20th Century

–12-13  Blanchard range.[1]

 

–14  Swayze. Shipwreck! 1992, p. 30.[2]

–13  Lewis. “Baltimore (Propeller)…sunk, 24 May 1901,” Maritime History of the Great Lakes.

–13  Swayze. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter B.

–13  The Advocate, Sturgeon Bay, WI. “Lake Michigan and Green Bay.” 6-29-1901, p. 1.

–13  The Reporter, Waterloo, IA. “Steamer Baltimore Meets Fate.” 5-28-1901, p. 7.[3]

–13  U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report…FY Ended June 30, 1902.  1902, p. 78.

–12  Daily News Almanac…for 1902. “Events of 1901…Marine Disasters.” 1902, p. 335.

–12  News-Democrat, Uhrichsville and Dennison, OH. “Lake Steamer Founders,” 6-4-1901, p. 6

–12  The Evening News, Benton Harbor, MI. “Storm on the Lakes.” 5-25-1901, p. 6, col. 1.

 

Narrative Information

 

Swayze: “Baltimore

 

Other names:   built as Escanaba, renamed in 1899.

Official no.:     135487

Type at loss:    propeller, wood, bulk freight

Build info:       1881, Linn & Craig, Gibraltar, MI

Specs:              201x36x20 1161g 918n[4]

Date of loss:    1901, May 24

Place of loss:   SE of AuSable, MI

Lake:               Huron

Type of loss:    storm

Loss of life:     13 of 15

Carrying coal: coal

Detail: She struck a reef, broke in two and foundered after fighting all the way to above Thunder Bay in a gale. She turned back for Tawas, but didn’t quite make it. Maybe towing a steam drill and a lighter….”[5]

 

U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service: “May 24. – The steamer Baltimore foundered on Lake Huron, near Au Sable.  Loss on vessel $40,000; on cargo, $3,000. Thirteen lives lost.”  (US SIS.  Annual Report…1902.  1902, 78.)

 

May 25: “Chicago, May 25. — In a storm that lashed the waters of the upper lakes the steamer Baltimore was sent to the bottom of Lake Huron, near Au Sable, Mich., Friday morning [24^th], and of her crew of 14 men [sic] only two escaped. Lashed to a heavy raft, the two men were adrift on the lake under heavy seas all day Friday, and one of them was crazy when rescued.

 

“The following lost their lives with the wreck of the Baltimore:[6]

 

Capt. M. H. Place, master of the steamer, Cleveland;

Mrs. M. H. Place, wife of captain, stewardess;

Michael Breatden [or Brethren],[7] first mate;

John Deiders [or Delders], second steward;

Edward Owen, wheelsman;[8]

1. W. Sears, wheelsman;[9]

George W. Scott, watchman;

Herbert Winning, watchman;

1. Marcoux [or Marooux,[10] or Marceau[11]], chief engineer, Chicago;

William Barker [or Parker],[12] fireman;

1. Krueger, fireman;

August Anderson, deck hand.

 

“The Baltimore was a wooden steamer loaded with coal, from Lorain [OH] to Washburn, Wis. It had a large steam drill and a scow in tow. The storm had buffeted the vessel badly all through Thursday afternoon and night. Off Thunder Bay Capt. Place saw that the steamer was in danger. The waves had already smashed in the engineer’s quarters and the wash-rooms and water was running into the hold every time a wave came on board. As a last resort, the captain decided to turn about and run for Tawas for shelter. His ship stood the storm seemingly all right until it was near Au Sable, when it struck heavily on the bottom. The seas broke over and carried away the deckhouse and the after cabin. Then the smokestack fell, and both rails broke in two aft of the forward deckhouse.

 

“Some of the crew took to the rigging, but McGinnis and Murphy, the two men were rescued, lashed themselves to a ringbolt in a piece of the after cabin, and waited till they were washed overboard just before the vessel sank. Then came 12 hours of horror to the two rescued men. They suffered so much that they could not appreciate how much more fortunate they were than their fellow sailors. McGinnis lost his reason completely. He tried to throw Murphy overboard, and the two men struggled violently. Sometimes Murphy would calm the madman, then the latter would break loose again. Murphy tied him fast several times and tried to convince him that rescue would soon come, but when he did calm him it would  not last long.

 

“After a few hours the passenger steamer City of Holland passed at a distance, but it was too far away for the raft to be seen. Murphy began to grow weaker, and each time the wave struck him with unusual violence he thought the breath was being driven out of his body. At last the tug Columbia came and picked the two men up.

 

“The full extent of death and disaster by the storm is not known yet. From Chicago to Ogdensburg, N.Y., the storm held sway and a score of vessels were sunk, wrecked, or suffered serious damage…” (Evening News, Benton Harbor MI. “Storm on the Lakes.” 5-25-1901, p. 6.)

 

May 25: “East Tawas, Mich., May 25 — The wooden steamer Baltimore foundered yesterday in Lake Huron, near Au Sable, and 12 of her crew of 14 were drowned. Two men were washed about in the lake for several hours, lashed to a piece of wreckage, and were finally picked up by the tug Columbia and brought here. George McGinnis, a deckhand, one of the rescued went crazy with his experience. The other survivor, Thomas Murphy of Milwaukee, second engineer, was able to tell the story of the disaster….” (Adams County Union-Republican, Corning, IA. “Find Watery Graves.” 5-29-1901, p. 8.)

 

May 29: “East Tawas, Mich., May 29. — The wreck of the lost steamer Baltimore was found today by the searchers near Fish Point. The engine cylinders show three feet above the water, but the boiler has been rolled off the wreck. All of the upper works have been washed away by the heavy seas and the wreck is a dangerous obstruction to navigation, lying as it does in eighteen to twenty feet of water, right in the course of steamers and about two miles from the beach. Mrs. Owen, Mr. Schott, and two brothers of Mrs. Place have arrived to search for bodies.” (The Herald, Eldora, IA. “Locate Wreck of Baltimore,” 6-1-1901, p. 6.)

 

June 5: “A portion of the stern of the wrecked steamer Baltimore has been found, and it explains why the boat went to pieces. A three-inch oak plank was so rotten that a finger could be shoved through it.” (Evening News, Benton Harbor, MI. “Marine News,” 6-5-1901, p. 3.)

 

June 29: “In recognition of their heroism in rescuing Thomas Murphy, one of its members, Milwaukee branch No. 8, Licensed Tug Men’s Protective Association will present the officers of the Detroit tug Columbia with gold medals. The men whose names will be inscribed under the words ‘for bravery’ are Joseph Marks, captain; Herbert Hickmott, mate; William Cook, first engineer, and Peter Loonde, second engineer. The daring rescue for which the medals are presented occurred May 24^th, when the steamer Baltimore was wrecked off East Tawas on Lake Huron. There were fifteen in the Baltimore’s crew, and all were lost save two, Thos. Murphy of Milwaukee, and a deckhand named McGinnis.” (The Advocate, Sturgeon Bay, WI. “Lake Michigan and Green Bay.” 6-29-1901, p. 1.)

 

Sources

 

Adams County Union-Republican, Corning, IA. “Find Watery Graves.” 5-29-1901, p. 8. Accessed 7-10-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/adams-county-free-press-may-29-1901-p-1/

 

Daily News Almanac and Book of Facts for 1902. “Events of 1901.” Chicago Daily News Company, 1902, pp. 335-338. Accessed 7-10-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=7ZIaAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Evening News, Benton Harbor, MI. “Marine News,” 6-5-1901, p. 3. Accessed 7-11-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/benton-harbor-evening-news-jun-05-1901-p-3/

 

Lewis, Walter. “Baltimore (Propeller), U135487, sunk, 24 May 1901,” Maritime History of the Great Lakes. Accessed 7-10-2018 at: http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/52765/data

 

Newark Daily Advocate, OH. “Floater Found.” 6-3-1901, p. 6. Accessed 7-11-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/newark-daily-advocate-jun-03-1901-p-6/

 

News-Democrat, Uhrichsville and Dennison, OH. “Lake Steamer Founders,” 6-4-1901, p. 6. Accessed 7-11-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/uhrichsville-news-democrat-jun-04-1901-p-6/

 

Oleszewski, Wes. Stormy Disasters: Great Lakes Shipwrecks. Gwinn, MI: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 2001.

 

Rock Island Argus, IL. “Looking for the Dead,” 6-4-1901, 1. Accessed 7-11-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/rock-island-argus-jun-04-1901-p-2/

 

Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter B. Accessed 7-29-2010 at:  http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/b.htm

 

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

 

The Advocate, Sturgeon Bay, WI. “Lake Michigan and Green Bay.” 6-29-1901, p. 1. Accessed 7-11-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/sturgeon-bay-advocate-jun-29-1901-p-1/

 

The Evening News, Benton Harbor, MI. “Storm on the Lakes.” 5-25-1901, p. 6, col. 1. Accessed 7-10-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/benton-harbor-evening-news-may-25-1901-p-7/

 

The Herald, Eldora, IA. “Locate Wreck of Baltimore,” 6-1-1901, p. 6. Accessed 7-11-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/herald-jun-01-1901-p-6/

 

The Reporter, Waterloo, IA. “Steamer Baltimore Meets Fate.” 5-28-1901, p. 7. Accessed 7-10-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/semi-weekly-iowa-state-reporter-may-28-1901-p-7/

 

United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat-Inspection Service for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1902. Washington, DC:  Government Printing Office, 1902, 337 pages. Google preview accessed 7-10-2018 at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=sVYpAAAAYAAJ

 

[1] We tend toward belief that there were twelve fatalities. The company owning the Baltimore released a list of 14 crewmembers shortly after its lost, including the names of the two who were found alive. Additionally the news reports which included statements from the surviving engineer, who would have known how many people were on the Baltimore, did not indicate there were thirteen fatalities. However, we do not feel comfortable dismissing the U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service report of thirteen lives lost, though we have seen mistaken fatality numbers in other US SIS reports. Swayze reports fourteen deaths in his book and thirteen deaths on his website. News reporting at the time notes twelve deaths in some stories and thirteen in others. In no news story, however, have we seen a name not on the company list of fourteen crewmembers (including the captain and his wife), two of which we know survived. Thus, even though we are of the opinion that there were twelve deaths, we show a range of 12-13.

[2] “All 14 crew were victims of a deadly storm that sank this coal-laden freighter on May 24, 1901.”

[3] “Thirteen were drowned, including a woman and a boy.” However, further down in the article (“Names of the People on Board.” Chicago, May 25), 14 names are noted, two of which were later found alive on a raft.

[4] A newspaper report of the time notes that “She was 201 feet long, thirty-five feet wide and carried about 2000 tons of freight. The steamer was rated at $40,000 by the underwriters and was insured for nearly that amount.” (News-Democrat, Uhrichsville and Dennison, OH. “Lake Steamer Founders,” 6-4-1901, p. 6.)

[5] Sources: Swayze’s newspaper clipping file; Frederick Stonehouse. Great Wrecks of the Great Lakes (Marquette: Harboridge Press, 1973; Inland Seas, vol. 1, no. 71; Shipwrecks of the Lakes (Bowen Dana, self-published, Daytona Beach, FL, 1952);, Namesakes series (John O. Greenwood, Freshwater Press, Cleveland, 1975-1987), Directory of Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes (Karl E. Heden, Boston: Bruce Humphries Publications, 1966); Milwaukee Public Library Great Lakes Marine Collection; Historical Collections of the Great Lakes (Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University, OH, Robert Graham, curator).

[6] Another article provides the names of fourteen people on the Baltimore, citing the P. H. Fleming & Co. Two of the 14, however, deck hand George McGinnis and first engineer Thomas Murphy, were later found alive.

[7] Oleszewski 2001, p. 78.

[8] “Saginaw, Mich., June 3. — Lewis Dubey [or Duboy], a fisherman, found the body of a man floating in the water. He took the body to Bayport. The floater wore a life jacket and a heavy gold ring on his finger which bore the initials ‘C. E.’….The body is supposed to e that of Edward Owen, wheelman on the steamer Baltimore, which recently sank.” (Newark Daily Advocate, OH. “Floater Found.” 6-3-1901, p. 6.)

[9] “Saginaw, Mich., June 4. — The body of C. W. Sears, the young wheelman of the steamer Baltimore, was brought to this city and buried. Sears’ mother is very wealthy and the young man had a large inheritance of his own, yet he preferred the life of a sailor. Nothing could induce him to abandon this rough and dangerous career and he finally lost his life in the wreck off Au Sable. His sister recently committed suicide.” ((Rock Island Argus, IL. “Looking for the Dead,” 6-4-1901, 1.)

[10] Oleszewski 2001, p. 78.

[11] “East Tawas, Mich., June 4. — Mrs. Marceau, of Chicago, aunt of Engineer Marceau, who was lost on the steamer Baltimore, has arrived here. She is wealthy, and says she will spare no expense which may lead to the recovery of the body of her nephew. Relatives of the dead seamen keep up a constant patrol on the beach in the region of the wreckage, but no more bodies have been recovered.” (Rock Island Argus, IL. “Looking for the Dead,” 6-4-1901, 1.)

[12] The Reporter, Waterloo, IA. “Steamer Baltimore Meets Fate.” 5-28-1901, p. 7.

— 6-<10 Blanchard.* --25-50 The Herald, Eldora, IA. “Lost In A River Wreck.” May 18, 1901, p. 2. -- About twenty-five Black crew “drowned.” -- 27 Marble Rock Journal, IA. May 30, 1901, p. 2. (Notes two more bodies had been found.) -- 2-24 NYT. “Mississippi Steamer Sunk. Strikes a Snag and Goes Down…” May 14, 1901, 2. -- 2 passengers --22 crew missing -- 23 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 692. -- 22 Twaintimes. “1901-1910.” -- 22 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River Sys.. 1994, 95. -- 2 passengers --20 deck crew -- ~20 Winona Republican and Herald, MN. “Losses By Snags.” 6-13-1901, p. 3. -- 15 Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac, Vol. 17. “General Chronology of 1901.” Jan 1902, 558. -- 15 Marshall News, MI. “Snag Sinks A Boat…City of Paducah…Bottom.” 5-17-1901, 6. -- 2 passengers killed --13 crew (4 white and 9 black) killed -- 7 crew missing -- 1-10 Boston Daily Globe, MA. “Sunk in the Mississippi.” May 13, 1901, p. 18. -- 1 passenger --8-9 crew missing -- 10 Quincy Weekly Whig, IL. 6-6-1901, p. 8, col. 7, (bottom). Notes ten bodies recovered. -- 6 The Republic, St. Louis, MO. “Recover Sixth Body from Wreck.” 5-31-1901, p. 9. -- 5 Associated Press. “Five Lives Lost.” Kalispell Bee, MT. 5-15-1901, p. 1. -- 5 Evening Gazette, Monmouth, IL. “Two River Disasters.” 5-16-1901, p. 2. --2 passengers (Dr. J. W. Bell, Bells Landing, TN, and Miss Mabel Gardiner, St. Louis) --3 crew --Charles Johnson, deck watchman, St. Louis --James Canfield, second fireman, St. Louis --white fireman, names unknown. -- 2 US SIS. An. Rpt.…Steamboat-Inspect. Service…Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1902. P.54. *Blanchard on death toll: It is somewhat disconcerting to see estimates of loss of life range from a low of two to a high of 25-50, with many in the twenties, apparently based on reporting of a large loss of life among the crew, contradicted by later reporting. It seems to be the case that at least six lives were lost, if the report in The Republic of May 31, on the recovery of a sixth body is correct. Up to this time it was only clear that five lives were lost. The Quincy Weekly Whig (Quincy, IL), of June 6 wrote that “Ten bodies have so far been recovered from the wreck.” If this is accurate, then at least ten lives were lost, perhaps more, as a number of sources relate. But, this is not clear, so we estimate that the loss of life was approximately six to ten. Narrative Information Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac: “May…12. Steamer City of Paducah sinks off Brunkhorn landing, Mo.; 15 lives lost.” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac, Vol. 17. “General Chronology of 1901.” Jan 1902, p. 558.) U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service: “May 12. – Steamer City of Paducah, while trying to back around in a narrow chute, at Brunkhorsts Landing, Illinois, on night of May 12, being heavily laden and sluggish in handling, became unmanageable, struck log or snag protruding from bank and sunk within three minutes in about 20 feet of water. Two passengers are known to have drowned. Boat, valued at $15,000, is a total loss. Damage to cargo, $15,000. Case investigated and officers and crew exonerated.” (U.S. SIS. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector-General, Steamboat-Inspection Service, for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1902. “Casualties. Local District of St. Louis, MO. 1901.” 54.) Way: “Stw p wh b [Sternwheel packet, wood hull, built] Jeffersonville, Ind., by Howard, 1891. 190 x 34 x 555….She was downbound from St. Louis to Tennessee River, and had landed in at Brunkhorst Landing, Ill., to lord corn. She caught a snag and went down in 30 feet, this about 10:00 p.m. Twenty of the deck crew and two passengers were lost….” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, p. 95.) Newspaper Articles – Chronological: May 13: “St. Louis, May 13 – A telegram from Chester, Ill. says the steamboat City of Paducah of the St. Louis & Tennessee river packet company, struck a snag and sank while backing out from Brunkhorn landing between there and Grand Tower, Ill, about 9 o’clock last night. It is reported that one passenger was drowned, and that eight or nine of the crew are missing. The boat is a total loss….The…City of Paducah left this city at 5 p.m. yesterday for Chester, Grand Tower, Cairo, Paducah and points on the Tennessee river as far as Florence, Ala.” (Boston Daily Globe, MA. “Sunk in the Mississippi.” May 13, 1901, p. 18.) May 13: “Grand Tower, Ill., May 11. The steamer City of Paducah sank in twenty-five feet of water five minutes before 10 o’clock last night, in-less than five minutes after striking a snag and while backing out from Brunkhorst Landing. The bodies of 2 passengers who were drowned have been recovered, and 22 members of the crew…are missing. “All of the officers were saved. First Mate Tobias Royal of St. Louis says only about 12 passengers were on board and all were saved except 2. The body of Dr. J. W. Bell of Bell’s Landing, Tenn., was taken out of his stateroom. That of a young woman, on which was a visiting card reading “Mrs. Harry L. Allen, 3,430 Eads Avenue, St. Louis, Mo.,” was recovered from her stateroom. Two friends traveling with the drowned woman, who started back to St.- Louis on the steamer City of Clifton, said that the young lady was engaged to marry Dr. C. A. Meredith, 3,903 Lee Avenue, St. Louis. Several hundred dollars’ worth of jewelry was found on her body. “The passenger list has not been recovered. A diver is searching for it. Only the hurricane deck is above water, which reaches to the skylights of the cabins. All the staterooms are completely filled with water. “The steamboat drifted a third of a mile below the landing before she sank. The first mate says the boat went down within three minutes after striking the snag. He was on the cabin deck and escaped by climbing through the skylight. It is supposed that most of the missing deckhands who were on the lower deck were washed down the river. The boat lies down about 100 feet from the Illinois shore, the fore-part of the hurricane deck being under water. She appears to be a total wreck. “The Coroner, C. E. Knauer of Murphys-borough Ill., is now holding an inquest, while the diver is searching for more bodies. Thomas Johnston, watchman of the boat, who is said to be among the lost, was eighty-five years old, and had been a steamboat man for sixty years. He lived in St. Louis.” (NYT. “Mississippi Steamer Sunk. Strikes a Snag and Goes Down…” May 14, 1901, 2.) May 13: “St. Louis, May 13. – Special telegrams that the steamer City of Paducah…had sunk at Grand Tower, Ill, while it was making for this port last evening. Several persons are reported drowned. The Paducah left St. Louis Saturday evening for a ten-day trip in the Tennessee River trade. She carried a small cargo and a small list of passengers. John H. Massengale, manager of the St. Louis and Tennessee Packet Company…received a telegram at 2 o’clock this morning that the boat had sunk… “The Paducah was a 600-ton vessel and was built nine years ago. She was a stern-wheeler and cost $15,000. Captain Kirkpatrick, one of the oldest rivermen, was her master, having had command of the vessel since she went into commission.” (Sumner Press, IL. “The City of Paducah Sinks.” May 16, 1901, p. 2.) May 14: “St. Louis, May 14. – A special to the Post-Dispatch from Grand Tower, Ill., says: The steamer City of Paducah sank in 25 feet of water five minutes before ten o’clock Sunday night, in less than five minutes after striking a snag, while backing out from Brunkhorst Landing. Fifteen lives were lost. Six of these were white persons and nine were negroes. All were members of the crew except two, who were passengers, and whose bodies have been recovered. Seven members of the crew are missing….The boat lies down about 100 feet from the Illinois shore….” (Marshall News, MI. “Snag Sinks A Boat…City of Paducah Goes to the Bottom.” 5-17-1901, 6) May 14: “Carbondale, Ill., May 14. – The City of Paducah, a Mississippi river packet, was sunk near Brunkhorst Landing, four miles north, about 12 o’clock Sunday night. Between twenty-five and fifty people were drowned, only seven escaping with their lives…. “Between 11 and 12 o’clock Miss Fannie Block, who in company with her parents. Rev. and Mrs. Block, was going from St. Louis to Evansville, Ind., was aroused from sleep by a sudden jar. She asked her mother if her berth had been broken and no sooner had the words passed their lips than water rushed in to their apartments and they were compelled to act quickly to save their lives. With four others they escaped to the Illinois shore by holding on the driftwood and swimming. The seven saved are Jews. Rev. Block is a Jewish rabbi. The seven survivors of the catastrophe made their way down the river. They escaped in their night clothes and arrived here with wet blankets about them. Among the drowned were about twenty-five negroes. The top of the boat can be seen.” (The Herald, Eldora, IA. “Lost In A River Wreck.” May 18, 1901, p. 2.) May 15: “St. Louis, May 15. – The Globe-Democrat says: ‘It is definitely known that not more than five lives were lost in the wreck of the steamer City of Paducah Sunday night. The negro roustabouts and deck hands reported missing have all been accounted for, and most of them have returned to the wreck.” (Associated Press. “Five Lives Lost.” Kalispell Bee, MT. 5-15-1901, p. 1.) May 16: “….St. Louis, May 16. – At last a correct list of the dead resulting from the City of Paducah disaster can be given. It is believed they number only five, as follows: Miss Mabel Gardiner, passenger, St. Louis; Dr. J. W. Bell, passenger, Bells Landing, Tenn.; Charles Johnson, deck watchman, St. Louis; white fireman, name unknown. The negroes reported drowned have all turned up alive.” (Evening Gazette, Monmouth, IL. “Two River Disasters.” 5-16-1901, p. 2.) May 30: “Republic Special. Carbondale, Ill., May 30. – The sixth body from the wreck of the steam packet City of Paducah, which sunk near Brunkhorst’s Landing over two weeks ago, was recovered yesterday. The body is unidentified, but is supposed to be that of one of the white deckhands. So far, three white and three colored bodies have been recovered. More bodies are still beneath the wreck. The salvage of the vessel is being removed slowly.” (The Republic, St. Louis, MO. “Recover Sixth Body from Wreck.” 5-31-1901, p. 9.) May 30: “Two more bodies were recovered from the wreck of the City of Paducah near Carbondale, Ill, making the total loss of life 27.” (Marble Rock Journal, IA. May 30, 1901, 2.) June 6: “Ten bodies have so far been recovered from the wreck of the steamer City of Paducah which sunk near Brunkhorst’s Landing several weeks ago.” (Quincy Weekly Whig, IL. 6-6-1901, p. 8.) June 26: “Springfield, Ill., June 26. – In the United States district court today Arthur Hicky, John Wilson, Dan Godair and Jerry Woods, who have been in jail here for several weeks, and who were arrested on a charge of looting the wrecked steamer City of Paducah, near Grand Tower, Ill., were brought into court in order to plead. They entered pleas of not guilty and court set July 2 as the time for the trial of the cases.” (Nebraska State Journal, Lincoln. “Accused of Looting Steamer.” 6-27-1901, p. 3.) July 3: “Springfield, Ill., July 3. – John Wilson, under indictment on the charge of looting the steamer City of Paducah after it was wrecked the night of May 12, near Grand Tower, Ill., when several lives were lost, was today found guilty in the United States Court. Jerry Woods, Lewis Beeber, Arthur Hickey, Daniel Godair and William Cruise are also under indictment on the same charge, and their separate trials will follow. Woods saved several passengers from drowning.” (Morning Oregonian, Portland. “Looted a Wrecked Steamer,” 7-4-1901, p. 11.) Sources Associated Press. “Five Lives Lost.” Kalispell Bee, MT. 5-15-1901, p. 1. Accessed 8-17-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/the-kalispell-bee-may-15-1901-p-1/ Boston Daily Globe. “Sunk in the Mississippi” [City of Paducah]. May 13, 1901, p. 18. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=161110340 Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac 1901, Vol. 17. “General Chronology of 1901.” Jan 1902, p. 557-560. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=R8MWAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true Buffalo Center Tribune, IA. “Prison for Steamer Robber.” 7-11-1901, p. 6. Accessed 8-17-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/buffalo-center-tribune-jul-11-1901-p-6/ Davenport Republican, IA. “Looted Wrecked Steamer.” 7-4-1901, p. 2. Accessed 8-17-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/davenport-daily-republican-jul-04-1901-p-2/ Evening Gazette, Monmouth, IL. “Two River Disasters.” 5-16-1901, p. 2. Accessed 8-17-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/monmouth-evening-gazette-may-16-1901-p-2/ Marble Rock Journal, IA. [City of Paducah steamboat sinking.] May 30, 1901, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=34166607 Marshall News, MI. “Snag Sinks A Boat. Steamer City of Paducah Goes to the Bottom.” 5-17-1901, 6. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=120390442 Morning Oregonian, Portland. “Looted a Wrecked Steamer,” 7-4-1901, p. 11. Accessed 8-17-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/portland-morning-oregonian-jul-04-1901-p-11/ 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. Nebraska State Journal, Lincoln. “Accused of Looting Steamer.” 6-27-1901, p. 3. Accessed 8-17-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lincoln-nebraska-state-journal-jun-27-1901-p-3/ New York Times. “Mississippi Steamer Sunk [City of Paducah]. Strikes a Snag and Goes Down. Two Passengers Drowned – Twenty-two of the Crew Missing.” May 14, 1901, 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=52163555 Paducah Sun, KY. “The Hero of the City of Paducah Must Do Time.” 7-5-1901, p. 7. Accessed 8-17-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/paducah-sun-jul-05-1901-p-7/ Quincy Weekly Whig, IL. 6-6-1901, p. 8. Accessed 8-17-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/quincy-weekly-whig-jun-06-1901-p-8/ Sumner Press, IL. “The City of Paducah Sinks.” 5-16-1901, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=29630536 The Herald, Eldora, IA. “Lost In A River Wreck” [City of Paducah]. May 18, 1901, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=141340047 The Republic, St. Louis, MO. “Recover Sixth Body from Wreck.” 5-31-1901, p. 9. Accessed 8-17-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/saint-louis-republic-may-31-1901-p-9/ Twaintimes. “1901-1910.” URL no longer accessible. United States Steamboat Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector-General, Steamboat-Inspection Service, for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1902. Washington: GPO, 1902. Accessed 8-17-2020 at: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hb1k9f&view=1up&seq=5 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. Winona Republican and Herald, MN. “Losses By Snags.” 6-13-1901, p. 3. Accessed 8-17-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/winona-republican-herald-jun-13-1901-p-3/

–>7 Cowart, John. Heroes All: A History of Firefighting in Jacksonville, Florida. 2008, p. 49-50.
— 7 Jacksonville Historical Society. “The Great Fire of 1901.” 2019.

Narrative Information

Cowart: “…the Great Jacksonville Fire…May 3, 1901. When that day was over 2,358 buildings had burned; 466 acres covering 140 city blocks smoldered; 10,000 homeless people camped out; and at least seven bodies were found. Witnesses reported that the flames could be seen as far away as Savannah, Georgia, and the smoke plume as far as Raleigh, N.C.” (Cowart, John. Heroes All: A History of Firefighting in Jacksonville, Florida. 2008, p. 49-50.)

Jacksonville Historical Society: “On the warm morning of May 3rd, 1901, a tragic event was about to change Jacksonville. Around noon, a spark from a small wood-burning cook stove set ablaze some of the Spanish moss laid out to dry at the American Fiber Company, located at Beaver and Davis Streets downtown. With the aid of a strong westerly wind, the fire soon consumed the shanties that surrounded the factory, and the burning debris jumped along hundreds of wood-shingled rooftops that were already dangerously dry after a prolonged drought.

“James Munoz, a native of Venezuela who was reared and educated in New York (and would eventually settle on Riverside’s Row), described the leaping path of fire:

I saw then that [my own residence] was in the path of the flames and would probably be destroyed, but the fire was still several blocks away and it seemed to me there would be plenty of time. In this I was mistaken. I had been fortunate enough to secure a cab and in this I placed my children with their nurse. …As we drove away in the cab I found my hat was on fire; then the back of my coat and the back of the nurse’s dress were almost in flames. The small articles we had attempted to bring away from my burning home, for our immediate use, caught fire as the cab was driven away. I took my children to the house of an acquaintance over a mile away diagonally across the city, at the extreme end of Bay Street. Here I thought they would be safe. In little more than an hour the flames had burned across the entire town and this house was in flames. Then, with other citizens, I sent my children to the country. During the afternoon I was in the fight to stop the onward sweep of the flames. It was, from the very first, a perfectly hopeless effort.

“In just over eight hours, the flames swept through 146 city blocks, destroying over 2,000 buildings, taking seven lives, and leaving almost 10,000 people homeless…. By the time the fire was brought under control at 8:30 p.m., it had destroyed nearly everything in a 2-mile swath across the city.

“The Great Fire was the most destructive event in Jacksonville’s history, wiping out 2,368 buildings while leaving nearly 10,000 people homeless and destroying the majority of Downtown Jacksonville (miraculously, only seven persons died). It was the largest metropolitan fire to have occurred in the South, before or since.” (Jacksonville Historical Society. “The Great Fire of 1901.” 2019.)

Sources

Cowart, John W. Heroes All: A History of Firefighting in Jacksonville, Florida. Jacksonville, FL: Bluefish Books, 2008. Accessed 10-24-2022 at: http://www.cowart.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/EB%20Heroes%20All.pdf

Jacksonville Historical Society. “The Great Fire of 1901.” 2019. Accessed 10-24-2022 at: https://www.jaxhistory.org/great-fire-1901/

—  16-25  Blanchard estimate.[1]

—       25  Fort Wayne Sentinel, IN. “Slain by Tornado. Twenty-Five…Dead…” 3-25-1901, p. 1.

—       25  National Weather Svc. Birmingham, Alabama. Alabama Tornadoes 1901. (website)

—       25  Times-Democrat, Lima, OH. “Many Were Killed in the Cyclone…” 3-26-1901, p. 2.

–17->20  Kazek. A History of Alabama’s Deadliest Tornadoes: Disaster in Dixie. 2010.[2]

—     >20  National Weather Svc., NOAA. This Day in Weather History: March 25^th. (Website).

—       20  Spencer. “Alabama Tornadoes: Deadly tornadoes…” Birmingham News, 5-22-2011.

—       18  The News, Frederick, MD. “Birmingham’s Tornado…Eighteen… 3-27-1901, p. 1.

—       17  Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. p. 693.

—       17  National Weather Service WFO Birmingham AL. Alabama Tornado Database.

—       16  Murphy/Collins. Illustrated Souvenir of The Birmingham Storm…March 25, 1901. p. 3

—       14  Pratt City Herald, AL. “Two Cyclones….Fourteen Lives…Lost.” 3-30-1901, pp. 1, 8.

—       11  Stevens, W. R.. “Tornadoes in Alabama,” Monthly Weather Review, Oct 1925, p. 439.

 

Birmingham   (12-~25)

–18-~25  Times-Democrat, Lima, OH. “Many Were Killed in the Cyclone…” 3-26-1901, p. 2.[3]

—     ~15  Fort Wayne Sentinel, IN. “Slain by Tornado. Twenty-Five…Dead…” 3-25-1901, p. 1.

—       14  The World, NY. “Twenty Dead in Birmingham in Tornado’s Swath.” 3-26-1901, p1.[4]

—       13  Murphy. Illustrated Souvenir of The Birmingham Storm…March 25, 1901. p. 3.[5]

—       12  The News, Frederick, MD. “Birmingham’s Tornado. 3-27-1901, p. 1.

Irondale          (3-7)

— 7  Fort Wayne Sentinel, IN. “Slain by Tornado. Twenty-Five Persons Dead…” 3-25-1901, 1.

— 5  City of Irondale. City of Irondale Comprehensive Plan Existing Conditions Report. July 2015, p.9.[6]

— 3  Blanchard estimate.[7]

— 3  Murphy/Collins. Illustrated Souvenir of The Birmingham Storm…March 25, 1901. p. 3.[8]

— 3  The World, NYC. “Twenty Dead in Birmingham in Tornado’s Swath.” 3-26-1901, p. 1.

1. W. Gardner, carpenter.

Two black children.

Pratt City       (0-4)

— 4  Spencer. “Alabama Tornadoes: Deadly tornadoes…” Birmingham News, 5-22-2011.

— 0  Blanchard estimate.[9]

— 0  Murphy and Collins. Illustrated Souvenir of The Birmingham Storm…March 25, 1901. p. 12

 

Narrative Information

Grazulis: “ AL  Mar 25, 1901  0945  17k [killed] 100inj  50y  15m  Fe. Jefferson [County] — Moved ENE across the southern part of Birmingham, to Avondale and Irondale. The tornado ‘bounced like a ball of rubber’ and cut a snake-like path through 200 homes. Prominent citizens were killed, but most of the dead were poor people living in shacks. The 17 deaths were counted while others were still critically injured. The final toll may have been over 20.” (p. 693.)

Murphy and Collins: “Loss of Life and Property. Birmingham. Property, loss, estimated $125,000. Building demolished or damaged, estimated 500. Number of persons made homeless, estimated 2,000. Number killed — White, 5; colored, 8. Irondale. Property loss, estimated $18,000. Buildings destroyed or damaged 31. Number killed — White, 1; colored 2. Many other suburban towns felt the fury of the winds which entailed more or less property losses, but fortunately no lives were sacrificed…. Most Truly, J. D. Collins.” (Murphy. Illustrated Souvenir of The Birmingham Storm…March 25, 1901. p. 3.)

National Weather Service, Birmingham, Alabama. Alabama Tornadoes 1901. (Website): March 25, 1901, 09:45, Jefferson County, F3, 15 miles in length, 50 yards wide, 25 fatalities, 100 injured. “Birmingham-Avondale-Irondale. At least 200 homes were damaged or destroyed. The storm moved from at least Green Spring through Irondale. Article from the Pratt City Herald 1910.”[10]

 National Weather Service, NOAA. This Day in Weather History: March 25^th. (Website): “1901: More than 20 people were killed by an estimated F4 tornado that moved across parts of Birmingham, Alabama. The twister cut a 15-mile path from the south side of the city to Avondale and Irondale.”

 National Weather Service, Weather Forecast Office Birmingham AL: “An F3 strikes at about 9:45 a.m. (CST), traveling about 15 miles, killing 17 people, injuring about 100, and damaging or destroying at least 200 homes.”  (Alabama Tornado Database.)

Spencer: “….History of killers….One of the most famous in Jefferson County was the March 15, 1901 outbreak which killed 20 people. While much of the local attention focused on the destruction wrought on Birmingham’s Southside, Lakeview and Avondale areas, Pratt City was also hit that day, killing four in that area and destroying Pratt City High School and Southern Methodist Church.” (Spencer, Thomas. “Alabama Tornadoes: Deadly tornadoes follow similar path in Jefferson County.” The Birmingham News, 5-22-2011.)

 

Newspapers at the Time

March 25: “Birmingham, Ala., March 25. — In a tornado which today swept over Jones Valley, in which Birmingham is located, twenty-five lives are estimated to have been lost. Immense damage was done to property. Between 9 and 10 a.m. the storm raged with great violence. Such havoc was created that up to 12:30 o’clock this p.m. the number of casualties had not been definitely fixed. Twenty-five dead was, however, the general estimate. Of these seven were killed at Irondale, about fifteen in the city of Birmingham and the others in suburban towns.

The Dead.

“Among the known dead are the following;  [12 according to Sentinel, 14 according to World.[11]]

Dr. G. Chapman [or Hapman],[12] prominent physician of this city, killed by falling debris

in Menthor’s [Minter’s] store on South Twentieth street.

Mrs. Robert J. Lowe, wife of the chairman of the state democratic committee.

Infant son of Mrs. Lowe, both killed at their residence on South Highland street.

1. Alexander, merchant, killed in his store at Avenue J and Twenty-fourth street.
2. H. Dickerson, bookkeeper, killed in Menthor’s store on South Twentieth street.

Daughter of E. E. Hudson, merchant. [The World notes her name as Carrie Hudson.][13]

Lizzie Glenn, colored.

Carrie Henry, colored.

Lizzie Goodloe, colored.

Carrie Hudson, colored.

Maggie Blevins, colored. J. Myro, colored.

Fannie Steadmire, negro cook for B. D. Hudson.

[unidentified black. The World, NYC. “Twenty Dead in Birmingham…” 3-26-1901, p.1.]

[unidentified black. The World, NYC. “Twenty Dead in Birmingham…” 3-26-1901, p.1.]

Fatally Injured.

“Among the fatally injured are: [2]

Mrs. E. H. Thomas and

Mrs. W. H. Thomas, wife and mother of a prominent real estate agent.

“The storm did its worst damage in the neighborhood of avenues I and J, from Tenth to Thirtieth streets, wrecking scores of buildings and creating terrible havoc. The entire fire and police departments turned out to render aid and are still engaged in taking the dead and injured from the debris and sending them to undertaking shops and hospitals.

“At Pratt City, the roof of the brick high school was blown away and the First Methodist church was wrecked.

“Dozens of negros’ cabins were demolished. The commissary of the Tennessee Coal and Iron company was blown down. Reports of great damage to growing crops and farm houses in the vicinity are reported.

“Brighton and North Birmingham were considerably damaged. At Irondale the extent of the damage is not yet known but it is stated that five stores were demolished in the business district and seven people were killed.” (Fort Wayne Sentinel, IN. “Slain by Tornado. Twenty-Five Persons Dead in Alabama. Storm Sweeps Birmingham…” 3-25-1901, p. 1.)

March 25: “Birmingham, Ala., March 25.–A tornado swept over this city and the whole Jones Valley to-day. Twenty lives were lost, forty persons were severely injured, five fatally, and fully 400 others were hurt…The known dead in Birmingham number fourteen and in Irondale three, and the list will be increased when communication is fully reopened with the twenty towns and villages known to have suffered….

The Fatally Injured.

“Among the fatally injured cared for at the hospital are:

Mrs. W. H. Thomas, wife and mother of prominent real-estate agent.

Mrs. D. D. M’Laughlin.

Mrs. Mylum.

George S. Alexander. [Misidentified — actually a customer, J. C. Chlumpe.] [14]

George Minter.

1. P. Dixon.

The children of Mrs. Folker and Mrs. Stufder, of Brighton.

Thirty-six colored persons….”

(The World, NYC. “Twenty Dead in Birmingham in Tornado’s Swath.” 3-26-1901, p. 1.)

March 26: “Birmingham, Ala., March 26. — As a result of the fearful tornado that swept over the southern part of this city, the number of killed is estimated at 25, of whom five are white. The destruction of property is placed at $225,000. Eighteen bodies have been recovered and scores of injured have been removed to the hospitals….

“The storm struck the city in the extreme southwestern corner and plowed its way eastward, leaving a path 150 feet wide, through the entire southern section, extending from Green Springs on the west to Avondale on the east, and continued its course until its fury was spent in the mountains beyond Irondale, a small town six miles east of the city.

“The day dawned cloudy and sultry and grew more threatening as the day advanced. The clouds began to gather and shortly after 9 o’clock sharp lightning flashed in the southwest. The air became heavy and stifling. The velocity of the wind suddenly began to increase, and from out of the overcast sky the dreaded funnel-shaped cloud made its appearance. Hugging close to the earth, it passed through the city in leaps and bounds. The altitude of the cyclone was not more than 75 feet. The negro shanties and cottages in the lowlands in the path of the storm were the principal sufferers. The larger residences on the higher ground suffered but slightly. Among the structures demolished was the Second Presbyterian church.

“Bessemer, Pratt City, Ensley, North Birmingham and other suburban towns were visited by the storm, and in each much destruction was wrought but no loss of life is reported. Many houses were demolished at Pratt City, including a number of churches. At Powderly there was also much damage and destruction, and at Cleveland, Mrs. George Hatt was struck by lightning and will probably die.” (Times-Democrat, Lima, OH. “Many Were Killed…Cyclone. Terrific Storm Passed Through Alabama Yesterday. Most…Who Were Killed are Negroes.” 3-26-1901, p. 2.)

March 27: “Birmingham, Ala., March 27. — Under the harmonious working of the state militia and local police force much order has come out of Tuesday’s chaos incident to the fatal storm which swept portions of this city. A careful revision of the death list places the total number of dead in the city at 12, several persons who were missing and had been reported dead having shown up. Two women reported missing at Irondale are believed to be dead under wrecked buildings. If they are dead this will increase the total to 18.

“Following is a full list of the white victims of the tornado in this city:

Dr. Chapman,

Mrs. Robert G. Lowe,

Infant son of Robert G. Lowe,

3-year-old daughter of B. B. Hudson, and

1. C. Chlumpe, a German. [Not noted in earlier reports.]

 

“The colored victims are:

John Myro,

8-year-old Carrie Henry,

Carrie E. Hudson,

Maggie F. Stedmeyer (schoolgirl),

Lizzie Goodlow,

Lizzie Glenn and

1. B. Hudson’s cook.

 

“Dead at Irondale:

John Gardner, white;

Mamie and Clarence Hunter, colored, and

Two negro women missing.

“Thirty-five persons were more or less seriously hurt in Birmingham….

“J. Alexander, the merchant reported killed, was only severely injured. He crawled out of the ruins immediately after the storm and managed to reach home. In the ruins a body very much disfigured was found and it was thought to be his, but yesterday it was discovered that the dead man is J. C. Chlumpe, a German, who was in the store making a purchase when the cyclone wrecked it….

“The relief fund raised by the people of Birmingham is growing and has already reached $4,000.[15] Mayor F. Drennen authorizes that statement that the sufferers are not in need of outside contributions. The property loss is placed at $300,000….” (The News, Frederick, MD. “Birmingham’s Tornado. Death List Not So Large as First Reports Indicated. Probably Eighteen Are Dead. 3-27-1901, p. 1.)

 

Sources

City of Irondale. City of Irondale Comprehensive Plan Existing Conditions Report. July 2015. Accessed 3-23-2017 at: http://www.irondaleonthemove.com/uploads/1/4/4/7/14479416/irondale_draftexistingconditionsdocument_20150720_emailsize.pdf

Fort Wayne Sentinel, IN. “Slain by Tornado. Twenty-Five Persons Dead in Alabama. Storm Sweeps Birmingham….Jones Valley Devastated. All Wires Down…” 3-25-1901, p. 1. Accessed 3-23-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/fort-wayne-sentinel-mar-25-1901-p-9/?tag

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

Kazek, Kelly. A History of Alabama’s Deadliest Tornadoes: Disaster in Dixie. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2010. Google digital preview accessed 3-24-2017 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=vXh0CQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Murphy, Robert E. and Collins’ Shoe Store (Birmingham, AL). Illustrated Souvenir of The Birmingham Storm, Monday Morning, March 25, 1901. Birmingham, AL, 1901, 27 pages. Accessed 3-24-2017 at: http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p4017coll6/id/1245

National Weather Service, NOAA. This Day in Weather History: March 25^th. (Website). Assessed 3-23-2017 at: http://www.weather.gov/abr/This_Day_in_Weather_History_Mar_25

National Weather Service Birmingham, Alabama. Alabama Tornadoes 1901. (Website) Accessed 3-23-2017 at: https://www.weather.gov/bmx/tornadodb_1901

National Weather Service Forecast Office, Birmingham, AL. Alabama Tornado Database.   NWS/NOAA. Accessed 1-4-2009 at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bmx/tornadoes/mainlist2.php

Pratt City Herald, AL. “Two Cyclones…. Birmingham District Swept by Destructive Storms….Fourteen Lives Are Lost.” 3-30-1901, pp. 1 & 8. Accessed 3-23-2017 at: http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/cdm/compoundobject/collection/BrmnghmNP01/id/7619/rec/68

Spencer, Thomas. “Alabama Tornadoes: Deadly tornadoes follow similar path in Jefferson County.” The Birmingham News, 5-22-2011. Accessed 3-23-2017 at: http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/05/alabama_tornadoes_deadly_torna.html

Stevens, Welby R. “Tornadoes in Alabama,” Monthly Weather Review, October 1925, pp. 437-443. Accessed at:  http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/053/mwr-053-10-0437.pdf

The News, Frederick, MD. “Birmingham’s Tornado. Death List Not So Large as First Reports Indicated. Probably Eighteen Are Dead. 3-27-1901, p. 1. Accessed 3-23-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/news-mar-27-1901/?tag

The World, NYC. “Twenty Dead in Birmingham in Tornado’s Swath.” 3-26-1901, p. 1. Accessed 3-23-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/world-mar-26-1901/?tag

Times-Democrat, Lima, OH. “Many Were Killed in the Cyclone. Terrific Storm Passed Through Alabama Yesterday. Most of Those Who Were Killed are Negroes. Several Bodies Lost.” 3-26-1901, p. 2. Accessed 3-23-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lima-times-democrat-mar-26-1901/?tag

 

 

[1] First, on Birmingham: Our own tally relies on Murphy and Collins and their report of 13 Birmingham deaths in their memorial booklet. The names of twelve fatalities can be found in the press. In addition, at least one paper notes two unidentified blacks, and several papers note several to many critically injured. If one or more of these people died, it would seem that Murphy and Collins would have included these deaths in their memorial booklet. Next on Irondale: See our footnote on Irondale below, explaining why we tally three Irondale deaths. Finally, see our footnote on Pratt City to see why we count no fatalities there. Thus the low-end of our range is sixteen. However, in that Grazulis (a reliable source in our opinion), notes 17 total fatalities, the National Weather Service in its “This Day in History” website, notes 20 (as does Spenser in his 2011 “look-back”.) Finally, we cannot ignore the 25 deaths noted by the Birmingham, AL Weather Forecast Office of the National Weather Service. Thus, we rely on this Birmingham NWS WFO figure for the high-end of our tally, even though it is at odds with the total of 17 deaths noted by the same Birmingham NWS WFO at another website address location.

[2] “March 25, 1901. Seventeen deaths, F3, Jefferson County. The final death toll may have been more than twenty people from this tornado that cut through southern Birmingham to Avondale and Irondale.” [Sites the Tornado Project (Tom Grazulis) as the source.]

[3] Notes “Eighteen bodies have been recovered and scores of injured have been removed to the hospitals.”

[4] “The number of known dead in Birmingham numbers fourteen…”

[5] “Number killed — White, 5; colored 8.”

[6] “On the morning of March 25, 1901, Irondale and the Birmingham area were hit by what was reported than as a ‘cyclone,’ but what we now know to be a tornado. According to reports, five people died, in Irondale, many were wounded, and approximately 40 houses and businesses were totally destroyed or badly damaged. Although destruction within Birmingham was extensive, by comparison Irondale saw more devastation to its little community.”

[7] Sources note either 3, 5 or 7 deaths. The World (and other papers we have seen) identifies three deaths. In addition, Murphy and Collins, in their memorial booklet identify three Irondale deaths. While the City of Irondale Comprehensive Plan notes five deaths, it notes that this was “According to reports.” Early newspaper reports from outside the state noting twenty-five deaths, should not be taken as fact without corroboration and detail.

[8] “Irondale…Number killed — White, 1; colored 2.”

[9] Though Spencer writes of four deaths “in the area,” no names are provided, and it is not clear to what extent :the area” extends. The Pratt City newspaper story about the tornado published on March 30 mentions no Pratt City deaths; neither does the Murphy and Collins memorial booklet on the tornado published later that year — instead it specifically notes no deaths in Pratt City. Thus in an effort to be conservative we tally no Pratt City deaths.

[10] There is, under “Newspaper Information,” a link to the Pratt City Herald article referenced. The article notes 14 deaths.

[11] The World notes deaths of “Eight colored persons” in Birmingham, while the Ft. Wayne Sentinel names six.

[12] The text accompanying an image of property destruction is: “Minter’s Store where Dr. G. C. Hapman was Killed.” (Murphy and Collins. Illustrated Souvenir of The Birmingham Storm…March 25, 1901. p. 5.)

[13] Another report notes the death of “3-year-old daughter of B. B. Hudson…” (The News, Frederick, MD. “Birmingham’s Tornado.” 3-27-1901, p. 1.)

[14] Highlighted in yellow to denote that he was later noted as “only seriously injured” not dead. The News, Frederick, MD. “Birmingham’s Tornado.” 3-27-1901, p. 1.)

[15] The Murphy and Collins memorial booklet notes that “Birmingham was equal to the occasion, and during the week just past has secured nearly $10,000 in cash within her own gates.” (Murphy and Collins. Illustrated Souvenir of The Birmingham Storm…March 25, 1901. p. 10.)

–127-131 Blanchard range:

We cannot determine which of the estimates is absolutely correct. We do not use the Fort Point website note of more than 140 in that no other source we have identified notes this loss of life. We do not use the San Francisco Call estimate of 122 in that it was a next day account. We choose to use the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service report of 127 deaths as the low-end of an estimated death toll, and the reports of Grish and Nash of 131 deaths as the high-end.

–>140 Fort Point website. Accessed 1-10-2009.
— 131 Grish, Martin. “Where Lies the City of Rio de Janeiro?” Sea Classics, January 2005.
— 131 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 692.
— 130 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 205.
–~130 Wikipedia. “SS City of Rio de Janeiro.”
— 129 Gibbs. Disaster Log of Ships…account of shipwrecks, California to Alaska. 1971, p. 12.
— 128 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 221.
— 128 National Marine Sanctuaries, NOAA. “SS City of Rio de Janeiro.” Accessed 2-1-2022.
— 128 Oakland Tribune. “Shipwreck One of Worst Since Janeiro’s Loss…” 8-30-1929, D3.
— 127 U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report 1910, p. 24.
— 122 San Francisco Call. “Death Achieves a Dread Triumph…Golden Gate.” 2-23-1901, 1-2.
–19 Cabin passengers, of 29 onboard.
— 5 Second class passengers of 7 onboard.
–43 Asiatic steerage passengers, of 58 onboard.
–19 Ship’s officers, of 30 onboard.
–36 Asiatic crew, of 77 onboard.

Narrative Information

Gibbs: “….the City of Rio de Janeiro, an American passenger liner wrecked about 600 yards off Fort Point, in San Francisco Bay, February 22, 1901. In this terrible fog-shrouded tragedy the vessel went down with $2,075,000 in gold, silver and cash, but also with the shocking loss of 129 lives, including her master, Captain William Ward. Despite the fact that the wreck happened in San Francisco’s own front yard, there were but 81 survivors. To date, $2 million in Chinese silver and $75,000 in gold, specie and bullion have reputedly been salvaged from the rusting hulk.” (Gibbs. Disaster Log of Ships…account of shipwrecks, California to Alaska. 1971, p. 12.)

Grish and Wikipedia: The SS City of Rio de Janeiro was an iron hulled steam powered 3500-ton passenger liner, launched in 1878, which sailed between San Francisco and various Asian Pacific ports. (Wikipedia, Rio; Grish 2005.)

Grish: In February 1901, the City of Rio was inbound to its home port of San Francisco from Hong Kong by way of Honolulu. The previous night had been spent at anchor outside the Golden Gate Bridge due to a heavy fog. (Grish 2005) Various accounts list the number of passengers and crew on-board at between 210 and 227.

The fog cleared and at about 4:02 a.m. the order was given to raise anchor and make the ship ready to finish the last five miles of a long trip – Meigg’s Wharf. Hardly had the ship started closing on its berth when thick fog moved in again. (Grish 2005)

“At approximately 5:25 a.m. the Rio ‘ran aground… The ship seemed to be stuck on a reef…. The captain, William Ward…. bellowed the abandon ship order. Hampered by the pre-electric era of communications limited to bells whistles and voice commands, the crew, mostly Orientals, hurriedly rallied to the Captain’s orders. Grabbing lanterns as the lights flickered and went out, the stewards ran through the passageway beating on doors to alert passengers who had no way of knowing how perilous their situation had become’….” (Grish 2005.)

Captain Wood then “lashed the ships horn halyard to the wheel to keep it sounding out while he organized the launching of the lifeboats. Suddenly the ship slipped off the rocks and began to sink.” (Grish 2005.)

“The damage to the ship was considerable: virtually the entire underside of the vessel had been torn open by the collision and the engine room and cargo holds rapidly flooded.” (Wikipedia, Rio)

“Ashore at the Bakers Beach, life station attendant Eric Holmes heard the ship’s whistle echoing through the swirl of fog. In the inky pre-dawn darkness, he thought he heard the distant screams of excited voices but thought the sounds those of excited fishermen who often shouted and tooted at each other as their small vessels headed to sea in the morning. He punched his time clock, as was his duty, every 15 minutes. It was 5:15 am and by 8:00 he’d be off duty….” (Grish 2005.)

“A hammer-like blow rang through the stricken ship as water pressure collapsed bulkheads as if they were paper partitions. With the decks angling steeply it was hard for anyone to stand as furniture, baggage and bedding crashed and tossed about the small, cramped cabins. Cries of terror rang through the flooding passageways as frantic souls still dressed in nightshirts desperately tried to find their way topside…. (Grish 2005.)

“Captain Wood was still on the bridge when the Rio de Janeiro groaned its last agony and, rolling steeply to starboard, plunged beneath the sea. Those who lingered too long trying to collect their valuables were drowned. Others who had clawed their way to the upper decks were haplessly thrown into the bitter cold sea only to be sucked under by the swirling vortex of water suctioned by the plunging hull. A moment later a hoarse boom echoed from beneath the sea as the boilers exploded in a final agonizing thud. The Rio de Janeiro sank at 5:29 am.” (Grish 2005.) From grounding to sinking, depending on the account, only 5-8 minutes elapsed.

“Miraculously, two boats had been launched before the Rio went under. A third was still on the falls when the hull rolled on top of it and crushed it into splintered fragments, killing its occupants. Swiftly rowing away from the deadly vortex of the plunging hull, those in the boats had no way of knowing which way land lay in the fog. For a while they excitedly rowed in circles picking up survivors clinging to wreckage Cold, shocked and bewildered from the ghastly horrors they’d experienced they knew a landfall could only be hundreds of feet away but feared rowing out to sea.

“Many aboard, especially the strong swimmers, struck out for land heading in all directions from the sinking boat. Within minutes the first of these reached shore at Baker’s Beach and breathlessly spread word of what had happened. The others…had swam in the wrong direction. They were never seen again.

“Luckily, a number of Italian fishermen stumbled upon the hapless survivors in the water. Rescuing many, they hurried to shore to ring the rescue alarm. But by the time the Life Saving Service had launched their boats everyone had either been picked up or had vanished from the quiet surface of the sea.” (Grish 2005.)

“Of the crew of 68, only 13 had survived. Most of the Chinese wipers and deck hands had been killed in their sleep when the torn hull quickly flooded their lower deck quarters. Of the Rio’s officers only Engineer Phil Herlihy and deck officers G. Coughlan and C. J. Holland survived. Coughlan and Holland had been asleep and, once roused, led many of the survivors to the lifeboats. Capt. William Wood had gone down with his ship as did first officer J. C. Johnson…. The…passengers…suffered the greatest number of casualties with only 69 of them being among the 82 survivors.” (Grish 2005.)

Fort Point: “No one in the fort or at the lifesaving station near-by heard the horn. Over 140 lives were lost in the bay’s worst sea disaster….Even with this disaster and the recommendations by the Lighthouse Board that it would never have happened if there had been an adequate fog signal installed; it wasn’t until 1904 that the fog horn was upgraded [at Fort Point].” (Fort Point)

National Marine Sanctuaries, NOAA: “On February 22, 1901 the City of Rio de Janeiro was enveloped in fog while moving through the narrow entrance of the Golden Gate. Without warning the ship struck Fort Point. At the time of the stranding, an ebbing tide pushed the steamer back from the bridge and off the rocks. The ship’s bulkheads were not watertight, so it rapidly flooded, sinking within 10 minutes. Many of the passengers, most of them Chinese and Japanese emigrants, were asleep in their cabins and died below. Of the 210 on board, 128 lives were lost, making this shipwreck the highest loss of life at the Golden Gate. The Rio is considered by historians as the “Titanic of the Golden Gate.”” (National Marine Sanctuaries, NOAA. “SS City of Rio de Janeiro.” Accessed 2-1-2022.)

US SIS: “February 22. – The Pacific Mail Steamship Company’s steamship City of Rio de Janeiro, 3,548 tons gross, William Ward, master, from Hong Kong and Yokohama, while entering the harbor of San Francisco in a dense fog, running at half speed against a strong ebb tide, State Pilot F. W. Jordan in charge, struck on a reef near Fort Point at about 5:25 a.m. The steamer filled rapidly and sunk. Of the 205 lives on board 127 were lost, 68 of these being passengers. The only surviving officers of the steamer were the second and third mates and the chief engineer.

“Upon investigation of this disaster, the local inspectors rendered their decision on March 22, in which they attached blame to Captain Ward for allowing the City of Rio de Janeiro to leave her anchorage on this occasion, which was off the entrance to the bay of San Francisco and where she had lain since the evening of February 21. The inspectors likewise attached blame to State Pilot Jordan for attempting to bring the steamer from a safe anchorage into the harbor of San Francisco in a dense fog, at night, with a strong ebb tide running, with current made stronger and more uncertain by reason of freshets in the rivers. The inspectors also revoked the license of P.H. Herlihy, chief engineer of the City of Rio de Janeiro, for inattention to the duties of his position. Mr. Herlihy appealed to the supervising inspector, first district, April 19, from the above revocation of his license, and, upon a rehearing, the same was, on May 13 modified to a suspension of his license for the period of three months from March 22….” (U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report 1910, p. 24.)

Newspaper

Feb 23: “The Pacific Mail steamship City of Rio de Janeiro went down yesterday morning at the Golden Gate and one hundred and twenty-two human lives and a king’s ransom in treasure were death’s harvest of horror for the day. Within the harbor which should have meant security after a voyage of storm and distress, human beings struggled and fought for their lives, not against the elements, for the sea was as calm as a sea of glass and the winds were stilled, but against the death damage that the rocks had done.

“Wrapped in a shroud of fog, within hearing and it seemed almost within a stone’s throw of the city, these human creatures met death in its most awe inspiring, dread form. The accident in every phase was without parallel in marine disasters on this coast. Other ships had sunk at sea in the midst of frightful storms. Others had foundered because of their own incapacity to struggle against the elements, but the City of Rio de Janeiro, after a journey of thousands of miles, through storm and violent weather, struck upon the rocks and went down in its home port.

“Nothing so horrifying has ever appeared on the Pacific Coast. Early in the morning the news of the disaster was received in this city and excitement of the most intense kind pervaded every circle and phase of life. Savers were warned, ships were sent out, thousands upon thousands of people traveled toward the beach to see something of the wrecked ship from the heights on the western shore of the town. But nothing could be seen. The bay was as still as a lake and not even wreckage indicated the locality of the vessel which had been doomed by a most remarkable fate.

“Here and there on the Presidio beach a dead body floated out from the water. Fishermen in small craft hovered about the scene and lifeboats patrolled the waters but nothing of the sunken ship appeared. While thousands hastened toward the western heights, throngs hurried to the Morgue and to the offices of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company to learn something of those who had been lost or saved, but no information could be given, not even a roster of the passengers.

“Just at dark on Thursday night the vessel which was so soon to meet its doom was nearing the Heads. The lights in the Cliff House could be seen and the decks of the ship were crowded with passengers, officers and crew, glad for a vision of the home land after the long and dangerous journey across the seas. The night was clear and pleasant, but Captain Ward, the commander of the vessel, accepted a pilot, Captain Frederick Jordan, who is reputed to be one of the most expert and careful pilots on the coast. And now between that reputation and the conduct of the dead captain of the City of Rio de Janeiro must rest the responsibility for the doom of one hundred and twenty-two human lives and the loss of more than $1,800,000 in property. This responsibility belongs to one of them or to the other, or perhaps to both. Captain Jordan boarded the ship and at 7 o’clock, the fog having settled down like a great black pall, it was decided to anchor outside for the night.

“The lights of the shore disappeared and for another night passengers and crew settled themselves in patience. Warning lights were fixed upon the vessel and now and again her siren sounded its hoarse signals. At 4 o’clock yesterday morning the fog cleared, and again the Cliff House, a beacon and a welcome after the long journey, could be seen. There was movement upon the ship even at that hour. Many of the passengers were astir, for they were impatient and eager for another glimpse of land and the prospect of home. For thousands of miles in the ocean they had been haunted by death and within two hours in the blackness and in the silence of the sea they were to meet him guarding the Golden Gate. As the fog lifted Captain Ward and Pilot Jordan went upon the bridge and the orders of preparation to move into the bay were given. The anchor was weighed and the ship moved slowly ahead, everybody on board feeling the thrill of anticipation.

“Then slowly again the great shroud of fog fell upon the sea and the bay. Denser it seemed than before, but the two captains on the bridge decided to go ahead. Upon whom shall rest the awful responsibility for the great loss of a ship and its cargo and the greater loss of one hundred and twenty-two lives, a court of inquiry must determine. There is in the service of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company a standing order to every captain employed by that corporation not to leave a harbor nor to enter one in the fog. Captain Ward disobeyed that order. There is also a universal principle that when a pilot steps on board a vessel he is absolutely master of the ship and can be swayed in no possible way by any order or suggestion of the master of the ship. Captain Frederick Jordan violated that principle.

“Officials of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company declare that the responsibility must rest wholly upon the unfortunate captain who went down with his ship. It is claimed that a pilot is employed solely for the purpose of acting in an advisory capacity and that he does not take command of the ship. He is to act solely in suggestion and to warn the commander of the incoming vessel if anything unusual has happened in the harbor since he left. If this be the habit of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company it is in violation of a universal custom at this port.

“With pilot and captain on the bridge the City of Rio de Janeiro passed through the Heads. She was in the harbor of San Francisco. Her long journey was ended. Within an hour she should have been in sight of the town, past all danger. The fog which enveloped her and which shut out the western heights of the city and which made in impossible for the men upon the bridge to see the crew at work below, was thicker than ever, it seemed, but the commander hoped that it would soon rise. Then came the ominous, grating, shuddering, dread-inspiring sound from below.

“The ship had struck on the rocks. Not an officer on board could mistake that sound. Captain Ward issued his orders to determine what the damage was. It was reported to him that ten feet of water was already in the forward hold and twenty feet amidships. What followed on the doomed ship can only be told by the survivors and it is a story of utmost horror. Jutting out from Fort Point is a shoal which extends in a northeasterly direction. Upon the very outer rocks of this projection the City of Rio de Janeiro had crashed and a great, gaping hole had been ripped in her hull. It seemed that almost instantly the vessel began to settle. Captain Ward hastened from his post and personally superintended the work of alarming the passengers and hastening them to the decks. Men, women and children rushed screaming, shouting, crying up to the decks and could see nothing around the sinking ship but the black, dense fog. The Chinese crew and passengers went mad with fear. They fought and scrambled to get out upon the decks.

“Confusion reigned absolutely supreme, for it seemed that all would be lost. Captain Ward ordered his officers to the boats, and then performed the most tragic, dramatic act of heroism in the whole dreadful catastrophe. With command and gesture and personal insistence he demanded that the women must be allowed first into the boats. Quickly and more quickly the ship was sinking, but crew and officers worked with desperate energy. A boat was launched and into it four women and two men were quickly lowered. The last of the fur women, the wife of Consul General Wildman of Hongkong, and just been safely seated, when down the ladder went Pilot Jordan with the child of Mrs. Wildman in his arms. Screaming in terror the little one grasped him frantically around the neck while the husband and father, Consul General Wildman, stepped over the side of the ship and placed his feet upon the ladder. Just at that moment a spar from one of the masts came hurtling through the air and cut the lifeboat in two. Death was inevitable.

“While this was happening other boats were being launched and met a kinder fate, but it seemed only an instant after that, with a terrific sound, the City of Rio de Janeiro sank. The waters of the bay were hurled into volumes of foam, seething around masses of wreckage and human bodies. Just as the great vessel sank her enormous boilers burst and shattered the entire upper structure o the ship into splinters.

“At 5:20 o’clock the ship struck upon the rocks and it is believed that she sank at 5:33 o’clock. As she disappeared, most of her passengers and crew were taken down with her and only by the strangest chance ever again arose to the surface.

“Some escaped to the harbor in boats, others floated on pieces of wreckage until they were picked up by Italian fishermen, and still others were rescued by men from various vessels in the bay. No absolute information of the disaster reached the city until 7:30 o’clock, nearly two hours after death had claimed its victims. A boat load of the rescued reached Meiggs wharf at that our and then the alarm was given. All haste was made to send assistance, but when the boats bent on rescue reached the scene not a vestige of the great ship was visible.

“She had sunk absolutely out of sight and there was not even a ripple of the wave to indicate where she had disappeared. Here and there a fragment of her superstructure drifted, but indicated nothing of the location of the wrecked vessel. In the early morning the fog lifted and the day was clear enough to have permitted a novice to steer a vessel through the Golden Gate. At 7:30 o’clock in the morning Captain Ward and Pilot Jordan could have entered the Golden Gate in absolute safety. They risked the attempt two hours earlier and one hundred and twenty-two human lives paid for their hazard. All day long small boats, fishing smacks and tugs hovered around the scene of the disaster picking up here and there some article of small value and grappling with the hope that the sunken vessel might be located. Lifeboats from the Federal station patrolled the waters, but no one could tell where the City of Rio de Janeiro had sunk.

“It is estimated that more than 15,000 people crowded the heights from the Cliff House to Bakers Beach, but although they watched for hours, they could see nothing out of the usual. Early in the day several bodies were washed ashore or picked up and taken to the Morgue. Some of the fishermen who prowled the waters of the bay in the neighborhood of the wreck picked up a mail pouch which had contained registered mail. It had been rifled and told its own story of an unspeakable crime. Whether or not this theft was committed on board while men and women were in the agony of approaching death, no one can tell. It may have drifted from the wreck and been secured by some marauding bay thief. The rifled pouch was brought to the city by some Italian fishermen, many of whom did splendid service in rescuing the living and protecting the death….

“San Francisco has never been compelled to record within its limits so horrifying an item of death s that which must be made in reference to the doom of the city of rio ….” (San Francisco Call. “Death Achieves a Dread Triumph at the Golden Gate.” 2-23-1901, pp. 1-3.)

Blanchard note: On page 2, twenty-five passengers, 19 officers and crew, and 42 “Asiatic Steerage Passengers” are named as dead.

Sources

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

Fort Point Website. Accessed 1-10-2009 at: http://www.westofpch.com/lighthouse/fortpoint.html (Inoperable when checked 2-1-2022.)

Gibbs, Jim. Disaster Log of Ships: A Pictorial account of shipwrecks, California to Alaska. NY: Bonanza Books, 1971.

Grish, Martin. “Where Lies the City of Rio de Janeiro?” Sea Classics, January 2005. Accessed at: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4442/is_200501/ai_n16060127 [Inoperable 2022]

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 Marine Sanctuaries, NOAA. “SS City of Rio de Janeiro.” Accessed 2-1-2022 at: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/shipwrecks/city-of-rio-de-janeiro/

Oakland Tribune, CA. “Shipwreck [San Juan] One of Worst Since Janeiro’s Loss, 1901.” 8-30-1929, D3. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=105413307

San Francisco Call. “Death Achieves a Dread Triumph at the Golden Gate. One Hundred and Twenty-two Lives Go Down to Doom on the Ill-Fated Steamship Rio de Janeiro.” 2-23-1901, p. 1. Accessed 2-1-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/san-francisco-call-feb-23-1901-p-1/

United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat-Inspection Service to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1910. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1910. 391 pages. Google digitized. Accessed 2-1-2022 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JlgpAAAAYAAJ

Wikipedia. “SS City of Rio de Janeiro.” 1-10-2009 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_City_of_Rio_De_Janeiro

–1,085 US Census Bureau. Special Reports. Mortality Statistics 1900 to 1904. 1906, p. xxv.

Notes national registration area average death rate of 3.5 per 100,000 population.

Summary of State Breakouts

Alabama, Mobile 3
California, San Fran. 1
Colorado >3
Connecticut 4
Illinois 5
Indiana 21
Iowa >2
Kansas >3
Kentucky, Louisville 2
Louisiana, New Orleans 52
Massachusetts 98
Michigan 26
Minnesota >4
Missouri >21
Nebraska >4
New Hampshire 5
New Jersey 139
New York 436
Ohio >26
Pennsylvania >202
Rhode Island >5
Tennessee, Memphis 10
Utah, Salt Lake City 4
Washington >5
West VA, Wheeling 1
Wisconsin >3

Breakout of 1881 Smallpox Fatalities by State and Locality (where noted)

State City Deaths page Death page
Rate
Alabama, Mobile 3 p.202 7.7 p. xcvi

California, San Fran. 1 p.204 0.3 p. cviii

Colorado >3
Denver 2 p.200 1.5 p. lxxxii
Pueblo 1 3.5 p. civ

Connecticut 4 p.198 0.4 p. lxxii
Bristol 1 p.198 10.1 p. lxxviii
New Britain 1 p.202 3.4 p. xcvi

Illinois >5
Chicago 4 p.198 0.2 p. lxxx
Jacksonville 1 p.200 6.5 p. lxxxviii

Indiana >21 p.198 0.8 p. lxxii
Fort Wayne 1 p.200 2.2 p. lxxxiv
Indianapolis 2 p.200 1.1 p. lxxxviii
Michigan City 2 p.202 13.1 p. xciv

Iowa >2
Burlington 1 p.198 4.3 p. lxxviii
Davenport 1 p. 200 2.8 p. lxxxii

Kansas >3
Leavenworth 2 p.202 3.9 p. xc
Wichita 1 4.1 p. cxiv

Kentucky, Louisville 2 p.202 1.0 p. xcii

Louisiana, New Orleans 52 p.202 17.8 p. xcviii

Massachusetts 98 p.198 3.4 p. lxxii
Boston 75 p.198 13.1 p. lxxviii
Cambridge 3 p.198 3.2 p. lxxviii
Fall River 1 p.200 0.9 p. lxxxiv
Fitchburg 2 p.200 6.1 p. lxxxiv
Hyde Park 1 p.200 7,4 p. lxxxviii
Malden 1 p.202 2.9 p. xcii
New Bedford 6 p.202 9.3 p. xcvi
Newton 1 p.202 2.9 p. c
Plymouth 1 10.2 p. civ
Worcester 4 p.206 3.3 p. cxiv

Michigan 26 p.198 1.1 p. lxxii
Detroit 1 p.200 0.3 p. lxxxii
Fling 1 p.200
Saginaw 1 p.204 2.3 p. cvi

Minnesota >4
Duluth 1 p.200 1.8 p. lxxxii
Minneapolis 1 p.202 0.5 p. xcvi
St. Paul 1 p.204 0.6 p. cvi
Winona 1 5.0 p. cxiv

Missouri >21
Kansas City 6 p.200 3.6 p. xc
St. Joseph 7 p.204 6.6 p. cvi
St. Louis 8 p.204 1.4 p. cvi

Nebraska >4
Lincoln 1 p.202 2.4 p. xcii
Omaha 3 p.204 2.8 p. c

New Hampshire 5 p.198 1.2 p. lxxii
Berlin 2 p.198 21.3 p. lxxviii
Concord 1 p.200 5.0 p. lxxxii

New Jersey 139 p.198 7.2 p. lxxii
Bayonne 2 p.198 5.9 p. lxxiv
Camden 2 p.198 2.6 p. lxxx
Harrison 2 p.200 18.5 p. lxxxiv
Hoboken 2 p.200 3.3 p. lxxxiv
Jersey City 3 p.200 1.4 p. lxxxviii
Newark 71 p.202 28.2 p. xcviii
Orange 2 p.204 8.1 p. c
Passaic 1 p.204 3.4 p. cii
Patterson 1 p.204 0.9 p. cii
Trenton 1 p.206 1.3 p. cx

New York 436 p.198 5.9 p. lxxii
Buffalo 2 p.198 0.6 p. lxxviii
Gloversville 3 p.200 16.0 p. lxxxiv
Lockport 1 p.202 6.0 p. xcii
Mt. Vernon 2 p.202 9.0 p. xcvi
New Rochelle 1 p.202 6.5 p. xcviii
NY City 410 Rosner. Hives of Sickness. 1991, p. 31.
NY City 395 p.202 11.2 p. xcviii
Bronx 312 p.202 147.4 p. xcviii
Brooklyn 48 p.202 4.0 p. xcviii
Manhattan 33 p.202 1.7 p. xcviii
Queens 2 p.202 1.3 p. xcviii
Richmond —- p.202 — p. xcviii
Port Jervis 1 p.204 10.6 p. civ
Rome 1 p.204 6.5 p. cvi
Watertown 1 p.206
Yonkers 9 p.206 18.2 p. cxiv

Ohio >26
Cincinnati 1 p.198 0.4 p. lxxx
Cleveland 20 p.198 5.1 p. lxxx
Findlay 2 p.200 10.7 p. lxxxiv
Portsmouth 3 16.4 p. civ

Pennsylvania >202
Allegheny 1 p.198 1.5 p. lxxiv
Norristown 5 p.204 22.2 p. c
Philadelphia 178 p.204 13.5 p. cii
Pittsburgh 4 p.204 1.2 p. cii
Plymouth 14 p.204 99.5 p. civ

Rhode Island >5 p.198 1.1 p. lxxii
Central Falls 2 p.198 10.7 p. lxxx
Newport 1 p.202 4.5 p. c
Providence 2 p.204 1.1 p. civ

Tennessee, Memphis 10 p.202 9.4 p. xciv

Utah, Salt Lake City 4 7.4 p. cviii

Washington >5
Seattle 3 p.204 3.6 p. cviii
Spokane 2 p.204 5.2 p. cviii

West VA, Wheeling 1 p.206 2.5 p. cxiv

Wisconsin >3
Eau Claire 1 p.200 5.7 p. lxxxiv
Green Bay 1 p.200 5.2 p. lxxxiv
Milwaukee 1 p.202 0.3 p. xcvi

Sources

Rosner, David (Ed.). Hives of Sickness: Public Health and Epidemics in New York City. Rutgers University Press, 1991, 236 pages. Partially digitized by Google. Accessed 3-29-2018 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=o34QxI6lHwAC&pg=PA70&dq=1916+Polio+Epidemic&ei=Cy5DSZWvMIXAMpqalOYN#PPP7,M1

United States Bureau of the Census. Special Reports. Mortality Statistics 1900 to 1904. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1906, 990 pages. Accessed 1-11-2017 at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsushistorical/mortstatsh_1900-1904.pdf

–15  WV Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training, “WV Mine Disasters 1884 to Present”

–10  Fort Wayne Evening Sentinel, IN. “Ten Miners Die.” 11-3-1900, p. 5.)

 

Narrative Information

 

WV Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training: A powder explosion. (“WV Mine Disasters 1884…”)

 

Newspapers

 

Nov 3: “Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 3.–A Times-Star special says an explosion today in the Berryburg Coal mine at Phillippi, W.Va., killed thirty-two and injured over 100 men.

 

Hard To Get News

 

“Phillipi, W. Va., Nov. 3.–An explosion occurred in one of the mines of the Southern Coal and Transportation company, eight miles from here. There is neither telegraphic nor telephonic communications with the mines.

 

Few Details

 

“Detroit, Mich., Nov. 3.–B.F. Berry, of this city, president of the Willis Creek Coal company, received a telegram at noon today from N. O. Gray, manager of the mine at Phillipi, saying:

 

The fatalities resulting from the explosion here today are probably six. Indications are that the mine is not injured as badly as was at first feared. Dynamite taken into the mine in too large quantities by a shooter is believed to have exploded from the concussion of other shots and caused the accident.

 

“The Berryburg mine is located about six miles south of Phillipi and about twenty-nine men are employed in its working. A majority of these are negroes, who are married and live in a settlement near the mines.

 

“T. W. Davis, of this city, the Willis Creek company’s mine inspector, says that it is one of the best equipped soft coal properties in West Virginia….

 

“President Berry shortly before 2 o’clock received a telephone message from Berryburg saying that ten men were killed and four seriously injured, three of whom will probably die. The mine, however, is damaged very slightly.

 

“The accident happened at midnight, whom most of the men were out of the mien, and the late advices confirm the statement that it was caused by carelessness on the part of the shooter.” (Fort Wayne Evening Sentinel, IN. “Ten Miners Die.” 11-3-1900, p. 5.)

 

Nov 3: “Phillippi, W.Va., Nov 3. – “The Berryburg coal mine was blown up this morning… Berryburg is eight miles from here….The mine is owned by the Southern Coal & Transportation company.” (Lincoln Evening News (Neb.). “Thirty-Two Lives Lost in…Explosion,” 11-3-1900.)

 

Nov 3: “Philippi, West Va., Nov 3.–At 1:30 o’clock this morning a terrific explosion occurred at one of the Southern Coal and Transportation Company’s mines at Berrysburg. Twelve bodies have already been taken from the mine. The explosion was plainly heard in Philippi.

 

“It is impossible as yet to tell accurately how many lives are lost. This cannot be done until a roll call can be taken. Men are busy removing the dead from the mine, and as at this time it is extremely dangerous, work is slow.

 

“As the work of removing the dead goes on, things look worse than at first supposed. Four men were brought out during the last hour, and the searchers report that a dozen are yet in the mine. Twenty men are unaccounted for. Few of those brought out are not terribly mutilated beyond description.

 

“Most of the miners have been here but a few weeks, and as they were almost unknown to each other it is hard to recognize a man when he is found. Most of the men came from North Carolina and the District of Columbia.

 

“The report of the explosion was so great that two men were found sixty feet from the mouth of the mine. An hour after the explosion hundreds had visited the scene of the disaster. The call for relief brought every physician in Philippi to the scene.

 

“The sight was a most horrible one. Strewed along the main channel and about the opening were portions of the bodies of the dead miners. Fathers and mothers were frantically hunting for sons, and as fast as a body was recovered those recognizing it would give hysterical screams.

 

“The hotel has been turned into a hospital, and those still alive when brought out were taken there. Four men are not expected to live till morning.

 

“There is a great deal of contradictory talk about the cause of the explosion. The authorities refuse to discuss the matter further than to say it was caused by an excessive charge of powder being used. The miners insist that it was caused by fire damp [gas]. The mine was recently inspected and pronounced to be in good condition.

 

“The engineer in charge of the mine is very reticent. He says that at 9 o’clock a man came out of the mine and told him the electrician had drilled all the holes needed for the night and to shut off the fans.

 

“Miners say that was the very time the fans were needed, as when the charges were fired it would cause all the smoke and dust to rise. If this was not swept out by the fans it would cause an explosion….

 

“John W. Green, who was in the mine at the time of the explosion and escaped injury, gives the following account:

 

I went into the mine at 7:30 o’clock, and went to Room No. 1. I had been at work an hour or so when I smelled black damp. I noticed that my lamp would flicker. I went to the mine boss and told him about it. He laughed and said it was all right. I went back to work, and some time after midnight heard a terrific noise. I was knocked down and my lamp out out. I was stunned for a moment, and then realized what had happened. I was close to the entrance and crawled over the bodies of two men. I think the explosion was caused by black damp.

 

“The mine is situated about six miles south of here, and about 290 men are employed it it….” (NYT: “Many Killed in Mine Explosion. 11-4-1900.)

 

Sources

 

Fort Wayne Evening Sentinel, IN. “Ten Miners Die.” 11-3-1900, p. 5. Accessed 11-12-2017 at:  https://newspaperarchive.com/fort-wayne-sentinel-nov-03-1900-p-2/

 

Lincoln Evening News, NE. “Thirty-Two Lives Lost in Havoc Wrought by a Terrific Mine Explosion,” 11-3-1900.  Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=36619079&firstvisit=true&src=search&currentResult=8

 

New York Times. “Many Killed in Mine Explosion. Twelve Dead Already Taken from Colliery at Berrysburg [sic], West Va. Twenty Unaccounted For.” 11-4-1900. Accessed 11-12-2017 at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9906E1D9143DE433A25757C0A9679D946197D6CF

 

West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training. WV Mine Disasters 1884 to Present. MHS&T, 3-28-2016 update. Accessed 11-12-2017 at: http://www.wvminesafety.org/disaster.htm

 

 

—         >100  Natives in umiaks (skin-lined boats) after leaving Kings Island for mainland.[1]

— Numerous. Sea-surge ashore destroying Nome bldgs. French. Nome Nuggets, 1901, p. 67.

— Extensive loss of life, ashore in Nome.[2]

—        18-19  Blanchard count of Nome named fatalities or crew provided in press at the time.

 

Narrative Information

(Nome)

French: “Nome’s waterfront emerged on the morning of September 13^th from the most terrific storm which has ever beset it in the knowledge of her white inhabitants. The spectacle unfolded by the return of daylight, was grand and yet appalling. Though the fury of the wind had somewhat abated and the tremendous tide had partly receded, the angry sea still raged. An untold quantity of debris — lumber, piles, wreckage of ships, barrels of liquor, tents, sails, masts, building paper — covered the surface of the near waters and tumbled about in wild confusion in the clutch of the surf.

“….Worst of all was the loss of life which attended the storm. The number of deaths will never be known, but that they must have been numerous in undoubted. Hundreds of the inhabitants of Nome were bereft of their small belongings and rendered homeless by the washing away of their tents and houses; and this extended far up the Snake River and Dry Creek bottoms, as well as for miles along the beach.

“On the afternoon of the 12^th, at 3.30 o’clock, a southeaster was piping a gale. The mammoth barge ‘Skookum.’ Staunchest of all the storm-tossed fleet, after battling the season’s elements, dragged her anchor and started on the journey towards the beach and destruction. After the ‘Skookum’ had struggled an hour or so, the little tub ‘America,’ and a steam launch, which were tied astern of the doomed barge, began to show signs of succumbing to the heavy sea. They popped and bobbed about it on the crest of the swell until they both were caught broadside in the waves, and went down, with those on board.

“….She [the Skookum] drifted broadside towards the shore and landed upon the beach just below the lower extremity of the military reservation. The waves broke clear over the ill-fated barge…For fully an hour the great strength of her hull and keel stood the merciless pounding before breaking. Shortly before midnight, however, when the storm and surf were at their height, the ‘Skookum’ with a mighty crash broke in two….

“With the sudden rising of the tide, the monster breakers came surging n from sea, carrying ruin and destruction before them. Buildings along the south side of River street were picked up bodily, for a distance of two blocks, and dashed against those of the opposite side. Many of these were immediately wrecked and the pieces carried away by the waves; others, more substantial in construction, held out for varying periods; nearly all were, in the end, reduced to kindling wood. Those buildings beyond the reach of the waves were flooded with water. Only in a few instances were goods saved, so unexpected and sudden was the onslaught of the waves….

“….Various estimates were heard of the number of persons rendered homeless by the waters, the general opinion being that one thousand was a reasonable figure….” (French. Nome Nuggets, 1901, pp. 67-68.)

Gottehrer: “Storms. Sept. 12, 1900. A great storm almost destroyed Nome, causing extensive, but uncounted, loss of life, homes and businesses. One estimate indicated there were 1,000 homeless. The barge Skookum, which had just arrived in Nome, was wrecked and much of its cargo destroyed. Ten thousand tons of coal, a winter’s supply, went into the sea.” (Gottehrer. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised and 2^nd edition). 2000, p. 94.)

 

Newspapers

Sep 19: “Seattle, Sept 19….The steamer St. Paul brought news of the terrible havoc wrought at Nome by the recent storm. A number of vessels were driven on the beach or wrecked. Many tents and buildings on the beach were entirely swept away. The Alaska commercial company’s wharf and Capt. Geiger’s Latrina [sp.?] are a mass of wreckage. L. S. Doud of San Francisco and Capt. Johnson are said to have been drowned during the storm. Capt. J. D. Thackberry of Portland, Ore, aged 60 years, who had been navigating the Alaska run for the past 10 years, was another victim of the storm. His body will be sent down on one of the first steamers.” (Boston Globe. “Nome’s Terrible Storm.” 9-20-1900, p. 17.)

Sep 20: “Seattle, Wash, Sept. 20. The steamer-ship St. Paul, from Nome….reports the recovery of the bodies of P. H. Kitcat, P. T. Nichols, David Sinclair and Frank Hicks, who were drowned in the recent storm.” (Evening Democrat, Warren, PA. “News From Nome.” 9-20-1900, p. 2.)

Sep 25: “Seattle, Wash., Sept. 25.–The steamer Roanoke brings news of a most disastrous storm at Nome. It raged with unusual violence for nearly two days up to the evening of September 13 and was the severest that ever visited northwestern Alaska. A number of barges and lighters were driven ashore and totally wrecked. All along the beach for miles, both east and west of Nome, the wind and water have created havoc with tents and mining machinery.

“A number of lives are believed to have been lost. It is known that Andrew A. Ryan, of Los Angeles, was drowned. Several captains and seamen on small tugs are missing and it is thought they are lost.

“Fully 500 people are homeless, while the loss to property and supplies is over a half million dollars.

“There is not an alley leading to the beach that is not filled with debris. Many of Front street buildings abutting on the beach have been damaged. Numerous small buildings were swept completely away. The heaviest individual losers are probably the Alaska Commercial company and the Wild Goose Mining and Trading company.

“A serious loss is the disappearance of over 2,000 tons of coal. Captain French, in command of the troops, has thrown open the government reservation to those rendered homeless by the storm and will extend such other assistance as is possible.

“In the great storm at Nome on September 11, 12 and 13 the tug Islam sank with her crew of three. The launch America, while trying to aid the big barge Skookum, with down with Captain Madison, her commander, and the engineer. Three or four men were working along the water front in an effort to save something from the wreckage and are said to have been swept to sea, but their names are not known.

“From Benny river comes a report of the wreck of the schooner Prosper and the drowning of Captain Geizer, together with one of his seamen.

“At Nome the Alaska Commercial company’s barge York, heavily laden with winter provisions, went ashore. And later the barge Skookum dragger her anchors and was wrecked on the beach. The North American Transportation company lost the tug Bob, valued at $2,000. The steam launch Strae sank at anchor and the Belvidere is a wreck at the mouth of Snake river.[3] The little schooner Zenith, which attempted to put to sea, was blown about two miles up the beach.

“Having her passengers aboard, the Roanoke sailed on the evening of September 13. The storm had abated somewhat, but after getting to sea it increased. The Roanoke was completely at the mercy of the gale. On the third day out the storm subsided and the vessel succeeded in reaching port uninjured….” (Fort Wayne Evening Sentinel, IN. “A Storm at Nome.” 9-25-1900, p. 4.)

Sep 28: “Seattle, Wash., Sept. 28.–The steamer Tacoma arrived last night from Nome with $3,000,000 in gold. The worst reports concerning the great storm of the 12^th are confirmed. Over a million dollars worth of property was destroyed and hundreds of people are destitute. Solomon City,[4] with a population of 200 persons, was destroyed, not a building remaining.” (Fort Wayne News, IN. “Entire City Destroyed.” 9-28-1900, p. 1.)

Named Fatalities

Doud, L.S. of San Francisco.

Geiser, Captain of schooner Prosper, Benny river.

Hicks, Frank.

Johnson, Capt.

Kitcat, P.H.

Madison, Capt. of America, wrecked trying to aid barge Skookum.

Nichols, P.T.

Ryan, Andrew A., of Los Angeles; drowned.

Sinclair, David.

Thackberry, Capt. J.D., 60, of Portland, OR.

Launch America, engineer (Capt. Madison also lost, but noted by name above.)

Schooner Prosper, seaman, Benny river.

Tug Islam, crew of three.

3-4 men working along the water front, attempting to salvage goods, swept out to sea.

“Several captains and seamen on small tugs are missing and it is thought they are lost.”

Offshore Natives

Good: “Captain Walter S Milner of the schooner Alice reported the loss of ‘three omiaks [umiaks] with more than 100 Indians aboard’ during the great storm of September 12, 1900. The following is taken from an account in the San Francisco Call:[5]

Just previous to the big storm at Nome, the Alice left the exposed coast and made a run for Port Clarence…At Port Clarence, Captain Milner found that five Omiaks of Indians, each holding thirty-five or forty persons, had left Kings Island for the mainland. One arrived at Teller City while the Alice was there and another landed farther up. Both reported that the other three boats, containing more than one hundred Indians, had gone down.

 

Sources

 

Boston Globe. “Nome’s Terrible Storm.” 9-20-1900, p. 17. Accessed 9-4-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-sep-20-1900-p-17/?tag

Evening Democrat, Warren, PA. “News From Nome.” 9-20-1900, p. 2. Accessed 9-4-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/warren-evening-democrat-sep-20-1900-p-2/?tag

Fort Wayne Evening Sentinel, IN. “A Storm at Nome.” 9-25-1900, p. 4. Accessed 9-4-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/fort-wayne-sentinel-sep-24-1900-p-4/?tag

Fort Wayne News, IN. “Entire City Destroyed.” 9-28-1900, p. 1. Accessed 9-4-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/fort-wayne-news-sep-28-1900-p-1/?tag

French, Leigh Hill. Chapter VI. “The Great Storm of September 12^th.” pp. 67-71 in Nome Nuggets: Some of the Experiences of a Party of Gold Seekers in Northwestern Alaska in 1900. New York: Montross, Clarke & Emmons, 1901. Google digital preview accessed 9-3-2017 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=xnYvT8AypkQC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Good, Captain Warren. Alaska Shipwrecks: Volume III, Southwest, West, Central and North Alaska. Published by Warren Good, 2014.

Gottehrer, Dean M. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised and 2^nd edition). Fairbanks, Alaska: Epicenter Press, 2000. Partially digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=O53zwdFYTGEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

 

[1] Good. Alaska Shipwrecks: Volume III — Southwest, West, Central and North Alaska.

[2] Gottehrer. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised and 2^nd edition). 2000, p. 94.

[3] The Snake River drains into the Bering Sea at Nome.

[4] Solomon today is not a city. Located just north of the sea and east of Nome.

[5] San Francisco Call. “Picks Up Two Shipwrecked Crews on Bleak Shores of the Arctic.” 10-24, 1900, p. 2.

— 14 Daily Express, Defiance, OH. “Death-Dealing Gale.” 9-13-1900, p. 2, col. 6.
— 12 Commercial Tribune, Cincinnati, OH. “Twelve…Found Watery Graves.” 9-13-1900, 1.
— 11 Alchem Incorporated. Lake Erie Shipwreck Map “C” and Index.
— 11 Commercial Tribune, Cincinnati, OH. “Storm on Lakes Wrecks Vessels.” 9-13-1900, p. 1.
— 11 Swayze, David D. “Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter L.”
— 11 Swayze. Shipwreck!…Directory…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 137.
— 9 U.S. Steamboat Inspec. Svc. Annual Report…Supervising Inspector-General… 1901, p.79.

Narrative Information

Alchem Incorporated: “John B Lyon: Wooden freight steamer of 250 ft sank on 9/11/1900 while running for shore in a terrific storm 6 miles Northwest of Conneaut, Ohio. Eleven of the crew died and five survived. As the Lyon went down Captain Singhas gave his life-vest to a wheelsman who could not find one. The captain then lashed his wife and the wife of the Steward to a broken spar. They were joined in the water by the Lyon’s two wheelsmen. One survivor, the second engineer, washed ashore unconscious, while the two women and wheelsmen were found tied to the mast by rescuers after fifteen hours in the water.” (Alchem Incorporated. Erie-Ashtabula Shipwrecks.)

Swayze:

“Official no. : 76199
“Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
“Build info : 1881, T. Quayle & Sons, Cleveland
“Specs : 256x39x20, 1710g, 1330n
“Date of loss : 1900, Sep 11
“Place of loss : off North Girard, PA
“Lake : Erie
“Type of loss : storm
“Loss of life : 11 of 16
“Carrying : iron ore.

“Detail: Challenged the storm [actually a dying hurricane which had flattened Galveston, Texas], even though nearly all other traffic had left the lakes. She was overwhelmed, torn apart and sunk. Member of the Gilchrist Fleet, Cleveland. Master: Capt. A. H. Senghas (d). Damaged in collisions at both Chicago and Buffalo in 1881. Involved in other damaging collisions in 1882, 1884, 1891.” (Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter L.)

U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service: “Local District of Cleveland, Ohio. 1900….September 12. – About 3 a.m. steamer John B. Lyon, of Vermilion, Ohio, 1,710 gross tons, encountered a terrific gale on Lake Erie, off Ashtabula, and foundered. All officers except second engineer, and six of the crew, were lost. Total number lost, nine. The steamer is a total loss.” (U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector-General, Steamboat-Inspection Service, for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1901. 1901, p. 79.)

Newspapers

Sep 12: “Cleveland, Sept. 12. – The propeller John B. Lyons was sunk off Conneaut, O., early this morning. Of sixteen people aboard, five escaped to shore. The others were drowned. A tug was sent from here this afternoon to search for the bodies. The dead include the Captain, first and second mates and first engineer, all of Cleveland.

“The Lyons was owned by J. C. Gilchrist, of Cleveland. Captain A. H. Fenghan was in command of the Lyons. She carried a crew of sixteen men, most of whom lived in Cleveland. The Lyons was built in 1881 and had a gross tonnage of 1710. She was 255 feet long and thirty-eight foot beam.
(Commercial Tribune, Cincinnati, OH. “Storm on Lakes Wrecks Vessels.” 9-13-1900, p. 1.)

Sep 12: “Erie, Pa., Sept. 12. – While running to Erie Harbor for shelter at 1 o’clock this morning, the ore-carrying barge John B. Lyons foundered in the worst gale that has swept over Lake Erie in years. The Lyons carried a crew of fifteen men and a woman cook, and all but three men and the woman found watery graves.

“The first that was known of the wreck was learned when the four survivors, lashed to a mass of wreckage, drifted ashore west of this city in an exhausted condition after battling with the waves for fifteen hours.” (Commercial Tribune, Cincinnati, OH. “Twelve of the Crew Found Watery Graves.” 9-13-1900, 1.)

Sep 13: “Cleveland, Sept. 13. – The tail end of the West Indian hurricane, which swept over Lake Erie, proves to have been the most disastrous storm that has visited this section in several years. At least twos vessels were sunk, carrying down with them several persons, and a number of other vessels have reached port in a badly damaged condition. The John B. Lyon, a 255-foot steamer, owned by J. C. Gilchrist of this city, foundered about five miles off Conneaut, O., and all but two of her crew of 16 were lost.” (Defiance Daily Express, OH. “Death-Dealing Gale.” 9-13-1900, 2.)

Sep 21: “Twelve persons were drowned in the lakes in Tuesday’s gale, eleven going down with steamer John B. Lyon in Lake Erie. The following are the missing, and no hopes for their safety are entertained by the survivors: [We break paragraph into separate lines.]

Alaston, steward;
Brown of Cleveland, second engineer;
Nestor, Michael, watchman;
Oscar Olson, first mate;
Capt. A. H. Senghas of Marine City, Mich., master of the steamer;
George Tyler, second mate;
Tyler, watchman, father of the second mate;
Charles Willows of Cleveland, chief engineer;
Two deck-hands, names unknown;
Fireman, name unknown.”

(South Haven Messenger, MI. “Death and Loss in Lake Storm.” 9-21-1900, p. 5.)

Sources

Alchem Incorporated. Lake Erie Shipwreck Map “C” and Index. Accessed 1-30-2009 at: http://www.alcheminc.com/asht.html

Commercial Tribune, Cincinnati, OH. “Storm on Lakes Wrecks Vessels.” 9-13-1900, p. 1. Accessed 12-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cincinnati-commercial-tribune-sep-13-1900-p-1/

Commercial Tribune, Cincinnati, OH. “Twelve of the Crew Found Watery Graves.” 9-13-1900, 1. Accessed 12-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cincinnati-commercial-tribune-sep-13-1900-p-1/

Daily Express, Defiance, OH. “Death-Dealing Gale.” 9-13-1900, p. 2, col. 6. Accessed 12-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/defiance-daily-express-sep-13-1900-p-2/

South Haven Messenger, MI. “Death and Loss in Lake Storm.” 9-21-1900, p. 5. Accessed 12-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/south-haven-messenger-sep-21-1900-p-5/

Swayze, David D. “Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter L.” Accessed 9/11/2009 at: http://greatlakeshistory.homestead.com/files/l.htm

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

United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector-General, Steamboat-Inspection Service, for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1901. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1901. Accessed 12-5-2020 at: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066693110&view=1up&seq=85&size=125&q1=lyon%201900

—          12,000  Lester, Paul. The Great Galveston Disaster. 1900, reprinted 2000.[1]

—          12,000  Rappaport and Fernandez-Partagas. The Deadliest Atlantic…Cyclones. 1995.[2]

–8,000-12,000  Ousley, Clarence. Galveston in Nineteen Hundred. 1900.[3]

–8,000-12,000  Larson, Erik. Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and…Deadliest Hurricane... 1998.

–7,200-12,000  Blanchard estimate.[4]

–6,000-12,000  CNN.com. “Hurricane Destroyed Galveston in 1900.”  September 12, 2008.

–6,000-12,000  Epic Disasters.  “The Ten Deadliest US Hurricanes.”

–6,000-12,000  Hess. “`Certain Death’ Warning…Scoffers…Galveston Mandatory Evacuation.”

—        >12,000  Sayers (Gov. Joseph D.). “Galveston and elsewhere on the southern coast…”[5]

>8,000  Bedient/Sebastian. “An Introduction to Gulf Coast Severe Storms…” 2012, 5.

—          >8,000  Blake, et al. The Deadliest, Costliest…Most Intense U. S. Cyclones…  2007.[6]

—          >8,000  Hughes. “Hurricanes Haunt Our History.” Weatherwise, 40/3, 1987, 134-140.[7]

—            8,000  National Hurricane Center, NWS. Hurricanes in History. 5-30-2012 update.

—          >8,000  NOAA. “NOAA’s Top U.S. Weather…Events of the  20^th Century.” 1999.

—  6,000-8,000  NWS WFO Houston/Galveston, TX. One Hundred Years…[SE TX]Weather

—  6,000-8,000  Pocock and Lee. “Disasters in the United States, 1650-2005.”  2007.

—            8,000  Roth, David (NWS). Texas Hurricane History.  Jan 17, 2010 update, p. 9.

—            8,000  Webley & Holmes (USGS). “Top 10 Historic U.S. Floods.” Time. 5-11-2011.

—  6,000-7,200  Ludlum. The American Weather Book. Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1982, p. 202.

—            7,000  ARC. New York-New England Hurricane and Floods — 1938. 1939, p. 9.

—          <6,000  Ludlum. The American Weather Book. Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1982, p. 189.

—            6,000  Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. EM DAT Database.

—            6,000  Garriott. “Forecasts and Warnings,” 371 in MWR, Vol. XXVIII, N. 9, Sep 1900.

—          ~6,000  Green, Nathan C. (Ed.). Story of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane. 1900, p. 3.

—            6,000  Hebert/Taylor. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense U.S. Hurricanes. 1983

—            6,000  Hebert/Jarrell/Mayfield. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense… 1993, p. 8.

—            6,000  Sav. Natural Disasters:  Some Empirical and Economic Considerations 1974, 8.

—          ~6,000  Sumner. “North Atlantic Hurricanes and Tropical Disturbances of 1944.” P. 237.

 

Narrative Information

 

Garriott: “Measured by losses of life and property and the depression of the barometer at Galveston, Tex., the hurricane of September 8, 1900, was the severest storm that ever occurred in the United States. On Galveston Island upward of 6,000 human beings were drowned, or killed by falling buildings or flying debris, and property to the estimated value of $30,000,000 was destroyed. Enormous losses of life and property were also reported in the inland coast country. The barometer, which reached a verified minimum of 25.43 inches at Galveston was lower by .10 inch than any reading previously made at a station of the Weather Bureau.  The maximum wind velocities registered in this and other great storms are not comparable for the reason that the apparatus employed to record wind force can not, as a rule, withstand velocities which approach 100 miles an hour. At Galveston the greatest recorded wind velocity, for a five-minute period, was 84 miles an hour at 6:15 p. m., and 2 miles mere registered at a rate of 100 miles an hour. At that time the anemometer was blown away. It was estimated that a velocity of at least 120 miles an hour was attained between 6:15 and 8 p.m…..

 

“The devastation at Galveston was caused principally by a storm wave, which swept in from the Gulf in advance of the hurricane’s vortex. This wave, 4 feet in depth, struck the already submerged island with almost irresistible force, and entirely destroyed the south, east, and west portions of the city for a distance of two to five blocks inland. In other parts of the city many houses were destroyed and none escaped injury.”  (Garriott. “Forecasts and Warnings,” 371 in MWR, Vol. XXVIII, N. 9, Sep 1900.)

 

Ludlum: “The Galveston Disaster; severe hurricane tide inundated island city under 8 to 12 ft…of water; over 6000 perished; 3600 houses destroyed; damage $30 million.” (p. 189)

 

“City officials estimated that over 6000 persons of a population of 38,000 were missing at Galveston, Texas, after the flood waters had subsided from the ‘threat storm’ on September 8-9, 1900.  Recent estimates for the entire area have ranged up to 7200 – the exact number can never be ascertained.  A storm wave, said to be ‘nearly five feet high,’ struck the already inundated waterfront early in the evening, causing houses and buildings to either collapse or float away.  Many who though they had reached a safe vantage in these structures were drowned.”  (Ludlum 1982, 202)

 

NOAA: “Galveston Hurricane, 1900.  On September 8, 1900, a 20-foot storm surge, associated with one of the most powerful hurricanes of the century, inundated Galveston Island in Texas. More than 8,000 people died, making this the deadliest natural disaster in U. S. history. The Galveston office of the U. S. Weather Bureau later recalled: “Sunday, Sept 9, 1900, revealed one of the most horrible sights that ever a civilized people looked upon. About 3,000 homes, nearly half of the residence portion of Galveston, had been completely swept out of existence, and probably more than 6,000 people had passed from life to death during that dreadful night. The correct number of those who perished will be probably never be known, for many entire families are missing. Where 20,000 people lived on the 8th, not a house remained on the 9th, and who occupied the houses may, in many instances, never be known.”

 

“Technology Sidebar: In those days, forecasters relied on ship reports, tidal measurements, barometric readings and the color of the sky as warnings of impending tropical storms. It was known that a hurricane was nearby in the Gulf of Mexico, but forecasters lacked the ability to track storms. Today’s advancements in technology and science allow NOAA’s National Weather Service and National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service to give a forecast for the year’s tropical storm activity before the hurricane season starts in June…” (NOAA. “NOAA’s Top U.S. Weather, Water and Climate Events of the  20^th Century.”)

 

NWS: “The Great Storm – September 8, 1900 (also known as the 1900 Galveston Hurricane)

 

• Death toll estimated between 6,000 and 8,000
• Greatest natural disaster in U.S. history in terms of lives lost
• Sustained winds were in excess of 130 mph
• Storm tides reached 20 feet
• Storm damage was estimated in excess of $30 million dollars [non-adjusted].

 

(National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office Houston/Galveston, TX. One Hundred Years of Southeast Texas Weather (1900-2000). Dickinson, TX:  NWS, 12-20-2009 modification.)

 

Ousley: “A city of 38,000 happy and busy people; a city of splendid homes and broad clean streets; a city of oleanders and roses and palms; a city of the finest churches, school buildings, and benevolent institutions in the South; a thriving port with many ocean-going ships at anchor, discharging and receiving cargo; a seaside resort, with hundreds of bathers at play in the safest and most delightful surf in the world; a city of great wealth and large charity – that was Galveston on September 8, 1900.

 

“A city of 32,000 stunned and stricken people, a thousand naked, five thousand bruised, ten thousand homeless, all searching for their friends among the slain, tearless but bleeding at the heart, unappalled and uncomplaining; a city of wrecked homes and streets choked with debris sandwiched with six thousand corpses; a city leafless and bloomless, with the slime of the ocean on every spot and in every house; a city with only three churches standing, not a school building or benevolent institution habitable; a port with shipping stranded and wrecked many miles from the moorings, light craft cast upon the land as the playthings of the elements, ocean-going vessels sent crashing through railroad bridges or driven high onto shore and shallow; a wide, white beach and a rolling surf three hundred feet inward from the former water line, tenantless as the primal seas, lapping an area of total destruction four blocks deep and three miles long, with not a timber of three thousand houses left to mark their sites; a city without fortune or resource…a city without lights except tallow candles and kerosene lamps; a city without fresh water except the slender store in a few up-ground cisterns; a city with food for scarcely a week, cut off from the world by three miles of shallow bay and many miles more of utter devastation; a city whose very cemeteries had been emptied of their dead as if to receive new tenants – that was Galveston on September 9, 1900, the sad and fateful Sunday when she awakened to her sorrow…when the first and last sob of  unspeakable grief welled once to the lips and then was smothered in the tremendous responsibility of caring for the living….”  (Ousley, Galveston in Nineteen Hundred, 1900, 23)

 

Roth: “The question from the Racer’s Storm was tragically prophetic as the Great Galveston Hurricane showed on September 7-9th, 1900. It towers alone as the worst natural disaster in the United States in terms of lives lost;[8] the most frequently used estimate of the death toll is 8,000. The potential of this disaster had been shown in the destructions of Santiago in 1844, Clarksville / Baghdad in 1867, and Indianola in 1875 and 1886.  At the time, the population of Galveston was near 30,000.  Most of its structures were of wood frame, built just above ground  level and supported by pilings.

 

“A new innovation helped relay details about what the storm did in the Caribbean Islands; it was known as the wireless telegraph. Word had been received of a hurricane which had struck Trinidad and destroyed almost all the structures on that island.  Word of the storm’s passing over Cuba and moving northwest into the Gulf in the direction of Texas had been relayed to the local weather office in Galveston Island.  Sailors began to arrive in the port telling of nasty weather offshore.

 

“On the 6th, a hurricane watch was posted along the Gulf Coast, westward to New Orleans. Winds began to increase as high, fish-scale shaped clouds (altocumulus) began to move inland. By the next day, the hurricane watch was extended west to include Texas. Driving rain began at 4 AM. Large waves began to pound the shores of Galveston Island. The pressure began to fall rapidly at the Weather Bureau station.  This caused them to hoist a Hurricane Flag – their version of a hurricane warning.  This action caused about 20,000 people to evacuate, a move that saved many lives.

 

“Yet a number of people ignored the warning.  Gentry from Houston rode out to the island via train to witness the huge waves first hand.  Through the morning of the 8th, greater and greater numbers of people crowded the beaches.  Isaac Cline of the Weather Bureau could not believe what was happening.  He took matters into his own hands and rode with his brother down the beach in a horse-drawn buggy, warning people to go back to the mainland – in effect, making him a modern day Paul Revere.  Unfortunately, few listened.  The weather, however, changed their minds as a wooden pagoda along the beach and its associated boardwalk became mere driftwood before the crowd’s eyes.  Then they began to disperse.  For many, it turned out to be far too late. A steamer broke free of its moorings and went on a rampage, destroying all three bridges to the mainland.

 

“Winds of 100 mph blew away the anemometer at the Weather Bureau. The pressure fell to 28.44″.  Winds gusting over 125 mph sent raging waters covering Galveston Island by 15 feet just before midnight, with additional waves much higher on top of the storm surge.  As flood waters rose, people fled towards the center of the island, which had slightly higher ground.  This turned out to be fruitless, as it merely delayed the inevitable.  The force of the wind sent boards, chairs, and tree limbs sailing through the air.  Pebbles and shards of glass became deadly missiles.  When the water began rising, Harry Claiborne, keeper of the Bolivar Point Lighthouse, fled to the safety of his workplace.  People soon after began pounding on the door, begging entry into the sanctuary of the lighthouse.  The tower was soon crammed with 124 people, many of which were from a train stranded in the rising waters.  After a while, the big door to the lighthouse was hidden under four feet of water . The lighthouse survived the storm (Roberts[9]).

 

“Wooden buildings floated off their pilings and smashed into one another. As houses disintegrated, unfortunate occupants were thrust into the water to drown.  In all, more than 2600 houses were demolished….Twelve square blocks, 3/4 of the city, were completely wiped out.  All bridges across the bay were destroyed, along with 15 miles of railroad track. All communications with the mainland were lost.  Vast quantities of rain fell, with Galveston (10″) and Brazoria (10″) setting 24 hour rainfall records for September.

 

“The British Freighter Kendall Castle was moored offshore. Several ships were driven against it.  But is was when the Norwegian freighter Guller nudged against the Castle that it was sent on a “wild ride” over the Half-moon Shoal lighthouse, pounding it into the sand, on its way to Texas City (Cipra[10]). Very little damage was seen at Sabine Pass, which shows how small the core of this storm was in areal extent.

 

“However, fewer than 2000 of those remaining on the island survived.  The weather office chief survived, but his wife drowned. Bolivar Point Lighthouse became the center of relief activities after the storm. The lighthouse over the ensuing days let people in the area know that at least one thing still worked on the island, as it helped storm-battered ships return to shore.  Martial law was declared. Looters were shot on the spot.

 

“The old first capitol building of the Republic of Texas at West Columbia was destroyed.  Mustang Island also saw many bodies littering the beach.  Alvin saw 8.05″ of rain fall on the 9th, setting a 24 hour rainfall record for September.  Quintana was partially abandoned, after being seriously harmed by both the 1899 Flood and this hurricane.  Corpus Christi had a stiff northeast breeze, but exceptional fishing.  In Flour Bluff Harbor, millions of red, trout, and mullet infested the waters, in their avoidance of the hurricane.  Local residents feasted on the tarpon and helped out Galveston with over $1000 for food and clothing.  The storm accelerated after moving inland, racing north to the Great Lakes while still packing 70 mph winds.  The low then moved across Canada, the North Atlantic, and Northern Europe before finally dying in Siberia. Thirty million dollars in damage occurred.

 

“A massive public works project was then undertaken to raise the Galveston’s elevation and build a three mile long, 17 foot high, concrete seawall.  This has, to date, prevented a tragedy of such  proportions from occurring in Galveston.  The city never quite regained its importance as a port, due to the construction of the Houston ship channel, similar to the fate of Indianola fourteen years before.  As population swells along the coast, construction expanded into areas not protected by the seawall. Those that have not learned from history are doomed to repeat it.” (Roth, David (NWS).  Texas Hurricane History.  Jan 17, 2010 update, pp. 29-30.)

 

Newspaper

 

Sep 19: “Houston, Sept 19–Gov Joseph D. Sayers tonight made the following statement:

 

The situation tonight in all parts of the stricken district, so far as known to me, is improved, and will, I believe, should we have fair weather, continue to improve. The method of distributing the benefactions of the people has become systematized, and has been reduced to the lowest expense possible.

 

Galveston is being managed by its own municipal authorities, supplemented by the assistance of committees composed of its best citizens, and also by the aid of Gen Scurry.

 

“Judge Taliaffero of Houston, a gentleman of integrity and experience, has taken charge of Brazoria county and the mainland of Galveston county, and I have already transmitted to him quite a large sum of money to be used for supplying that particular district, besides having previously shipped to Angleton, Alvin and Velasco a very large quantity of flour and bacon.

 

The county judge of Fort Bend county has charge of supplies for that county. He has already been furnished with a large shipment of flour and bacon.

 

The sheriff of Waller county has been directed to organize the suffering communities in that county, and as soon as I am notified of the perfection of organization in Waller county, supplies will be rapidly forwarded, and there need be no apprehension but that each and every afflicted community will at the earliest moment practicable receive an abundant supply of provisions.

 

As soon as I am able I shall give to the public complete itemized statement of all moneys received by me, how they have been distributed, etc.

 

The loss of life occasioned by the storm in Galveston and elsewhere on the southern coast cannot be less than 12,000, while the loss of property will probably aggregate $20,000,000.

 

Notwithstanding this severe affliction, I have every confidence that the stricken districts will rapidly revive and that Galveston will from her present desolation and sorrow arise with renewed strength and vigor.

 

(Boston Daily Globe. “12,000 Dead, Says Gov Sayers.” 9-20-1900, p. 17.)

 

Sources:

 

American National Red Cross. New York-New England Hurricane and Floods — 1938 (Official Report of Relief Operations). Washington, DC: ARC, Oct. 1939.

 

Bedient, Philip B. and Antonia Sebastian. Chapter 1: “An Introduction to Gulf Coast Severe Storms and Hurricanes,” pp. 1-15 in: Bedient, Philip B. (Ed.) Lessons From Hurricane Ike. Texas A&M University Press, 2012. Google preview accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=gelBBDRUjCcC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Blake, Eric S., Edward N. Rappaport, and Christopher W. Landsea. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Cyclones From 1851 to 2006. Miami, FL: National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center, April 15, 2007 update, 45 pages. Accessed at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/Deadliest_Costliest.shtml

 

Boston Daily Globe. “12,000 Dead, Says Gov Sayers.” 9-20-1900, p. 17. Accessed 9-4-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-sep-20-1900-p-17/?tag

 

Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. EM DAT Database. Louvain, Belgium:  Universite Catholique do Louvain.  http://www.emdat.be/

 

CNN. “Hurricane Destroyed Galveston in 1900.”  September 12, 2008.  Accessed at:  http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/09/12/galveston.1900/

 

Epic Disasters. The Ten Deadliest US Hurricanes. Accessed 1-4-2009 at:  http://www.epicdisasters.com/index.php/site/comments/the_ten_deadliest_us_hurricanes/

 

Garriott, E.B. “Forecasts and Warnings,” p. 371 in Monthly Weather Review, Vol. XXVIII, No. 9, September 1900.  At:  http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/028/mwr-028-09-0371a.pdf

 

Green, Nathan C. (Ed.). Story of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane. R. H. Woodward Co., 1900; reprinted by Pelican (Gretna, LA), 2000. Google preview accessible at: http://books.google.com/books?id=dQUsx9u5mq8C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Hebert, Paul J. and Glenn Taylor. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Hurricanes of This Century (and Other Frequently Requested Hurricane Facts) (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC 18).  Miami, FL:  National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, January 1983, 24 pages. At:  http://ratfish.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NWS-NHC-1983-18.pdf

 

Hebert, Paul J., J.D. Jarrell, Max Mayfield. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Hurricanes of This Century (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS-NHC-31). Miami, FL:  National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce 1993, 41 pages.

 

Hess, Michael. “`Certain Death’ Warning for Scoffers of Galveston Mandatory Evacuation.”  BBSNews. September 12, 2008. At:  http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20080912023823427

 

Hughes, Patrick. “Hurricanes Haunt Our History.” Weatherwise, Vol. 40, No. 3, 1987, 134-140.

 

Larson, Erik.  Isaac’s Storm. NY: Vintage Books, 1998, 2000.

 

Lester, Paul.  The Great Galveston Disaster.  Gretna:  Pelican Publishing Co., 2000 (reprint, originally published in 1900), 536 pages.

 

Ludlum, David M. The American Weather Book. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1982.

 

National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service. Hurricanes in History. 5-30-2012 update. Accessed at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/history/

 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “NOAA’s Top U.S. Weather, Water and Climate Events of the  20^th Century.” NOAA News, 12-13-1999. Accessed at: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s334c.htm

 

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, Houston/Galveston, TX. One Hundred Years of Southeast Texas Weather (1900-2000). Dickinson, TX:  NWS, 12-20-2009 modification. Accessed 6-8-2012 at:  http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/?n=climate_holidays_hundred

 

Ousley, Clarence (Galveston Tribune). Galveston in Nineteen Hundred – The Authorized and Official Record of the Proud City of the Southwest as it was before and after the Hurricane of September 8, and a logical forecast of its future. Atlanta, GA:  William C. Chase, 1900, 346 pp.

 

Pocock, Emil, and Jamal Lee.  “Disasters in the United States, 1650-2005.” American Studies, Eastern Connecticut State Univ., 11-1-2005 mod. http://www.easternct.edu/depts/amerst/disasters.htm

 

Rappaport, Edward N. and Jose Fernandez-Partagas. The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492-1994 (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC-47).  Coral Gables, FL: National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, January 1995, 42 pages. Accessed at:  http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NWS-NHC-1995-47.pdf

 

Roth, David (National Weather Service). Texas Hurricane History. Camp Springs, MD:  NWS.  1-17-2010 update. Accessed at  http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/txhur.pdf

 

Sav, Thomas G. Natural Disasters: Some Empirical and Economic Considerations (Final Report, NBSIR 74-473).  Washington, DC:  National Bureau of Standards, Institute for Applied Technology, Center for Building Technology, Building Economics Section, February 1974, 74 pages.  Accessed at:  http://www.fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/build74/PDF/b74006.pdf

 

Sumner, H. C. “North Atlantic Hurricanes and Tropical Disturbances of 1944.” Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 72, No. 12, 3-5-1945, pp. 237-239.  Accessed at:  http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1944.pdf

 

Webley, Kayla and Robert Holmes (USGS). “Top 10 Historic U.S. Floods.” Time. 5-11-2011.  At:  http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2070796_2070798,00.html?xid=rss-specials

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] “The loss of life occasioned by the storm in Galveston and elsewhere on the southern coast cannot be less than 12,000 lives…” Statement of Governor Sayres on 19 Sep 1900 printed in Lester (1900).

[2] Authors note that “Just after the storm, the Governor of the State of Texas estimate 12,000 fatalities…”; citing Lester 1900.

[3] “There are many estimates of the total. This one, based on the “official” summary in Galveston in 1900 (Ousley 1900), is: 6000 in city of Galveston, 1000-1200 elsewhere on the island west of the city and more than 1000 on the mainland. Maximum estimates provided are 10000-12000. Monthly Weather Review indicates “Enormous loss of life…inland”, as well. Most other references indicate a loss of at least 6000.” Rappaport and Partagas, 1995, fn i in Appendix 1: Cyclones with 25+ deaths; Bevin April 22, 1997 update.

[4] Most accounts of the storm focus on Galveston and loss of life there, some exclusively. There seems to be some consensus that at least 6,000 people died at Galveston. The Governor, ten days afterwards, was writing that at least 12,000 people died in the entire storm area which included many counties to the west, north and east of Galveston. Thus there appears to be a floor of 6,000 for Galveston and 12,000 for southeast Texas. I cannot judge from the variety of reporting of 7,200 or 8,000 deaths one sees, what a good estimate is for the total affected area, if one were to be skeptical of the Governor’s statements — as several authors seem to be. I choose to use as the low-end of the range of deaths for the entire coast the figure of 7,200 used by Ludlum who notes it is based on recent work.

[5] Boston Daily Globe. “12,000 Dead, Says Gov Sayers.” Sep 20, 1900, p. 17.

[6] Authors note that deaths “Could be as high as 12,000.”  (p. 7, Table 2 Note a)

[7] Hughes writes that the hurricane “killed at least 6,000 people in Galveston and 2,000 more in adjacent coastal areas.” (p. 138.)

[8] We would respectfully disagree in that we hold that epidemics are as much “natural” as hurricanes.  It does hold the record as the deadliest meteorological disaster in American history.

[9] Roberts, Bruce, Ray Jones. “Lights of Hurricane Alley” Southern Lighthouses: Chesapeake Bay To the Gulf of Mexico. Globe Pequot Press: Old Saybrook, 1995: 83-108.

[10] Cipra, David L.: Lighthouses, Lightships, and the Gulf of Mexico. Cypress Communications: Alexandria, 1997.