://forgottennewengland.com/2012/01/13/worries-of-the-past-smallpox-and-bostons-epidemic-of-1872/

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Texas News” [Smallpox in Laredo], 12-20-1872, p. 1. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=40954666

Greenville Advance, Greenville, PA. [Smallpox in Wellsburg] 12-5-1872, p. 3. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=129991087

Health Commission of the State of New Jersey. Report of the Health Commission of the State of New Jersey for the Year 1874. Trenton, NJ: Public Opinion – W. S. Sharp, Book & Bob Printer, 1874. Google digitized. Accessed 1-27-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=FpdPAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Illinois State Board of Health. Fifth Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Illinois.  Springfield, IL: H. W. Rokker State Printer and Binder, 1883. Digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=rR-086nb37cC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=true

Janesville Gazette, Janesville, WI. [Smallpox in St. Louis], 12-20-1872, p. 1. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=52730732

Jones County Liberal, Monticello, IA. “The South” [Smallpox in St. Louis], 11-28-1872, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=148765094

Jones County Liberal, Monticello, IA. “The South” [Smallpox in St. Louis], 12-5-1872, p. 4.  Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=148055923

Jones County Liberal, Monticello, IA. “The West,” 12-19-1872, p. 1. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=148765100

Kansas Historical Society. Samuel Reader’s Diary, Vol. 8. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://www.kshs.org/km/items/view/226236

Leavenworth Times. “The Small-Pox,” 12-28-1872, 4. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://kansashistoricalopencontent.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=6920766&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjk1NjY0MDI0LCJpYXQiOjE1NzUxNTMzMDMsImV4cCI6MTU3NTIzOTcwM30.LeQ-G9Q81MKLxNqod6bw4JztighBrAgCJnBxytlorp0

Lebanon Daily News, Lebanon, PA. “Here and There.” 11-20-1872, p. 2. Accessed 2-16-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/ThumbImage.ashx?i=126707059

Lebanon Daily News, Lebanon, PA. [Smallpox in Boston], 12-3-1872, p. 1. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=129140328

Logansport Weekly Journal, IN. “News of the Week” [Smallpox in Lexington]. 11-30-1872, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=83179356

Medical Society of New Jersey. Transactions of the Medical Society of New Jersey, 1872. Newark, NJ: Jennings & Hardham, Steam Printers and Bookbinders, 1872. Google digitized. Accessed 1-27-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=aUqEOQivuI8C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Neosho Valley Register, Iola KS. 11-23-1872, p. 2. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/neosho-valley-register-nov-23-1872-p-2/

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Summary of Vital Statistics 2009, The City of New York. December 2010. Accessed 12-4-2012: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/vs/2009sum.pdf

New York Times. “A Family Destroyed by Small-Pox.” 8-28-1872, p. 8. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/08/28/79189296.html?pageNumber=8

New York Times. “A Young Man Cares for His Betrothed While Ill with the Small-Pox and Both Die of the Disease.” 11-29-1872, p. 1. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/11/29/79202381.html?pageNumber=1

New York Times. “Another Fatal Fire…Small-Pox in Boston.” 12-1-1872, p. 1. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/12/01/79202680.html?pageNumber=1

New York Times. “Board of Health – The Small-Pox and Sanitary Committee.” 11-7-1872, p. 8.

Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/11/07/82732151.html?pageNumber=8

New York Times. “Contagious Diseases – Small-Pox Abroad.” 5-14-1872, p. 8. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/05/14/82022625.html?pageNumber=8

New York Times. “Decrease of Small-Pox at Boston.” 11-3-1872, p. 1. Accessed 11-30-2019f at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/11/03/79024267.html?pageNumber=1

New York Times. “Small-Pox Disinfection.” 2-18-1872, p. 3. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/02/18/78776711.html?pageNumber=3

New York Times. “Small-Pox Excitement in Orange County.” 4-14-1872, p. 2. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/04/14/79017952.html?pageNumber=2

New York Times. “Small-Pox in Bangor, Me.” 12-14-1872, p. 1. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/12/14/79203820.html?pageNumber=1

New York Times. “Small-Pox in Chicago.” 2-1-1872, p. 1. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/02/01/78774340.html?pageNumber=1

New York Times. “Small-Pox in Hudson County.” 1-29-1872, p. 1. Accessed 11-29-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/01/29/79013172.html?pageNumber=1

New York Times. “Small-Pox in Jersey City.” 3-27-1872, p. 2. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/03/27/79015826.html?pageNumber=2

New York Times. “Small-Pox in Jersey City.” 8-14-1872, p. 5. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/08/14/79187167.html?pageNumber=5

New York Times. “Small-Pox in New-Jersey.” 2-13-1872, p. 1. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/02/13/78775967.html?pageNumber=1

New York Times. “Small-Pox on the Increase in Brooklyn.” 1-29-1872, p. 8. Accessed 11-29-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/01/29/79013278.html?pageNumber=8

New York Times. “The Public Health. A Pest House to be Vacated – Statistics of the Small-Pox Hospital – Weekly Report on Contagious Diseases.” 1-25-1872, p. 6. Accessed 11-29-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/01/25/79012685.html?pageNumber=6

New York Times. “The Small-Pox and Spotted Fever in Brooklyn.” 4-4-1872, p. 8. Accessed 11-30-2019: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/04/04/79016762.html?pageNumber=8

New York Times. “The Small-Pox in New-Jersey.” 5-16-1872, p. 5. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/05/16/79181614.html?pageNumber=5

New York Times. “The Smallpox on the Increase.” 1-9-1872, p. 2. Accessed 11-29-2019 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1872/01/09/79011118.html?pageNumber=2

Ohio Democrat, New Philadelphia, OH. “General Variety” [Smallpox in KY],  Dec 13, 1872, p, 3. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=16223522

Petersburg Index, VA. “North Carolina Items” [Smallpox, Harnett County, NC], 12-29-1872, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=3701901

Petersburg Index, VA. “North Carolina Items” [Smallpox in Summerville], 12-3-1872, 7. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=3688582

Petersburg Index, VA. “North Carolina News” [Smallpox in Franklin County, NC], 12-27-1872, p. 5.  At:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=3700941

Portsmouth Times, Portsmouth, OH. “Brevities” [Smallpox in Washington County], 12-28-1872, p. 3.  Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=8209624

Portsmouth Times, Portsmouth, OH. “Items” [Smallpox in Utah], 12-21-1872, p. 2. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=8209507

Quinan, John R., M.D. Medical Annals of Baltimore From 1608-1880, Including Events, Men and Literature, to Which is Added A Subject Index and Record of Public Services. Baltimore: Press of Isaac Friedenwald, 1884. Google digitized. Accessed 1-14-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=xNcRAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Quincy Herald, IL. “Small-Pox,” 1-18-1872, p. 4, column 1. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/quincy-daily-herald-jan-13-1872-p-4/

Reyburn, Robert, M.D., Compiler. “Type of Disease Among the Freed Negroes.” Medical News, Vol. 63, No, 23, 12-2-1893, pp. 623-627. Accessed 2-16-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=6jETAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Rosner, David (Ed.). Hives of Sickness: Public Health and Epidemics in New York City. Rutgers Univ. Press, 1991. Google digital preview accessed at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=o34QxI6lHwAC&pg=PA70&dq=1916+Polio+Epidemic&ei=Cy5DSZWvMIXAMpqalOYN#PPP7,M1

The Herald and Torch Light, Hagerstown, MD. “A Waif.” 7-31-1872, p. 2. Accessed 11-30-2019: https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=23025832&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjY5MDU4MTcsImlhdCI6MTU3NTE2MDQwOSwiZXhwIjoxNTc1MjQ2ODA5fQ._SZ5M-gsNbkgWSdg2HaS4KI9oQsvwJ6ljrICVwKuPHE

The World, NYC. “A Stricken Town” [Smallpox in Nashville]. 12-20-1872, p. 7. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=160291499

Titusville Herald, PA. “Buffalo News” [Smallpox], 12-5-1872, p. 3. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=2841148

Titusville Herald, PA. 12-30-1872, p. 3. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com

Twitchell, George B, MD (Cincinnati). “The Prevention of Smallpox.” Pp. 693-696 in The Lancet-Clinic (Weekly Journal of Medicine and Surgery). New Series, Vol. LVI. Cincinnati: Lancet-Clinic Co., Jan-June, 1906. Google preview accessed 4-29-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=4RACAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

United States National Board of Health. Annual Report of the National Board of Health, 1883.  Washington, DC: GPO, 1884.  Digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=MtuxEGC1Vp4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=true

United States National Board of Health. National Board of Health Bulletin. Vol. 3, Nos. 1-52, July 2, 1881-June 30, 1882. Washington, DC. Accessed 2-4-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=jVdNqUEYLOQC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

Weekly Pantagraph, Bloomington, IL. 1-26-1872, p. 3, column 2. Accessed 11-30-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bloomington-pantagraph-jan-26-1872-p-3/

Wells, Wm. L. “Meteorology and Epidemics of Philadelphia.” American Journal of the Medical Sciences (Isaac Hays, Ed.). Philadelphia: Henry C. Lea, 1873, pp. 133-134. Accessed at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=TBECAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=true

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Western Home Journal, Lawrence, KS. “State News.” 2-8-1872, p. 2., col. 4. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/ThumbImage.ashx?i=171149762

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[1] Document created by B. Wayne Blanchard in Jan 2015 and revised in Nov 2019 for incorporation into website: Deadliest American Disasters and Large-Loss-Of-Life Events. Accessible at: https://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

[2] We consider this a minimum figure. Some locations, such as Camden, NJ, did not require the reporting of smallpox cases. In addition, there surely were some smallpox deaths in States we have not reported on as well as some in States such as Pennsylvania, for which we report essentially only on one location – Philadelphia.

[3] This outbreak, which started during the 1871 winter, was described as an epidemic, the first in DC since one during the winters of 1865 and 1866. (Robert Reyburn, M.D., compiler. “Type of Disease Among the Freed Negroes.” Medical News, Vol. 63, No, 23, 12-2-1893, p. 626.)

[4] Dr. Eliot was Physician in Charge of the Smallpox Hospital in the District of Columbia the year of the report.

[5] Report is for the quarter ending April 30, 1872. There were 149 reported cases, thus 1 death for every 3.5 cases.

[6] Weekly Pantagraph, Bloomington, IL. 1-26-1872, p. 3, column 2.

[7] Quincy Herald, IL. “Small-Pox,” 1-18-1872, p. 4, column 1.

[8] “Table of mortality from small-pox in the city of Chicago from 1851 to 1882, inclusive.” At page 127 it is written: “In 1872 there was a marked increase of both foreign and domestic immigration into Chicago, attracted by the rebuilding of the city after the great fire. The deaths from small-pox during this year were 655…”

[9] “Chicago, Ill., Jan. 31. – The Sanitary Superintendent’s report shows that there were nineteen deaths from small-pox during the past week, and declares that the disease is on the increase. There are now twenty-six patients in the new and eight in the old hospitals. Seven physicians have been prosecuted for nor properly reporting cases.”

[10] Bloomington Daily Leader, IL. “Promiscuous Items.” 1-11-1872, p. 4.

[11] “There are no cases of the small-pox in this city [Leavenworth]…But as that fearful disease prevails in Kansas City and Topeka, Leavenworth is liable to have cases of it.”

[12] Kansas Historical Society. Samuel Reader’s Diary, Vol. 8. Thumbnail notes: “Volume eight of Samuel James Reader’s diary during which time the community of Silver Lake, near Topeka, Kansas, was suffering from an outbreak of smallpox. About a dozen people died in Silver Lake from the disease…”

[13] Find a Grave. “John Paul Moats.” Added by Nate Bramlett, 9-29-2014. Accessed 11-30-2019.

[14] “Small-Pox – We are informed that Mr. Samuel Slayter, lost a son – and Mrs. Mary Slaytor (Widow) also lost a son, last week from small pox {South Cedar area}. The Holton News, January 1, 1873.” (In Dan Fenton (compiler). Selected Death Notices from Jackson County, Kansas, Newspapers, Volume I, 1872-1885. 1995, p. 2.)

[15] Collins and Collins. Collins’ Historical Sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky (Vol. I). 1882, p. 237.

[16] Lebanon Daily News, PA. “Here and There.” 11-20-1872, p. 2.

[17] New York Times. “A Young Man Cares for His Betrothed While Ill with the Small-Pox and Both Die of the Disease.” 11-29-1872, p. 1. [From the Louisville Courier-Journal, Nov. 27.]

[18] “Bangor, Me., Dec. 13. – Several cases of small-pox have made their appearance in this city, causing considerable uneasiness. The city schools were closed to-night, as a matter of precaution, thus anticipating the usual Christmas holidays by one week.”

[19] Evening Gazette, Port Jervis, NY. “News Summary.” 12-17-1872, p. 1.

[20] A stand-in estimate based on report of “several” deaths.

[21] The Herald and Torch Light, Hagerstown, MD. “A Waif.” 7-31-1872, p. 2.

[22] “Boston, Nov. 2. – The small-pox in the city is diminishing. Only sixteen deaths are reported this week.”

[23] “Boston, Nov. 30…Of 176 deaths in Boston during the present week, fifty-three were from small=pox.”

[24] Our “stand-in” number based on statement: “In 1872, a smallpox epidemic struck Kansas City. Where does one contain a massive population infected with smallpox? A pest house, of course. A pest house was established on an island in the Missouri River opposite the East Bottoms. With his own funds, Dr. Isaac Ridge built an island to contain the first pest house in Kansas City. The island was the site of St. George’s Contagious Disease Hospital and a burial ground for smallpox victims….Flooding repeatedly lifted the wooden hospital building foundation from its sandbar and sent coffins floating down the river toward the city….”

[25] Medical Society of New Jersey. Transactions of…[for] 1872. 1872, p. 217.

[26] “Small-pox prevailed for a little while, quite extensively in Millville, but by careful hygienic measures, and a system of general vaccination and revaccination, was soon checked. Several deaths occurred. (Medical Society of New Jersey. Transactions of…[for] 1872. 1872, p. 256.) [We translate “several” deaths into “3” in order to count.]

[27] “Hudson County. To the usual epidemics of Measles, Scarlet Fever, mostly of the mild type, and Whooping Cough, was added the extension of Small Pox, for its habitat of the last year. Few parts of the county have been exempt. Jersey City has chiefly suffered, the records of its Small Pox Hospital showing a large number of cases with a pretty heavy mortality. The average in Hoboken is quite unfavorable; the large percentage of mortality is due to the fact that the worst cases both in degree and surroundings, became hospital cases.” (Medical Society of New Jersey. Transactions of…[for] 1872. 1872, p. 219.)

[28] New York Times. “Small-Pox in Jersey City.” 8-14-1872, p. 5.

[29] Medical Society of New Jersey. Transactions of…[for] 1872. 1872, p. 281.

[30] “Small Pox invaded the city of Trenton in the month of July and became an alarming epidemic. It first appeared in the central and most thickly populated portion of the city, and among the better class of citizens. Its origin is unknown. The disease was of a severe type, and the average of deaths large, being about one to six.” (Medical Society of New Jersey. Transactions of…[for] 1872. 1872, p. 220.)

[31] “Small Pox occurs in a limited degree, but a decided tendency to the disease is manifest.” (Medical Society of NJ. Transactions of…[for] 1872. 1872, p. 221.)

[32] Bloomington Daily Leader, IL. “Small-Pox Becoming Epidemic.” 1-5-1872, p. 3.

[33] Medical Society of New Jersey. Transactions of…[for] 1872. 1872, p. 223.

[34] Not included in tally in that the location may have been Camden and included in that figure.

[35] “Both the spotted fever and small-pox continue to rage in Brooklyn….The Mayor visited the small-pox hospital at Flatbush on Tuesday afternoon, and found eighty patients there, four dead bodies in the dead-house, half a dozen dying patients, and about a dozen convalescents. The hospital is crowded, and further accommodations are imperatively required.” (New York Times. “The Small-Pox and Spotted Fever in Brooklyn.” 4-4-1872, p. 8.) We list Brooklyn separately from NYC in that Brooklyn was in independent city until incorporation into NYC in 1898. We do not know if the sources noting 1,666 smallpox deaths in NYC in 1872 included Brooklyn deaths.

[36] Notes that after a woman arrived from Brooklyn whose husband died from smallpox, she “broke out with it, and it has rapidly spread.” Also notes “The public schools have been ordered closed in this village…”

[37] “Table 1: Years of Unusually Large Numbers of Deaths from Selected Epidemic Diseases, 1798 to 1918.” We do not use this number in our tally in that it is larger than the number reported by the NYC Department of Health in 2009 Summary of Vital Statistics. It is possible, though, that the larger number includes Brooklyn and the smaller does not.

[38] Chart on cover page entitled “The Conquest of Pestilence in New York City…As Shown by the Death Rate as Recorded in the Official Records of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.”  Given the congruence of the other sources on 1,666 fatalities, we assume the 1,866 number is a typographical error.

[39] “Dr. Moreau Morris, City Sanitary Inspector, reports twenty-six cases of small-pox since Saturday [11^th]m and eight deaths from that disease for the forty-eight hours ending at noon yesterday [13^th].”

[40] From Table: “Mortality from small-pox in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1872-1881.”

[41] Table entitled “Deaths from Smallpox from 1807 to 1907, inclusive, and Rate per 1,000 of Population.” Notes the smallpox death rate was 3.83 per 1,000 population, compared to death rate of 2.78 in 1871.

[42] Table entitled: “Number of cases and deaths from diphtheria, scarlet fever, and smallpox in Philadelphia, Pa., from 1868- to 1894, inclusive.”

[43] “From the Pottsville (Penn.) Miners’ Journal, Aug. 27. ‘From Yorkville comes one of the saddest stories of the small-pox we have yet been called upon to record. About two weeks since this dreadful disease got into a family named Koch, consisting of father, mother and five children. On last Wednesday the first child died, on Thursday, a second, on Friday a third, and on Saturday a fourth. The mother and fifth child are now confined to their beds with the disease, with the chances against them. The father has thus far escaped. Not one of the family was vaccinated, and the father is said to be opposed to the operation.’”

[44] On Neosho River, southwest section of Allen County, southeast Kansas.

— 1,090  Blanchard tabulation based on State and local breakouts below.

Massachusetts (175)

—  175  State  Year.  Upham. Cerebro-spinal Meningitis in Massachusetts…1873.  1874, p. 10.

—    63  Boston   “    Upham. Cerebro-spinal Meningitis in Massachusetts…1873.  1874, p. 10.

New York       (782)

—  782  NYC.  Billings. “Cerebrospinal Meningitis in New York City During 1904 and 1905.”

—  607  NYC  Jan 1-Jun 30.   Clymer. Epidemic Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis…in…NY. 1872, 43.

—  469      “    Jan 6-May 31.  Stille. “Epidemic Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis,” in Pepper 1885, 801

Philadelphia     (133)

—  133  Medical Society of PA.  Transactions of the MSPA, 1872. P. 205.

—  133  Stille. “Epidemic Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis,” in Practical Med…, Pepper. 1885, 800.

New York City

Billings:  “During the past forty years there have been four outbreaks of epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis in New York City. The first and, up to that of 1904 and 1905, the most severe epidemic was in 1872, when there were 782 deaths—a death rate of 8.70 per 10,000.”  (Billings, J. S. Jr. “Cerebrospinal Meningitis in New York City During 1904 and 1905.” JAMA, Vol. XLVI, No. 22, 6-2-1906, pp. 1670-1676.)

Stille: “By far the greatest number of the subjects of epidemic meningitis are young persons….Dr. J. L. Smith found that, according to the reports of the Board of Health of the city of New York, out of 975 cases, 771 occurred in parsons under fifteen years of age, the greatest number for any quiquennial period being 336 in children under five years. Of the 469 deaths occurring in this epidemic, 216 were of children under five years of age, and the next largest number for an equal period was 99, which represented the deaths between the ages of five and ten years. Of adults or persons beyond the age of twenty, the whole number was but 39.”  (Stille. “Epidemic Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis,” in Pepper 1885, 802.)

“Out of 469 fatal cases in the city of New York in 1872, 334 are said to have terminated within eleven days, and of this number 270 were fatal in the first six days of the attack, including 52 who died on the first day and 51 in from one to two days….”  (Stille 1885, 818)

Philadelphia

MSPA: “Cerebro-spinal meningitis was more general and fatal than it had been since the year 1865, its victims numbering 133; of whom two thirds were minors, and one-sixth under one year.” (MSPA. Transactions. 1872, p. 205.)

 

 Sources

Billings, J. S. Jr. “Cerebrospinal Meningitis in New York City During 1904 and 1905.” JAMA, Vol. XLVI, No. 22, 6-2-1906, pp. 1670-1676. Abstract accessed 5-15-2013 at: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/mobile/article.aspx?articleid=458278

 Clymer, Meredith. Epidemic Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis; With an Appendix:  Some Points on the Causes of the Disease as Shown by the History of the Present Epidemic in the City of New York. Philadelphia:  Lindsay & Blakiston, 1872.  Digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=FtPlokITNdwC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania.  Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania at Its Twenty-Third Annual Session…June 1872 (Vol. IX., Part I).  Philadelphia, PA:  The Society, 1872.  Digitized by Google. At:   http://books.google.com/books?id=XqYRAAAAYAAJ

 Stille, Alfred. “Epidemic Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis,” in  A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors (Vol. 1). William  Pepper & Louis Starr (Eds.). Philadelphia: Lea Brothers & Co., 1885.  Google digitized at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=65swAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 Upham, Jabez Baxter. Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis in Massachusetts: Being a Succinct History of the Epidemic of  1873.  Boston: Wright & Potter, State Printers, 1874.  Digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=gyVAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

 

 

 

— ~40 Cincinnati Commercial. “How Two Cincinnati Ladies…Drowned…Lake Huron.” 11-5-1871, p8.
— 32 Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive, Report News (October 15).
— 32 Mansfield (Editor). History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). 1899, p. 719.
— 32 McNeil. “R. G. Coburn (Propeller), sunk, 15 Oct 1871.” Maritime History of the Great Lakes.
— ~32 Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, NOAA. “Thunder Bay 2010…Lake Huron’s
— 32 Ratigan. Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals. 1969, pp. 142-143. [Repeats Mansfield.]
— >32 Stein, Janis. “Sunken Treasure.” Huron Shore, Summer 2009, p. 28.
— 32 Swayze. Shipwreck!…Directory of…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 56.
— 31 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 686.
— ~30 Hillsdale Standard, MI. “Loss of the Coburn.” 10-24-1871, p. 2, col. 1.
— 30 Putnam’s Monthly and The Reader. “The Great Lakes.” Vol. 4, No. 5, Aug 1908, p. 609.
— >30 Rutland Weekly Herald, VT. “The Lost Steamer Coburn.” 10-26-1871, p. 4, col. 1.

Narrative Information

Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive: “On 15 October 1871, R G Coburn (wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 193 foot, 867 tons, built in 1870, at Marine City, Michigan) was carrying 15,000 bushels of wheat, 3,500 barrels of flour and 30 barrels of silver ore from Lake Superior to Detroit. As she came down Lake Huron, she encountered a terrific gale which had driven most vessels to seek shelter. The Coburn fought the wind at Saginaw Bay throughout the night until she lost her rudder and turned broadside to the waves. Her large stack fell and smashed the cabin area and then the cargo came loose and started smashing holes in the bulwarks. About 70 passengers were aboard and almost all were terribly seasick. As the ship began her final plunge beneath the waves, only a few lifeboats were getting ready to be launched and those were floated right from the deck as the ship sank. 32 people perished, including Capt. Gilbert Demont. No women or children were saved.” (Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive. “Today in Great Lakes History – October 15.”)

Mansfield: “Loss of the Coburn. – One of the greatest disasters of the season [1871] was the loss of the propeller Coburn/ Captain Demont, of E. B. Ward’s Lake Superior line, October 18, in Saginaw bay, whereby 16 passengers, the captain and 15 of the crew, including every officer, except the second mate, were lost. There were upward of 70 persons on board, about 40 passengers, and a crew of 35. Among the passengers were eight women and five children, and two families in the steerage. The Coburn was bound from Duluth [MN] to Buffalo [NY] with wheat and flour. Shortly after passing Presque Isle harbor, the wind commenced blowing from the northeast, and there was so much smoke on the lake that the engine was checked down, and the steamer held head to the wind. A few hours later the wind veered to the southwest and blew a terrific gale. The Coburn labored heavily, but shipped no water of consequence until her rudder was town off when she drifted into the trough of the sea, making her roll heavily, shifting her cargo. Holes were cut in her bulwarks, and the crew set to work throwing her cargo overboard, but the waves washed over her, tore off her smokestacks, and she began settling. Soon the fireman’s gang was stove in and the water rushed into the hold in immense volumes. Ten men got into one of the yawls and seven into the other, leaving the life-boats bottom side up, untouched. When the Coburn went down Captain Demont stood just aft of the texas with his hand on the rail. There were quite a number of persons on the hurricane deck when it floated off, but they were seen only a short time. “The Coburn was a fine, stanch, new propeller of 867 tons burden, well found in every department, having come out in June, 1870.”

Maritime History of the Great Lakes (McNeil): “

Reason for loss: sunk
Lives: 32
Hull damage: $80,000
Cargo: $40,000
Freight: wheat & flour
Remarks: Total loss
Date: 1871
….
Geographic Coverage: Saginaw Bay, Michigan, United States
Latitude: 43.75002 Longitude: -83.66664

(McNeil, William R. (contributor). “R. G. Coburn (Propeller), sunk, 15 Oct 1871.” Maritime History of the Great Lakes (website). Accessed 11-20-2020.)

Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, NOAA: “Steamer R. G. Coburn
“Built in 1870, the 193-foot (ft) steamer R. G. Coburn…foundered in a gale north of Saginaw Bay on October 15, 1871. As many as 32 passengers and crew lost their lives in the tragedy. All of the ship’s officers were drowned, save for the second mate, who later revealed that the vessel’s rudder broke free. For two horrific hours before dawn, the vessel lay at the storm’s mercy, while an increasing sense of panic spread throughout the passengers.

“As the Coburn slipped below the cold Lake Huron waters, two of her three lifeboats drifted off unused, adding significantly to the loss of life. The Coburn was reportedly carrying 12,000 bushels of wheat, 2,900 barrels of flour, and — most significantly — silver ore. The quantity of silver ore is unknown. The wreck has not yet been located.” (“Thunder Bay 2010: Cutting Edge Tech & the Hunt for Lake Huron’s Lost Ships.” 2010.)

Putnam’s Monthly and The Reader: “The R. G. Coburn…laden with copper, sank there [Saginaw Bay] in 1871, with a loss of thirty lives.” (Putnam’s Monthly and The Reader. “The Great Lakes.” Vol. 4, No. 5, Aug 1908, p. 609.)

Stein: “Built…for E.B. Ward’s Lake Superior Line, advertisements of the day touted the steamer …as possessing ‘all the late improvements for the better safety and security of passengers.’ Before her launch the Toledo Blade reported, the Coburn ‘has water-tight compartments and when completed will be one of the most perfect steamers afloat on our inland seas.’ Another advertisement announced the R.G. Coburn as ready ‘this season for pleasure and health-seeking travelers and tourists, with special regard to safety and comfort. Her cabins and staterooms are spacious and well ventilated, while her cuisine is equal to that of any first class hotel in the country.’….

“…on October 15, 1871, the Coburn’s crew, captained by Gilbert Demont, prepared to leave Duluth, Minn., bound for Buffalo, N.Y. With about 75 people including crew and passengers, the Coburn carried in her holds 3,500 barrels of flour, 15,000 bushels of wheat, and 30 barrels of silver ore—though varying accounts of the number of silver barrels were later reported.

“When the Coburn reached the tip of the Thumb, visibility had decreased so much that a great many ships rather than continuing their trek southward, hunkered down, seeking shelter in the waters of the Saginaw Bay. Though the Coburn’s engine had been checked down, she nevertheless crept forward. To add to the mayhem, the wind suddenly veered from the southwest, blowing up a strong gale. Recently built, and large and powerful for its day, perhaps the captain thought the Coburn invincible….

“While the Coburn rolled in the ever-increasing waves, passengers sought the safety of their cabins, too sick to think beyond the moment…about 4 a.m. the Coburn lost her rudder. Now powerless, the Coburn rolled into the troughs of the sea. Waves broke over her deck. Barrels of silver ore broke loose and smashed holes in her bulwarks, allowing the hull to fill with water. More cargo shifted. Crewmembers began to throw cargo overboard. A relentless Lake Huron then pounded the Coburn with a wave so mighty it knocked off her smokestack, smashing her cabin.

“Because the smokestack did not break off at the top of the deck but rather down inside the cabin, the escaping steam created a deafening noise that rivaled the storm. Smoke filled the cabins. The risk of fire, great. Many of these passengers, no strangers to hardship but too sick from the rolling sea to move, remained in their rooms and resigned themselves to their fate. For those who had already lost all hope, death would be but a five-hour wait—the time it took the Coburn to sink.

“Rare for the times, the Coburn carried two lifeboats and two yawl boats, but nobody on board believed a small boat could survive. Still some tried….When the Coburn started to sink about 20-25 miles north of Pointe aux Barques [MI], the hurricane deck blew off; those passengers clinging to the deck washed away with the storm.

“About 9 a.m. and in haste, two of the four boats successfully launched and, now, these smaller crafts faced a ferocious Huron. Eight people filled one yawl boat while 10 men occupied the other. Crew-member Captain Gordon commanded one of the boats. According to an October 24, 1871, edition of the Toronto Globe, the other two boats washed ashore in Kincardine, Ontario. ‘While one of the boats was empty, the other contained two dead bodies. One of these was a mulatto man, and the other, a young man, white, who was dressed in a suit of gray. It was also reported that considerable quantities of flour were coming ashore.’

“Those in the yawl boats fared much better. The southbound bark Zack Chandler picked up Coburn survivors about four o’clock Sunday afternoon, while the Canadian schooner Robert Gaskin, rescued the others. It’s been assumed more Coburn passengers were plucked from the water. Frozen, exhausted, penniless – but alive.

“Battered pieces of the Coburn were found along the Canadian shoreline, and bodies, too, continued to wash ashore. Those surviving crewmembers unanimously stated the Coburn would have weathered the storm, but for the incident with her rudder. Others sitting in judgment stated what a shame it was the Coburn sank, for there were ways to steer a ship without a rudder, though it would have been a tremendous undertaking.

“Of the estimated 75 passengers and crew, Lake Huron claimed at least 32, including Captain Demont, who, according to the Toronto Globe, stood aft of the texas deck with his hand on the rail when the Coburn sank. The passenger list included eight women and four children.

“Well over a century after the Coburn disaster, divers still search for the wreck…” (Stein, Janis. “Sunken Treasure,” Huron Shore, Summer 2009, p. 28.)

Swayze: “R G Coburn. Wooden passenger and freight propeller of 867 t. [tons] and 193 ft., launched in 1870.

“Lake Huron: The loss of this steamer on October 15, 1871, is subject to a number of contradictory reports. The one-year-old ship foundered with a cargo of either grain or copper ore and the loss of 32 of 85 aboard. The location of the accident is given variously as Presque Isle, Saginaw Bay, or Harbor Beach, Michigan, or on Lake Superior. The Presque Isle report has the most support.”

Newspapers

Oct 20: “Detroit, October 20. – The arrival of the propeller Brooklyn, of the Northern Transportation Line, yesterday brought intelligence, according to the statements of the captain, that two more boats of the lost steamer R. G. Coburn had been picked up on Lake Huron, containing eighteen persons, and that they had been transferred by the vessel that picked them up to the propeller S. D. Caldwell, and were on the way to Mackinaw.

“This morning the following dispatch was received:

Marine City, October 20. – To Captain Eber Ward, Detroit: the following men from the R. G. Coburn are at Mackinaw: W. L. House, second mate; H. M. Rhodes, of Windsor, trader; Martin Maherring, James Warwick, watchmen; F. Mumford, Charles Miller, James Ludner, colored; R. Kelley, passenger. The news comes by steamer Magnet. [signed] H. Hester.”

(Cincinnati Commercial, OH. “The Lost Steamer Coburn.” 10-21-1871, p. 1.)

Oct 20: “A dispatch from Detroit says; The fine passenger steamer R. G. Coburn, of E. B. Ward’s Lake Superior line, foundered in Saginaw Bay last Sunday [15th]. Seven of the crew and three of the passengers are known to have been saved. Two boats with officers and the balance of the crew are missing. The Coburn was on a voyage from Duluth to Buffalo with twelve thousand bushels of wheat and three thousand barrels of flour. She was valued at $80,000, and insured for $50,000.”
(Sandusky Daily Register, OH. “Marine Matters….The R. G. Coburn Lost.” 10-20-1871, p. 4.)

Oct 24: “The steamer R. G. Coburn was foundered in Saginaw bay on Sunday Morning, the 15th. Of about 50 persons, passengers and crew, only about 20 are known to be saved. The boat was a total loss. Among the missing are Capt. Atwood [sic, Demont] of the Coburn, Lt. [William] Atwood, of the U. S. Army, R. M. Smith, Indian Agent, who was returning with his family from the upper lakes. The Coburn belonged on the Cleveland and Duluth line, and was one of the largest boats on the lakes. She was owned in Detroit…” (Hillsdale Standard, MI. “Loss of the Coburn.” 10-24-1871, p. 2, col. 1.)

Oct 24: “Boston, Oct, 24, — It is feared that Prof. James T. Hodge, of Plymouth, Mass., was lost in the steamer R. G. Coburn, who was on his way home from Lake Superior, where he had been engaged in geological explorations.” (Quincy Daily Herald, IL. “Boston.” 10-25-1871, p. 1, c.3.)

Oct 26: “The steamer R. G. Coburn was lost on Lake Huron on the 12th inst. [sic; 15th]. Two of her boats have been washed ashore near Kincardine Ontario, one empty, the other having in her two dead bodies, those of a colored man and boy. The Coburn had five boats, one was stove, two were found with persons alive in them, and two are now found with no one living. It can hardly be otherwise than that the persons who failed to save their lives in the boats perished. In all probability they number as many as thirty, at the lowest estimate, and among them are doubtless the captain, Gilbert Demont, Indian Agent Smith and his wife, Major Atwood, and all the ladies on board, of whom there are reported to have been eight. From what can be learned of the scenes during the last hours of the steamer, the ladies very likely went down with the boat, either unable to remain outside or lacking the hardihood. It seems likely, too, that several men went down with her, as several were seen in the cabin just before she sank.” (Rutland Weekly Herald, VT. “The Lost Steamer Coburn.” 10-26-1871, p. 4, col. 1.)

Oct 28: “The Buffalo Express, of the 28th, says: A dispatch received by Captain E. P. Door from R. McIntosh, Collector at Kincardine, Ontario, states that yesterday afternoon two bodies came ashore at that place. They were identified as those of the porter and a deck hand of the lost propeller R. G. Coburn.” (Daily Register, Sandusky, OH. 10-31-1871, p. 4, col. 4.)

Nov 1: “The fine passenger steamer, R. G. Coburn, nearly new, plying between Buffalo and Duluth, Lake Superior, on her return voyage, foundered off Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, Sunday morning, Oct. 15th. There were on board between thirty-five and forty passengers and thirty of the crew, all of whom, except six of the crew, went down with the vessel. A wind commenced blowing Saturday night, a short time after the Coburn had passed Presque Island, and before daylight it had assumed the violence of a gale. In the tossing of the steamer the rudder became detached, and in a short time the sea began to pour into one side. At about 8 o’clock, Sunday, with a violent lurch, she went down. Among the lost were Mrs. Thomas [Mary] Holton and Miss Mary Mann, of Cincinnati, Prof. James T. Hodge, of Plymouth, Mass., and R. M. Smith, Agent for the Indians at Mackinaw. Mr. Smith was an esteemed layman of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was appointed by the Government to the Indian Agency on the nomination of the Missionary Society. He was a good and true man in all official as well as private relations.” (Western Christian Advocate, Cincinnati, OH. 11-1-1871, p. 5, col. 1.)

Nov 5: “Mrs. Mary (Sayer) Holton, wife of Thomas Holton, a clerk in the American Express Office, this city [Cincinnati], went down in Lake Huron, with forty odd other souls, on the propeller R. G. Coburn, as already mentioned in this paper, Sunday morning, October 22 [sic, 15th]. Her husband has returned after a faithful but unsuccessful search for her body along the shores of the lake….the only melancholy satisfaction he derived was to glean some particulars of how his poor sick wife met her death.

“It seems that the majority of the passengers were too terribly sea-sick to leave their berths and attempt even to cling to the top of the cabin. The vessel having lost her rudder, rolled fearfully, reducing the sea-sick passengers to such a condition as to preclude much of an effort to save themselves, although all had timely warning of the great danger.

“The Superior Times says:

There were thirty-two passengers in all, eight of them being ladies. Nearly all of the passengers were confined to their rooms by sea-sickness, and when roused up a few minutes before the sinking of the steamer, they were so sick and exhausted that they expressed a willingness to die in their berths. Mrs. Palmer and Miss Mary Mann never left their rooms, but Mrs. Holton, being locked in her room, and unable to find her key, heroically tore the door off the hinges, and after struggling with the sea of water which then filled the cabin, succeeded in reaching the upper deck, and was seen standing within a few feet of the Captain when the boat sank out of sight. Three life boats and eighteen men having left the steamer before she sank, were saved.

Among the lost were Mrs. Mary Holton, daughter of Mr. James Sayer, and sister of Mrs. P. E. Bradshaw; Mrs. Helen Palmer and young son, widow of the late Alonzo Palmer, and daughter of Judge Thomas Clark, and sister of Mrs. Richard Relf, and Mrs. R. B. McLean, of this place; Miss Mary Mann, daughter of the late Judge William Mann, whose now sorrowing mother and three sisters reside in Cincinnati.

These three ladies were well known in Superior. Miss Mann was a beautiful and accomplished lady, and an excellent artist, and was universally respected for her many good qualities. Mrs. Holton had been here on a visit to her parents and sister all summer, and was just returning to her home in Cincinnati, when the terrible fate met Her. Mrs. Helen Palmer was on her way to spend the winter with relatives in Toledo, and leaving loving relatives and kind friends here, was buoyant with the thoughts of a happy visit, but met a watery grave….” (Cincinnati Commercial, OH. “How Two Cincinnati Ladies Were Drowned in Lake Huron.” 11-5-1871, p. 8.)

Jan 1, 1881: “The Marine City Reporter urges the selection of Mrs. Josephine Robinson, of that place, for postmistress at the legislature. Mrs. Robinson should have a hearing, as she is worthy and capable and has two children dependent upon her for support. Her husband was one of the officers of the ill-fated steamer R. G. Coburn, and went down at his post of duty when that craft was lost.” (Northern Tribune, Cheboygan, MI. 1-1-1881, p. 8.)

Sources

Cincinnati Commercial, OH. “Deaths.” 11-1-1871, p. 6, col. 3. Accessed 11-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cincinnati-commercial-nov-01-1871-p-6/

Cincinnati Commercial, OH. “How Two Cincinnati Ladies Were Drowned in Lake Huron.” 11-5-1871, p. 8. Accessed 11-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cincinnati-commercial-nov-05-1871-p-8/

Cincinnati Commercial, OH. “The Lost Steamer Coburn.” 10-21-1871, p. 1. Accessed 11-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cincinnati-commercial-oct-21-1871-p-1/

Daily Register, Sandusky, OH. 10-31-1871, p. 4, col. 4. Accessed 11-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/sandusky-daily-register-oct-31-1871-p-4/

Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive. Report News (October 2006). “Today in Great Lakes History.” Accessed at: http://www.boatnerd.com/news/archive/10-06.htm

Hillsdale Standard, MI. “Loss of the Coburn.” 10-24-1871, p. 2, col. 1. Accessed 11-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hillsdale-standard-oct-24-1871-p-2/

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

McNeil, William R. (contributor). “R. G. Coburn (Propeller), sunk, 15 Oct 1871.” Maritime History of the Great Lakes (website). Accessed 11-20-2020 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/details.asp?ID=44031

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.

Northern Tribune, Cheboygan, MI. 1-1-1881, p. 8. Accessed 11-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/the-northern-tribune-jan-01-1881-p-8/

Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, NOAA. “Thunder Bay 2010: Cutting Edge Tech & the Hunt for Lake Huron’s Lost Ships.” 2010. Accessed 11-20-2020 at: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/10thunderbay/background/wrecks/wrecks.html

Putnam’s Monthly and The Reader, Vol. 4. New Rochelle, NY: The Knickerbocker Press, Apr-Sep 1908. Google digitized. Accessed 11-19-2020 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=-LhPAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

Quincy Daily Herald, IL. “Boston.” 10-25-1871, p. 1, c.3. Accessed 11-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/quincy-daily-herald-oct-25-1871-p-1/

Ratigan, William. Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals (New Revised and Enlarged Edition). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1969.

Rutland Weekly Herald, VT. “The Lost Steamer Coburn.” 10-26-1871, p. 4, col. 1. Accessed 11-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/rutland-weekly-herald-oct-26-1871-p-4/

Sandusky Daily Register, OH. “Marine Matters….The R. G. Coburn Lost.” 10-20-1871, p. 4. Accessed 11-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/sandusky-daily-register-oct-20-1871-p-4/

Stein, Janis. “Sunken Treasure: Lost with potentially 30 barrels of silver aboard, the R.G. Coburn is Lake Huron’s Treasure Ship.” Huron Shore, Summer 2009, pp. 26-28. Accessed at: http://view.digipage.net/?userpath=00000043/00008921/00042491/&page=28

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

Western Christian Advocate, Cincinnati, OH. 11-1-1871, p. 5, col. 1. Accessed 11-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/western-christian-advocate-nov-01-1871-p-5/