Posted by Brendon Baillod on January 19, 1999 at 17:39:48:
In Reply to: Kitty Reeves posted by Scott Simons on January 19, 1999 at 13:15:00:
: Is the Kitty Reeves just another tall tale?
: Fact or Speculation?
Scott,
Here's the problem with the "Kitty Reeves:" We've searched
high and low for any record that she existed and we
can't find any. There are numerous anecdotal reports
of a copper wreck at Tawas, but the facts are hard to nail
down. For example, little or no information about the
accident can be found in newspaper micofilms from the
area. It would be highly unlikely for a copper ore laden
vessel to sink in what was then (and still is) a fairly
rural area, without significant press reports. Yet,
the papers carry no specific mention of the accident.
The following info. is from David Swayze's database.
You might try emailing Dave for his take on this wreck.
KITTY REEVES or ERMA B. REEVES
Other names : ? also seen as IRMO B. REEVES
Official No. : ?
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : ?
Specs : ?
Date of loss : 1870, Nov 7*
Place of loss : Tawas Bay
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : copper ore
Detail : Downbound with cargo of high-grade ore, she came into Tawas Bay for shelter. She was sunk while at anchor. Her crew abandoned and landed near Pt. Lookout, 18 miles to the south, two days after.
No official documents have ever been located on a KITTY REEVES, US or Canadian. There is much debate over whether she existed at all, though there are reports of a copper wreck in the Bay. In 1900 a salvage company from Chicago reported finding a copper-laden wreck in the Bay while looking for the schooner SUMMIT.
*1880 also given
Sources : is,slh,rkr,atb,stender,
Be aware that there are plenty of instances of reputable
historians creating wrecks out of thin air for fun and
mischief. In the early 1980s, Thom Holden (co author
of Julius Wolff's Lake Superior Shipwrecks) made up an
entirely fictitious account of the loss of a schooner
called the San Antonio at Isle Royale in the 1870s.
The article about her discovery ran in many newspapers
and I personally fell for it. Subsequently, I'm
inclined to disbelieve folktale reports unless I can
substantiate them from a primary or historical source.
So, while I do believe that it is possible that a
schooner with copper ore may have
sank off Tawas, I am equally convinced that the
particulars have been distorted with time and much
more research will be needed.
Brendon