This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Sharp Changes and a River Disaster Echo in a Stranger Tale
A narrative recounts the Ben Lewis explosion near Cairo with numerous casualties and harrowing scenes at St. Charles Hotel. It follows John H. Seymour, a Canadian-born Alton merchant, who survives by leaping overboard and plots to pass as dead to avoid pursuit linked to a prior crime. He finds a scarred stranger clinging to a door, sparking his plan to assume the dead man’s identity using a distinctive diamond ring.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ben Lewis
Cairo
St. Louis
Memphis
Ohio
St. Charles Hotel
John H. Seymour
Kingston
Canada
Alton
Ill
Seymour
Tlis
Elty
Holmes
Clark
Crandall
Ann Hutchinson
Jonah
Christ
Church of God
Church Militant
Church Triumphant
Christian Workers
Church
Universal
Jesus Christ
Luther
Jesus
St. Bartholomew
Philip II
Spain
Duke of
Alva
Netherlands
Smithfield
Toranemada
Rough Rider Regiment
Merrimac
Santiago Harbor
Dean Frederick W. Farrar
John Wesley