She died at sea in the Disaster of the French ship; Ville du Havre.
Troy Daily Times – Dec 1, 1873
Sorrow on the Sea—The Last Marine Disaster — Its Local Aspect.
Our telegraph columns contain all the particulars yet received of the loss of the steamship Ville du Havre of the French line. The inference from these dispatches is that the deadly collision occurred at night, when nearly all the passengers were asleep. Among the passengers were LeGrand C. Cramer and Mrs. Edward Curtis, son and sister of George H. Cramer of this city.
LeGrand C. Cramer is the only one of the party of whose safety we are assured; a telegram from him early this morning to his father says: "Alone saved. Send letters of credit to Paris."
This dispatch was at first taken to mean that the sender was the sole survivor of the wreck. Later tidings assure us that eighty odd persons were saved, and now the dispatch is interpreted as indicating that the sender was the only member of his party who escaped a watery grave.
We trust that Mrs. Curtis is yet spared to her friends. Her loss would be to Waterford a public calamity. Mrs. Curtis is or was the eldest daughter of the late Hon. John Cramer, and widow of the Hon. Edward Curtis. Mrs. Curtis was left very wealthy, inheriting a large sum from her father's estate, which, added to upwards of $100,000 which had been left her by her husband, placed her in circumstances that enabled her to do much good. Her benevolence was very great; no poor person who was worthy ever applied to her for relief and was turned away empty-handed. Almost her first act before leaving Waterford was to leave a large sum of money to be given from time to time to those needy ones that she had been in the habit of assisting, and her last injunction was to see that they did not suffer during the winter. A member of the Episcopal church, she by her liberality had been for some time one of the main supports of the church in Waterford. She was truly a Christian woman in every respect, and one whose loss will be deeply grieved.
—Our latest telegrams destroy all hope of the safety of any of the persons named above, excepting Mr. LeGrand Cannon Cramer.
The family vault is at Waterford Cemetery where she may have a cenotaph.
TROY DAILY TIMES DEC 11, 1873
THE VILLE DU HAVRE DISASTER
•• •
LETTER FROM LE GRAND C.
CRAMER
SHIP GOES DOWN IN
FIFTEEN MINUTES.
A THRILLING DESCRIPTION.
MR. CRAMER GOES DOWN
WITH THE SHIP AND
IS BADLY WOUNDED.
SHIP TRI-MOUNTAIN, NOV. 28,1878. -My Dear
Parents: You will have received the sad news
of the loss of the steamer Ville du Havre by
telegraph before this letter can reach you. You
will also see from the list of passengers saved
that I am spared, and poor Aunty Curtis lost. I
will not attempt at this time to give you full details
of this horrible marine disaster, as the terrible
ordeal I have just passed through has
nearly exhausted the little strength I had, and
I am also suffering from several severe cuts and
bruises received at the time the ship went down.
That I am here now, alive and. able to write you
at all, is a miracle, a dispensation of a most
kind providence. A merciful God has spared
my life, when many more deserving of His clemency
and mercy have been taken away.
I will now state briefly the calamity that
hurried two hundred and thirty souls out of
three hundred and ten into eternity. The day
after we left New York the weather was fine,
the sea smooth, and all promised well for a successful
and pleasant voyage. On Monday a
storm came up, which continued for forty-eight
hours, and during which time the steamer lost
one blade of her screw. This accident,
although it did not materially affect the speed
and safety of the vessel, seemed to cast a gloom
over the passengers and created a feeling of
uneasiness among them, which the apparent foci
of discipline and order among the officers and
crew did not tend to relieve or remove. Following
the storm, which ceased Tuesday night,
a fog came up, which lasted until Friday evening,
when It became clear and star-light, we
then being fifteen hundred miles from New
York and just about in mid ocean. That night
we all went to our state rooms feeling more security,
but we little knew how soon or in what
great peril our lives were to be placed, or how
few of us would live to see the light of another
day.
About 2 in the morning I was awakened from
a sound sleep by a terrible crash, accompanied
by the shrieks and cries of men, women and
children. On getting out of my room I was
told that we had come into collision with only
a small vessel; that the steamer was not at all
Injured; and I, after telling aunty to dress,
went up on deck and found that we had collided
with a large Iron sailing-vessel, which
struck our steamer amidshlp, making a very
large hole In her side below the water line. I
at once saw that the steamer was rapidly sinking,
and that our only hope of safety was in the
life boats. I returned to aunty and told her
the condition of the ship, and brought her up
on deck as soon as possible, and placed her
with the ladies, while I went with some gentlemen
to help get off the life boats to save the
ladles. The lack of discipline we had before
noticed was now too apparent. The officers
had no control over the men; they were only
thinking of saving their own lives, and left the
passengers to look out for themselves. What
could we do, unaccustomed to handling the
rigging of life boats, and but few of us to do
anything ? We all worked.with desperation to
get a boat into the water. Had we had more
time we might have done so ; but the ship was
settling very fast, and suddenly she went down,
bow first, with all on board-at least all the
passengers, as about half the crew had gone in
the boats and left us to our fate. I saw aunty
just a moment before the ship went down, but
was powerless to save her, there being no life
preserver to be found in the stateroom or on
the deck, although 1 made every effort to find
one for her.
1 went down with the ship, believing it was
my last moment; but after being drawn down
by the suction of the ship, I came to the surface,
and, although encumbered with clothes,
managed to swim until I got hold of a floating
spar, although I was pulled under water twice
by some poor drowning person. After being in
the water over thirty minutes, I was picked up
by a boat from the ship that had ran into us,
completely exhausted, more dead than alive.
I was'taken to the Loch Earn with others,
which proved to be an English ship, and although
herself badly damaged by the collision
was yet able to keep afloat and save the few of
us who are now here to tell the sad story.
After being on board a few hours we were
transferred to the ship we are'now on, hailing
from New York to Bristol, England, commanded
by Capt. Urquehart, one of the noblest and
kindest hearted men that ever walked a
deck. There were only twenty-three first-class
passengers saved out of eighty-five, eleven
ladles and twelve gentlemen, the remaining
saved being steerage passengers, officers and
crew. Eighty-five In all, out of three hundred
and ten souls, were saved !
This Is one of the most terrible disasters that
has ever occurred on the sea, and never has a
ship that has been heard from gone down in so
short a time after a collision-only fifteen
minutes from the time she was struck until she
sank out of sight.
I will not try to write you any more, but will
give you fuller accounts when I get ashore. I
have lost all except the few clothes I have on,
and I am badly bruised and cut. I have one
cut under my jaw, over one inch long and very
deep, and several other smaller ones on my
face, body and limbs. I shall go to London,
thence to Paris, and as soon as I am rested and
my wounds healed I shall start for home, as I
know how anxious you will be to have me safely
back.
I hope you will not worry about me, for I am
doing as well as possible, and will write you by
every steamer. I shall probably, God willing,
start for home In about four weeks, as I have
promised to take charge of Mrs. Buckley, who
lost her only daughter, and also two Miss
Hunters, who lost father, mother, sister, and
are all alone in the world. It will take me, I
fear, at least weeks before I recover from my
injuries and recruit my strength. I do hope
you will not be distressed about me, for 1 am
with friends who will take good care of me; and
when I return I will come by the Cunard line,
which I think is the safest and best I will
write you again as soon as I get ashore, which
the captain calculates will be by Monday, Dec.
1st I shall go to London, and after I have a
surgeon look at and dress my wounds will go on
to Paris. I cannot tell you how sad the past
week has been, nor can I hardly realize that
poor aunty Curtis was indeed lost In that ill fated
ship.
You may be sure I shall return home as soon
as I am able to do so, as I can find no pleasure
in traveling, and my great desire now is to get
back home in safety. You know how I dreaded
to leave you all. I hope you are all well at
home, and pray God you may continue so, and
also that I may return to you in safety. I hope
that I may to the, future be more worthy of
God's kindness and your love, for I feel I have
been snatched from the jaws of death. I hope
to find letters from you in Paris. Good bye,
my dear parents, until my return to you and all.
Your affectionate son,
Le Grand C Cramer
Troy Daily Times – Dec 1, 1873
Sorrow on the Sea—The Last Marine Disaster — Its Local Aspect.
Our telegraph columns contain all the particulars yet received of the loss of the steamship Ville du Havre of the French line. The inference from these dispatches is that the deadly collision occurred at night, when nearly all the passengers were asleep. Among the passengers were LeGrand C. Cramer and Mrs. Edward Curtis, son and sister of George H. Cramer of this city.
LeGrand C. Cramer is the only one of the party of whose safety we are assured; a telegram from him early this morning to his father says: "Alone saved. Send letters of credit to Paris."
This dispatch was at first taken to mean that the sender was the sole survivor of the wreck. Later tidings assure us that eighty odd persons were saved, and now the dispatch is interpreted as indicating that the sender was the only member of his party who escaped a watery grave.
We trust that Mrs. Curtis is yet spared to her friends. Her loss would be to Waterford a public calamity. Mrs. Curtis is or was the eldest daughter of the late Hon. John Cramer, and widow of the Hon. Edward Curtis. Mrs. Curtis was left very wealthy, inheriting a large sum from her father's estate, which, added to upwards of $100,000 which had been left her by her husband, placed her in circumstances that enabled her to do much good. Her benevolence was very great; no poor person who was worthy ever applied to her for relief and was turned away empty-handed. Almost her first act before leaving Waterford was to leave a large sum of money to be given from time to time to those needy ones that she had been in the habit of assisting, and her last injunction was to see that they did not suffer during the winter. A member of the Episcopal church, she by her liberality had been for some time one of the main supports of the church in Waterford. She was truly a Christian woman in every respect, and one whose loss will be deeply grieved.
—Our latest telegrams destroy all hope of the safety of any of the persons named above, excepting Mr. LeGrand Cannon Cramer.
The family vault is at Waterford Cemetery where she may have a cenotaph.
TROY DAILY TIMES DEC 11, 1873
THE VILLE DU HAVRE DISASTER
•• •
LETTER FROM LE GRAND C.
CRAMER
SHIP GOES DOWN IN
FIFTEEN MINUTES.
A THRILLING DESCRIPTION.
MR. CRAMER GOES DOWN
WITH THE SHIP AND
IS BADLY WOUNDED.
SHIP TRI-MOUNTAIN, NOV. 28,1878. -My Dear
Parents: You will have received the sad news
of the loss of the steamer Ville du Havre by
telegraph before this letter can reach you. You
will also see from the list of passengers saved
that I am spared, and poor Aunty Curtis lost. I
will not attempt at this time to give you full details
of this horrible marine disaster, as the terrible
ordeal I have just passed through has
nearly exhausted the little strength I had, and
I am also suffering from several severe cuts and
bruises received at the time the ship went down.
That I am here now, alive and. able to write you
at all, is a miracle, a dispensation of a most
kind providence. A merciful God has spared
my life, when many more deserving of His clemency
and mercy have been taken away.
I will now state briefly the calamity that
hurried two hundred and thirty souls out of
three hundred and ten into eternity. The day
after we left New York the weather was fine,
the sea smooth, and all promised well for a successful
and pleasant voyage. On Monday a
storm came up, which continued for forty-eight
hours, and during which time the steamer lost
one blade of her screw. This accident,
although it did not materially affect the speed
and safety of the vessel, seemed to cast a gloom
over the passengers and created a feeling of
uneasiness among them, which the apparent foci
of discipline and order among the officers and
crew did not tend to relieve or remove. Following
the storm, which ceased Tuesday night,
a fog came up, which lasted until Friday evening,
when It became clear and star-light, we
then being fifteen hundred miles from New
York and just about in mid ocean. That night
we all went to our state rooms feeling more security,
but we little knew how soon or in what
great peril our lives were to be placed, or how
few of us would live to see the light of another
day.
About 2 in the morning I was awakened from
a sound sleep by a terrible crash, accompanied
by the shrieks and cries of men, women and
children. On getting out of my room I was
told that we had come into collision with only
a small vessel; that the steamer was not at all
Injured; and I, after telling aunty to dress,
went up on deck and found that we had collided
with a large Iron sailing-vessel, which
struck our steamer amidshlp, making a very
large hole In her side below the water line. I
at once saw that the steamer was rapidly sinking,
and that our only hope of safety was in the
life boats. I returned to aunty and told her
the condition of the ship, and brought her up
on deck as soon as possible, and placed her
with the ladies, while I went with some gentlemen
to help get off the life boats to save the
ladles. The lack of discipline we had before
noticed was now too apparent. The officers
had no control over the men; they were only
thinking of saving their own lives, and left the
passengers to look out for themselves. What
could we do, unaccustomed to handling the
rigging of life boats, and but few of us to do
anything ? We all worked.with desperation to
get a boat into the water. Had we had more
time we might have done so ; but the ship was
settling very fast, and suddenly she went down,
bow first, with all on board-at least all the
passengers, as about half the crew had gone in
the boats and left us to our fate. I saw aunty
just a moment before the ship went down, but
was powerless to save her, there being no life
preserver to be found in the stateroom or on
the deck, although 1 made every effort to find
one for her.
1 went down with the ship, believing it was
my last moment; but after being drawn down
by the suction of the ship, I came to the surface,
and, although encumbered with clothes,
managed to swim until I got hold of a floating
spar, although I was pulled under water twice
by some poor drowning person. After being in
the water over thirty minutes, I was picked up
by a boat from the ship that had ran into us,
completely exhausted, more dead than alive.
I was'taken to the Loch Earn with others,
which proved to be an English ship, and although
herself badly damaged by the collision
was yet able to keep afloat and save the few of
us who are now here to tell the sad story.
After being on board a few hours we were
transferred to the ship we are'now on, hailing
from New York to Bristol, England, commanded
by Capt. Urquehart, one of the noblest and
kindest hearted men that ever walked a
deck. There were only twenty-three first-class
passengers saved out of eighty-five, eleven
ladles and twelve gentlemen, the remaining
saved being steerage passengers, officers and
crew. Eighty-five In all, out of three hundred
and ten souls, were saved !
This Is one of the most terrible disasters that
has ever occurred on the sea, and never has a
ship that has been heard from gone down in so
short a time after a collision-only fifteen
minutes from the time she was struck until she
sank out of sight.
I will not try to write you any more, but will
give you fuller accounts when I get ashore. I
have lost all except the few clothes I have on,
and I am badly bruised and cut. I have one
cut under my jaw, over one inch long and very
deep, and several other smaller ones on my
face, body and limbs. I shall go to London,
thence to Paris, and as soon as I am rested and
my wounds healed I shall start for home, as I
know how anxious you will be to have me safely
back.
I hope you will not worry about me, for I am
doing as well as possible, and will write you by
every steamer. I shall probably, God willing,
start for home In about four weeks, as I have
promised to take charge of Mrs. Buckley, who
lost her only daughter, and also two Miss
Hunters, who lost father, mother, sister, and
are all alone in the world. It will take me, I
fear, at least weeks before I recover from my
injuries and recruit my strength. I do hope
you will not be distressed about me, for 1 am
with friends who will take good care of me; and
when I return I will come by the Cunard line,
which I think is the safest and best I will
write you again as soon as I get ashore, which
the captain calculates will be by Monday, Dec.
1st I shall go to London, and after I have a
surgeon look at and dress my wounds will go on
to Paris. I cannot tell you how sad the past
week has been, nor can I hardly realize that
poor aunty Curtis was indeed lost In that ill fated
ship.
You may be sure I shall return home as soon
as I am able to do so, as I can find no pleasure
in traveling, and my great desire now is to get
back home in safety. You know how I dreaded
to leave you all. I hope you are all well at
home, and pray God you may continue so, and
also that I may return to you in safety. I hope
that I may to the, future be more worthy of
God's kindness and your love, for I feel I have
been snatched from the jaws of death. I hope
to find letters from you in Paris. Good bye,
my dear parents, until my return to you and all.
Your affectionate son,
Le Grand C Cramer
She died at sea in the Disaster of the French ship; Ville du Havre.
Troy Daily Times – Dec 1, 1873
Sorrow on the Sea—The Last Marine Disaster — Its Local Aspect.
Our telegraph columns contain all the particulars yet received of the loss of the steamship Ville du Havre of the French line. The inference from these dispatches is that the deadly collision occurred at night, when nearly all the passengers were asleep. Among the passengers were LeGrand C. Cramer and Mrs. Edward Curtis, son and sister of George H. Cramer of this city.
LeGrand C. Cramer is the only one of the party of whose safety we are assured; a telegram from him early this morning to his father says: "Alone saved. Send letters of credit to Paris."
This dispatch was at first taken to mean that the sender was the sole survivor of the wreck. Later tidings assure us that eighty odd persons were saved, and now the dispatch is interpreted as indicating that the sender was the only member of his party who escaped a watery grave.
We trust that Mrs. Curtis is yet spared to her friends. Her loss would be to Waterford a public calamity. Mrs. Curtis is or was the eldest daughter of the late Hon. John Cramer, and widow of the Hon. Edward Curtis. Mrs. Curtis was left very wealthy, inheriting a large sum from her father's estate, which, added to upwards of $100,000 which had been left her by her husband, placed her in circumstances that enabled her to do much good. Her benevolence was very great; no poor person who was worthy ever applied to her for relief and was turned away empty-handed. Almost her first act before leaving Waterford was to leave a large sum of money to be given from time to time to those needy ones that she had been in the habit of assisting, and her last injunction was to see that they did not suffer during the winter. A member of the Episcopal church, she by her liberality had been for some time one of the main supports of the church in Waterford. She was truly a Christian woman in every respect, and one whose loss will be deeply grieved.
—Our latest telegrams destroy all hope of the safety of any of the persons named above, excepting Mr. LeGrand Cannon Cramer.
The family vault is at Waterford Cemetery where she may have a cenotaph.
TROY DAILY TIMES DEC 11, 1873
THE VILLE DU HAVRE DISASTER
•• •
LETTER FROM LE GRAND C.
CRAMER
SHIP GOES DOWN IN
FIFTEEN MINUTES.
A THRILLING DESCRIPTION.
MR. CRAMER GOES DOWN
WITH THE SHIP AND
IS BADLY WOUNDED.
SHIP TRI-MOUNTAIN, NOV. 28,1878. -My Dear
Parents: You will have received the sad news
of the loss of the steamer Ville du Havre by
telegraph before this letter can reach you. You
will also see from the list of passengers saved
that I am spared, and poor Aunty Curtis lost. I
will not attempt at this time to give you full details
of this horrible marine disaster, as the terrible
ordeal I have just passed through has
nearly exhausted the little strength I had, and
I am also suffering from several severe cuts and
bruises received at the time the ship went down.
That I am here now, alive and. able to write you
at all, is a miracle, a dispensation of a most
kind providence. A merciful God has spared
my life, when many more deserving of His clemency
and mercy have been taken away.
I will now state briefly the calamity that
hurried two hundred and thirty souls out of
three hundred and ten into eternity. The day
after we left New York the weather was fine,
the sea smooth, and all promised well for a successful
and pleasant voyage. On Monday a
storm came up, which continued for forty-eight
hours, and during which time the steamer lost
one blade of her screw. This accident,
although it did not materially affect the speed
and safety of the vessel, seemed to cast a gloom
over the passengers and created a feeling of
uneasiness among them, which the apparent foci
of discipline and order among the officers and
crew did not tend to relieve or remove. Following
the storm, which ceased Tuesday night,
a fog came up, which lasted until Friday evening,
when It became clear and star-light, we
then being fifteen hundred miles from New
York and just about in mid ocean. That night
we all went to our state rooms feeling more security,
but we little knew how soon or in what
great peril our lives were to be placed, or how
few of us would live to see the light of another
day.
About 2 in the morning I was awakened from
a sound sleep by a terrible crash, accompanied
by the shrieks and cries of men, women and
children. On getting out of my room I was
told that we had come into collision with only
a small vessel; that the steamer was not at all
Injured; and I, after telling aunty to dress,
went up on deck and found that we had collided
with a large Iron sailing-vessel, which
struck our steamer amidshlp, making a very
large hole In her side below the water line. I
at once saw that the steamer was rapidly sinking,
and that our only hope of safety was in the
life boats. I returned to aunty and told her
the condition of the ship, and brought her up
on deck as soon as possible, and placed her
with the ladies, while I went with some gentlemen
to help get off the life boats to save the
ladles. The lack of discipline we had before
noticed was now too apparent. The officers
had no control over the men; they were only
thinking of saving their own lives, and left the
passengers to look out for themselves. What
could we do, unaccustomed to handling the
rigging of life boats, and but few of us to do
anything ? We all worked.with desperation to
get a boat into the water. Had we had more
time we might have done so ; but the ship was
settling very fast, and suddenly she went down,
bow first, with all on board-at least all the
passengers, as about half the crew had gone in
the boats and left us to our fate. I saw aunty
just a moment before the ship went down, but
was powerless to save her, there being no life
preserver to be found in the stateroom or on
the deck, although 1 made every effort to find
one for her.
1 went down with the ship, believing it was
my last moment; but after being drawn down
by the suction of the ship, I came to the surface,
and, although encumbered with clothes,
managed to swim until I got hold of a floating
spar, although I was pulled under water twice
by some poor drowning person. After being in
the water over thirty minutes, I was picked up
by a boat from the ship that had ran into us,
completely exhausted, more dead than alive.
I was'taken to the Loch Earn with others,
which proved to be an English ship, and although
herself badly damaged by the collision
was yet able to keep afloat and save the few of
us who are now here to tell the sad story.
After being on board a few hours we were
transferred to the ship we are'now on, hailing
from New York to Bristol, England, commanded
by Capt. Urquehart, one of the noblest and
kindest hearted men that ever walked a
deck. There were only twenty-three first-class
passengers saved out of eighty-five, eleven
ladles and twelve gentlemen, the remaining
saved being steerage passengers, officers and
crew. Eighty-five In all, out of three hundred
and ten souls, were saved !
This Is one of the most terrible disasters that
has ever occurred on the sea, and never has a
ship that has been heard from gone down in so
short a time after a collision-only fifteen
minutes from the time she was struck until she
sank out of sight.
I will not try to write you any more, but will
give you fuller accounts when I get ashore. I
have lost all except the few clothes I have on,
and I am badly bruised and cut. I have one
cut under my jaw, over one inch long and very
deep, and several other smaller ones on my
face, body and limbs. I shall go to London,
thence to Paris, and as soon as I am rested and
my wounds healed I shall start for home, as I
know how anxious you will be to have me safely
back.
I hope you will not worry about me, for I am
doing as well as possible, and will write you by
every steamer. I shall probably, God willing,
start for home In about four weeks, as I have
promised to take charge of Mrs. Buckley, who
lost her only daughter, and also two Miss
Hunters, who lost father, mother, sister, and
are all alone in the world. It will take me, I
fear, at least weeks before I recover from my
injuries and recruit my strength. I do hope
you will not be distressed about me, for 1 am
with friends who will take good care of me; and
when I return I will come by the Cunard line,
which I think is the safest and best I will
write you again as soon as I get ashore, which
the captain calculates will be by Monday, Dec.
1st I shall go to London, and after I have a
surgeon look at and dress my wounds will go on
to Paris. I cannot tell you how sad the past
week has been, nor can I hardly realize that
poor aunty Curtis was indeed lost In that ill fated
ship.
You may be sure I shall return home as soon
as I am able to do so, as I can find no pleasure
in traveling, and my great desire now is to get
back home in safety. You know how I dreaded
to leave you all. I hope you are all well at
home, and pray God you may continue so, and
also that I may return to you in safety. I hope
that I may to the, future be more worthy of
God's kindness and your love, for I feel I have
been snatched from the jaws of death. I hope
to find letters from you in Paris. Good bye,
my dear parents, until my return to you and all.
Your affectionate son,
Le Grand C Cramer
Troy Daily Times – Dec 1, 1873
Sorrow on the Sea—The Last Marine Disaster — Its Local Aspect.
Our telegraph columns contain all the particulars yet received of the loss of the steamship Ville du Havre of the French line. The inference from these dispatches is that the deadly collision occurred at night, when nearly all the passengers were asleep. Among the passengers were LeGrand C. Cramer and Mrs. Edward Curtis, son and sister of George H. Cramer of this city.
LeGrand C. Cramer is the only one of the party of whose safety we are assured; a telegram from him early this morning to his father says: "Alone saved. Send letters of credit to Paris."
This dispatch was at first taken to mean that the sender was the sole survivor of the wreck. Later tidings assure us that eighty odd persons were saved, and now the dispatch is interpreted as indicating that the sender was the only member of his party who escaped a watery grave.
We trust that Mrs. Curtis is yet spared to her friends. Her loss would be to Waterford a public calamity. Mrs. Curtis is or was the eldest daughter of the late Hon. John Cramer, and widow of the Hon. Edward Curtis. Mrs. Curtis was left very wealthy, inheriting a large sum from her father's estate, which, added to upwards of $100,000 which had been left her by her husband, placed her in circumstances that enabled her to do much good. Her benevolence was very great; no poor person who was worthy ever applied to her for relief and was turned away empty-handed. Almost her first act before leaving Waterford was to leave a large sum of money to be given from time to time to those needy ones that she had been in the habit of assisting, and her last injunction was to see that they did not suffer during the winter. A member of the Episcopal church, she by her liberality had been for some time one of the main supports of the church in Waterford. She was truly a Christian woman in every respect, and one whose loss will be deeply grieved.
—Our latest telegrams destroy all hope of the safety of any of the persons named above, excepting Mr. LeGrand Cannon Cramer.
The family vault is at Waterford Cemetery where she may have a cenotaph.
TROY DAILY TIMES DEC 11, 1873
THE VILLE DU HAVRE DISASTER
•• •
LETTER FROM LE GRAND C.
CRAMER
SHIP GOES DOWN IN
FIFTEEN MINUTES.
A THRILLING DESCRIPTION.
MR. CRAMER GOES DOWN
WITH THE SHIP AND
IS BADLY WOUNDED.
SHIP TRI-MOUNTAIN, NOV. 28,1878. -My Dear
Parents: You will have received the sad news
of the loss of the steamer Ville du Havre by
telegraph before this letter can reach you. You
will also see from the list of passengers saved
that I am spared, and poor Aunty Curtis lost. I
will not attempt at this time to give you full details
of this horrible marine disaster, as the terrible
ordeal I have just passed through has
nearly exhausted the little strength I had, and
I am also suffering from several severe cuts and
bruises received at the time the ship went down.
That I am here now, alive and. able to write you
at all, is a miracle, a dispensation of a most
kind providence. A merciful God has spared
my life, when many more deserving of His clemency
and mercy have been taken away.
I will now state briefly the calamity that
hurried two hundred and thirty souls out of
three hundred and ten into eternity. The day
after we left New York the weather was fine,
the sea smooth, and all promised well for a successful
and pleasant voyage. On Monday a
storm came up, which continued for forty-eight
hours, and during which time the steamer lost
one blade of her screw. This accident,
although it did not materially affect the speed
and safety of the vessel, seemed to cast a gloom
over the passengers and created a feeling of
uneasiness among them, which the apparent foci
of discipline and order among the officers and
crew did not tend to relieve or remove. Following
the storm, which ceased Tuesday night,
a fog came up, which lasted until Friday evening,
when It became clear and star-light, we
then being fifteen hundred miles from New
York and just about in mid ocean. That night
we all went to our state rooms feeling more security,
but we little knew how soon or in what
great peril our lives were to be placed, or how
few of us would live to see the light of another
day.
About 2 in the morning I was awakened from
a sound sleep by a terrible crash, accompanied
by the shrieks and cries of men, women and
children. On getting out of my room I was
told that we had come into collision with only
a small vessel; that the steamer was not at all
Injured; and I, after telling aunty to dress,
went up on deck and found that we had collided
with a large Iron sailing-vessel, which
struck our steamer amidshlp, making a very
large hole In her side below the water line. I
at once saw that the steamer was rapidly sinking,
and that our only hope of safety was in the
life boats. I returned to aunty and told her
the condition of the ship, and brought her up
on deck as soon as possible, and placed her
with the ladies, while I went with some gentlemen
to help get off the life boats to save the
ladles. The lack of discipline we had before
noticed was now too apparent. The officers
had no control over the men; they were only
thinking of saving their own lives, and left the
passengers to look out for themselves. What
could we do, unaccustomed to handling the
rigging of life boats, and but few of us to do
anything ? We all worked.with desperation to
get a boat into the water. Had we had more
time we might have done so ; but the ship was
settling very fast, and suddenly she went down,
bow first, with all on board-at least all the
passengers, as about half the crew had gone in
the boats and left us to our fate. I saw aunty
just a moment before the ship went down, but
was powerless to save her, there being no life
preserver to be found in the stateroom or on
the deck, although 1 made every effort to find
one for her.
1 went down with the ship, believing it was
my last moment; but after being drawn down
by the suction of the ship, I came to the surface,
and, although encumbered with clothes,
managed to swim until I got hold of a floating
spar, although I was pulled under water twice
by some poor drowning person. After being in
the water over thirty minutes, I was picked up
by a boat from the ship that had ran into us,
completely exhausted, more dead than alive.
I was'taken to the Loch Earn with others,
which proved to be an English ship, and although
herself badly damaged by the collision
was yet able to keep afloat and save the few of
us who are now here to tell the sad story.
After being on board a few hours we were
transferred to the ship we are'now on, hailing
from New York to Bristol, England, commanded
by Capt. Urquehart, one of the noblest and
kindest hearted men that ever walked a
deck. There were only twenty-three first-class
passengers saved out of eighty-five, eleven
ladles and twelve gentlemen, the remaining
saved being steerage passengers, officers and
crew. Eighty-five In all, out of three hundred
and ten souls, were saved !
This Is one of the most terrible disasters that
has ever occurred on the sea, and never has a
ship that has been heard from gone down in so
short a time after a collision-only fifteen
minutes from the time she was struck until she
sank out of sight.
I will not try to write you any more, but will
give you fuller accounts when I get ashore. I
have lost all except the few clothes I have on,
and I am badly bruised and cut. I have one
cut under my jaw, over one inch long and very
deep, and several other smaller ones on my
face, body and limbs. I shall go to London,
thence to Paris, and as soon as I am rested and
my wounds healed I shall start for home, as I
know how anxious you will be to have me safely
back.
I hope you will not worry about me, for I am
doing as well as possible, and will write you by
every steamer. I shall probably, God willing,
start for home In about four weeks, as I have
promised to take charge of Mrs. Buckley, who
lost her only daughter, and also two Miss
Hunters, who lost father, mother, sister, and
are all alone in the world. It will take me, I
fear, at least weeks before I recover from my
injuries and recruit my strength. I do hope
you will not be distressed about me, for 1 am
with friends who will take good care of me; and
when I return I will come by the Cunard line,
which I think is the safest and best I will
write you again as soon as I get ashore, which
the captain calculates will be by Monday, Dec.
1st I shall go to London, and after I have a
surgeon look at and dress my wounds will go on
to Paris. I cannot tell you how sad the past
week has been, nor can I hardly realize that
poor aunty Curtis was indeed lost In that ill fated
ship.
You may be sure I shall return home as soon
as I am able to do so, as I can find no pleasure
in traveling, and my great desire now is to get
back home in safety. You know how I dreaded
to leave you all. I hope you are all well at
home, and pray God you may continue so, and
also that I may return to you in safety. I hope
that I may to the, future be more worthy of
God's kindness and your love, for I feel I have
been snatched from the jaws of death. I hope
to find letters from you in Paris. Good bye,
my dear parents, until my return to you and all.
Your affectionate son,
Le Grand C Cramer
Gravesite Details
First cousin 4X removed to D Peck below.
Family Members
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