Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Story
March 27, 1805
Virginia Argus
Richmond, Virginia
What is this article about?
A gentleman in Kentucky witnesses the Ohio River's ice breakup in early February, destroying multiple boats, cargoes, and claiming lives including three families of 31 people migrating from Virginia and Maryland.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
Extract of a letter from a gentleman in Kentucky, to his friend in Philadelphia, dated February, 15.
'The oldest inhabitants in this country do not recollect a winter so severe as the present.
'The Ohio broke up about the 10th ultimo, & the damage sustained thereby is incalculable. It was my misfortune to be an eye-witness to nearly all of it: in the course of one day I saw no less than eight fat bottomed and four keel boats, some of which were loaded, ten ferry flats, between sixty and eighty canoes, and a house descending the river among the ice.
'To see trunks, bales, boxes, &c. with people frozen to death, floating down, was sufficient to melt the stoutest heart.
'Three families from Virginia and Maryland, moving to this country, containing thirty-one souls in one boat, had it stove and every soul perished. Two boats more were stove about two miles above where I was; boats, cargoes and crews, all lost. I lost my boat, but in other respects sustained very little damage.'
'The oldest inhabitants in this country do not recollect a winter so severe as the present.
'The Ohio broke up about the 10th ultimo, & the damage sustained thereby is incalculable. It was my misfortune to be an eye-witness to nearly all of it: in the course of one day I saw no less than eight fat bottomed and four keel boats, some of which were loaded, ten ferry flats, between sixty and eighty canoes, and a house descending the river among the ice.
'To see trunks, bales, boxes, &c. with people frozen to death, floating down, was sufficient to melt the stoutest heart.
'Three families from Virginia and Maryland, moving to this country, containing thirty-one souls in one boat, had it stove and every soul perished. Two boats more were stove about two miles above where I was; boats, cargoes and crews, all lost. I lost my boat, but in other respects sustained very little damage.'
What sub-type of article is it?
Disaster
Historical Event
What themes does it cover?
Catastrophe
Misfortune
What keywords are associated?
Severe Winter
Ohio River Breakup
Ice Disaster
Boat Destruction
Loss Of Life
Migrant Families Perished
What entities or persons were involved?
Gentleman From Kentucky (Eyewitness)
Where did it happen?
Ohio River, Kentucky
Story Details
Key Persons
Gentleman From Kentucky (Eyewitness)
Location
Ohio River, Kentucky
Event Date
February 15 (Letter Date); Ohio Broke Up About The 10th Ultimo
Story Details
Severe winter causes Ohio River ice to break up around January 10, destroying boats, canoes, and a house; eyewitness sees cargoes and frozen bodies floating; three migrating families of 31 perish when boat is stove; two more boats lost with crews and cargoes; writer loses his boat but little else.