Mackinac Disaster

More ..EDWARD DONOVAN...

2010-01-30T18:01:00.000-08:00

more from.....Kathleen Hayner....

" And..... I wasn't aware of the memorial marker in Pawtucket, along the shoreline.

My mother was an only child who raised seven children.

My widowed grandmother lived in Pawtucket 'til 1979 ...but was an important, and steady presence in our lives...... coming for long visits to be with us in Connecticut.

We had heard about "Eddie", from grandma, and how she never loved another.

She stayed single all those years.

She used to tell us that he loved music..........so the news that there was a piano [onboard].... and singing on the lower decks of the ship, was especially poignant to me.

We never really understood why he was on the boat that day...and my grandmother said that she was surprised to hear he was involved....[he was an insurance salesman]...... and she thought he must have decided to go because of the nice weather.

I always think of how my mother's, and my grandmother's lives were so altered by his decision that day.

Both of them were life long Catholics and had a lot of faith.

EDWARD DONOVAN....Pawtucket Victim

2010-01-23T16:12:00.000-08:00

From..KATHLEEN HAYNER...grandaughter of Ed Donovan...

" Hello. I started today... knowing very little about the boiler accident that killed my maternal grandfather, Edward Donovan, of Pawtucket Rhode Island.

I just happened to run into a web site; GenDisasters (http://www3.gendisasters.com/rhode-island/419/newport,-ri-steamer-mackinac-explosion,-aug-1925) when I was trying to find out more about a recent train accident here in Belmont MA.

Once I knew the name of the ship, [Mackinac ] I was able to find your blog.

My grandfather died at 28 years old , leaving behind, his wife Mary, 26 y.o. [ she passed in 1984]

Also, their 6 month old daughter Patricia was left behind...my mother! [she passed in April 2009).

Our family had grown up, hearing a bit about the accident, but never many details.

Also I mistakingly thought the ship left from Pt. Judith, RI. "

The Capt....Three Disasters ???

2010-01-16T10:45:00.000-08:00

YES, It Was 1904.......THE, .....Then, ..Deckhand, George W.McVey.......Nearly went down with the BURNING..'Tremont'.........he was just sailor, George McVey, at that time..
.
.....did this prepare him for two more Disasters at sea........that Followed him in his lifetime ??....

in court, and in the press.....
"MOTHER CHAMPIONS McVEY"; .. "Never Seemed to Fear -- Last to Leave the Burning Tremont."
Special to The New York Times.
February 17, 1907, Sunday
Page 4, 281 words

NEW HAVEN, Feb. 16. -- Mrs. Orrin McVey of Fair Haven Massachusetts, mother of Capt. George W. McVey, of the Joy liner "Larchmont", today, warmly defended him from the charge of cowardice. [ END OF FIRST PARAGRAPH ]

The Captain's Mother at Trial..

2010-01-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Orrin McVey of Fairhaven, Mass.

court papers show her defending her son at the Larchmont Trial

The Joy Line steamer company was on trial along with the captain and crew

................February 17, 1907...............

The Monument..to the Victims

2010-01-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

Along the Blackstone River in Pawtucket...sits a beautiful, simple monument....in granite.....
To the Victims... from that day's tragedy.....
.....a simple reminder....in a simple...tranquil location

The Pier where the Mackinac berthed, and uploaded the passengers for the day's Newport Journey..........the area sits quietly...and close to unused...or seldom used......

Such a fitting picturesque spot

55 Lost Lives......But many more were disrupted........some forever..

But... in the year 2000, a survivor of the Mackinac Disaster , Mr. James Gilligan, erected a memorial marker at the Old State Pier. It was the 75th anniversary actually....and a time to remember all those who sailed.....who perished....and who were injured.

"ALL PAWTUCKET ALL THE TIME"
allpawtucket@gmail.com

Pawtucket - Your Hometown!

September 3rd, 2009 · 2 Comments

By Ken McGill, Registrar of Voters...City of Pawtucket

and so for Jim Gilligan and all those aboard the Mackinac we remember and that is why the Mackinac Disaster will always be part of Pawtucket - Your Hometown.

the issue of VANDALISM

2009-12-26T07:33:00.000-08:00

One Printed Article, mentions , "Survivors told accounts of vandalism ".

and that was it.........No Details..........no explanation.....

"There were reports that first tonight: ....... that during the height of the confusion, on the steamer, that terrible night: .....that thieves had broken into the purser's office, and that several survivors had reported [eyewitness accounts] of other activities by vandals.

again...no detail....

"No arrests were made, however;... and no one was found, who admitted stealing, or even loss by theft ".

again...this was circulated, with no follow up....

Continued...The Perished...!!

2009-12-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

MORRIS, Mrs. ANNA, 99 Mossford Av., East Providence
MULVEY, DELORES, 112 Myrtle St., Pawtucket
McCARTHY, MILDRED, 126 Johnson St. Pawtucket
McCARTHY, JOHN, 126 Johnson St., Pawtucket
McCARTHY, Mrs. JAMES, 126 Johnson St., Pawtucket
McCLELLAND, MARTHA, Pawtucket
McELROY, FRANCIS, 5, Pawtucket
McGUIRK, Mrs. P., 1 Masterson St., Pawtucket
O'NEAL, Mrs. JAMES, Central Falls, R. I.
PALMER, AMELIA, Pawtucket
PARTINGTON, ARTHUR, 172 York Av., Pawtucket
BRENNER, F. T. 25 Bluff St., Riverside
SMITH, WILLIAM F., 188 Coll Av., Pawtucket
SHEA, CELLA, Lonsdale, R. I.
VALADE, JOSEPHINE, 107 Sterry St., Pawtucket
WECKART, OLGA, 86 Benefit St., Providence
WHITAKER, ELMER, 12 Carnation St., Pawtucket

Those who Perished...

2009-12-12T11:09:00.000-08:00

from Rhode Island Genealogy Trails

BAQUAS, MIKE, 62 Cherry St., New York City
BERGERON, ELMIRA, 597½ Main St., Pawtucket
CALDWELL, ANNA, 12 Darlingdale St., Pawtucket
COTE, CHRISTINE, Pawtucket
DAVIGNON or DAVIGNE, ORA, 173 McGill St., Pawtucket
BOURKE, IRENE, Pawtucket
DONDAREFF, F. address unknown
DICKENSON, HENRY, 358 Weeden St., Pawtucket
GUYET, GLADYS, 17 Cliff St., Attleboro, Mass.
HOPKINSON, ERNEST, 36 Sharon Av., Pawtucket
HOPWOOD, WINIFRED, 44 Parker St., Central Falls
HUNTER, JOHN M., 360 Potter Av., Providence
JANSON, DELMA, 100 Beechwood Av., Pawtucket
JAURER, HELENAM, 100 Beechwood Av., Pawtucket
JELLISON, JOSEPH, 49 Healy or Hedley Av., Central Falls
LANDERS, CHARLOTTE, 21 Emery St., Pawtucket
LEVALLEY, JOSEPH, Ledyard St., Central Falls
MOFFATT, JOHN, 12 years, 240 York Av., Pawtucket

Brief History...

2009-12-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

MACKINAC...STEAMER...

JOHNSTON BROTHERS......Builders

FERRYSBURG,,,,,,,,Michigan.........1909
170 feet long
28 feet wide
12 feet draught

Owner...........ARNOLD TRANSIT....in...1977...scrapped

SOLD FOR OFF LAKE USE IN 1917...

ON SALTWATER From Then On

It WAS RENAMED WOONSOCKET IN 1926.....and.... CLAUDE SIMMONS IN 1969

More from J.H.W......in 1993

2009-11-28T11:45:00.000-08:00

Mr. Wildenhain retired in 1987, and made claims to the 'Journal' reporter, in 1993, that he never encountered another Mackinac passenger. He did however, keep track of events, and stories about that fatal accident....including the fact that approximately 75 ended up injured, hospitalized, and finally okay..

He would learn that the captain and chief engineer, were indicted for manslaughter. The manager of Blackstone Valley Transportation was also charged...........But all three were later acquitted at a trial.

He learned, there were about 75 claimants for damages, from that day...........and that the settlement was a small amount...and that claimants received a pittance....

The Mackinac was repaired, and later converted to a freight shipping vessel for many years of service to follow.

the Wildenhain Family

2009-11-21T10:51:00.000-08:00

Mary Grace was just, 5 1/2 years old......... and Donald was 2.......and that was a fatal trip for them and three other family members..............but Bart and John would survive........along with their mother.......

Most of the passengers were from Central Falls and Pawtucket, and the ship could accommodate nearly 1,000.......but the time delay at the departure point [ the Division Street Landing], made many, uneasy......so they simply left, to go home. It was only to be, a one day excursion for most, to the island of Newport, for fun and beaching.

The rumor was about boiler problems. One can only imagine the death toll being higher with more passengers aboard.

John H. Wildenhain...a 4 year old at the time

2009-11-14T10:26:00.000-08:00

Mr. Wildenhain was 4 years old, when he boarded the Mackinac with his family.

The family went to the lower levels of the ship, because of 6 week old Bart, being in a baby carriage. It was there that they heard a great concussion, and the hiss of escaping steam. They were 250 yards off of Coddington Point....and..... It was a searing blast of soot, smoke, and steam. So many were scalded........so many inhaled the deadly vapor. Though the death toll that day was only 28........another 27 would perish.........and so many of the 672 aboard would would end up injured.

For the Providence Journal, in 1993.......Mr. Wildenhain recalls..." I went up a flight of stairs to another deck and put my hands in a basin that was filled with water, because my hands were burned."

He ended up spending many weeks in the hospital after developing scarlet fever. This, long after scars formed on his hands and ears. Mrs Wildenhain, his mother, ended up severly burned, and hospitalized for an eight week period. The baby Bart was unharmed, but five family members, also aboard, perished from the blast. A grandmother, a sister, a brother, a cousin, and an aunt.

Bartholomew Wildenhain...just 6 weeks old

2009-11-07T19:01:00.000-08:00

In his baby carriage, at just six weeks old.........the infant Bart had gone into the lower levels of the ship, for the return trip to Pawtucket, with seven other family members.

Five of the eight would lose their lives from that days' accident. Only his mother, and 4 year old brother John, survived that day; though each was badly injured.

2006 -- H 8230
=======
LC03475
=======
S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2006
____________
H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N
EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF BARTHOLOMEW WILDENHAIN
Introduced By: Representatives E Coderre, Dennigan, Kilmartin, and O`Neill
Date Introduced: June 13, 2006
Referred To: House read and passed

1 WHEREAS, It is with profound sadness and regret that this House has learned of the
2 passing of the Honorable Bartholomew “Bart” Wildenhain, a lifelong resident of the City of
3 Pawtucket and a member of the Pawtucket School Committee; and
4 WHEREAS, Bart was one of six children born to the late Bartholomew and Magdalyn
5 Wildenhain, and had been married for twenty years to the late Ruth Wildenhain; and
6 WHEREAS, When the steamship Mackinac exploded in 1925, Bart was onboard with
7 nine other members of his family. He was one of the lucky ones who survived, but sadly, he lost
8 five relatives in the disaster; and
9 WHEREAS, Bart served his country honorably in the United States Navy during World
10 War II, the Korean Conflict, and again during the Cuban missile crisis. He was a fire control
11 technician, serving onboard the Destroyer USS Yarnell during World War II; and
12 WHEREAS, For thirty-two years, Bart was the electrician for the Pawtucket School
13 Department. Soon after his retirement, he ran and was elected to the Pawtucket School
14 Committee; and
15 WHEREAS, Bart was actively involved in numerous community activities. He was a
16 lifetime member of the Gatchell Post, and served on the Fourth Ward Democratic City
17 Committee;

Possible Archives...!!

2009-10-31T15:23:00.000-07:00

at BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY
requiring more research.....but a strong lead, none the less...

Walter Smith Miscellaneous Ship Drawing Collection - GLMS 74

The collection was loaned to the Center for Archival Collections for the purpose of microfilming by Walter Smith of Marine City, Michigan in late 1981. Mr. Smith acquired the drawings at an undetermined date from Peirce McLouth. Literary and property rights of the microfilm edition have been dedicated to the public and duplication is permitted for the purposes of preservation and scholarly research. The collection was prepared by Vicki L. Congrove, Great Lakes Ships Architectural Drawing Project Assistant at the Center for Archival Collections, November 1981.

from
FERRYSBURG, MICHIGAN - Johnson Brothers

Hull No. 35.......MACKINAC ..... Steel Passenger.... Propeller....Outboard Profile... (11/27/1909)

Senator Metcalf...rescue ..

2009-10-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

as fate would have it.......

From his own yacht in the harbor that afternoon .....the Rhode Island Senator, offered help to many who ended up in the water.....

Senate Years of Service: 1924-1937 Party: Republican

pic : Brown University Archives

METCALF, Jesse Houghton.... a Senator from Rhode Island;

born in Providence, R.I., November 16, 1860;

educated in private schools of Providence;

Changes for the Mackinac

2009-10-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

The boiler exploded on August 18, 1925

She was renamed the Woonsocket on July 9, 1926

She was motorized in 1937 in Norfolk [?]

The final owner was , Baltimore and Carolina Lines

The Picture: 1968

from The Steamship Historical Society of America

2009-10-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

Mackinac

route and ports..........Narragansett Bay, Providence and Bay Ports

company......................Mackinac Co. of Rhode Island

other name.................Woonsocket

built.............................1909..Ferrysburg, Michigan

number.......................206658

length..........................162 feet

breadth.......................28.2 feet

draught.......................12 feet

gross tonnage.............512

2009-10-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

A more current view from Coaster's Island....looking westerly.....with a spectacular sunset.......and showing the Bridge that was erected in 1969..

Right off this shore, is where the disaster unfolded...!

..Gendisasters...A Great Reference...

2009-09-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

Newport, RI Steamer Mackinac Explosion, Aug 1925

October 9th, 2007....................Linda Horton

SHIP BLAST DEAD 36; LIST GROWS HOURLY; BAD BOILER BLAMED

Three Investigations Started As Undertaking Wagons Roll From Hospitals.

ONE ORDERED BY HOOVER

Pitiful Scenes Enacted in the Naval Training Station Wards Among Scalded Excursionists.

35 ARE STILL IN DANGER

Crowd of 10,000 Throngs Pawtucket, R. I., Stations When Survivors Return From Newport.

A Bit of Good Fortune..?

2009-09-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

The talk among Newport mariners that horrible night, was that the death list was extremely low in view of the fact that 677 excursionists were on the steamer.

Had the explosion occured further away from land, and had the naval training station not been so near, the loss of life probably would have been much greater.

The Mackinac gets Towed

2009-09-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

The Mackinac, after the disaster, was towed to Sullivan's wharf in Newport.

As the Mackinac lay at the wharf there was very little external evidence of the fact that she had dealt death and injury to so many.

She showed hardly any damage on the outside.

Later, she was towed to Providence.

MANY VICTIMS

2009-09-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

Enveloped in the vapor, many of them were badly burned......
.....Many had jumped overboard ....
....but luckily, all had been picked up by passing craft, attracted to the spot....
.....despite the fact, that many feared [and stayed away]..what was to possibly follow the initial explosion.......

Some Horrible Sites

2009-08-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

Eye witness accounts of the horrible sites were easily attained.

Hospital spokespeople were constantly checking the lists of patients.

In doing, so they would transfer names from the roll of injured to that of the dead; and all through the day, ambulances rolled through the training station gates, and subsequently, carried away to undertaking establishments, and funeral homes, the bodies of those who had succumbed.

The Melee

2009-08-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

There were many groups of funseekers that afternoon; startled by a hissing sound, about fifteen minutes after they had put out from Newport. A cloud of steam billowed, and enveloped the vessel.

Immediately, people rushed for the rails. Men jumped overboard hoping to be picked up by passing boats. Others climbed to the gunwales and rails, and attempted to reach the upper deck. Many offered a hand to aid them in their rush to safety. Lifeboats were even lowered in fear that the craft was going to sink, and life saving mats and deck gear were tossed overboard.

Many on the first and second decks were trapped. Blinded and almost instantly helpless by the steam pouring from the ruptured boiler: they could only stagger about in pain. It was from their group, that came the largest group of those who succumbed. Most of those on the top decks escaped with only minor injuries.

Answering the stricken vessel's radio call, [SOS], and the shrieks of her whistle, the naval rescuers in launches and smallboats, came from more than a score of naval vessels. Anchored off the Naval Training Station, they came to find so many screaming women and children, hanging over the railings.

Many of those, badly burned, were still enveloped in a billow of steam and soot. Many more had jumped overboard ; to get picked up by passing craft drawn to the area. Among those offering immediate aid, was the yacht of Senator Metcalfe.

The Devastation Continues

2009-08-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

It was amid the moaning and screaming victims that clergymen of all denominations gave spiritual aid. Those most seriously injured were in separate rooms; and it was here that Catholic priests walked from cot to cot, giving the 'last rites' to some, just before their death came.

It was a horrible night: so many pitiful sights. Children cried out: adults too, cried out . Many men and women entered the wards seeking relatives; only to find that they had died. In one ward a 15 month old, fought off death: but her mother, brother, and sister, succumbed. Her father, James J. McCarthy, lay badly injured, and scalded.

In those days, mineral oils were used in treating burns , and only a small supply was on hand at the Naval Hospital. More was immediately shipped in from area pharmacies. But from what we know today; how much of a complication was caused by this very treatment?

A Beautiful Steamer

2009-08-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

Such a site on the water:

She was a beautiful steamer that day.

Ferrying people to a happy, fun destination.

Newport awaited, not knowing it's place in this horrible event.

What would unfold before sundown that fateful day, was unfathomable to the funseekers.

Naval Hospital....The Injured...!

2009-08-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

THE INJURED.

At The Naval Hospital:

ALVARNAZ, Mrs. MARY, Attleboro, Mass.
ALVARNAZ, EVA, Attleboro, Mass.
BORSAY, PETER, Pawtucket
COLLINSON, ALBERT R., Pawtucket
DICKINSON, MONICA, Central Falls, R. I.
DONOVAN, EDWARD, Pawtucket
HENDERSON, JAMES, Pawtucket
HOLT, FRANCENA, Providence
KOEFORD, CHARLES, New York
LEPHAN, EDWARD, Pawtucket
McCARTHY, JEAN, Pawtucket
McCARTHY, JAMES J., Pawtucket
McGUIRK, Mrs. MARY, Pawtucket
MULLIN, GEORGE C., Pawtucket
MULLIN, BESSIE, Pawtucket
MURRAY, ALEXANDER G., Pawtucket
O'CONNELL, KATHLEEN V., Pawtucket
O'CONNELL, Mrs. I. IF., Pawtucket
POWERS, MARGARET, Central Falls
POWERS, SARAH, Central Falls
ROBINSON, WILLIAM, Pawtucket
SIMILE, CATHERINE, Pawtucket
WILDENHAIN, Mrs. MADELINE, Pawtucket
WILDENHAIN, JOHN, Pawtucket

The Injured..Newport Hospital

2009-07-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

From news reports, following the incident, and ...At Newport Hospital:

BACON, Mrs. SARAH, Pawtucket
BARRY, EARL, Pawtucket
BARRY, WALTER, Pawtucket
CARLIN, WILLIAM, Pawtucket
COOPER, LOUIS, Pawtucket
GILLIGAN, MICHAEL J., Pawtucket
McDUFF, JAMES, Pawtucket
TROEGER, Mrs. EMILY, Attleboro, Mass.
TROEGER, VIRGINIA, Attleboro, Mass.
WILDENHAIN, MARY GRACE, Pawtucket
WILDENHAIN, DONALD, Pawtucket

New York Times, New York, NY 20 Aug 1925

First Picture

2009-07-18T05:39:00.000-07:00

And so it is....the elegant steamer...Mackinac.......dockside.....having just arrived, or, awaiting the necessary loading and departure........

GREAT TO HAVE FINALLY LOCATED A PICTURE

2009-07-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

For certain, it was a boiler explosion on that excursion boat, in August on the 18th, 1925, that resulted in the death and injury of so, so many passengers.

Yet , it was Rear Admiral Riggs , who immediately utilized all the facilities at the Naval Hospital in Newport.

And it was in this emergency situation, with his prompt assistance and aid, that so many of the injured were saved.

How many stories were to be told...following such an incident.....how many were never shared or told?

THE CAPTAIN...And A Greater Disaster !

2009-07-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

On Feb. 11.........1907

Capt. George McVey, who had remained in the pilot house until the vessel had been straightened out on her course, was preparing to retire after a turn around his ship, when he was startled by several blasts of the steamer's whistle. He rushed into the pilot house, where the pilot and quartermaster pointed out a three-masted schooner sailing eastward before a strong wind.
Schooner Headed Straight:The schooner, which proved to be the Harry Knowlton, coal laden, from South Amboyfor Boston, had been bowling along on her course when she seemed to suddenly luff up and head straight for the steamer. Again several blasts were sounded on the steamer's whistle, the pilot and quartermaster at the same moment whirling the wheel hard-a-port in a mad endeavor to avoid collision.

But as the Larchmont was slowly veering around in response to her helm, the schooner came on with a speed that almost seemed to equal the gale that had been pushing her toward Boston, Even before another warning signal could be sounded on the steamer's whistle, the schooner crashed into the port side of the Larchmont, and the impact of the big vessel was so terriffic [sic] that the big clumsy bow of the sailing craft forced its way more than half the breadth of the Larchmont. When the force of the impact had been spent, the schooner temporarily remained fast in the steamer's side, holding in check for a moment the in-rushing water.

The Washington Post, Washington, DC 13 Feb 1907
Also reported by the NY Times on the 13th of February 1907........

Nineteen survivors, including the captain, were reported too.
Ten of the nineteen were crew members.
Captain George W. McVey, lived on John Street, Providence,
with his wife and two children.
*
attached..the captains own words....Thursday, March 21, 1907
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9904E3DB123EE033A25752C2A9659C946697D6CF

from The New York Times

2009-06-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

August 22, 1925...New York Times....[full archived article available...nytimes.com]

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Aug. 21 (AP) -- The hearing before Inspector General Uhler of the Federal

Steamboat Inspection Service to Determine the cause of the Mackinac disaster was adjourned

this afternoon to permit further investigation.

Number 47....

2009-06-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

Forty-seventh Victim Dies.............[ nytimes.com ]

August 23, 1925, Sunday

Page 27, 361 words

NEWPORT, R.I., Aug 22 (AP). -- The death of Michael J. Gilligan of 134 School Street,

Pawtucket, at 9:15 o'clock tonight at the Newport Hospital brought the total of dead in the

Mackinac disaster to forty-seven

N Y TIMES.....reports on 42 deaths

2009-06-13T13:39:00.000-07:00

MACKINAC DEATHS INCREASED TO 42; Eight More Victims of Excursion ... ..

....deaths from the explosion on the Pawtucket excursion steamer Mackinac stood at forty-two tonight,

. ...August 21, 1925

for full article........................nytimes.com

From Newport to Washington

2009-06-06T19:36:00.000-07:00

Rear Admiral Charles E. Riggs...............Surgeon General....1928 to 1933

The Admiral Acted

2009-05-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

It was a boiler explosion on that excursion steamer, in August on the 18th, in 1925, that resulted in the death and injury of so many passengers.
It was Rear Admiral Riggs , who immediately utilized all the facilities at the Naval Hospital in Newport.
And it was in this emergency situation, with his prompt assistance and aid, that so many of the injured were saved.

excerpt..[www3.gendisasters.com]

From the Naval Training Station

2009-05-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

It was from these shores that............witnesses saw the terrible events of that late afternoon unfold.....

..the explosion

..the victims scattering and screaming

..so many climbing higher on the vessel

..so many going overboard

..small vessels moving in to offer aid

..large vessel lumbering in a bit closer, but cautious

Helping Survivors

2009-05-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

Senator Metcalfe Aided Many Survivors.

Senator Metcalfe, after rescuing some of those who had jumped from the steamer, proceeded to Newport and requested Superintendent H. A. Monahan of the Old Colony Division of the New Haven Railroad to make up a special train to carry many of the uninjured passengers to their homes in the Pawtucket area.

The railroad official had a train of nine cars ready, when the first of a fleet of automobiles arrived, carrying more than 500 of the survivors, to the station, from the docks.

Many of those only slightly injured were also taken to Pawtucket aboard the special train after their injuries had been treated.

About fifty of the passengers remained housed in various homes near the Naval Hospital, where they telephoned relatives, and waited for their arrival in automobiles, to take them home too.

The Memory

2009-05-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

August, 2009 will be year 84...since the events of that tragic day.

How many families grew up, hearing stories of those events.

What changes were made, as a result of such an accident.

Did any good come of the tragedy.

What other stories are out there...about people from that day.

How did the captain's career finish.....[after his 2nd tragedy].

Mrs. Beaulac

2009-05-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

Back then, as Catherine Manley..nearly 84 years ago...she was aboard the steamer Mackinac.

As a 45 year resident of Pawtucket Rhode Island, she was interviewed at her new home in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Pawtucket Times was seeking her account of that tragic day, when more than 50 Pawtucket people lost their lives.

EyeWitness

2009-04-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

" The boiler blew up on the excursion steamer headed back to Pawtucket after an all-day outing. "

Mrs. Catherine Beaulac was 12 at the time, and was aboard with her parents, two brothers, then aged five and three, and an aunt and uncle from Pittsburgh.

S O S...s o s

2009-04-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

Those on the top decks escaped with minor injuries.

Answering the stricken ship's radio S O S call and the shrieks of her whistle the naval rescuers in launches and boats from the scores of naval vessels lying at anchor off the Naval Training Station found screaming women and children hanging over the rails.
Enveloped in the vapor, many of them were badly burned.
Many had jumped overboard but all had been picked up by passing craft attracted to the spot.

2009-04-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

The Mackinac was not the only ship in the area that day...............so many others were there for the rescue

Newport's Mayor Sullivan

2009-04-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

Newport mariners said that the death list was extremely low in view of the fact that 677 excursionists were on the steamer.
Had the explosion occured further away from land, and had the naval training station not been so near; the loss of life probably would have been much greater.
Mayor Sullivan, who had taken an active part in the relief work, was grateful for the navy's work of mercy.
He expressed gratitude to both Secretary Wilbur and Admiral McKeon, the commander of the U. S. S. Wyoming.
His message of thanks: "The City of Newport is profoundly grateful to you and to the officers and men of your ships for their heroic achievements in Newport Harbor in rescuing from death ,hundreds of men, women and children."

Eye Witness****

2009-03-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

An eye witness account............

" It happened just before 6 pm, about 10 minutes after we left Newport. We had passed the Naval Training Station, and I still recall the seaman on the banks, waving at us. A few minutes later, there was the terrible sound of an explosion. Blinding, billowy soot was everywhere. "

The HEADLINES

2009-03-21T05:53:00.000-07:00

" Newport, RI Steamer Mackinac Explosion, Aug 19, 1925 "

" SHIP BLAST 36 DEAD ; LIST GROWS HOURLY; BAD BOILER BLAMED "

" Three Investigations Started As the Undertaker's Wagons Exit From Hospitals. "

"Pitiful Scenes at the Naval Training Station Wards, Among Scalded Excursionists"

" 35 ARE STILL IN GREAT DANGER "

" Thousands at the Pawtucket, R. I., Stations; Awaiting Survivors Return From Newport. "

The Steam Boiler

2009-03-14T06:59:00.000-07:00

Three Investigations Were Started.

A defective boiler was blamed as the cause of the disaster by Oscar A. Heltzen, Assistant

Attorney General, He said the State Attorney General's Office would investigate; and determine

whether there was criminal culpability, and, if any, persons were responsible for the conditions

causing the fatalities.

One finding that came out of the investigation......quote....

"At the edge of the sheet of metal, it is plain to be seen how thin it had become."

THAT DAY

2009-03-07T05:31:00.000-08:00

So many died that day; so many injured and mamed; some for life.

How many stories still to be told?

How many heroes were there?

For how many, was this a life changing day?

A Time to Act

2009-02-28T05:25:00.000-08:00

Virtually every member of the Naval Hospital staff was on duty throughout that night; and the next day, they were aided by nurses from the City Hospital, the Red Cross, Sisters of the Cenacle and the White Sisters.

Captain Charles E. Riggs, commanding officer at the hospital had summoned every available navy physician as well as priests and ministers from the naval vessels in the harbor as soon as the wounded victims began to come in. It was inside the hospital that two wards were prepared. The sufferers came in so quickly that many were placed on the floors outside the wards. The majority of those who died at the naval hospital , were in such bad shape, that the physicians, could only try to make their last moments as painless as was medically possible.

Eye witness accounts of the horrible sites were easily attained. Hospital spokespeople were constantly checking the lists of patients. In doing, so they would transfer names from the roll of injured to that of the dead; and all through the day, ambulances rolled through the training station gates, and subsequently, carried away to undertaking establishments, and funeral homes, the bodies of those who had succumbed.

Amid the moaning and screaming victims walked clergymen of all denominations giving spiritual aid. The more seriously injured were all in a separate room, and it was here that the Catholic priests walked from cot to cot giving the last rites to some only seconds before death came.

HERO..Rear Admiral Riggs

2009-02-21T18:55:00.000-08:00

Rear Admiral Charles E. Riggs, of Newport , Rhode Island.

From 1918, September, to 1921, in June, he was a member of the Naval Examining Board and a member of the Board of Medical Examiners, in Washington, DC. Following that, he served as Fleet Surgeon of the Atlantic Fleet. On March the 13th, in 1923, he assumed command of the Naval Hospital, in Newport, Rhode Island. He subsequently received a special commendatory letter for his actions, in aiding the civilian authorities, in caring for the victims of the USS Mackinac. It was a boiler explosion on that excursion steamer, in August on the 18th, in 1925, that resulted in the death and injury of so many passengers. It was Rear Admiral Riggs , who immediately utilized all the facilities at the Naval Hospital in Newport. And it was in this emergency situation, with his prompt assistance and aid, that so many of the injured were saved.

A NEW... MACKINAC... PIC

2009-02-14T19:40:00.000-08:00

from the website CardCow.com.........

.......A Great Pic of the Mackinac.......

........One we had not seen before !!

[just a little research, pays off]

She was scuttled [scrapped] in 1977........and up until that time, or near the end of her usefullness, she was employed under another company name...........not the Original 'Arnold Transit Co' name.....or....'Mackinac Company' name.

Again ...she went from passengers, Pre-accident ..... to freight, Post-accident............and this picture is of that earlier era.............maybe even a maiden voyage on a lake.

The name on the Port, Fore-Rail.........indicates.... "Arnold Transit Co"......
The name on the Transom may well be " Mackinac "...?......the name given Up to the time of the accident ....
.."Woonsocket"...was the name given in 1926, post accident.......and......." Claude Simmons"........the name given in 1969...

[the heavily smoking engine is a fright !.......the first firing of the boiler ??]

NAVY NURSES

2009-02-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

Serving proudly: a history of women in the U.S. Navy
By Susan H. Godson
Edition: illustrated
Published by Naval Institute Press, 2001
ISBN 1557503176, 9781557503176
453 pages

an excerpt.............

'Disaster of another sort struck in Newport harbor on 18 August 1925, when the excursion steamer Mackinac, carrying more than six hundred men, women , and chidren, was returning to Pawtucket in the late afternoon. As the ship passed within a mile of the Naval Hospital, a defective boiler exploded, showering boiling water and spraying steam on the hapless passengers. Within minutes, rescue launches, from Navy ships anchored nearby began removing the injured and carrying many to the hospital landing. The hospital staff admitted seventy-nine victims, twenty of whom were treated and released. Chief nurse, Esther L. James directed both Navy nurses and countless volunteer nurses who came to help in caring for the severly injured patients. Most were badly scalded; others had inhaled the steam, while still others suffered from shock. Twenty-eight died before the next morning, forty -six within a few days. Once again in the face of calamity, the Navy had aided civilian victims.'

RED CROSS NURSING #2

2009-01-31T14:23:00.000-08:00

from The Department of Red Cross Nursing....January 1926

* Red Cross Field Director Manning wrote...." If you could see the stretchers coming in, you would understand how every ounce of womanhood and manhood called you to hurry faster and work harder. You did not dare to stop working, for you would only commence weeping with pity for those poor, brave men, women and children so horribly burned. "

Literally, barrels of vaseline and liquid petroleum, and thousands of yards of gauze were used that night.

Winifred L. Fitzpatrick, Associate District Nursing Association, enrolled in the Red Cross Nursing

Service, [neglecting to say of herself that she gave part of her vacation and went to the Naval Hospital to "

special " some bad cases] pays a priceless tribute to the spirit of the Navy nurses those first days. She

marvelled at the organization which rearranged the disposition of 225 patients already there, to provide beds

for the boatloads of people brought in , in such an emergency, It was in keeping with the spirit of the Navy,

shown in the harbor, where the 42 warships rose to the emergency in such a way that more than six hundred

people were taken off, put ashore, and the injured conveyed to the Naval and General hospitals in half an

hour.

Department of Red Cross Nursing

Clara D. Noyes

The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Jan., 1926), pp. 53-56
(article consists of 4 pages)

Published by: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3408665

RED CROSS NURSING #1

2009-01-24T14:20:00.000-08:00

from The Department of Red Cross Nursing....January 1926

Again in 1926, it was January, and Clara D. Noyes wrote about the response to Newport's Mackinac Disaster....
"...it is a hitherto unrevealed chapter of the narrative of the 'Mackinac' disaster, when 150 people were burned and 60 [55] died, last August, as a result of the explosion on the steamer in Newport Harbor.
   Esther LeC. James, Chief Nurse of the Newport Naval Hospital, which was nearest to the scene of disaster and therefore the one that cared for most people, gives a vivid impression of the summons that reached them at dinner. In fifteen minutes every nurse in the hospital was on duty.
   Other nurses flocked there, many being supplied through Miss Sherman's office...[Sherman, chairwoman of the state Red Cross]
   Some here with patients gave me their off-duty time; some on vacation came up; the Newport Hospital sent me a unit of volunteers for a few days..........Anna E. Manning, the Red Cross field director here in the hospital, has been splendid and she has helped me a lot with the nursing proposition.
   All through that night...one mad rush pouring oil and giving hypos....when it was miraculous how quickly the quantities of supplies were brought to us....everyone worked until exhausted and in some cases, the body failed under the drive of the eager spirit within...."

Department of Red Cross Nursing
Clara D. Noyes

The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Jan., 1926), pp. 53-56
(article consists of 4 pages)

Published by: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3408665

1926, Law Brief

2009-01-17T17:16:00.000-08:00

From:.......

invispress.com

*
State v. McVay

47 R.I. 292, 132 A. 436 (1926)

*

After it was run in an unsafe manner, the boiler on a ship called the Mackinac exploded killing a number of people.

The captain of the ship, McVay and the chief engineer, Grant, were arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter.

McVay and Grant were acting under the encouragement of a guy named Kelley. Kelley was the one who advised the crew that the boiler should be run unsafely.

The Trial Court convicted Kelley of involuntary manslaughter. He appealed.

Kelley argued that involuntary manslaughter was a crime of negligence, not intent. Kelley argued that you could not be an accessory before the fact to a crime that did not require intent.

The Appellate Court upheld the conviction.

The Appellate Court found that negligence can have premeditation as an element. Even though the boiler explosion was unintentional, it was the reasonably foreseeable result of intentional actions on the part of the crew.

Kelley encouraged the crew to be negligent, and when they intentionally followed his advice, people died.

Conversely, if someone killed a person in a burst of rage, then it would be difficult to find accomplice liability because those sorts of crimes have no premeditation, so there really isn't a way to encourage them.

..RI vs. McVay..more, more, more

2009-01-10T17:03:00.000-08:00

from...audiocasefiles.com

again ...more heady legalise......but at least its all here in one place......enjoy...

While everyone must agree that there can be no accessory before the fact when a killing results from a sudden and unpremeditated blow, we do not think it can be broadly stated that premeditation is inconsistent with every charge of manslaughter. Manslaughter may consist, among other things, of doing an unlawful act resulting in unintentional killing, such as violation of motor vehicle laws or administration of drugs to procure an abortion. . . . Manslaughter is likewise committed if an unintentional killing is occasioned by gross negligence in the doing of an act lawful in itself. . . . There is no inherent reason why, prior to the commission of such a crime, one may not aid, abet, counsel, command or procure the doing of the unlawful act or of the lawful act in a negligent manner. A premeditated act may be involved in such unlawful homicides. . . . 29 Corpus Juris, § 38, p. 1067, says: "At common law there may be accessories before the fact to involuntary manslaughter." . . . 1 Bishop on Cr. L. 8th ed. Vol. I, § 678, pp. 412, 413. states: "Manslaughter does not commonly admit of an accessory before the fact, because when the killing is of previous malice, it is murder. This is the ordinary doctrine yet probably there may be a manslaughter wherein this is not so, as, if one should order a servant to do a thing endangering life yet not so directly as to make a death from the doing murder, it might be manslaughter--then, why should not the master be an accessory before the fact in the homicide?"

Decisions in the above cases pro and con are sometimes confusing because of failure to keep clear the difference in popular and legal meaning of the words "malice" and "involuntary". In a popular sense "malice" means hatred, ill will or hostility to another; in law it means "the state of mind manifested by an intent to commit an unlawful act against another". Webster's New Int. Dict. In Commonwealth v. York . . . SHAW, C. J., defines "malice" as "the willful doing of an injurious act without lawful excuse". See also Words & Phrases. It may be found in an act shown by the circumstances to wickedly or willfully disregard the rights or safety of others. Commonwealth v. Webster . . .; People v. Davis. . . . Malice in its legal sense may exist without actual intention of any mischief if the killing is the actual consequence of careless action. Penn. v. Bell. . . . Hence, reference to manslaughter as being "without malice" needs close scrutiny. The use of the term "without malice" in the State's definition of manslaughter, supra, is, as often in the textwriter's, for the purpose of distinguishing manslaughter from murder, State v. Fenik . . . --rather than to give an all inclusive definition of manslaughter. Malice in the sense of general criminal intent exists in manslaughter, and Wharton says the distinction between express and implied malice is unsound. "There is no case of homicide in which the malice is not implied; none in which it is not inferred from the circumstances of the case." Wharton on Homicide . . .; United States v. King. . . . When, therefore, "maliciously" is used in this indictment as against Kelley, it means that he is charged with acting with an unlawful intent by reason of directing the principals to act with utter disregard of consequences to human life. . . .

"Involuntary" in common parlance means not in accordance with the actor's will or choice. Webster's New Int. Dict. As applied to charges of manslaughter it may cover cases of volitionally doing a lawful act wantonly or in a grossly careless manner. "Involuntary" used in connection with manslaughter, characterizes the result of the act, not the doing of the act. It does not mean that volition was not present in the negligent act from which the death resulted. Voluntary manslaughter is often described as per infortunium--an unlawful taking of human life under circumstances falling short of willful or deliberate intent to kill and yet approaching too near thereto to be justifiable homicide. The law does not permit defendant in such a case to say that he did not intend the consequences of his act. See classification of voluntary and involuntary manslaughter in 29 C. J. 1047.

By keeping these distinctions in mind, the present indictment for involuntary manslaughter is not self contradictory when it charges Kelley to be an accessory before the fact. It was possible for him at Pawtucket to intentionally direct and counsel the grossly negligent act which the indictment charges resulted in the crime. Involuntary manslaughter, as set forth in this indictment means that defendants exercised no conscious volition to take life but their negligence was of such a character that criminal intention can be presumed. . . . The crime was consummated when the explosion occurred. The volition of the principals was exercised when they chose negligently to create steam which the boiler could not carry. The doing of the act charged or failure to perform the duty charged was voluntary and intentional in the sense that defendants exercised a choice among courses of conduct. It is obvious that Kelley could participate and is charged with participating in procuring defendants to act in a grossly negligent manner prior to the explosion. Legal precedents based upon facts unlike the present ones do not convince us that he could not have been an accessory before the fact.

We have been referred to no case of an accessory before the fact on an indictment charging negligent manslaughter. The absence of such cases may be due to the fact that, by statute, in many jurisdictions accessories before the fact are treated as principals. Our statute relates only to their punishment and not to the nature of the offence. Gen. Laws 1923. . . . The case of United States v. Van Schaick . . . treated all defendants as principals, holding the directors of a steamboat company negligent in failing to provide life preservers as a result of which many passengers were drowned. The negligence was held to be a continuing cause actually operating to produce the deaths though the directors personally were not present at the moment of death. The negligence charged against Kelley is not of this type.

We are convinced that in some types of manslaughter there may be an accessory before the fact and from our study of the present indictments we believe they aver such cases. Specific duties are stated to have been laid upon the captain and engineer. Defendant is charged with full knowledge of those duties and of the fact that the boiler was unsafe. He is charged with counselling and procuring the principals at Pawtucket to disregard their duties and negligently create steam. Until the explosion no crime was committed. Defendant was not present when the negligence resulted in a criminal act. The advice at Pawtucket was not continuing negligence on Kelley's part. The facts set forth in these indictments, if existent, are such that a jury might find that defendant Kelley, with full knowledge of the possible danger to human life, recklessly and willfully advised, counselled and commanded the captain and engineer to take a chance by negligent action or failure to act.

We therefore answer the question certified on each indictment in the affirmative. The papers in each case, with this decision certified thereon, are sent back to the Superior Court for further proceedings.

State of RI vs. McVay

2009-01-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

this is heady stuff........but maybe interesting to some..........much of what occured in the trial is layed out here, so that makes it worth a bit of perusing..................And ultimately.......'Compiling' , all that's out there, and all that's available , in this , one format for now, is imortant.......................read on !.....

audiocasefiles.com

Brief Fact Summary

The captain and engineer of a steamer were indicted for manslaughter when the steamer's boiler burst, killing several people.

Rule of Law and Holding

In an involuntary manslaughter case, it is possible for someone to be an accessory before the fact, if their actions contribute to negligence which results in the death of human beings.

Topics

Group Criminality
Accountability for the Acts of Others
Results

Edited Opinion

Note: The following opinion was edited by AudioCaseFiles' staff. © 2008 Courtroom Connect, Inc.

BARROWS, J.

Heard on a certification of a question of law before trial.

Three indictments for manslaughter, each containing four counts, were brought against the captain and engineer of the Steamer Mackinac as principals and against Kelley as accessory before the fact. The steamer carried several hundred passengers from Pawtucket to Newport via Narragansett Bay. The boiler producing the steam by which the vessel was propelled, burst near Newport and many lives were lost. The present indictments are for causing the deaths of three persons killed by escaping steam after the explosion of the boiler.

Demurrers, on grounds that the indictments improperly combined a charge of assault and negligence and that there was an improper joining of principal and accessory before the fact, were overruled. Two additional grounds of demurrer set up by defendant Kelley were not decided but were deemed of such doubt and importance that the question raised by them was certified to this court for determination, under General Laws, 1923, Chapter 348, Section 5.

We are not now concerned with the correctness of the lower court's rulings on the demurrers. Exceptions to those rulings have been taken and the defendants' rights reserved. Our present question relates solely to Kelley's grounds of demurrer which were not acted upon. The same question is raised upon each indictment. That question is: "May a defendant be indicted and convicted of being an accessory before the fact to the crime of manslaughter arising through criminal negligence as set forth in the indictment?"

That the indictment charges manslaughter against the captain and engineer as a result of criminal negligence connected with the operation of the ship's boiler for present purposes is not disputed. Neither is there dispute as to the meaning of accessory before the fact. He is "one who, being absent at the time the crime is committed, yet procures, counsels or commands another to commit it". . . . In the first count the negligence charged is the "wanton and willful" creation of any steam in a boiler known to be worn, corroded, defective and unsafe, as a result whereof an explosion occurred killing a passenger; the charge against Kelley as accessory is that "before said felony and manslaughter was committed," . . . he did at Pawtucket "feloniously and maliciously aid, assist, abet, counsel, hire, command and procure the said George W. McVay, and John A. Grant, the said felony and manslaughter in manner and form aforesaid to do and commit". The latter is substantially the language applied to Kelley as accessory in the other three counts. The second count of the indictment charges knowledge of the strength and capacity of the boiler on the part of the principals and negligence in developing more steam than the boiler could safely hold. The third count charges a lack of reasonable care in generating steam in a boiler known to be so worn, etc., as to be unsafe and the fourth count charges that defendants having control of generating steam and knowing the boiler to be defective so disregarded their duty that the explosion followed.

The State, substantially adopting the definition of manslaughter as given in Wharton on Homicide . . . defines it as "The unlawful killing of another without malice either express or implied". The State further refers to the charge in the indictment as "involuntary manslaughter, that is, the killing of another without malice and unintentionally in negligently doing an act lawful in itself and in the negligent omission to perform a legal duty". Because the manslaughter charge is "without malice" and "involuntary" Kelley contends that he can not be indicted legally as an accessory before the fact. The argument is that manslaughter being a sudden and unpremeditated crime inadvertent and unintentional by its very nature can not be "maliciously" incited before the crime is committed. Such is the view expressed by textwriters, decision or dicta. . . . In most of these citations a charge of murder was under consideration and the theory was that, after a conviction for manslaughter was had, there could be no accessory before the fact. Some of these authorities state broadly that there can be no accessory before the fact in manslaughter giving the reasons now urged by Kelley.

INSPECTOR UHLER...back in 1904..

2008-12-27T19:10:00.000-08:00

from the NY Times....Headlines..!........"MAKING IT HOT FOR UHLER"....

.. "Anger at His Statement That Politics Governs Inspections "

Special to The New York Times.
June 19, 1904, Sunday
Page 2, 415 words

WASHINGTON, June 18. -- Inspector General Uhler of the Steamboat Inspection Service left here this afternoon for New York to take up his work on the scene in connection with the Slocum disaster.
Before leaving Mr. Uhler declared that he had been misrepresented in the statements current that there had been graft in the inspection of steamboats and that fines had been reduced through political influence.

Mr Uhler's involvement in the Slocum Disaster...was long before the Mackinac...but it was a high profile case.........leading to many steamship, and safety concerns and changes in the industry........[on the Slocum...the fire hoses were rotted....the lifejackets too.....and the paint locker went unsealed in an open area.......1300 on board.....1021 perished]

...INVESTIGATION RESULTS...

2008-12-20T19:41:00.000-08:00

As Stated Earlier.......

A defective boiler was blamed as the cause of the disaster by Oscar A. Heltzen, Assistant Attorney General.

"When the State Investigators inspected the Mackinac's exploded boiler, they found it was an

old one; it was deteriorated, and thinned down in certain places," said Mr. Heltzen.

"What occurred at the time of the explosion was a rupture of the plate in the cross drum

extending from the right-hand side of the firebox to the centre of the boiler alongside of the

longitudinal seam. "

"The longitudinal seam was very thin and the opening was six or seven inches wide,

extending upward to the rear of the drum. It appeared, that at different times, the boiler had

been subjected to extensive repairs, with the addition of new bolts and several patches. "

"The repairs may be evidence that the boiler was in a weaker condition. It has been intimated to

the Attorney General's Office that an inspection should have determined this condition by the

use of hydrostatic or hammer test."

"There also appeared, next to the longitudinal joint, a sign of discoloration for a distance of two

and a half feet. This is a suggestion of an old break, with an old crack appearing, beyond the

break made at the time of the explosion. This crack has a splitting appearance instead of the

tearing one, which, in the opinion of State officials is significant, in that,

in the case of a regular explosion, a wide bursting would have taken place. In this case, the

opening followed the weak spot. "

"At the edge of the sheet of metal, it is plain to be seen how thin it had become."

The Feds

2008-12-13T04:42:00.000-08:00

"The Federal Authorities Act"

Federal steamship inspectors, and the Newport police, each started independent investigations.

United States Senator Jesse H. Metcalf,[serving 1924 to 1937, for Rhode Island], asked

Secretary Herber Hoover [secretary of commerce at the time, before becoming president in

1929], to start an immediate inquiry.

Captain George McVay, Commander of the vessel, and George Kelly, General Manager of the

Blackstone Valley Transportation Company,[the owners], were among those who accompanied

the investigators looking over the craft. Boiler Inspector Richard F. Bailey, said that the

Mackinac's boilers were last inspected in New York. Maritime firms in Newport asserted there

was nothing unusual in that; especially since the vessel was in service between Pawtucket and

New York in the past, and that it probably often repaired there.

U. S. Naval Training Station..plus Sites

2008-12-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

Looking Handsome in ITS day...."the elms ".....right there on Bellevue, for all to see and ponder......Mackinac visitors surely strolled by.......taking in the sites of the day...

Most oft' visited by day cruisers....and likely by Mackinac travelers too..

Obviously......." The Old Stone Mill ".....idyllic for all visitors...centrally located in the city...in a park setting no less...high on a hill..........with a most significant historic relevance..and a bit of mystery too !

of the period...a view down High Street....busy and well traveled, by the locals and Visitors alike

from an old post card of the era...looking in a westerly direction ...over the Naval Station ....right about where the Mackinac passed by.....heading home..

'from an old post card of the time'

..a possible side trip, along the coast...the passengers may have walked before departing Newport

and the Navy Yard...again....but looking easterly, toward the city...........from a vintage postcard

Another Monument !

2008-11-29T19:08:00.000-08:00

Newport , Rhode Island

Well Wishers and Sympathizers

2008-11-22T15:02:00.000-08:00

From the most Notable in Newport...

Flowers were sent to the sufferers in the hospital .......by Miss Mason....... Mrs. George Peabody

Wetmore [the ex-governor's wife].......... Mrs. Howard Spencer Graham.......... Mrs. Wortham

James.............. former Governor R. Livingston ........Beckman ............and Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton

Fish Webster.

Mrs. Webster, accompanied by Miss Dyer, personally took her flowers to the hospital.

Also the estate of Arthur Curtiss James, sent flowers [though Mr. & Mrs. James were abroad]...

Mrs. John Nicholas Brown also sent flowers

1960's view

2008-11-15T13:01:00.000-08:00