Roanoke Beacon
7 Jul 1899
All On Board Rescued Except an Infant Which Went Down With the Ill Fated Steamer
The Str. Mayflower which plied between Plymouth and Windsor, a mail, passenger and freight boat, left Plymouth on Friday afternoon last heavily loaded with freight and passengers. When making the second bend in the thoroughfare she began to list, and being round bottomed without sufficient bearings for her upper work, the Captain was unable to stop her on the keel, and despite his best efforts to throw her up, she went over and sank to the bottom.
Some of the passengers saw the situation in time to escape by climbing on the high side, but many of them, especially those in the saloon, went down with the boat and came near being drowned, but luckily all were saved except one infant, which in the excitement, was hurled from its mother’s arms by falling furniture and perished in the saloon.
After the passengers and crew had been placed on shore, Capt. DAVENPORT, with two men, went to Sans Souci to get boats and wraps that he might take care of the women and children and convey all to the nearest house. Â Before his return Capt. HAYSE and others came out to the Roanoke where they hailed the Str. Pettit, which went in and took the half frozen passengers and crew, bringing them to Plymouth.
The sympathies of our people are with the officers and company in this misfortune, especially to Mr. and Mrs. RUSSELL, whose baby was consigned to a watery grave.
Capt. DAVENPORT has been in charge of the steamer for a year or more, and has had some rough experiences in her, but he seemed to have confidence in her, though many considered the boat rather unsafe, especially in rough weather.
Just what caused this deplorable accident perhaps may never be known. There has been conflicting reports about the matter, hence we have no authority to state the cause, or who, if any one was responsible for, or to blame; we believe however, as a majority do, that it was purely an accident.
Capt. HAYSE had just come over that afternoon to relieve Capt. DAVENPORT, who had orders from the company to turn the steamer over to him. Â Both of these gentlemen were in the pilot house at the time of the accident.
Wreckers are at work getting the boat up. The body of the baby was found yesterday and turned over to the grief stricken parents for interment.