AH-WR-1962

M.J. Cummings

Schooner · Lost 1894 · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

The three-masted schooner M.J. Cummings sank off Milwaukee in the great storm of May 1894; six of her eight crew died in the rigging.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1874, the three-masted schooner M.J. Cummings arrived off Milwaukee on May 18, 1894, bound from Buffalo to Racine. In worsening weather her master chose not to enter the harbor. Her anchors broke loose and she drifted toward the beach south of the piers. The crew began cutting a hole to scuttle her, but her stern struck bottom and drove the rudder into the hull, and she sank at once in 18 feet of water. The crew clung to the rigging; a life-saving lifeboat attempt failed, and six of the eight were lost.

Vessel

Built: 1874
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: May 18, 1894
Cause: Storm
Location: Off the beach south of the Milwaukee harbor piers, in about 18 feet of water
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Buffalo, New York → Racine, Wisconsin
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 6
Master: Not established