Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2012, All Rights Reserved U.S. Data Repository Please read U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on this page: Submitted by Linda Talbott for the US Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= U.S. Data Repository NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ========================================================================= Formatted by U.S. Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== NAME: L. R. Doty REASON: Lost (see notes) OTHER NAMES(s): - DATE: October 25, 1898 LOCATION: Lake Michigan TYPE: steamer HULL TYPE: wooden BUILDER: F. W. Wheeler & Co., West Bay City, MI - 1893 OWNER: Cuyahoga Transit Co., Cleveland, OH MASTER: Capt. Christopher Smith of Port Huron, MI TONNAGE: 2,056.34 LENGTH: 291 ft BEAM: 41 ft DEPTH: 19.8 ft CASUALTIES: 17 DOTY WRECKED Big Steamer Went Down in Lake Michigan With All Hands --------- DOTY HAD A CREW OF FIFTEEN MEN, ALL OF WHOM ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN LOST - WAS BOUND FROM SOUTH CHICAGO TO MID- LAND, GEORGIAN BAY, WITH 107, 000 BUSHELS OF CORN - NEW BOAT RATED AT AND THOUGHT TO BE STAUNCH. ------------- CHICAGO, IL., Oct. 27 - The steamer L. R. Doty, with her crew of fifteen men, is believed by marine men to have been lost in the great storm in midlake off Kenosha. The dead, so far as known are: CHRISTOPHER SMITH, captain, Port Huron THOMAS ABERNETHIE, chief engineer, Port Huron HARRY THORPE, first mate, Detroit ______ DOSS, steward, West Bar City. The remainder of the crew are not known to the owners at Cleveland. The probable fate of the Doty was learn- ed by the tug Prodigy, which was sent out by the Independent Tug Line to search for the Doty, and the schooner Olive Jeannette, which the steamer had in tow. When 15 miles off Kenosha, the Prodigy came upon a large amount of wreckage, consisting of pieces of a deck, a pole mast, painted brown, cabin doors, stanchions from the afterpart of a steamer and much lighter woodwork. A piece of the steering pole which pro- jects from the bow was also brought in. The Doty left South Chicago on Monday with the schooner Olive Jeanette in tow for Midland, Georgian Bay. The Doty had on board 107,000 bushels of corn, shipped by Counselman & Co. After discharging the cargo at Midland, the two vessels were to go to Lake Superior, where they were chartered for cargoes to Lake Erie. During the storm there was such great anxiety among vesselmen over the vessels which were known to be buffeting the tremendous seas along the west shore that the Doty and Jeanette were lost sight of, as both were staunch vessels and the Doty was known to be a powerful steamer, capable of living through any sea. When the Susquehanna reported having sighted a four-masted schooner off Ken- osha it was figured out that the vessel **** ** *** Olive Jeanette as she was the only four-masted boat within 200 miles of that point at the time. Still, there were no fears for the Doty particularly as it was given out that the steamer was out searching for her consort. This afternoon a telegraphic search was made for the Doty, and then it was learned that the steamer had not been seen at any point along the west shore, nor been sighted by any in- coming boat since she had been seen with her consort off Milwaukee on Tuesday after- noon, before the full force of the gale had swept down from the north. When this became known, it was felt that the Doty had been lost, and the news brought in by the tug Prodigy that wreck- age from a large steamer had been found off Kenosha was quick confirmation. It was figured out by marine men that Capt. Smith, having ample confidence in his steamer, would have kept on after the storm came, with the idea that it would go to the northwest, and he could creep down along the lee of the west shore and reach the foot of the lake before crossing over to the Straits. In consequence of his faith, he did not, like so many other captains, run for shelter, but kept on his way. Something went wrong, doubtless, and it may never be known what it was, but the steamer probably became disabled and driven by a 60-mile gale, both the Doty and Jeanette drifted to the southward. Whether the accident on board the Doty occurred before or after the Jeanette broke adrift, will not be known until that schoon- er is brought into port and the story of her crew learned. The Doty must have drifted over 100 miles before she went down. In the sheets of rain and the furious gale of Tuesday night, her signals of distress could have been heard or seen but a short distance, and other boats, which might have been in the vicinity, had all they could do to keep afloat without rendering assistance, even if the signals had been seen. The first news of the Jeanette was brought to Chicago by the Anchor Liner Susquehanna, Capt. McKenzie. Capt. Me- Kenzie reported that he had sighted a four- masted schooner hove to in midlake off Kenosha Wednesday noon. The vessel ap- peared to be in good shape, and as the Susquehanna was in light trim, and there- fore unmanageable in the heavy seas, she was not headed for the vessel. No signals of distress were flying. On Thursday morning the Jeanette was again seen by the steamer City of Louisville of the Graham & Morton line. The captain asked that tugs be sent out, and reported that, with the exception of the loss of sails and rudder, his boat was in good trim. The tugs Morford and Mosher left for his assistance at noon today. The Doty was a wooden steamer and was built at West Bay City in 1893. She rated 1,700 net tons, was 291 feet long and 41 feet beam. For insurance purposes she was given a valuation of $116,000 and an A1 rating with a star. The Buffalo Express, Friday, October 28, 1898 --------------------------------------------- THE LOST STEAMER DOTY AND HER CONSORT CHICAGO, Oct. 29 - The owners of the steamer L. R. Doty have given up all hope of their ship's ever being found. Capt. Cadotte of the Olive Jeanette, consort of the Doty, tells of the parting of the tow line and the disappearance of the Doty. He said that he knew then that the Doty was doomed. Capt. Cadotte is a hard-headed, sturdy, sea-wise sailor, who has been on the lakes for thirty years. He is as strong as a hawser line. When the storm got so wild that the sea was breaking in green masses over his ship he lashed himself to the wheel and there he stayed until the sky was clear. Two days and two nights he stood at his post of duty, never sleep- ing or eating, but holding his hand to the helm until the seas smashed the rud- der, and then he remained there to watch the ship as it rolled, helpless under the merciless battering of the waves that sprung its timbers and wrenched its frames until it began to sink. "That was nothing," said the stocky little fellow. "I always look out for my ship." The wind blew sixty miles an hour and the waves ran thirty-five feet high, and when the rudder was broken the ship rolled into the trough of the terri- ble sea. Solid masses of water fell on the ship and the forward cabin was smashed as if it had been a cigar box under the iron wheel of a truck wagon. None of the crew was in the cabin at the time and to have been there meant instant death. The steam pump was out of service and the vessel began to leak. The sail that was up was torn to shreds and the jib was snapped off, although it was made of solid timber 12 inches square. Everything on the deck was carried away. A coal box was bolted to the deck in front of the after cabin, but it was swept overboard. The life- boat was hung to the davits over the stern. It was just two yards from where the captain was lashed to the wheel. William Hawgood, who had been hoping against hope, finally gave up the steamer L. R. Doty and her crew as lost this morning. The three tugs which the Independent line sent out yesterday re- ported from west shore points that they had been unable to even find wreckage, which had been sighted Thursday. The tugs were sent out again on the search, which is now for the dead and not for the living The Milwaukee Journal October 28, 1898 ---------------------------------------- Notes: The L. R. Doty, while towing the schooner Olive Jeanette from South Chicago, IL to Midland, Ontario with a load of corn, was lost with all hands during a huge storm on Lake Michigan. The Olive Jeanette was badly damaged but survived the storm and was found adrift 3 days later off Chicago. Her crew was not able to tell what became of the L. R. Doty. The only trace of the L. R. Doty was a debris field found on the 26th about 25 miles off Kenosha, WI After being lost for 112 years the L. R. Doty was found in 300 ft of water off Oak Creek, WI. The wreck is now protected by Wisconsin law as a publicly owned historic wrecksite. ======================================================================== Sources: "Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes" , Dana Thomas Bowen, 1952 "Stormy Seas", Wes Oleszewski Buffalo Express, October 28, 1898 Chicago Tribune, October 25, 1898 - October 29, 1898 The Milwaukee Journal, October 28, 1898 Detroit News (AP), June 25, 2010 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes