Posted by Brendon Baillod on September 23, 1999 at 23:05:07:
In Reply to: Shipwreck in Great Lakes, summer of 1850 posted by Terry Morse on September 23, 1999 at 11:00:51:
Terry,
There were really only three significant shipwrecks on Lake Michigan in August of 1850 and only one had a loss of life.
Frankly, there were probably no other serious wrecks on the Great Lakes that month which resulted in loss of life, as no
other serious wrecks have been recorded in any published reports. I say
probably because 1850 is very early in Great Lakes history and we have yet to record all the shipwrecks which occurred in
that era. However, it is known that there was a very violent storm which swept the lakes late that month. It put the schooners
T.W. Maurice, Chas Howard and General Thornton ashore on southern Lake Michigan. The first two vessels went ashore at
Racine, Wisconsin with significant damage, the Maurice being beaten to pieces, a total loss. However, the passengers and
crew were saved. The Howard was recovered without loss of life.
The General Thornton's crew were not so lucky. She went ashore or foundered (probably went ashore, the records are
unclear) near the present day site of Calumet, Illinois with the loss of several lives. The exact date is unclear, but it was
reported in the papers on August 31, 1850. Based on my research, and given the time lag in the reporting of the day, I'd say
that your ancestor was certainly a victim of this storm and may very likely have been lost in the Thornton wreck. However, it
was not very common for passengers of the day to be travelling on a small coarse freight schooner like the Thornton. Is it
possible that he could have been crewing?
You may find more detail by checking the microfilms of the Chicago papers for that week. I know the accident received
only cursory mention in the Milwaukee Sentinel, but it likely had much greater press coverage in the Chicago papers and may
well mention your ancestor by name.
Below are the demographics for the schooner General Thornton which was wrecked at Calumet taken from her original
enrollment papers:
Schooner General Thornton
Built 1837 at St. Joseph, Michigan
56.0 x 15.6 x 6.8 ft.
48.43 gt.
2 masts, figurehead stem, square stern, no gallery
She had been wrecked in 1846 but was recovered and repaired.
--
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Brendon Baillod
bbaillod@execpc.com
http://www.execpc.com/~bbaillod
Great Lakes Shipwreck Research
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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: I would like to know how to search for information on a shipwreck that occurred during the summer
: of 1850. My family history has it that my great-great grandfather was a musician on a boat in the
: Great Lakes, and he was killed when the boat went down. I have the date of his death listed in the
: Old St. Mary's records in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as August 26, 1850, but that may be the date it was
: recorded. I don't know the name of the ship, or the type of ship. His name was George Zirkle, and
: he was a German immigrant. He lived in Milwaukee with his wife and son. Any help on how to
: search for this information would be appreciated.
: Terry Morse