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Register of the Culver (William B.) Memorial Scrapbook of
the Shipwreck of the Ville du Havre,
1873-1874
Mss169
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Table of contents
Title: Culver (William B.) Memorial Scrapbook of the
Shipwreck of the Ville du Havre,
Date (inclusive): 1873-1874
Collection number: Mss169
Creator:
Beverly Hodghead
Extent: 0.25 linear ft.
Repository:
University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Department of
Special Collections
Stockton, CA 95211
Shelf location: For current information on the location of
these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language: English.
Collection is open for research.
[Identification of item], Culver (William B.) Memorial Scrapbook of the
Shipwreck of the Ville du Havre, Mss169, Holt-Atherton Department of Special
Collections, University of the Pacific Library
On November 22, 1873 at 2:00 a.m. the steamship Ville Du Havre (formerly
named Napoleon III) of the French Atlantic line, running between New York and
Le Havre, collided with the British ship Loch Erne, travelling from London to
New York. Of the approximately 226 crew and passengers, only around 87 were
saved. According to newspaper accounts the Ville Du Havre spotted the lights of
the Loch Erne through the fog with minutes to spare.A Second Lieutenant and the
Captain tried to turn the ship in time but they received a full hit at
mid-ship. The Ville sank in twelve minutes drowning many passengers in their
cabins. A mast fell, hitting a craft filled with those who made it to the deck
and killing many more. The captain had a first lieutenant swim to the Loch Erne
for help, and although the latter had also been badly damaged and had drifted
half a mile away, she sent over three craft to pick up survivors.
The Chicago papers emphasized the 11 Chicagoans killed in the wreck. It
is of interest that Mrs. H.G. (Anne) Spafford travelled with her four children,
another child in her care (William B. Culver) and a nanny. Mrs. Spafford was
the only one to survive in her party. Wm. B Culver was the twelve year old son
of B.F. Culver, President of the Lincoln Park Commissioners. The boy was being
escorted by Mrs. Spafford on his way to school for a few years in Germany. He
was to be placed under the charge of his grandfather, the Reverend William
Barry. Barry was formerly of Chicago, and once Secretary of the Historical
Society.
The scrapbook, inscribed "Wm. B Culver" on the cover, is probably a
memorial to Culver, created by a family member. Newspaper clippings in the
scrapbook report varying accounts of the event, provide the names of survivors
and those who died, speculate on the cause of the collision and whether the
crew had acted appropriately to avoid the hit. The accounts also report on
prominent figures who died in the collision, including Judge Rufus W. Peckham
of Albany, New York (1810-1873) and Collodion, a caricaturist.