A Clevelander Mentions The Recent Lady Elgin Disaster

(LADY ELGIN MARITIME DISASTER). AL. 4pgs. September 16, 1860. Cleveland, Ohio. A handwritten, unsigned letter mentioning the PS Lady Elgin disaster, which had occurred eight days before. The unidentified writer also tells a cousin about school and family matters. The city has been thrown into a very melancholy state by the loss of the Lady Elgin and over three hundred lives, quite a number of them were coming to Cleveland to the celebration on the 10 ins the pleasure of that day was almost counterbalanced by the loss of life. The Lady Elgin was a steamship that sank in Lake Michigan on September 8, 1860, killing about 300 people. The celebration to which the writer refers honored the 47th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie (a War of 1812 naval battle) and unveiled a statue of the battles hero, Commodore Perry. The letter is in very good condition, with deep folds.