City of Columbus wreck near Gay Head kills many
The steamer City of Columbus with 125 aboard struck Devil's Bridge reef near Gay Head and sank in ten minutes. Seventeen survivors were saved by the revenue cutter Samuel Dexter, with twelve known to be alive at Gay Head. One third of passengers were women and children. several bodies were recovered including two identified men from Boston and Hyde Park.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
City of Columbus
Boston
Savannah
Devil's Bridge Reef
Gay Head
Samuel Dexter
Wright
Woods Hall
Vineyard Sound
Humane Society
Devil's Bridge
Oia
Revenue Cutter
Dexter
Ersons
New Bedford
Helen Brooks
Northboro
G.F. Rand
Hyde Park
F.C. Richardson & Co
Clinton Market
Wreck of the Steamer Near Gay Head Reported by Cutter Dexter
Officers of the cutter Dexter recount a gale and heavy seas sighting a steamer on a reef near Gay Head. Five men manned the boat under Lt Rhodes, then four more under Lt Kennedy. Several survivors were saved from rigging, including Eugene McGarry, while others perished or were lost to the sea.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dexter
Gay Head
Rhodes
Kennedy
Eugene McGarry
McGarry
Ents Sheong
Heroic Rescue At Sea Names Rhodes and Richardson
Lieutenant Rhodes saved two men from a stranded steamer after leaping from a cutter, enduring injuries and repeated dives. He and Captain Gabrielson coordinated a perilous rescue, with Rhodes ultimately succumbing to his injuries after reaching the wreck and aiding a stranded crewman. About $400 was found on Richardson, the other victim who died.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Kennedy
Rhodes
Gabrielson
Anoirs
Mr. Richardson
Overboard by Scores on Steamer Disaster Scene
Chief steward A. F. Pitman described the shipwreck as passengers, mostly men, clung to rigging and deck as the vessel listed. He recalled rescuers, a Bos ton Globe reporter, and many identified passengers while boats and a life-boat search began. Pitman spoke of Henry, his companion, and how he survived until a rescuing rope finally pulled him to safety. The thermometer dipped near zero and Lt Rhodes faced criticism for the ship's rescue efforts.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
A. F. Pitman
jJib
Boston Globe
N. J. Morton
Savannah
F. L. Hale
F. L. Hale & Co
Commercial Street
Boston
Pitman
Somerville
Merrill and Batchelor
Mr. Sargent
Merrimac
J. C. Bell
Lowell
George Goddard
Stowe
Seould
Agai
Henry
Juego
Noga
Dexter
Providence
Nein
Tim
Ward
Aship
Menausla Bight
Brown
Simon Galaule
Brenchman
Leary
Ryan
James Brown
Agamon
McDonald
Lacy
Charles James
Vessel Sinks After Collision Off Vineyard Sound
Eyewitness accounts from survivor John Lines and others detail a disastrous sailing disaster near New Bedford to Cape Cod. Passengers describe the vessel striking, breaking plates in the forward hold, and sinking with many passengers lost. Survivors cling to rigging and life preservers as life boats launch. several drownings and missing persons are reported among families from Woonstock and Lawrence, with names including Mrs. Atkinson and Mr. Weldingt.
Fireman recalls peril on ship wrecked by rock
Thomas O Leary of 97 West Fourth Street was among survivors reaching Boston Saturday. He described climbing into the rigging as the ship struck, watching life boats fail and others fill with water. He suffered a head wound but stayed alive seven hours amid freezing spray and chaos before rescue by a whale boat and the Dexter lifeboat.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Thomas O'Leary
West Fourth Street
Boston
Davy Jones
Dexter
Heartrending account of Eugene McGarry on City of Columbus
Eugene McGarry a Cumberland English bricklayer from Linden street Somerville, aboard the City of Columbus, describes escaping the sinking ship with his brother Henry a Cambridge resident. He recalls rigging holds, life boats, women and children in peril, and witnessing a sea of dying passengers before surviving.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Eugene McGarry
Linden Street
Somerville
City of Columbus
Mr. McGarry
Henry
Hilton's Block
Murray Street
Cambridge
Eugene
GLOBE
Harry
Final Rescue of Edward T Briggs After Eleven Hours Afloat
Edward T Briggs porter of the City of Columbus describes the sinking and rescue after eleven hours in the rigging. He praises Captain Wright, recalls leaving Boston in calm weather that turned, passengers urged to stay calm, and crew members who survived or were lost. He details climbing to the rigging, the life raft, and being washed from the ship as it sank, with a man named Sargent killed by the falling topmast.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Edward T. Briggs
City of Columbus
Wright
Boston
Yan
Moneh
Iistant
Sargent
Lourde Dexter
Wreck survivors praised revenue cutter crew after sea disaster
John L Cook a Portland screen-maker aboard the vessel saved an elderly passenger from a struck ship until a foremast top refuge held five survivors. Coal heaver John Koach perished after two hours clinging to the mainstay. A heroic scene followed as a couple clung to each other before they perished. The wreck’s rescue drew high praise for the revenue cutter officers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John L. Cook
E. T. Burroughs
Portland
Brunswick
Cook
Revenue Cutter
Ufe
Purser's account of steamer disaster and broken plates
William Spaulding purser describes the hold plates broken as the vessel struck near Pol lock Rip. He awoke at 10 o'clock and helped rouse passengers with the second steward and first mate Fuller. Doors were forced as the ship heeled, and Spaulding escaped to the windward side while many occupants on the port side drowned in their state rooms.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New Bedford
William C.spaulding
Woods Hall
Pollock Rip
Charles H. Homes
Mr. Fuller
Wreck account from the wheelman at Gay Head disaster
Quartermaster McDonald of the Columbus and a passenger Brown were found at Gay Head and brought to New Bedford. He describes the night voyage, the helm commands, the collision, and the attempted lifeboat actions as the ship struck reefs and careened, with crew and passengers scrambling to abandon ship and reach safety.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gay Head
Quartermaster McDonald
Columbus
Brown
New Pedford
Roderick A. McDonald
Cyruurbus
Scotland
Boston
Fuller
Augustus Harding
Naushon
Balsaon Bour
Pete
Morrison Paine
Bim
Edward Leary
James Brown
Charles F. James
Story of the Wreck at Devil's Bridge Lifeboat Rescue
Gay Head light keeper Grace N Pease who has served twenty years recounts the wreck of the City of Columbus off Devil's Bridge. Lifeboat crews from Gay Head aided, two rescue attempts failed due to heavy swells and drift. one whale-boat swamped, another rescue ship arrived too late, fourteen men saved, two dying from rigging.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New Bedford
Grace N. Pease
Gay Head
Massachusetts Humane Society
GLOBE
Devil's Bridge
Cutty Hunk
Frederick Poole
Poole
Joseph Patterson
Samuel Haskins
Samuel Anthony
James Cooper
Moses Cooper
John P. Vanderhoop
Columbus
Leeward
James Mosler
Leonard Vanderhoop
Conrad Jeffers
Patrick L. Devine
Charles Grimes
Peter Jansen
Dexter Aid
Usrteen Nen
Aed
Someting
Contradictory statements on Glaucus not aiding survivors
Survivors and shipboard officers offered conflicting accounts of whether the freight steamer Glaucus saw rescuers in the rigging of the wrecked City of Columbus. Captain Hammond testified he saw survivors nearby while other officers claimed no sighting, amid rough seas and gale conditions on Friday morning.
Silent Crew Reports No Sightings At Wreck
The crew observed no one clinging to the rigging and kept quiet after the Glaucus wreck. Chief Officer Nickerson said orders prohibited speaking about the incident. With wind and waves high, a crewman noted that approaching within two miles would have been unsafe for aiding any possible survivors.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Nickerson
The Captain's Theory About the Disaster
Captain Wright, commander of the lost steamer, gives a second account of the sinking. He describes urging passengers to use life preservers, lowering boats, and the raft launch amid a gale. He speculates a drift or rock caused the vessel to run leeward, recounts his forty years at sea, and notes searchers recovering seven bodies at Vineyard Haven with one unrecognized.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Wright
Leeward
Ulattine
Uose
Edward Fuller
Augustus Hardy
Archibald Morrison
Wiliam Murray
Wiliam Fitzpawick
Richard Sullivan
Menemsha Bight
Alhambra
Boston
Provinces
Carroll
Alambra
City of Columbus
Brescued Farnsworth Boys Receive City Aid After Rescue
George and Henry Farnsworth, 12 and 17, survivors of the City of Columbus wreck, were treated at the Board of Trade. They described their escape from the sinking ship and frostbite as they were guided to safety by the crew. Secretary Howard organized meals, travel money, and rail passes to send the older boy to Jacksonville and the younger home to Townsend.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
George
Henry Farnsworth
Columbus
Thige
Board of Trade
Townsend
Mass
Jacksonville
Fla
Revenue Cutter
New Bedford
Howard
Beaton & Albany
Mr. Howard
Fitchburg
Sunken Steamer Rescue Flight From New Bedford Scene
A special 3.80 am train carried Savannah Steamship President A A Nickerson Boston Towboat Captain Lincoln Baker and others to Long Wharf New Bedford to view the City of Columbus survivors and four identified dead. Rescued passengers were aided aboard the Dexter with clothing and care while two young brothers survived by endurance and mutual aid amid snow and exposure as the wreck was pursued by Captain Gabrielson and Captain Case.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
A. A. Nickerson
Savannah Steamship Company
Lincoln Baker
Boston
T. W. Gore
A Rm
Winship Brothers
Dexter
City of Columbus
New Bedford
Caleb Richardson
Clinton Market
Fred Chandler
Hyde Park
Helen Brooks
North Bore
John H. Heaver
Linton
Rokefeller
Gabrielson
Case
Bodies from wreck brought to New Bedford in improvised morgue
A New Bedford tug retrieved four to ten wreck victims from the sunken steamer near Gay Head, later adding one more body. The impromptu morgue drew crowds as the dead were identified slowly. Nathaniel J. Morton was confirmed, while others remained unnamed. Objects on the remains, including a ring and papers, aided identifications.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
N. J. Merton
New Breproxp
Nellie
All
New Bedford
Gay Head
Devil's Bridge
Boston
Nathaniel J. Morton
Tuy Glore
Morton
Taylor
Merton
Uoll
F. A. May
Savannah
Richard W. Sullivan
Undertaker
Darius
SEARCHING THE SEA The Nellie voyage and the Gay Head wreck
A tugboat crews and volunteers search the wreck of the Columbus off Gay Head. Bodies wash ashore from the disaster, with locals and distant mourners naming victims, noting neglect by authorities and the brutal cold. Survivors and relatives identify several drowned, including Mrs. J. A. Atkinson and Captain Lavi Lawrence. Rev. O. A. Rand suspected among the dead.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Steamer
Devil
Bridge Reef
W. J. Morton
The
New England
Wigaoitbay
Nobska
West Chop
Old Man" Rocks
No Man's Land
Falmouth
Harnstable
Hyannis
Wareham
Pocysset
Hurwit
South Dennis
Steamers
Coutsa
Leip
Peterson
John Lines
Thormags Butler
Hines
D Csk
Ruit
Woonstock
N. Prez
Wilmarth Atkineson
O. Merrill
Lawrence Confectioners
John H. Weldingt
Lawrence
Lee
Weidman
Iterate
Buzzard’s
Martha’s
Cape Cod Bay
Cape
Nantucket
Glaucus
T. R. Hammond
Gouldsboro
New York
City of
Devil’s Bridge
E. Wright
Columbuis
Gore
Vineyard Aven
Vineyard Haven
Menawsha Bight
Brescued
Farnsworth Boys
Benelle
Nelle
New Beeprorp
Gay Hen
Meniuska Rivit
Geil
Steamboat Company
Gay Henna
Ue Island
R.s.Belyea
Lyon
R. &. Belyen
Woodstock
Menausha Bight
Irs
J. A. Atkinson
Henry L. Butcavider
Dorchester
Veing
G.gurrias
Fischburg
Kellogg
Hayden
Lavi Lawrence
Fichburg
Lasigt
Wao
Miconnsba Bight
O. A. Rand
A. A. Rand
Vine Haven
John Hines
Kostot
Thomas Utter
Prince Edwards Island
William M. McDonald
Michael Kennedy
Edward O’brien
J. Johns
N. F
J. Tivbbetts
Darius Small
Southton
J. A. Shurman
Milk Street
Shar
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