Re: Shipwreck - Consuello - 1875 - Lake Erie - Schooner - Clemons

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: : I need some assistance here. I am an artist and I’m researching the subject for a painting I plan to display at Put-In-Bay,on Lake Erie, on Historical Day there to honor those who risked their lives to save others on our waters but need to ensure it is an accurate depiction of the actual event. I have researched newspapers in the local area, historical/Great Lakes societies and museum records, library records, Bowling Green Great Lakes Archives, lighthouse keepers logs and ship registry’s as well as the internet and don’t know where else I can go for such information. : : On May 1, 1875, approx. 10:00 - 11:30 AM (according to the lighthouse keepers log and newspaper articles) on Lake Erie, off of Marblehead Point/Lighthouse, a 103’ wooden schooner built in 1851 by Caulkins (?) of Cleveland was carrying stone block from Cleveland to Toledo. Due to the shifting of her load in the gale winds the schooner listed and sank north of Marblehead Point approx. 1 1/2 miles south of Kelley's Island in approx. 20 - 30 feet of water. I want to paint the rescue that then took place. Three men, the Clemons brothers, observed the listing of the Consuello and took a rowboat the 1 ˝ miles (it took over 1 ˝ hrs. to reach her) to rescue the victims of the wreck. They eventually reach the place where the ship sank and saved the last two sailors still clinging to the mast in the storm. I understand that these men received the first gold Medal of Honor for rescuing persons in distress upon the Great Lakes and eventually the eldest was named Commander of the first LifeSaving Station ˝ mile south west of the Marblehead lighthouse now the U.S. Coast Guard Station. I would like to paint the men putting the rowboat into the surf at Marblehead point, heading N towards Kelley’s Island, to save the victims of the wreck with the ship in the background listing and Marblehead lighthouse on the left (West) but I need some assistance to ensure it is an accurate depiction. If you can not provide the answers to the questions below, maybe you can refer to whomever may have the info. Anything you can do to assist will certainly be appreciated. : : 1. I need to know what the weather was like that day, newspaper reports are significantly varied? I need to know the condition, temperature, if there was thunder/lightening, wind direction, rainfall, and any other aspect of the weather that should be depicted in the painting. : : 2. I plan to paint a view from Marblehead point with the lighthouse in the background to the left (West) of the rescuers pushing the boat into the surf north towards Kelley’s Island and the schooner wreck listing on it’s side but need to know what the surf waves would have looked like with the existing wind direction and speed. Who could help me with this info. : : 3. What would the probably direction of the ship have been prior to the listing and the sinking and the condition of the sails? Newspaper reports state that the load of rock shifted, due to the crashing waves in the “gale” and due to poor loading procedures, causing the list. Then the ability to steer was lost and the captain was about to give the order to drop anchor “so the schooner would be turned and headed into the wind” as it was now being pushed dangerously towards Kelley’s but the schooner sank prior to the order into approx. 30’ of water where when reaching the bottom it sat upright, mast out of the water. After the ability to steer was lost and the schooner was listing what direction was it most likely headed and tilted after losing the ability to steer and listing but prior to sinking? This is the condition I would like to paint the Consuello in. : : 4. Do you know where there may be a picture, sketch, or drawing of the Consuello ( a wooden schooner built in Cleveland in 1851) or a like schooner to use in the painting? I can’t seen to determine exactly what it looked like other than length, tonnage, and material it was constructed with. : : Thanks, : : Diane : > : Diane, : > : Unfortunately much of the information you seek will not likely be available. : You may have to do quite a bit of interpolation. : I don't believe the papers of 1875 would have displayed photos. : Photos of actual news events at that time would have been quite rare do to the state of the art of photography. : However, since the vessel was built in Cleveland, you may be able to find some information, diagrams, etc at the Western Reserve Historical Society. : You might also try the Cleveland Public Library and similar institutions in Sandusky due to its proximity to the wreck. : The Consuelo also wrecked on several other occasions after the sinking off Marblehead. : You might contact archives for copies of papers from towns near where the subsequent accidents occurred for possible photos or sketches. : You can also obtain an online nautical chart of the area and determine where along the shore line the water reaches a depth of 30 feet. : That will give you an idea of how far off Marblehead the wreck occurred. : It may actually be so far from the beach that details of the actual vessel will not be visible. : You may in fact have to use artistic license and depict the Consuelo as being much closer to the rescue boat launch point than it actually was, just for the sake of the painting. : It did take the rescuers quite a while to row the distance involved. : Your best bet though will be to spend a few days at Marblehead and observe the waves when the wind is blowing from different directions. : You may instead decide to depict the rescuers underway. : This gets around many of the problems of just where everything was in relation to Marblehead. : > : Jim Koch

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