Account of the sinking of the ship THOMAS P COPE

  • Life at Sea
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Title
Account of the sinking of the ship THOMAS P COPE
Collection
  • Massachusetts Historical Society: Miscellaneous Manuscripts
Document Type
  • Notes
Date
10 Jan 1847
Description
Detailed account of the sinking of the packet ship THOMAS P. COPE in November-December 1846, written by survivor Walter Cran. Cran was traveling with his wife and their three young children from St. Louis, Mo. to his home in Scotland. Cran describes the trip via steamboat on the Ohio River from St. Louis, including the sight of another steamboat carrying enslaved people to market and soldiers transporting Miami Indians to the West; the trip via canal boat and railroad across Pennsylvania; a short stay in Philadelphia, Pa.; and passage on the THOMAS P. COPE bound for Liverpool, England. On 29 November 1846, the ship was struck by lightning, caught fire, and burned for several days until Cran and the other passengers, except one child, were rescued by a passing ship. The Crans arrived in Boston, Mass. on 20 December 1846, where they received charitable aid, probably from the Scots Charitable Society, before they were taken in by merchant Robert Waterston.
Theme
  • Slavery
  • Shipwrecks and Disasters