19th Century

1844 — June 15, Powder and gas explosions, Black Heath Coal Mine, ~Richmond, VA– 11

–~12  Griggs. Historic Disasters of Richmond. 2016, p. 40.

—  11  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.  Mining Disasters. 2010.

—  11  Rothwell. The Mineral Industry…to the End of 1897, Vol. VI.  1898, p. 746.

 

Narrative Information

 

Griggs: “On June 15, 1844, there was another major explosion[1] that killed about a dozen men in the Black Heath Mine. The Alexandria Gazetteer reported that ‘at the time of the accident, we learned there were 12 hands in the pit” 8 colored men and 4 Englishmen.’ All of the African Americans were slaves. Although one man was saved, fallen timbers blocked the place where the accident occurred. The Richmond Whig ran a headline: ‘Terrible Accident.’ The paper reported that ‘a barrel of gunpowder was first ignited, and its explosion fired the gas, which was secreted.’ Although one man was pulled out alive, the rest of the bodies were found ‘horribly disfigured.’ The paper closed its story by reporting:

 

The explosion, as far as we can learn, was caused by the most wanton negligence on the part of unhappy persons, or the principal man among them. The funnel, used for ventilating the shaft, was stopped up so that a current of air could not pass through the works. In this situation, and while the…{vents} were filled with the inflammable gas, a blast was set off by some of the hands engaged in blasting coal. As might have been expected, a tremendous explosion followed.

 

“The company management worked for almost twenty-four hours to recover the bodies.

 

“This second explosion closed the mine. For almost one hundred years, it remained closed until there was an effort to reopen the coal mining industry in the late 1930s. The effort did not succeed, and the Chesterfield mines are still filled with coal and the remains of those who tried to mine it.

 

“The Black Heath Mine operated at a time when there were few safety devices. A minter going into a shaft had no assurance that he would ever see the light of day again. But the deaths of over three hundred miners helped to develop Chesterfield County. When you drive down the Midlothian Turnpike, remember you are driving on a road that was built to carry coal mined by men who did a dangerous job that helped to develop this nation. Whenever you look at the Chesterfield County seal, remember the men who mined the coal that fueled a nation.” (Griggs. Historic Disasters of Richmond. 2016, pp. 40-41.)

 

Rothwell: “In June, 1844, an explosion occurred in which 11 out of 12 person were killed…”  (Rothwell, 1898, p. 746)

 

Sources

 

Griggs, Walter S. Jr. Historic Disasters of Richmond. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2016. Google preview accessed 9-3-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=KjSACwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

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

 

Rothwell, Richard P. (Ed.). The Mineral Industry: Its Statistics, Technology and Trade in the United States and Other Countries to the End of 1897, Vol. VI.   New York and London: The Scientific Publishing Co., 1898.  Digitized by Google. Accessed 9-3-2018 at:

https://books.google.com/books?id=m8woAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

 

 

 

 

[1] The first major mine disaster in the country was on March 18, 1839 in the same mine, leading to 40-53 deaths.

1844 — Yellow Fever, esp. Galveston TX (400); Mobile AL (40); New Orleans LA (148)– 590

–590  Total     Blanchard tally based upon numbers below.

 

Alabama         (  40)

–40  Mobile                Aug 14 start    Augustin.  History of Yellow Fever, 1909, 444.

 

Louisiana       (148)

–148  New Orleans     July-Sep          Carrigan 1961, p. 93; Keating 1879, p. 87;

–148            “                                      Sternberg 1908, p. 719; US Marine-Hosp. Svc. 1896, p436.

 

New York      (     2)

—     2  Marine Hosp.                           Keating 1879, p. 87; US Marine-Hosp. Svc. 1896, p. 436.

 

Texas              (400)

—  400  Galveston       July 5 start[1]     Keating 1879, 87; Sternberg 1908, 719; USMHS 1896, 436

 

Sources

 

Augustin, George. History of Yellow Fever. New Orleans: Published for the Author by Search & Pfaff Ltd., 1909; General Books reprint, Memphis, TN, 2010. 1909 copy digitized at: http://archive.org/stream/historyofyellowf00auguuoft#page/n4/mode/1up

 

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

 

Cartwright, Gary. Galveston: A History of the Island. Fort Worth: TCU Press, 1991. Google preview accessed 4-17-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=RFRu8kYThEcC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Keating, J. M. A History of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878 in Memphis, Tenn. Memphis, TN: Howard Association, 1879. Google preview accessed 3-16-2018 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=WEIJAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Sternberg, George M. (US Public Health Service, US Marine Hospital Service). “Yellow Fever:  History and Geographic Distribution.” Pages 715-722 in Stedman, Thomas L., M.D. (Ed.) Appendix to the Reference Handbook of the Medical Sciences. NY: William Wood & Co., 1908.  Google preview accessed 3-18-2018 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=3ezqX415M5wC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

United States Marine-Hospital Service, Treasury Department. Annual Report of the Supervising Surgeon-General of the Marine-Hospital Service of the United States for the Fiscal Year 1895 (Document No. 1811). Washington, DC: GPO, 1896. Google preview accessed 3-16-2018 at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=aTnxAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Cartwright writes that “the virus that killed…hundreds…in 1844 was known to have been brought to the Island by an afflicted seaman aboard the French frigate Brillante.” (p. 74)

 

1843 — Sep 19, steamboat Clipper No. 1 boiler explosion, Mississippi Riv., Bayou Sara, LA–30-40

–30-40 Blanchard estimated fatalities.*

–40-60 US Patent Office. Report…Commissioner of Patents…steam boiler explosions. 1848, p. 59.
— 50 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 680.
–30-40 Green Bay Republican, WI. “Another Explosion.” Oct 24, 1843, p. 3.
— 40 US Patent Office. Report of… Appendix C. Table of explosions.” 1848, p. 39.
–32-33 The Experiment, Norwalk OH. “Dreadful Explosion. Destruction …‘Clipper’.” 10-18-1843, 4
— ~30 Bangor…Whig & Courier, ME. “Loss…Steamboat Clipper No 1… MS.” 10-5-1843, p2.
— 30 Springer. “Principal marine disasters since 1831.” In US House Hearings. “Safety of…”
— 27 Milwaukie Sentinel, WI. “Power of Steam.” Oct. 28, 1843, p. 1.
— ~24 Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA. “Terrible Steamboat Explosion.” Oct 9, 1843, p. 1.
–14 killed
–10 missing
— 9 wounded
— ~24 Republican Compiler, Gettysburg, PA. “Terrible Steamboat Explosion.” 10-9-1843.
— >23 Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. 1956, p. 214.
— 20 Simonds. The American Date Book. 1902, p. 98.

* Blanchard estimated fatalities. We show sources noting twenty to sixty deaths. It does not appear to us that there is, amongst these sources, a single authoritative source. Thus we resort to a range. For the low-end of our estimated death-toll range we choose to follow Springer in the 1952 House Hearings on Safety at Sea. For the high-end of our range we choose to follow the lower of the two numbers reported by the Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office in his report to the Senate on steam boiler explosions in 1848. (In a table on p. 39 the number of deaths reported is 40, and on page 59 it is noted that some place the death toll at 40 and others at 60, with the former number probably the more accurate.) We could, of course, be in error, with there being fewer or more deaths.

Narrative Information

Lloyd: “This explosion, of which a very vague account has been preserved, took place on Wednesday, September 19th, 1843, at about a quarter past twelve o’clock… One of the passengers, who lived to relate the story, and who appears to have powers of description peculiar to him¬self, states that the Clipper “blew up with a report that shook earth, air, and heaven, as though the walls of the world were tumbling to pieces about our ears. All the boilers bursted simultaneously; vast fragments of the machinery, huge beams of timber, articles of furniture, and human bodies, were shot up perpendicularly, as it seemed, hundreds of fathoms in the air, and fell like the jets of a fountain in various directions; some dropping on the neighboring shore, some on the roofs of the houses, some into the river, and some on the deck of the boat. Some large fragments of the boilers, &a., were blown at least two hun¬dred and fifty yards from the scene of destruction. The hapless vic¬tims were scalded, crushed, torn, mangled, and scattered in every possible direction; some were thrown into the streets of the neighbor¬ing town, (Bayou Sara,) some on the other side of the bayou, three hundred yards distant, and some into the river. Several of these un-fortunates were torn in pieces by coming in contact with pickets or posts, and I myself, (says the same credible witness,) saw pieces of human bodies which had been shot like cannon balls through the solid walls of houses at a considerable distance from the boat.”

“Every object in front of the wheel-house was swept away as if by a whirlwind. A gentleman who visited the place where the killed and wounded had been deposited, at Bayou Sara, says, “The scene was such as we never hope to look upon again. The floors of the two large ware-rooms were literally strewn with the wounded and dying, and others were pouring in as fast as it was possible to convey them to the spot….” (Lloyd 1856, p. 213.)

Lytle and Holdcamper: “Clipper…299 [tons]…exploded 9 19 1843…(U) [unknown place…(U) [unknown lives lost].” (Lytle and Holdcamper. “Losses of United States Merchant Steam Vessels, 1807-1867.” Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1807-1868. 1952, p. 223.)

U.S. Patent Office: “Clipper No. 1…Bayou Sara…1843 [date]…Burst 5 boilers; boilers old; excessive pressure…30,000 [amount of damage]…40 [killed]…34 [wounded]…Explosion at starting; everyone on board either killed or wounded.” (Appendix C. “Table of explosions.” 1848, p. 39.)

U.S. Patent Office: “Clipper No. 1., September, 1843, burst her boilers at Bayou Sara, making a wreck of the boat, and destroying every soul on board [sic.] Her boilers were old ones. They has been assigned as the cause of the accident. The boat and cargo were a total loss. One account states sixty killed, another 40, which is probably near the truth. She was backing out from her moorings when the explosion took place, all the boilers bursting simultaneously. A watchman alive, was thrown 100 yards through the solid wall of Baker’s hotel into a bed. He retained his senses perfectly for some time afterwards, but died that evening. There were thirty-four wounded, the most of whom it was supposed would recover.” (United States Patent Office. Report of the Commissioner of Patents, to the Senate of the United States, on the subject of steam boiler explosions12-30-1848, pp. 59-60.)

Newspapers

Sep 20: “From the Louisiana Chronicle, Extra. Wednesday Morning, Sept. 20th, 1843.”
Dreadful Explosion.
Destruction of the Steamer ‘Clipper,’
Great loss of Life.

“It has become our mournful duty to record one of the most terrible catastrophes which has ever happened on the Mississippi. Yesterday, at about a quarter past 12 o’clock, as the Steamer Clipper No. 1, was backing out from her moorings at our landing, she blew up with an explosion that shook earth, air and heaven, as though the walls of the world were tumbling to pieces about our ears. All the boilers bursting simultaneously – machinery, vast fragments of the boiler, huge beams of timber, furniture and human beings in every degree of mutilation were alike shot up perpendicularly many hundred fathoms in the air. On reaching the greatest height, the various bodies diverged like the jets of a fountain in all directions – galling to the earth, and upon roofs of houses in some instances as much as two hundred and fifty yards from the scene of destruction. – The hapless victims were scalded, crushed, torn, mangled and scattered in every possible direction – many into the river, some in the streets, some on the other side of the Bayou, nearly 300 yards – some torn asunder by coming in contact with pickets, and posts, and others shot like cannon balls through the solid walls of houses at a great distance from the boat. All in front of the wheel house appears as though swept by a whirlwind. – But any thing like an adequate description of the scene of wreck and ruin is utterly out of the question. What remains of the hull has been firmly lashed to the shore; but it seems to have broken in two and partially sunk. – She had just taken on board, at the Rail-road depot, about 86 bales of cotton, nearly all of which, together with the money chest and most of the cabin furniture, we are glad to hear has been saved.

“On reaching the spot under whip and spur, we immediately bent our steps toward the temporary hospital hastily prepared for the reception of such as might be found to retain a spark of life.

“The sight was such as we hope never to look upon again. The floors of the two large ware-rooms were literally strewn with the wounded and dying, and others pouring in as fast as it was possible to convey them – praying, groaning, howling and writhing in every possible contortion of physical agony. In the midst of this confusion and din, up to their armpits in oil and cotton and bandages, we found our praiseworthy physicians, like good Samaritans, doing good quietly and silently, but with the energy and activity apparently of fifty pair of hands – now washing a burn, now dressing a wound, and anon splintering a fractured limb. Indeed our citizens generally, every man and mother’s son, appeared only anxious as to how they might render most service to the poor sufferers – white and black, without distinction. The following are the most important particulars, as far as we have been able to gather them.

“The crew consisted of 1 captain, 1 mate, 2 clerks, 3 engineers, 2 pilots, 1 carpenter, 1 watchman, 1 chambermaid, 5 stewards, 3 cooks, 15 firemen, and 8 deck hands.

“Passengers – L. Thomas, missing….Mr. Bessy, chief clerk, missing, and the second clerk killed; John Tyson, chief engineer, badly wounded; Wm. Sumpter, 2nd engineer, thrown 150 or 200 yards through the roof and gable end of a house, into the backyard against the fence, one arm torn off and fragments of his carcass scattered over the trees; Wm. Nelson 3rd engineer, fireman, mate and cook, killed; Arnault J. Lavand, pilot, missing; Wm. Wall, pilot, killed…Gabriel Pool, Carpenter, missing; watchman killed;…stewards all killed or missing [5]; two of the cooks killed… 8 firemen killed or missing; four deck hands killed or missing.

“It may be well enough here to state that those we have put down as missing, are doubtless dead, as every search has been made in the vicinity to recover their bodies in vain. They have doubtless found a watery grave.

“The remains of those picked up on shore were interred decently.

“The watchman, a white man, was thrown alive, 100 yards through the solid wall of Barker’s Hotel, into a bed. He retained his senses perfectly for some time after, but the poor fellow expired during the evening. The cabin boy was thrown about 200 yards thro’ the roof of a shed, and was picked up in a mangled condition….

“P.S. Since the above was in type, we have learned the death of another of the firemen. And the body of Mr. Bessy was found about six miles below, with one leg severed from his body.” (The Experiment, Norwalk, OH. “Dreadful Explosion. Destruction of the…‘Clipper’.” 10-18-1843, 4.)

Sep 22: “The New Orleans Picayune on the 22d, has the following account of another most melancholy catastrophe:

“By the arrival of the Buckeye, we have the following in an extra from the ‘Louisiana Chronicle.’

“It has become our mournful duty to record one of the most terrible calamities that ever happened on the Mississippi. Yesterday, as the steamer Clipper No. 1 was backing out from her moorings at our landing, she blew up, with an explosion that shook the earth, air and heaven, as though the walls of the world were tumbling together about our ears. All the boilers burst simultaneously – machinery, vast fragments of the boilers, huge pieces of timber, and human beings in every degree of mutilation, were alike shot perpendicularly many hundred fathoms in the air.

“On reaching the greatest height, the various bodies diverged like the jets of a fountain in all directions, falling to the earth, and upon the roofs of houses, in some instances as much as two hundred and fifty yards from the scene of destruction. The hapless victims were scalded, crushed, torn, mangled and scattered in every possible direction – many into the river, some into the streets, some on the other side of the bayou, nearly 300 yards – some torn asunder by coming in contact with pickets and posts, and others shot like cannon balls through the solid walls of houses at a great distance from the boat. All in front of the wheel houses, appears as though swept by a whirlwind. But anything like an adequate description of the scene of the wreck and ruin is utterly out of the question. About thirty persons were killed and several severely wounded.” (Bangor Whig & Courier, ME. “Loss…Steamboat Clipper No 1 on the MS.” 10-5-1843, p. 2.)

Oct 9: “The last Southern mail brings accounts of a most terrible steamboat explosion at the town of Bayou Sara, on the Mississippi river – by which fourteen persons were killed – ten others missing, believed to be killed – nine wounded….” (Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA. “Terrible Steamboat Explosion.” Oct 9, 1843, p. 1.)

Sources

Adams Sentinel, Gettysburg, PA. “Terrible Steamboat Explosion” [Clipper]. 10-9-1843, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=3098019

Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, ME. “Loss of the Steamboat Clipper No 1 on the Mississippi.” 10-5-1843, p. 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=25207

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

Green Bay Republican, WI. “Another Explosion” [Steamer Clipper] Oct 24, 1843, p. 3. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=33444417

Library of Congress. “Louisiana Chronicle (St. Francisville {La.} 1838-1843.” Accessed 2-23-2021 at: https://www.loc.gov/item/sn86053838/

Lloyd, James T. Lloyd’s Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. Cincinnati, Ohio: James T. Lloyd & Co., 1856. Digitized by Google. Accessed 2-23-2021 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JlYqAAAAYAAJ

Lytle, William M., compiler, from Official Merchant Marine Documents of the United States and Other Sources; Holdcamper, Forrest H. (Editor, and Introduction by). Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1807-1868. “The Lytle List.” Mystic, CT: Steamship Historical Society of America (Publication No. 6), 1952. Accessed 8-16-2020 at: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015018039084&view=1up&seq=7

Milwaukie Sentinel, WI. “Power of Steam.” Oct. 28, 1843, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=33442568

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.

Republican Compiler, Gettysburg, PA. “Terrible Steamboat Explosion.” 10-9-1843. Accessed 2-23-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/tags/clipper/?pci=7&ndt=ex&pd=9&pm=10&py=1843&pep=bayou-sara&ob=1&search=ymd/

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

Springer, Adele I. (NYC). Table: “Principal marine disasters since 1831.” In: 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

The Experiment, Norwalk, OH. “Dreadful Explosion. Destruction of the Steamer ‘Clipper’.” 10-18-1843, p. 4. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=12372079

United States Patent Office. Report of the Commissioner of Patents, to the Senate of the United States, on the subject of steam boiler explosions. (30th Congress, 2d Session Executive Document No. 18). “Appendix C. Table of explosions.” 3-7-1848. Accessed 2-23-2021 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=MIcFAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

United States Patent Office. Report of the Commissioner of Patents, to the Senate of the United States, on the subject of steam boiler explosions. (30th Congress, 2d Session Executive Document No. 18). 12-30-1848.) Accessed 2-21-2021 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=chpLAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

1843 — July-Nov, Yellow Fever, esp. Mobile AL (240-750), New Orleans (487-700)–758-1,481

–758-1,481 Blanchard tally based on State and locality breakouts below.

 

Alabama         (240-750)        (Aug 18-Nov 5

— 750  Mobile, Aug 24-Nov 5.           Augustin.  History of Yellow Fever, 1909, 444.

— 240       “      Aug 18-Nov 5.            Keating 1879, 87; Sternberg 1908, 719; Toner 1873, 16;[1]

USMHS 1896, 436.

—      9      “      Oct 3                           Washington Globe. “The Epidemic.” 10-16-1843, p. 3.

—      7      “      Oct 4                           Washington Globe. “The Epidemic.” 10-16-1843, p. 3.

—    21      “      Oct 8-14                      Washington Globe. “The Yellow Fever.” 10-19-1843, p. 3.

 

Louisiana       (487-700)        (July 5-Oct 16)

–700  New Orleans                 Carrigan. The Saffron Scourge. 1961, p. 78, citing Jones, NOMSJ.[2]

–700        “                              Jones. New Orleans Medical & Surg. Jour., Vol. VI, 1879, p. 699.[3]

–487       “   July 5 start          Keating 1879, 87; Sternberg 1908, 719; USMHS 1896, 436

—  62       “   Sep 24-30.          Washington Globe, DC. (Yellow Fever, NOLA). 10-11-1843, p. 3.

–104       “   Sep 30-Oct 7.      Washington Globe, DC. “The Yellow Fever.” 10-19-1843, p. 3.[4]

—  14       “   Oct 2.                  Washington Globe, DC. (Yellow Fever, NOLA). 10-11-1843, p. 3.

—  12       “   Oct 6.    Washington Globe, DC. “The Epidemic.” 10-16-1843, p. 3.[5]

—    8       “   Oct 7.    Washington Globe, DC. “The Epidemic.” 10-16-1843, p. 3.[6]

—  10       “   Oct 8.    Washington Globe, DC. “The Yellow Fever.” 10-19-1843, p. 3.[7]

—  11       “   Oct 9.    Washington Globe, DC. “The Yellow Fever.” 10-19-1843, p. 3.[8]

—    8       “   Oct 11.  Washington Globe. “Health of New Orleans and Mobile.” 10-21-1843, 3.[9]

—    7       “   Oct 16.  Washington Globe. “Health of New Orleans and Mobile.” 10-28-1843, 3.[10]

 

Mississippi      (         26)         (Oct-Nov)

—  26  Rodney.            Natchez Gazette. “The Late Mortality in Rodney.” 11-22-1843.

—    ?  Vicksburg.        Moore, Sue B. “Yellow Fever in Jefferson County, Mississippi” website.[11]

 

New York       (           5)   N.Y. Marine Hospital.      Keating 1879, 87; USMHS 1896, 436.

 

Narrative Information

Alabama, Mobile:

 

Augustin:  “Population, 11,500. The first case of the epidemic of 1843 occurred on August 24, followed by a second case on the 26; both terminated fatally. It was not generally known that the disease had broken out, the public being kept in ignorance of the fact. About September 10, many cases, accompanied by black vomit, were observed, and the disease soon became widespread. Last case erupted November 5. Cases, 1,350; deaths, 750.” (p. 444 in reprint and p. 785 in electronic version.)

 

Oct 19 report:  “We are glad to notice an improvement in the health of our sister city, and trust

that it may continue. On Friday last, there were but three cases of yellow fever reported to the Board of Health, and seven on Saturday. The number for Thursday was five. The interments for the week ending Saturday amounted to forty five; of which, twenty-one were of yellow-fever cases.”  (Washington Globe. “The Yellow Fever.” 10-19-1843, p. 3.)

 

Louisiana, New Orleans:

 

Oct 6-7 reports: “The Picayune of the 6th instant says:  We feel ourselves called upon to repeat our admonition to strangers and persons who are not acclimated: Keep out of the city. The epidemic is malignantly rife among us, dragging to the grave, with fearful speed, most of those on whom it lays its prostrating hand. We say not this to alarm the present, but to caution the absent. The changing season will soon neutralize the virus of the fever; till then, all who hold life in account will keep away from New Orleans.”  (Washington Globe. “The Epidemic.” 10-16-1843, p. 3.)

 

Mississippi, Rodney:

 

Moore: “Rodney and surrounding Jefferson County endured the ravages of yellow fever numerous times and in varying degrees of severity in the nineteenth century…. The first major epidemic occurred in Rodney in 1843 and was so dire that its destruction made national newspapers. The deaths began in early September.  The Cleveland Herald on Oct. 25, 1843, reported, “Up to the 12th Inst., the yellow fever was on the increase at Vicksburg and was very malignant with foreigners.  It was also prevailing at Rodney.” The Philadelphia Inquirer and National Gazette, Oct. 26, 1843, noted, “The Fever at Rodney – The last New Orleans papers say that at Rodney, Miss., the yellow fever continued to rage in its most fatal form.  All the physicians, without exception, have been taken down with the disease.  The death of Dr. J. H. Savage is reported, and Dr. Hulser, Dr. Pickett, Dr. Williams, Dr. Todd, and Dr. Andrews were all down sick.”  (Moore, Sue B. “Yellow Fever in Jefferson County, Mississippi.” Jefferson County MSGenWeb Project website. Accessed 8-23-2013.)

 

Oct 7 report:  “We learn (says the Picayune of the 7th instant) by the steamer Arkansas, which arrived here yesterday, that twenty cases of yellow fever had occurred on the 4th instant at Rodney, Mississippi, and that two deaths had already taken place from that disease.”  (Washington Globe. “The Epidemic.” 10-16-1843, p. 3.)

 

Oct 19 report:  “Rodney. — This village, about forty miles above Natchez, has been visited by the yellow fever in a malignant form. The inhabitants have all fled from their residences; even the apothecary — doubtful, we suppose, of the efficacy of his own drugs — is not “at home” to his customers.-Picayune.” (Washington Globe. “The Yellow Fever.” 10-19-1843, 3)

 

Nov 22 report: “The hand of the yellow tyrant of the tropics was sore and heavy upon our neighboring city of Rodney, especially when it is considered that most of the inhabitants fled, and that during the mortality, the population of the village, white and black, probably did not exceed one hundred souls.  The following list of the names of the victims was politely furnished us by Mr. A. G. Carpenter, who volunteered, as Druggist, to accompany Dr. Benbrook, who went to Rodney in the darkest night of their peril, to risk life in the fearful combat against a disease which had prostrated nearly every physician in the place.  Mr. Carpenter stayed much longer than Dr. Benbrook, and did not leave until every vestige of the epidemic had vanished.  These gentlemen deserve the very highest commendation for their self-sacrificing zeal in favor of suffering humanity.  The only reward they have as yet obtained, as far as we know, is the approbation of their own consciences, and the applause of their fellow citizens, who trembled for their safety while they were absent on their perilous errand of mercy.

“Mr. Carpenter derived the following list of the dead from Mr. Thornsbury, the mechanic who assisted in making the coffins. It is probably as correct as the disturbed and frightful state of affairs in the depopulated village could permit anyone to furnish.

 

List of the Dead:

 

Dr. James Andrews’ daughter;

Mrs. Montgomery;

Messrs. Busk, Jeter, Ira;

Mrs. Skinner;

William Ballantine;

Mrs. Ballantine;

John Groves;

Mrs. Earls;

Mr. Wood, of the firm of Murray, Wood & Co.;

James Ricks;

Harrison Logan;

Robert Logan;

Mrs. Logan;

Mrs. Green T. Martin;

John Evans;

Dr. John H. Savage;

Mrs. Love;

James M. Berry;

Anthony Cokelin;

John Whitworth;

Gertrude Martin;

Charles Stewart;

Mrs. Divine;

Josiah Lawton”

 

(Natchez Gazette. “The Late Mortality in Rodney.” 11-22-1843.)

 

Sources

 

Augustin, George.  History of Yellow Fever.  New Orleans: Published for the Author by Search & Pfaff Ltd., 1909; General Books reprint, Memphis, TN, 2010. 1909 copy digitized at: http://archive.org/stream/historyofyellowf00auguuoft#page/n4/mode/1up

 

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

 

Drake, Daniel, M.D., S. Hanbury Smith, M.D. and Francis G. Smith, M.D. (eds.). A Systematic Treatise, Historical, Etiological, and Practical, on the Principal Diseases of the Interior Valley of North America…(Second Series). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., Publishers, 1854. Google digitized: http://books.google.com/books?id=AW0_AAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Jones, Joseph, MD. “Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878 in New Orleans,” p. 683-715 in New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal (S. M. Bemis, W. H. Watkins and S. S. Herrick eds.). Vol. VI, New Series, 1878-ʹ9), March, 1879. Accessed 3-20-2018 at: https://ia800108.us.archive.org/30/items/19030340RX28.nlm.nih.gov/19030340RX28.pdf

 

Keating, J. M.  A History of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878 in Memphis, Tenn. Memphis, TN:  Howard Association, 1879. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=WEIJAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Moore, Sue B. “Yellow Fever in Jefferson County, Mississippi.” Jefferson County MSGenWeb Project website. Accessed 8-23-2013 at: http://jeffersoncountyms.org/yellowfever.htm

 

Natchez Gazette. “The Late Mortality in Rodney.” 11-22-1843. Transcription accessed 8-23-2013 at: “1843 Yellow Fever Epidemic in Rodney, Jefferson County, Mississippi,” at: http://www.old-new-orleans.com/Rodney_Yellow_Fever_1843.html

 

Sternberg, George M. (US Public Health Service, US Marine Hospital Service).  “Yellow Fever:  History and Geographic Distribution.”  Pages 715-722 in Stedman, Thomas L., M.D. (Ed.) Appendix to the Reference Handbook of the Medical Sciences.  NY: William Wood & Co., 1908.  Google digitized:  http://books.google.com/books?id=3ezqX415M5wC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

United States Marine Hospital Service, Treasury Department.  Annual Report of the Supervising Surgeon-General of the Marine-Hospital Service of the United States for the Fiscal Year 1895 (Document No. 1811).  Washington:  GPO, 1896.  Digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=aTnxAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

 


 

[1] Cites Drake, p. 191.

[2] Notes the population was “over 100,000, and after epidemics which carried off nearly 2,000, the outbreak of that year could only be considered a rather moderate one.”

[3] In table on yellow fever deaths in New Orleans by year from 1817 to 1878.

[4] Represents yellow fever burials for the week, beginning at noon on 30th till noon on 7th, out of 180 total burials.

[5] At Charity Hospital. Same day 18 yellow fever patients admitted and 9 discharged.

[6] At Charity Hospital. Same day 25 yellow fever patients admitted and 6 discharged.

[7] At Charity Hospital. On this same Sunday, 9 yellow fever cases were admitted and 9 discharged.

[8] At Charity Hospital. Twenty-two yellow fever cases were admitted and 10 discharged.

[9] At Charity Hospital. Notes “Ten new cases of yellow fever were reported to the Mobile board of health on the 12th instant.”

[10] Notes ten new cases were admitted to the Charity Hospital, where the seven deaths occurred, on the same day.

[11] Cites The Cleveland Herald, 10-25-1843 to the effect that “Up to the 12th Inst., the yellow fever was on the increase at Vicksburg and was very malignant with foreigners.”

1842 — Nov 30, coastal storm and maritime losses, ME (20-21), MA (3), NH (5-6)       –28-30

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 8-6-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

 Maine                         (20-21)

—     16  Reid, Harvey. The Wreck of the Isidore. Woodpecker Records, 2009.

—     15  Bark Isadore, grounds on rocks, Cape Neddock, Maine. (Perley 1891/2001, p. 244.)

–14-15  Barque Isadore, Maxfield Beach ~Wells, ME. The Globe. “Shipwreck…” 12-6-1842, 3.

—       6  Schooner Napoleon, from Calais ME for NYC.  (Perley 1891/2001, p. 245.)

Massachusetts            (       3)

–3  Boston. Perley, S. Historic Storms of New England. Salem, MA: Salem Press, 1891, 244.[1]

–1       “       Sch. Jane Fish. The Globe, City of Wash. “Tremendous Storm…” 12-5-1842, 1.

 New Hampshire         (    5-6)

—  6  James Clarke. The Globe, Washington. “Shipwreck and Loss of Life.” 12-6-1842, p. 3.

—  5  Rye Beach, schooner James Cook, grounds on beach. (Perley 1891/2001, pp. 245-246.)[2]

Narrative Information

Perley: “On Wednesday afternoon, November 30, 1842, a snow storm began, which turned to rain about nine o’clock in the evening. The wind had blown moderately through the day, but when night came on it increase until it blew with great violence from the east-southeast, shifting to the east-northeast at two o’clock in the morning, when it quickly subsided.  In some parts, a great deal of snow fell, and travel on the railroads was greatly obstructed, fifteen inches of snow being on the ground the next day at Dover, N.H. The storm began early in the morning as far south as Washington and Baltimore, and much snow fell there. The temperature was also low, being at Belfast, Maine, on the day before only six degrees above zero, the coldest November day that had been known there for several years.

 

“At Boston, the storm was much more severe than at any other port in that vicinity. Many vessels were anchored in the harbor when the storm came on, and they were driven from their moorings, being either jammed against each other or the wharves. They were badly chafed and broken, and several of them were sunk.  In the very heart of the city the sound of falling masts and of vessels crashing together was heard from time to time above the noise of the storm. It was deemed dangerous to go to the end of the wharves lest some large craft might dash against them, carrying them away. In the night, several sailors were drowned.

 

“Among the many wrecks caused by the storm in the few short hours it continued were two or three that made it memorable. One of them was that of the bark Isadore, a new and beautiful vessel of four hundred tons burden, commanded and owned by Capt. Leander Foss. This was its first trip, and it sailed on the morning of the storm from Kennebunk, Maine, for New Orleans. In the blinding snow and the tempest of that night the craft was driven on a point of rocks near Cape Neddock, Maine, called Bald head, and wrecked. The entire crew of fifteen belonged in Kennebunkport, and all perished. Five were fathers of families, and left in all twenty children. Two were young men, the only sons of widows.

 

“The schooner Napoleon, commanded by Capt. James York, sailed from Calais, Maine, for New York, with a cargo of lumber, on the twenty-eighth of the month. The gale struck the vessel out in the ocean on the night of the storm and carried away both masts. She capsized and righted, but was filled with water. The cook, a Scotch lad, was probably lost when the vessel went over, as he was not seen again. The others of the crew remained on deck, in the cold and darkness and tempest, and one after another they lay down and died. The craft was driven about by the mighty wind, but where no one knew or cared. The next day and another night passed away. Death was what they desired, and all but one of them found it. When the wreck had reached a point about forty miles south of Monhegan, it fell in with the schooner Echo of Thomaston, Maine. Captain York had survived until within an hour or two of their meeting with the Echo, and when the captain of that vessel came on board the wreck only the mate was found alive, he being badly frozen. The other six had all died, and their bodies had been washed away except that of one man, which was jammed in among the lumber in such a manner that it could not be extricated without great danger.

 

“The saddest wreck caused by the storm was that of the schooner James Clark, of sixty tons burden, belonging in St. John, N. B., commanded and owned by Captain Beck. It was on a trip from St. John to Boston, and there were twenty persons on board. They left Portland on the morning of the storm, and late that afternoon were driven ashore at Rye beach [NH], the vessel becoming a total wreck.  At six o’clock in the evening, which was soon after the vessel struck, the cabin was stove in, and the people were compelled to remain on deck. The heavy sea dashed over them, and they were washed from one side of the vessel to the other, their clothing being torn off from them. 

 

“They suffered intensely from the exposure to cold and water, and some died, the first being Mrs. Margaret Stewart’s six month’s old baby boy, named Willie, who expired in her arms. She had wrapped him so closely for protection from exposure that his death was probably hastened thereby.  The mother became insensible and when rescued was found among some lumber almost covered with water.  Her arms were stiffened in the position in which she had held her child, and remained so for some time after arriving at the land.  She was saved, however, to mourn the loss of her boy. 

 

“Mrs. Mary Hebersen, a widow of about fifty, accompanied by her daughter Hannah, who was twelve years old, was on her way to an aunt’s in Holden, Mass.  For hours they kept together in their hopeless condition as well as the waves would permit.  At length the daughter, becoming benumbed with cold, lay down upon the deck at her mother’s feet and died.  While she lay there, her life fast ebbing away, her mother watched over her, and raising her eyes to heaven commended her daughter’s spirit to her Maker. This excellent mother was no sooner apprehensive of the death of her daughter than she forgot the tempest and laid herself down by the side of her child.  In fifteen minutes her spirit also had fled.

 

“As soon as it was possible, one of the sailors took a long rope, fastened one end of it on the deck, and jumped into the raging surf with the other end tied to him. He fought his way to the shore, and by means of the rope the captain and crew and ten of the passengers, five women, two men, a girl and a boy, and a child sixteen months old, were saved. Only one person, Dennis Mahaney, perished while attempting to reach the shore on the rope. Mrs. Hebersen and Mr. Mahaney were the only adults lost, the rest being children. Five bodies were recovered.

 

“Those most instrumental in saving these people were a Mr. Yeaton and his son, who unweariedly and at imminent peril of their lives assisted in getting them on shore.  But for their efforts many more would have perished. Mr. Yeaton’s family generously placed everything they had at the disposal of the sufferers. They gave them the use of the whole house and freely distributed their extra clothing among them, both mariners and passengers having lost theirs, except what they wore when rescued, some of them being nearly naked.” (Perley, Sidney. Historic Storms of New England. Salem, MA: Salem Press, 1891, pp. 244-246.)

 

Dec 5, The Globe: “From the Boston Post of Thursday [Dec 1].  The weather during the early part of yesterday was cloudy and the wind variable.  In the evening, about six o’clock, a southeast snow-storm set in, which continued until about nine o’clock, when it commenced raining; and the wind, which up to that time had blown moderately, burst forth from ESE, with tremendous fury.  Many vessels, which were riding at anchor in the harbor, were driven from their moorings, and either dashed against the ends of the wharves, or jammed alongside of each other.

 

“A large vessel at the end of Russia wharf was almost blown on her beam ends, and several schooners and brigs were jammed together, chafing and cracking – some of them with no person on board.  One or two small vessels were also sunk at this wharf.

 

“At Fort Hill wharf, several vessels were more or less damaged.  A small schooner, (the Jane Fish, of St. George, Maine,) was driven from her anchor against the wharf, and Nathan Fuller, an elderly sailor, in attempting to leave the vessel, fell between her side and the wharf, and was drowned.  The crew of this vessel state that the brig Uncle Sam had been blown adrift, and was then driving about the harbor; and that the ship Tyrone had parted her head-fasts, had swung round, and sustained considerable damage.

 

“The space between India and Central wharves was filling up fast with drifting wrecks; and those vessels at the end of these wharves were careening as if their tall masts would turn them over.

 

“The end of Long wharf brought up several small craft, which, probably, were sunk.  The space between this wharf and the Central wharf was also the scene of great destruction.  The noise of falling masts and the crashing of drifting wrecks rose, at intervals, above the storm, and might have been heard even at the centre of the city.

 

“At the northern wharves, and, in fact, at all the wharves, more or less damage was sustained by a great portion of the shipping.  Such was the terrific violence of the gale, that it was dangerous for an individual to venture to the ends of the wharves; and such was the confusion that reigned around, that little, if anything definite, could be obtained of the people who had left their vessels.

 

“We were informed that more than a dozen vessels had been sunk, and that the crews of one or two of them had perished; but the names of the vessels we could not learn.  This leads us o hope that such reports are exaggerated.

 

“At 2 a.m., we took another stroll along the wharves, and found things comparatively quiet – the wind having shifted to ENE. although we saw nearly twenty vessels more or less damaged, we could not obtain any particulars; for most of them were deserted.  The schooner Conclusion, of Gloucester, lying at the north end of T wharf, had her stern stove in, and sustained other damage.  A large ship (said to be the Riga) was driven up the dock at Long wharf, and had her bowsprit carried away close to the knight-heads.  One of the ships which arrived yesterday was reported to have drifted from her anchors, and sustained great damage.  A ship at the end of Commercial wharf, was also reported to have suffered considerably.  The barque Anita, too, was said to have sustained some damage.

 

“P.S.  The wind still blows with great violence, but we expect it will moderate about daylight.  Perhaps no gale that has visited this place for some time, has destroyed so much property in so short a time.  We fear that a few days will unfold tales of shipwreck and death along our coasts, that will bring pain and sorrow to many a bereaved bosom; for no vessel close in with land could carry sail, or ride at anchor, in exposed situations, and weather such a tempest….”  (The Globe, City of Washington. “Tremendous Storm – Shipwrecks – Loss of Life.” 12-5-1842, p. 1.)

 

Dec 6: “The barque Isadore, Captain Foss, sailed from Kennebunk for New Orleans on the morning of the 30th ult., and during the gale of the same night was driven ashore on Maxfield beach, near Wells, Maine, wrecked; and all hands perished, fourteen or fifteen in number.  On the same night, the schooner James Clarke, Captain Beck, of and from St. John, N.B., via Portland, for Boston, went ashore or Rye Beach, N.H., and six passengers perished.  Their names were Daniel Mahoney, _____ Barry, a lady, and her daughter 5 years old; a child of Mrs. Stewart, and a little girl named Peggy.  The vessel is a total loss. – Balt. Sun.”  (The Globe, City of Washington. “Shipwreck and Loss of Life.” 12-6-1842, p. 3.)

 

Sources

 

Perley, Sidney. Historic Storms of New England. Salem, MA: The Salem Press Publishing and Printing Co., 1891. Google digital preview accessed 10-26-2017 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2kAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Perley, Sidney. Historic Storms of New England.  Beverly MA:  Commonwealth Editions, 2001 (originally published 1891, in Salem MA: The Salem Press).

 

Reid, Harvey. The Wreck of the Isidore. Woodpecker Records, 2009. Accessed 2-10-2013 at: http://www.woodpecker.com/isidore/index.html

 

The Globe, City of Washington. “Tremendous Storm – Shipwrecks – Loss of Life.” 12-5-1842, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=186917707&sterm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Writes of “several’ deaths of sailors at Boston harbor the first night of the storm – we convert ‘several” to three.

[2] Does not state the number of fatalities, just the number of bodies recovered.

1842 — Nov 15-18 Great Lakes Storm, maritime losses, especially Lake Erie — >65

–100 Mansfield 1899, Vol. 1, Chapter XXXVI [36], 1841-1850.
— 65 Maritime History of the Great Lakes.
— 8 “Brandywine (Schooner), aground, 15 Nov 1842.” At Dunkirk, NY.
— 6 “Caroline (Schooner), sunk?, 18 Nov 1842.”
— 6 “Detroit (Schooner), aground, 15 Nov 1842.” Lake Erie off Ontario Province, Can.
— 1 “Edwin Jenny (Schooner), aground, 15 Nov 1842.” Lake Erie, Canadian shore.
— 8 “Emily (Schooner), lost, 18 Nov 1842.” Capsized off Long Point, Can., Lake Erie.
— 9 “Jefferson (Schooner), aground, 18 Nov 1842.” Grounded, Buffalo, NY, Lake Erie.
— 2 Jena (Schooner). Out of Detroit, lost two men off Grand River, Lake Michigan.
— 6 “Liguire (Schooner), aground, 15 Nov 1842.” Point Abino, Canada side, Lake Erie.
— 2 “Merchant (Schooner), rudder damaged, 15 Nov 1842.” Fairport Hbr., NY, Lake Erie.
–10 “Milwaukie (Ship), aground, 18 Nov 1842.” Near Kalamazoo Riv., mouth, Lake MI.
— 7 “N. Hubbard (Schooner), aground, 15 Nov 1842.” Off Conneaut OH, Lake Erie.
— 63 Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, NY. “Losses By The November Gale.” 1-18-1843, p. 3.
— 8 Schooner Brandywine, ashore in Buffalo Bay, Lake Erie.
— 6 Schooner Caroline, missing on Lake Huron.
— 6 Schooner Detroit (missing).
— 1 Schooner E. Jenney, ashore near Point Abino, Ontario, Lake Erie.
— 8 Schooner Emily, British (missing).
— 9 Schooner Jefferson, ashore in Buffalo Bay, Lake Erie.
— 1 Schooner Juna (lost).
— 6 Schooner Ligure, ashore near Point Abino, Ontario, Lake Erie.
— 1 Schooner Merchant.
–10 Ship Milwaukie, ashore near Kalamazoo, MI, Lake Michigan.
— 7 Schooner N. Hubbard, near Conneaut, OH, Lake Erie.
— 4 Unnamed scow out of Port Byron, Lake Huron. (Not heard from by date of report.)

Narrative Information

Mansfield: “The Storm of November 18. The wind, which had been blowing from the west, turned to the southeast November 15, from which quarter it blew until November 17. At 7 P. M., November 17, the wind veered again to the west and began to blow with great force. At Buffalo the gale was accompanied by snow, which fell to the depth of 12 inches. The loss of property and life was great. The number of persons killed was estimated at 100, while about 50 wrecks were scattered over the Great Lakes. Eighteen vessels were driven ashore on the Canadian side of Lake Erie, and many more on the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario. Many of the boats were total losses, with their cargoes, while some sustained only a partial loss or serious injury.” (Mansfield 1899, Vol. 1, Chapter XXXVI)

Newspapers

Nov 27: “Lake Erie. – The Sheriff yesterday went up on the beach, and took possession of the property wrecked. In the cabin of the schooner Brandywine was found the body of a passenger; the name on his linen is Otis Burton, Medina….Buffalo Courier.” (New York Herald. “Lake Erie.” 11-27-1842, p. 1, col. 5.)

Nov 28: “We gather the following additional particulars of the gale on Lake Erie from the Buffalo Morning Gazette of Monday [Nov 21 or 28].

“Friday last [Nov 18] was a most dismal day for the seamen on the Lakes. A severe snow storm, accompanied by a very heavy west wind, rendered it impossible for them to see more than the length of their vessels, and dangerous for them to venture on deck, without being lashed to the rigging.

“The steamboats Chautauque and Gen. Harrison entered our harbor between 2 and 3 o’clock on Sunday afternoon. Although the wind blew violently and the weather was extremely cold, a crowd of people collected on the wharf to see them round the lighthouse point. The Chautauque entered first, and although she had to labor hard against a heavy sea, she came in with no other damage than a few duckings [sic]. She had however been badly bruised and otherwise injured on her passage down. When she had fairly passed the point, and escaped all danger of the landing a shout of joy rose spontaneously from the assembled multitude.

“A letter from Dunkirk states that the schooner Brandywine entered that port on Thursday night [17th] and on Saturday morning she was missing. A large quantity of flour has come ashore at that place, and it is feared she is lost. The writer entertains a hope that she may have reached this port in safety. It is more than probable that she has become a prey to the contending elements. – A schooner (supposed to be the Barcelona), passed Dunkirk on Friday afternoon bound down. There was a report in town yesterday that the Barcelona was among the number wrecked on the Canadian shore, and that she lays about twenty miles up the lake.

“We fear that the worst of the tale is not yet told. The storm still continues (Sunday night) [Nov 20] with unabated fury. Of the number of lives which are lost, and the amount of property destroyed on the lakes, Heaven only knows. Let us hope for the best….” (Newburyport Herald, MA. “Disasters on Lake Erie.” 11-29-1842, p. 1, col. 5.)

Sources

Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, NY. “Losses By The November Gale.” 1-18-1843, p. 3. Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/details.asp?ID=46759

Mansfield, John Brandts (Ed. and Compiler). History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co., 1899. Google digitized and accessed 12-2-2020 at: http://www.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/documents/hgl/default.asp?ID=s036

Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Brandywine (Schooner), aground, 15 Nov 1842.” Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/details.asp?ID=46762

Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Caroline (Schooner), sunk?, 18 Nov 1842.” Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/52225/data?n=1

Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Detroit (Schooner), aground, 15 Nov 1842.” Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/49158/data?n=15

Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Edwin Jenny (Schooner), aground, 15 Nov 1842.” Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/49159/data?n=1

Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Emily (Schooner), lost, 18 Nov 1842.” Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/46768/data?n=1

Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Jefferson (Schooner), aground, 18 Nov 1842.” Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/46759/data?n=9

Maritime History of the Great Lakes. [Jena (Schooner).] Transcription from Buffalo Commercial of 11-25-1842. Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/21744/data?n=2

Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Liguire (Schooner), aground, 15 Nov 1842.” Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/49144/data?n=1

Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Merchant (Schooner), rudder damaged, 15 Nov 1842.” Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/49164/data?n=4

Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Milwaukie (Ship), aground, 18 Nov 1842.” Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/49143/data?n=7

Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “N. Hubbard (Schooner), aground, 15 Nov 1842.” Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/49141/data?n=1

Milwaukee Sentinel, WI. “Terrible Gale.” 12-7-1842, p. 2, col. 2-3. Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/milwaukie-sentinel-dec-07-1842-p-2/

New York Herald. “Lake Erie.” 11-27-1842, p. 1, col. 5. Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-herald-nov-27-1842-p-1/

Newburyport Herald, MA. “Disasters on Lake Erie.” 11-29-1842, p. 1, col. 5. Accessed 12-2-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/newburyport-herald-nov-29-1842-p-1/

1842 — July-Oct, Yellow Fever Epidemics, Mobile, AL (66-77), New Orleans (211) –285-289

–285-289        Blanchard tally based on State and local breakouts below.

—       277        Sternberg 1908, p. 719.

—       271        Keating 1879, p. 87; US Marine-Hospital Service. 1896, p.436.

 

Alabama         (66-70)

–70  Mobile    Begins Aug 20            Augustin. History of Yellow Fever, 1909, 444.

–66        “        Keating 1879, 87; Sternberg 1908, 719; Toner 1873, 16;[1] USMHS 1896, 436.

 

Louisiana       (  211)

—>211  New Orleans                          Carrigan. The Saffron Scourge. 1961, p. 92.[2]

—  211          “           July 30 start.      Keating 1879, 87; Sternberg 1908, 719; USMHS 1896, 436

 

Maritime        (      8)

–8  New York brig Orentes, after leaving Jamaica Oct 23 for New York.[3]

 

Narrative Information

 

Oct 8-12? [4], New Orleans: “At New Orleans during the week ending on the 8th inst., there were 34 deaths by yellow fever. On the 10th inst. eight new cases of fever were admitted into the Charity Hospital; and on the 12th, there was only one new case admitted. During these two days there were seven deaths by yellow fever.” (Southport Telegraph, WI, “Health of New Orleans,” 11-9-1842, p. 2, col. 6.)

 

Oct 27, Mobile: “The Mobile Chronicle of the 27th ult. says that the sickness which prevailed in that city has suddenly disappeared. Not a single case of yellow fever was reported to the board of health on the 26th ult., and the weather continued cold and windy.” (Washington Globe, DC. “Health of Mobile.” 11-5-1842, p. 3, co. 3.)

 

Sources:

 

Augustin, George.  History of Yellow Fever. New Orleans: 1909; General Books reprint, Memphis, TN, 2010.

 

Boston Post. “Melancholy.” 12-12-1842, p. 2, col. 4. Accessed 4-16-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-post-dec-12-1842-p-2/

 

Brown, Harvey E., Assistant Surgeon, U.S. Army. Quarantine on the Southern and Gulf Coasts. Washington: December 2,1872. Transmitted by Letter from The Secretary of War, Communicating, In obedience to law, information in relation to quarantine on the Southern and Gulf Coasts (Senate Documents, 42d Congress, 3d Session, Executive Document No. 9; in: United States Congress, Senate. Index to the Senate Executive Documents for the Third Session of the Forty-Second Congress of the United States of America, 1872-´73, in one Volume. Washington: GPO, 1873.) Accessed 8-23-2013 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=zI0FAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

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

 

Drake, Daniel, M.D., S. Hanbury Smith, M.D. and Francis G. Smith, M.D. (eds.). A Systematic Treatise, Historical, Etiological, and Practical, on the Principal Diseases of the Interior Valley of North America…(Second Series). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., Publishers, 1854. Google digitized: http://books.google.com/books?id=AW0_AAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Keating, J. M.  A History of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878 in Memphis, Tenn. Memphis, TN:  Howard Association, 1879. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=WEIJAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Southport Telegraph, WI, “Health of New Orleans,” 11-9-1842, p. 2, col. 6. Accessed 4-16-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/southport-telegraph-nov-09-1842-p-2/

 

Sternberg, George M. (US Public Health Service, US Marine Hospital Service).  “Yellow Fever:  History and Geographic Distribution.”  Pages 715-722 in Stedman, Thomas L., M.D. (Ed.) Appendix to the Reference Handbook of the Medical Sciences.  NY: William Wood & Co., 1908.  Google digitized:  http://books.google.com/books?id=3ezqX415M5wC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Toner, Joseph M. (M.D., President, American Medical Association). “The Distribution and Natural History of Yellow Fever as it has Occurred at Different Times in the United States” (Paper read before the American Public Health Association, November 12, 1873). Washington, DC: 1873, 33 pages. Accessed 8-23-2013 at: http://cdm16313.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/LSUBK01/id/10240/rec/19

 

United States Marine Hospital Service, Treasury Department.  Annual Report of the Supervising Surgeon-General of the Marine-Hospital Service of the United States for the Fiscal Year 1895 (Document No. 1811).  Washington:  GPO, 1896.  Digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=aTnxAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Washington Globe, DC. “Health of Mobile.” 11-5-1842, p. 3, co. 3. Accessed 4-16-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/washington-globe-nov-05-1842-p-3/

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Cites Drake, p. 222 and Brown.

[2] Carrigan writes in a footnote: “For many years, the only figures available for yellow fever mortality in the city are the figures for yellow fever deaths in Charity Hospital, indicated by a plus after the number [as is the case in 1835]. Presumably there were other deaths in New Orleans in private practice…”

[3] Boston Post. “Melancholy.” 12-12-1842, p. 2, col. 4.

[4] This article is in a papr published Nov 9, and notes events on the 8th, 10th and 12th “inst.” (which at the time meant that month). Could not be Nov, so must be Sep or Oct. September would have been very much out of date.

1842 — June 16, Tornado, Adams County, MS                  [may not have happened]     —   500

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard January 8, 2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

Blanchard note: I am including this event given that two of the sources are A. W. Greeley, Chief Signal Officer of the US Army (though in 1888 book), and Nunn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Nashville Weather Forecast Office, in a 1921 paper wherein he appears to repeat Greeley.

We are somewhat skeptical, however, in that Thomas Grazulis did not include this in his authoritative 1,326 page book Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. Additionally we have not located information concerning a deadly Mississippi tornodo on June 16, 1842 in our newspaper archive search extending out to June 23 in an all-State key-word search. Also, we note that the only mention of a tornado in Hazard’s US Register for the first six months of the year is one reported in the Tuscaloosa Monitor on the “4th inst.” Since this note was in the March section (p. 207) it could not be a reference to a June tornado. Only one death was noted.

It seems possible to us that one source (Greeley) was the original source, and all others followed him or followed those who followed him. We can not speculate on the Greeley note of such a deadly tornado, but it appears to us be in error.

—  500  Greeley, A. W., Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army. American Weather. 1888, p. 232.

—  500  New York Times. “Cyclones and Tornadoes. The Damage Caused by…,” March 23, 1897

—  500  Nunn (NWS WFO Nashville). “Tornadoes…Special Reference To…TN,” Nov 25, 1921.

—  500  Searight.  “Historic Disasters…”  Appendix to The Doomed City.  1906, p. 185.

—  500  Watkins. “Heaven’s Heavy Artillery: Cyclones, Tornadoes, Hurricanes…”  1905, p. 719.

 

Narrative Information

 

Greeley: “List of Twenty-Five of the Most Destructive Tornadoes in the United States.”  Number 2: “Miss…Adams [County]…June 16, 1842…500 [killed]…” (Greeley, A. W., Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army.  American Weather. 1888, p. 232.)

 

Nunn, Roscoe (Meteorologist, US Weather Bureau):

“…. the loss of life in tornadoes is sometimes appalling. There are several instances in which 100 to 300 people were killed in a single day. There is a record of a tornado in Adams County, Mississippi, May 7, 1840, in which 317 people were killed, and another in the same county about two years later, June 16, 1842, in which 500 were killed. The St. Louis tornado, May 27, 1896, killed 306. On the afternoon of March 28, 1920, at least 13 tornadoes occurred, eleven of them in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan, and two in Alabama and Georgia. These storms killed 163 people. But the most memorable date in tornado history probably is that of February 9, 1884, when a series of tornadoes occurred from Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois, eastward to Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. On that day there were more than sixty separate tornadoes after 10 a. m. Over ten thousand buildings were destroyed, 800 people killed and 2500 wounded….”

 

Searight.  “Historic Disasters…”  Appendix to The Doomed City.  1906, p. 185:

 

“Historic Disasters By Tornadoes And Other Storms.

 

“… A list of notable storms, showing a terrible loss of life and property, follows:

 

“Adams County, Mississippi, May 7, 1840 – 100 killed; property loss $1,000,000.

 

“Adams County, Mississippi, June 16, 1842 – 500 killed; property loss $3,000,000….”

 

Watkins: “The same county [Adams] was visited by a similar convulsion two years later – on June 16, 1842 – when 500 persons lost their lives.”  (Watkins 1905, p. 719)

 

Sources

 

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

 

Greely A.W. (Chief Signal Officer, United States Army). American Weather: A Popular Exposition of the Phenomena of the Weather, Including Chapters on Hot and Cold Waves, Blizzards, Hail-Storms and Tornadoes. NY: Dodd, Meade & Co., 1888.  Digitized by Google. Accessed 1-8-2024 at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=nKMMAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

 

Hazard, Samuel (Editor). Hazard’s United States Commercial and Statistical Register, Containing Documents, Facts, and Other Useful Information, Illustrative of the History and Resources of The American Union, and of Each State…” Vol. VI, from January 1842 to July 1842. Philadelphia: Wm. F. Geddes, 1842. Accessed 1-8-2024 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hazard_s_United_States_Commercial_and_St/uqspAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Hazard%E2%80%99s+United+States+Commercial+and+Statistical+Register,+Containing+Documents,+Facts,+and+Other+Useful+Information,+Illustrative+of+the+History+and+Resources+of+The+American+Union,+and+of+Each+State%E2%80%A6%E2%80%9D+Vol.+VI,+from+January+1842+to+July+1842.&pg=PR1&printsec=frontcover

 

New York Times. “Cyclones and Tornadoes. The Damage Caused by Heavy Winds in This Country,” March 23, 1897, p. 1. Accessed at:  http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D02E7D61339E433A25750C2A9659C94669ED7CF

 

Nunn, Roscoe. “Tornadoes, With Special Reference To Those That Have Occurred in Tennessee” (Paper delivered before the Tennessee Academy of Science). Nov 25, 1921. Accessed 1-8-2024 at:  http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bna/research/tornadoes.htm

 

Searight, Frank Thompson. The Doomed City. Chicago: Laird & Lee, 1906. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=TnUUAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

 

Watkins, John Elfreth. “Heaven’s Heavy Artillery: Cyclones, Tornadoes, Hurricanes – Their Origin, Area of Operation, and Methods of Action.”  Pages 712-721 in Technical World Magazine, Volume 2, Armour Institute of Technology, 1905.  Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=CgLOAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1892 — April 27, Fire, Gilmore’s Central Theater, Philadelphia, PA                             —     14

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 1-22-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

—  28  Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac. “Loss of Life in Panics and Disastrous Fires.” 1917, 495.

—  14  Blanchard tally of named fatalities from newspaper reporting below (to May 15).

—  14  Galveston Daily News, TX. “The Manager Condemned.” 5-17-1892, p. 5.

—  14  Gettysburg Compiler, PA. 5-31-1892, p. 2.

—  14  National Fire Protection Assoc. “Loss of Life in Theatre Fires.” Quarterly, 24/1, July, 1930.

—  14  Ohio Democrat, New Philadelphia, OH.  “The Fourteenth Victim.” 5-26-1892, p. 7.

—  13  Davis, A.  America’s Longest Run: A History of the Walnut Street Theater. 2010, p. 177.

—  13  Joyce, John St. George (Ed.)  Story of Philadelphia. 1919, p. 289.

—  13  Independence Hall Assoc. in Philadelphia.  “Philadelphia Timeline, 1892. Ushistory.org.

Narrative Information

Davis: “On the evening of April 27, 1892, Philadelphia lost one of its premiere houses when the Central Theatre, a thirty-four-hundred-seat theatre…went up in flames. The Central was primarily used for extravaganzas. The curtain was about to go up on a production of The Devil’s Auction when a piece of the canvas scenery touched one of the gas jets and caught fire.  The flames quickly spread along the borders to the curtain. Panic ensued, as the crowd in the upper galleries struggled down the inadequate stairways to safety. Dozens were trampled, and some leaped from the upper windows onto the street below. The cast featured a large company of ballet dancers, acrobats, and chorus girls, and the large number of players created confusion backstage, too….

 

“The scene on the street was chaotic. ‘Actors searched wildly for friends or relatives. Half clad women wept in fear, as they sought for missing husbands. At a nearby theatrical hotel, the broken company reassembled in an effort to learn who had still to be accounted for. Ambulances worked late into the night, carrying away the injured and the burned,’ wrote Edgar Leroy Potts.  It was several days before the true extent of the tragedy could be determined. In the smoking ruins of the Central Theatre, rescue workers found the bodies of four actresses and two actors.  Seven spectators also lost their lives.” (Davis, Andrew. America’s Longest Run: A History of the Walnut Street Theater. 2010, p. 177.)

 

Joyce: “A fire on April 27, 1892, originated in the Central Theater building. It destroyed the theater; the Times newspaper office, on Sansom Street above Eighth Street, and several stores on Eighth Street. Six persons were buried in the ruins of the theater and seven persons in the audience were fatally injured. The money loss was about $1,000,000.”  (Joyce, John St. George (Ed.)  Story of Philadelphia. 1919, p. 289.)

Newspapers

 

April 28: “Philadelphia, April 28. – A million dollars gone up in flames and smoke and nearly an entire square consumed is the record of the fire fiend’s work in Philadelphia today. The territory devastated by the flames is bounded on the north by Sansome street, on the south by Walnut street, on the east by Eighth street and on the west by Ninth street.

 

“In the block were the Central theater, now a smoldering ruin, and the historic old Walnut Street theater, which was not readied by the fire. The Times annex, which stood directly in the rear of the Central theater, where the flames originated, is also in ruins.  In addition to The Times, which occupied two floors and the basement, the building was occupied by a number of business houses, whose loss will be heavy. Taggart’s Sunday Times and Poulson’s hotel, which stand on Walnut street above the theater, are badly gutted and the loss will be heavy. All the buildings on

Eighth street between Walnut and Sansome are badly damaged by fire and water, as are those pointing on Walnut street.

 

“A careful estimate places the entire loss at over $1,000,000, and it is said that the insurance will not reach $400,000. 

 

“The fire is one of the most sensational which has ever occurred in this city.

 

How It All Happened.

 

“At 8 o’clock last night Gilmore’s Central theater, the most popular variety theater in the city, was crowded, the attraction being “The Devil’s Auction.” While the orchestra was playing the overture a stage hand was startled by the discovery of fire in the flies [unclear]. A sky border had swung against one of the border lights and in an instant a sheet of flames swept over the stage.  The inflammable [flammable] scenery caught like tinder and almost before the alarm could be given the stage was a mass of fire.

 

“Half-dressed chorus girls and actors made a wild rush for life and sought to reach the street. Those on the stage easily escaped, but those in the dressing rooms under and above the stage had a hard struggle for life. As they rushed from their dressing room they were met at every turn by the flames and many had narrow escapes.  A number of the women fainted and were carried into the street almost at the cost of their life and those of their rescuers. All of them lost everything except the costumes which they had on at the moment the fire started. In the front of the house the first warning received was from the crier on the stage, which was followed by a burst of smoke.

Caught in a Roaring Furnace.

 

“`Fire’ resounded on every side, and there was a rush for the doors. Men, women and boys were borne down and crushed to the floor in the fight to reach safety. In the top gallery the rush was the worst, as the staircase leading down to the street is narrow and tortuous. At the Walnut street front are improved fire escapes, and hundreds reached the street by them. Hundreds more were, however, trampled under foot, crushed and bruised into insensibility and left lying in the burning theater.  

 

“The force of officers on the spot worked like beavers, and the alarm had been quickly followed at once by a second. The police and firemen began work at once, and brought out those who had been injured and left to perish. Many were found to be but slightly injured and took care of themselves as best they could, for there were too many who needed medical aid at once to be provided for. Ambulances from the Jefferson, Pennsylvania, Hahnemann and University hospitals were promptly on the ground, and, aided by the police wagons, carried about 180 injured to the hospitals. The Pennsylvania hospital alone received 40, and at midnight had 38 of the injured in the wards.

 

“The flames spread like wildfire, and in an incredibly short time the rear of the theatre was a mass of seething flames which shot high into the air.

 

Destruction of the Newspaper Office.

 

“Directly in the rear of the Central theater and fronting on Sansome street was the eight story Times annex, separated from the theater only by a few feet of space. As the flames shot up they licked the wall and burst through the windows, and that, too, was doomed. When the alarm was given the whole force of The Times was at work. The compositors were on the top floor and the editorial and city staff on the seventh floor. Ample time was afforded for escape and the employes had no trouble in leaving the building in safety. The Times editorial rooms were elegantly fitted up and a valuable library occupied a section of the floor. Everything was eaten up by the fire, which, while it made very slow progress in The Times building, was no less effective.

 

Some Thrilling Scenes.

 

“In the “Devil’s Auction” company were forty people, eighteen men and twenty-two women. The stage manager of the company reports that all are accounted for.[1] Some are, however, badly bruised and all lost their street clothing and valuables.

 

“The rush down the fire escapes was thrilling. Like rats the men and boys of the galleries rolled and tumbled down, with an occasional clutch at a rod or support to stay their flight. Many fell with but very few pauses in their journey and landed on the sidewalk with broken limbs and other injuries. It is miraculous that no one was killed….” (Tyrone Daily Herald, PA. “Awful Scenes During a Fire in a Theater at Philadelphia.” 4-28-1892, p. 1.)

 

April 29:  “Philadelphia, April 29. – The destruction of the Grand Central theater proves to have been more terrible in its results than was anticipated. Six members of the “Devil’s Auction” company lie dead beneath the fallen walls of the building, and nearly threescore people are in the hospitals suffering from bums. Many of the men and boys in the hospitals are in such a serious condition that their recovery is doubtful. All were members of the audience….

 

The Fatally Injured.

 

“The injured in the hospitals who are likely to die are all suffering from burns about the face and head and from having inhaled the flames. The names are:

 

Harry McCloskey, 10 years old.

James Pigeon, 14 years old.

Amer Hinchliffe [or William Binchcliffe], 16 years old.

Rand Patterson, 16 years old.

Albert Crumback, 16 years old.

Thomas Atchison, 37 years old.

Ralph Frazer, 16 years old….”

 

(Tyrone Herald, PA. “Six Victims Beneath…Debris of Philadelphia’s Theater Fire.” 4-29-1892, 1)

 

April 29:  “Philadelphia, April 29. – Thomas Acheson, aged thirty-seven years, who was burned while making his escape from the Central Theatre, died today at the Pennsylvania Hospital….”  (New York Times.  “Victim of the Theatre Fire.” 4-30-1892.)

 

April 30:  “Philadelphia, April 30. Six members of ‘The Devil’s Auction’ company are believed to have lost their lives in the destruction by fire of the Grand Central theater. Their bodies are supposed to be buried in the ruins. Their names are as follows:

 

William Brooks, leading man and a resident of Philadelphia.

Vincentina Chitten, premier danseuse, Italian.

Fanchon Conyers, juvenile character, resident of Chicago.

Sarah Goldman, coryphée,[2] resident of Chicago

Flora Lorella, coryphée.

Thomas Lorella, her husband, dancer and grotesque artist.

 

“Nearly three score people are in the hospital suffering from burns. They were all spectators…. Many others will lose their eyesight. Besides those who were seriously hurt there are about fifty others who were not seriously enough injured to necessitate their removal to the hospital.

 

“Thomas Lorella, the dead gymnast, met his death in an heroic attempt to save the life of his wife. When the fire broke out he easily made his escape from the dressing room and reached the street in safety.  He supposed his wife had preceded him. Not finding her in the street he returned to the alleyway leading into the rear of the theater. It was filled with smoke and the flames were beginning to break out of the roof of the theater. Turning to a friend he said ‘I’ll see if she is safe if it costs me my life.’ Without heeding the remonstrances of those standing about him he plunged into the smoke-filled alley and disappeared from view.” (The Times, Trenton, NJ. “Six Perished at Philadelphia.” 4-29-1892.)

 

May 4: “Philadelphia, May 4. – Everett M. Holmes, aged 24 years, of Camden, one of he victims of the Central theater fire, died Tuesday at the Pennsylvania hospital. The death of Holmes brings the number of lives lost by the conflagration up to eight.” (Logansport Reporter, IN. “Victims of the Philadelphia Fire.” 4-5-1892, p. 1.)

 

May 4: “Philadelphia, May 4. – Joseph Silver, aged thirty years, the ninth victim of the Central theater, died late yesterday afternoon at the Pennsylvania hospital. Silver was not heretofore in a dangerous condition, but dropsy of the lungs developed yesterday evening and his wife was hurriedly sent for. Upon her arrival he was unconscious, and breathed his last at 5 o’clock.

 

“Three other patients are much nearer to death than they are to life, Rand Patterson. Henry McCloskey and Charles Briggs. McCloskey is in a very precarious condition and is liable to die at any moment. The Quincy brothers can scarcely be considered out of danger, but their condition is promising.” (Hamilton Democrat, OH. “Philadelphia Fire Victims.”  5-4-1892, p. 1.)

 

May 5: “Philadelphia, May 5. – Joseph Silver, 20 years old, died in the Pennsylvania hospital. He is the third who has died since the fire from his injuries. E. M. Holmes, of Camden, died also. Abraham Chambers, 15 years old, who is in the Jefferson hospital, will lose both arms, amputation being necessary, and is likely to die. Two more of the injured at the Pennsylvania hospital died to-night from the effects of their burns, making 11 victims of the fire beside the owner of a burned foot found this afternoon in the dump pile taken from the ruins of the Times annex. The latest to succumb were Rand Patterson, 14 years old, and Charles Beiggs, aged 28, both of whom were burned while escaping from the gallery of the Central Theater.” (Indiana Progress, PA. “Twelve Victims of the Philadelphia Fire.” 5-11-1892, p. 6.)

 

May 9:  “Philadelphia, Pa., May 9. – Death claimed the twelfth victim of the Central theater fire this morning, when 14-year-old Harry McCloskey of this city died at the Pennsylvania hospital.  McCloskey was one of the most severely burned of all those taken to the hospital the night of the fire.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “The Twelfth Victim.” 5-10-1892, p. 3.)

 

May 11: “Philadelphia, May 11. – William Binchcliffe, the thirteenth victim of the Central theater fire, died Tuesday morning in the Pennsylvania hospital. James Pigeon, one of those injured in the fire, is so low that he is expected to die at any moment.” (New Castle News, PA. “The Thirteenth Victim Dies.” 5-11-1892, p. 11.)

 

May 15: “Philadelphia, Pa., May 15. James Pigeon, another of the ill-fated occupants of the gallery at the Central theater fire, died this morning. Pigeon was the fourteenth victim. 

 

“The coroner’s jury have rendered a verdict in which they find the lessee, William J. Gilmore, and his employes grossly negligent in not providing sufficient exits from the galleries; in not having convenient means of access to fire escapes, and in not having means of exits from the dressing rooms of the performers directly on the side of the building.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “The Manager Condemned.” 5-17-1892, p. 5.)

 

May 15: “Philadelphia, May 15. – The jury in the case of the persons killed in the Central Theatre fire on April 27 rendered a verdict yesterday, stating that the victims came to their death from injuries received at the fire, which was caused by the ignition of a scene border by a gas jet in the first border light.

 

“The lessee, William J. Gilmore, and his employes are found grossly negligent in not providing sufficient means of exit from the galleries.

 

“The Fire Marshal, Building Inspectors, and others composing the Board of Fire Escapes of the district are also found to have been negligent and derelict in failing to report that the law was not observed.”  (New York Times.  “Cause of the Central Theatre Fire.” 5-16-1892.)

 

Summary of Named Fatalities:

 

  1. Acheson, Thomas, aged 37, theatergoer, Apr 29.
  2. Beiggs, aged 28, theatergoer, May 5.
  3. Binchcliffe [or Hinchcliffe], William, 16 years old, theatergoer, May 10.
  4. Brooks, Brooks, leading man and a resident of Philadelphia, Apr 27.
  5. Chittern, Vincentoma, premier danseuse, Italian, Apr 27.
  6. Conyers, Fanchon, juvenile character, resident of Chicago, Apr 27.
  7. Goldman, Sarah, coryphée, resident of Chicago, Apr 27.
  8. Holmes, Everett M., Camden, theatergoer, May 2.
  9. Lorella, Flora. Coryphée, Apr 27.
  10. Lorella, Thomas, her husband, dancer and grotesque artist, Apr 27.
  11. McCloskey, Harry, 14, theatergoer, May 9.
  12. Patterson, Rand, 14 years old, theatergoer, May 5.
  13. Pigeon, James, 14 years old, theatergoer, May 15.
  14. Silver, Joseph, theatergoer, May 3.

 

Sources

 

Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac 1917. “Loss of Life in Panics and Disastrous Fires.” 1917, 495. Google digitized. Accessed 1-22-2025 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=YhMXAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Davis, Andrew. America’s Longest Run: A History of the Walnut Street Theater. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press Keystone Book, 2010.  Partially Google digitized: http://books.google.com/books?id=tkBULCOvieQC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Galveston Daily News, TX. “The Manager Condemned [Central Theater fire, Philadelphia].” 5-17-1892, p. 5. Accessed 1-22-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-daily-news-may-17-1892-p-1/

 

Galveston Daily News, TX. “The Twelfth Victim.” 5-10-1892, p. 3. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=42250820

 

Gettysburg Compiler, PA. [Central Theater fire, Philadelphia.]  5-31-1892, p. 2. Accessed 1-22-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/gettysburg-compiler-may-31-1892-p-2/

 

Hamilton Daily Democrat, OH.  “Philadelphia Fire Victims.”  5-4-1892, p. 1. Accessed 1-22-2025 at:  https://newspaperarchive.com/hamilton-daily-democrat-may-04-1892-p-1/

 

Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia. “Philadelphia Timeline, 1892.” UShistory.org. Accessed 10-15-2011 at: http://www.ushistory.org/philadelphia/timeline/1892.htm

 

Indiana Progress, Indiana, PA. “Twelve Victims of the Philadelphia Fire.” 5-11-1892, p. 6. Accessed 1-22-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/indiana-progress-may-11-1892-p-6/

 

Joyce, John St. George (Ed.). Story of Philadelphia. City of Philadelphia, 1919. Google digitized. Accessed 1-22-2025 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=Wh8VAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

 

National Fire Protection Association. “Loss of Life in Theatre Fires.” Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 1, July, 1930.

 

New Castle News, PA. “The Thirteenth Victim Dies [Central theater fire, Philadelphia].” 5-11-1892, p. 11. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=57716550

 

Ohio Democrat, New Philadelphia, OH. “The Fourteenth Victim [Central Theater fire, Philly].” 5-26-1892, p. 7. Accessed 1-22-2025 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/new-philadelphia-ohio-democrat-may-26-1892-p-7/

 

 

 

 

[1] As it turns out, though, not true.

[2] “A ballet dancer who ranks above a member of the corps de ballet and below a soloist and who performs in small ensembles.”  (The Free Dictionary)

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