This old newspaper article was attached to the back of an old watercolor painting in my Mother's home. The painting depicts the ship Alfred D. Snow which went down with all hands off the coast of Ireland in 1888. The first mate, P.H. Sullivan, was a great-great-uncle on my Mother's side. Below are the text of two articles found behind the painting. The old news paper articles are in poor shape, some words are missing - I did the best I could to preserve the contents of the stories below:ALL HANDS LOST
Wreck of a Thomaston Ship on the Irish Coast.
The Alfred D. Snow Goes Down with All on Board.
Capt. Wiley's Wife One of the Victims of the Wreck.
DUBLIN, Jan 5. - The vessel Alfred D. Snow was driven ashore and wrecked today, in Herryloch Bay, at Arthurstown, county Wexford. The crew were drowned. The bodies of the captain and three of the crew were recovered.
London, Jan. 5. - It is now known definitely that the vessel wrecked near Waterford, Ireland, was the American ship Alfred D. Snow, Capt. Wiley, which left San Francisco Aug. 31st, for Liverpool. The ship was lost in Herrylock Bay, off Arthurstown at the entrance to Waterford Harbor. There is no doubt that every member of the crew perished. The ship's papers have been recovered.
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 5 - The American ship Alfred D. Snow whose loss is reported from Waterford, Ireland, was one of the Nevada Bank's fleet of wheat ships. She departed for Liverpool, Aug. 3d last, having been cleared the day previous by William Dresback, the leader of the "bull" clique in the later wheat deal. The crew consisted of Capt. W.H. Wiley, first mate P.H. Sullivan, second mate John Child, and 26 seamen.
Capt. Wiley's wife accompanied him on the voyage. The cargo of wheat was valued at $95,000 and insured. The Alfred D. Snow was owned by T. W. Chapman & Co., of Thomaston, Me. She cost $115,000 and was fully insured in Eastern companies.
[The Alfred D. Snow was built in Thomaston in 1877, where she hails from. Her dimensions are as follows: Length, 232 feet; breadth, 42; depth, 21; and her gross tonnage 2075. -ED.]
Extract from Liverpool paper given by Capt. Hodgkins Jan. 1888.
Captain of a Station Life Boat Charged with Cowardice
Details of the Wreck of the Alfred D. Snow
Public Inquiry into the Matter to Be Made.
New York, Jan. 11, 1888. A special from Waterford Lt., to the Herald says the wreck of the American ship Alfred D. Snow of Maine can be seen at low water lying on its side on the shoal. Five bodies, including that of the captain, have been recovered as they washed up in the harbor. Among the crew, according to a list found in a memorandum book in the captain's pocket, were Capt. W. J. Willey, John Willey, son of the captain, Thomas McMahon, A.H. Slack, P.H. Sullivan, John Lermond and Robert Barter, all of Maine; P.J. Ledger of New York, George F. Dornes, F.W. Firham of Connecticut, John MacDougal of Vermont. John Johnson of Chicago, James Harrison of Massachusetts, Kellogg of Michigan and James Schoaer of New York.
At the opening of the inquest it appeared that the captain of the station life boat, on the morning of the wreck refused to put the boat out, on the ground that the weather was too rough, in which he was supported by a few of his crew, but the majority wished to proceed. In the port of Danmore, a short distance away, were some Manx fishing boats, whose crews insisted on taking on the life boat in spite of its captain by force, and assisted by the consenting members of the life boat's crew. They pulled ot the wreck while the storm was its fiercest, but the delays made them arrive too late to render any assistance, the crew of the Snow being one by one swept away by the waves, in the very sight of the succoring boat. The latter pulled around the wreck, but fruitlessly. The cowardly captin of the life boat is in danger of being lynched, while the Manx crew are being made heroes of. The body of Capt. Willey has been embalmed, and will be sent to Thomaston, Me.
Owing to the above serious allegations, the committee of the local branch of the National Life Boat Institution held a meeting yesterday to consider the advisability of holding a public inquary in the matter, which was decided on.
The funeral over the remains recovered was impressively held yesterday, and the whole town may be said to have mourned the sad fate of the strangers.
The body of Capt. Willey of Maine, who was drowned by the wreck of the ship Alfred D. Snow on the Irish coast, has been embalmed and placed on board the steamer City of ?? sailed from Queen ??
Interesting reuse of the ship in Ireland...
The fully air conditioned Alfred D. Snow Bar at the Ocean Hotel is named after the ship Alfred D. Snow which floundered off our coast in 1888 and whose timbers were used in the original construction of the pub in 1890 where they still remain today. The walls of the bar abound with writings on the history of that ship.Labels: Sullivan
My grand father was William Austin Sullivan,son of Maurice,brother of Lawrence T.
Thank-you so much for all the effort you have put forth.Would enjoy more of Lawrence's scrapbook.My father Maurice often told us he was his favorite Uncle.Three of the five boys in my Dad's family graduated from the Maritime Academys and spent their careers at sea.
Kathleen Sullivan Shluzas