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Scenes from the Emigrant Experience
160th Anniversary of Steamer Atlantic Disaster on Lake Erie, Part 1
By Bruce Weaver II
In the early morning hours of August 20,
1852, the Steamer Atlantic collided with the Ogdensburg on Lake Erie with
great loss of life. On board were some 130 emigrants from Valdres. More than
half of the Valdris onboard the Atlantic drowned.
Arrangements made with the Michigan Central
Railroad were for the passengers to board the Steamer Atlantic at Buffalo,
continue to Detroit, connect with a train bound for Chicago and board
another vessel for the final leg via Lake Michigan to Milwaukee.
The accompanying images, scanned from
sources originally published in the 1850’s, will provide some context for
that tragedy. Descendants of the 62 Valdres survivors of this nautical
disaster may be especially interested in seeing for the first time certain
of these related items.
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The Steamer
Atlantic depicted in an old woodcut, courtesy of the Great Lakes
Historical Society |
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News of the tragedy as it appeared “Across the Pond” on page 179 of
the September 4, 1852 issue of
the Illustrated London News. The “fog” alibi as a contributing
factor for the collision was later discarded |
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The front page of Gleason’s Pictorial for September 11, 1852 was devoted to the Atlantic disaster on Lake Erie. |
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Artist’s fanciful depiction of the collision
of the Atlantic and the Ogdensburg on Lake Erie, as it appeared
in Gleason’s Pictorial
on September 11, 1852 |
To supply geographical context, the skyline
of Buffalo, NY—including its major lighthouse, can be seen in
the background as the steamer Griffin left its harbor for a
watery grave, representative of that of the Atlantic.
Illustrated News,
July 27, 1850 | |
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Advertisement for the Michigan Central Railroad as it appeared in the Milwaukee Sentinel in August 1852.
Note the “Atlantic” is listed along with the "Ocean" and the “Mayflower”
(missing type left out the “f” and “l”)