“A curious crowd hung around the Mayor’s office where Weaver’s Remains were taken.”
“The mayor’s slate was blank Thursday morning not even an ordinance nor law having been fractured last night so far as is known. A large crowd, however, hung around the office for several hours in the morning the body of Samuel Weaver, which was found in the river, being taken there by the undertaker. The mayor was compelled to lock the doors to keep the crowd out while the body was being prepared for burial.”1
Recovered
“The body of Sam Weaver Discovered floating in midstream opposite the city by Thomas Cooper, at an early hour Thursday morning. Another body, that of Henry Rainer, found at Garrison Landing fourteen miles below the city.”
“The body of one of Saturday night’s drowning was recovered Thursday morning at 6:30 o’clock. The body was found floating in the middle of the river, opposite the wharfboat, by Thomas Cooper and his little son. Mr. Cooper lives in Kentucky, and was coming over to his work at the Burgess mill. The towboat, RM Matheson, was passing up the river, and Mr. Cooper waited a few minutes for the boat to pass in order to ride the waves. Directly after the towboat had passed, Mr. Cooper noticed an object floating about the middle of the river. He at once suspected that it was one of the drowned men, and rowed toward it. The body was floating high up in the water, and Mr. Cooper immediately tied a rope in the poor unfortunate’s coat button-hole, and towed it to the Ohio shore. The distorted body was easily recognized as that of poor Weaver by the missing thumb on the left hand, and other marks tallying with the description as published at the time of the drowning.”
“Coroner Davidson was immediately summoned. A thorough examination of the pockets of the drowned man left no doubt as to the identity of the remains. Several letters directed to Sam M Weaver were found in his pockets. In the inside coat pocket was a book containing five ten dollar bills and one of five. The watch of the poor man was found in his vest pocket and had stopped at twenty-eight minutes after seven which may be taken as the exact time of the awful drowning. A deed from the Terry’s for some East End property was also found. A copy of Saturday’s Enquirer, a package of tobacco, pip, several nails and screws and a purse containing a small amount of silver change were taken from his pockets by the coroner.”
“The body was very much distorted and the head was badly swollen and skinned where it had been rolled on the rough bed of the river. Appearances would seem to indicate that the body had been buried in the sand and had just recently risen to the top of the water. Perhaps the waves from the passing towboat caused the body to come to the surface. The body had been underwater five days and a night.”
“The body was taken to the mayor’s office and Undertaker Pfeiffer notified to take charge and embalm the remains. A messenger has dispatched to the King home on Tygart Creek to break the news of the sad finding.”
“The remains were taken down on the Reliance to St. Paul, Kentucky, in the afternoon and the funeral was held at the Elliott home Friday morning.”
“Word reached the city Thursday stating another body had been found at Garrison’s Landing, a short distance below Stone City. A telegram to Henry Elliott in the afternoon states that the body has been identified as that of Henry Rainer. He wore one boot and one shoe and answers in every particular to the description given of the younger brother. Mr. A. Jennings, who has taken quite an interest in the recovery of the bodies of the two Rainer boys, went down Thursday afternoon to take charge of the remains which will be taken to Frost, Kentucky, for burial.”
“The finding of the two of the bodies has caused considerable interest to be taken in the search and it is very probable that the other two bodies will soon be recovered.”2
A White Cap
“The Sabbath serenity was disturbed Sunday by several events more or less out of the ordinary. The announcement early in the morning of the drowning of four men in the Ohio Saturday night cast a gloom over the city. A mystery as to the identity of the fated ones gave an additional concern to the general public in the horrible catastrophe. Details were vague and indefinite, and not until late in the day was the suspense of uncertainty removed. Then it gave way to universal horror as the details of the terrible affair became known. It was a peculiar accident, and some circumstances made it particularly sad.”
Four young men on the threshold of life and anticipating special pleasures on the morrow, were suddenly and without warning removed from the world and summoned to their final accounting. The tragic method of their removal augmented the horror of what was without that feature, an awful contemplation.”
“The story is not a long one, not a complex chain of circumstances supporting the tragic climax.”
“The bodies of William Elliott, Richard and Henry Rainer and David Weaver lie lifeless somewhere in the bed of the Ohio river. All that friends and willing workers can do fails to wrest from the relentless waters their unfortunate victims. Their loved ones are robbed of the slightest satisfaction of according the remains a conventional burial, deprived of the tempering influence of a formal leave taking. The affair stands an emphasis on the uncertainty of life.”
“The story briefly is as follows:
“The four men above named attempted to cross the Ohio about eight o’clock Saturday night. Weaver, who is a stone mason, and while working on the Tygart’s bridge some years ago, married a Miss King, daughter of Captain King, has been visiting at the King home. Mrs. Weaver has been there for several weeks, her husband coming from Indiana, and joining her last Thursday. Saturday morning he came to Portsmouth after Mrs. Elliott, who was a brother-in-law of Mr. King. They were to spend Sunday at King’s, where there was to be an informal family reunion. When they got ready to cross the river, they found that the upper ferry boat had stopped running for the night. They attempted to hail the boat which was tied up on the other side of the river, but were unsuccessful. They then observed two boys, Frank and Harley Wales, running a trotline in the river near the ferry. They asked the boys to assist them over the river, but their boat was frail, and as the wind was blowing at a terrific rate, the boys refused to risk crossing. About this time two more men came up. They were the Rainer brothers, who had been purchasing groceries and other supplies in this city. They are from Schultz Creek, Kentucky, but for several months past have been in the employ of Jack Cropper, engaged in getting out railroad ties in Kentucky, just this side of Tygart creek. They have built a shanty there, and come to Portsmouth to lay in supplies every few days. They also discovered that the ferry boat had tied up for the night, and were attempting to make some arrangements to cross the river. The four men then proceeding on up the river bank encountering Frank Byers and Dudley Donathan, two young boys who were also fishing. These boys thinking that there were but two men agreed to row them across the river in their john boat. They rowed up to the ferry landing and found four men there. The boys suggested that they make two trips as the boat was very small and rather frail and there was a high wind. The men insisted on all going over together and they jumped in. The boat went all right until it struck the channel about 100 yards from the Kentucky shore. Here there current was swift and the wind struck them with full force. The boat suddenly capsized and the six occupants were thrown into the river. The boys are unable to remember distinctly what happened. They managed to reach the upturned boat and clinging to it attract attention from the shore by their yells. Byers says that he saw the arms of one of the men above water for an instant and then they disappeared. It was rather dark and they could see but a short distance from the boat. The Wales boys who had refused to make the hazardous trip heard the cries and started to the rescue.”
“Two men names Johns and Nichols who were camping on the Kentucky shore were also attracted and the two boats reached the half-conscious boys in time to save them. One boat rowed the boys to the Ohio shore and took them to their homes on East Front street, while the other boat searched for some trace of the four missing men. They caught the boat a short distance down the river and found traced of the packages carried by two of the unfortunates. They contained some groceries, two hats, a necktie and some minor articles. Additional help was summoned and a semi-systematic drag of the river was commenced. This was kept up all day Sunday, but not the slightest trace of the bodies was discovered.”
“Two more exemplary and worthy young men than Will Elliott and Sam Weaver would be hard to find. Elliott had been one of the trusted employees of B Augustin3, the Front street wholesale grocer for over three years, and was esteemed by them as an honest and upright young man. He was 25 years old and unmarried. In appearance Elliott was about six feet tall, very dark hair and complexion, smooth face and had a small scar on the back of his neck. His aged mother lives at St. Paul, Lewis county, Kentucky. Mrs. JM King45, of Frost, is his sister. Mr. Elliott was known to be an excellent swimmer, but his brother-in-law, Mr. Weaver, was unable to strike a lick in the water. Mr. Weaver was 36 years old and was married six years ago to Miss Amanda, daughter of Captain Elliott. They had no children. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver came up to visit their sister, Mrs. King, last Thursday. Mr. Weaver formerly lived in his city and owned property on North Waller street. He had been at Tunnell, Indiana, for several months and it was his intention to go to Cincinnati Monday morning where he had accepted a position as foreman with Patterson & Shipman, the well-known contractors of that city. Mr. Weaver was a master mechanic and stone mason, and put in several of the culverts and bridge foundations on the C & O a few years ago. He moved away from Portsmouth last September. He was a member of the First Presbyterian church. Mr. Weaver was born in Nova Scotia, and has no relatives in this section with the exception of one brother who is in the drug business at Columbus.”
“In appearance Weaver was 5 feet 10 inches in height and weighed 160 pounds. He had light hair and a light mustache. The thumb on one hand thought to be the right, is missing. He wore a dark gray suit. The two men left the Legler house together Saturday evening at 6:30.”
“The other two unfortunate men were the Rainer brothers, Dick and Henry, living at the mouth of Tygart. They were very sober and industrious young men, and had been working for Cropper some three or four weeks. They originally came from Jackson county. Dick, the oldest, was married only a short time ago, and leaves a young wife to mourn his loss. They came over to the Ohio side Saturday evening to get paid off. They were never known to be drunk. One of them was a good swimmer but the other was perfectly helpless when in the water. They were about 30 years old. A reward of $25 each has been offered for the recovery of the Weaver and Elliott bodies.”6
- A Curious Crowd. (1895, May 18). Portsmouth Times, p. 1.
- Recovered. (1895, May 18). Portsmouth Times, p. 1.
- Bernard Augustin Sr.
- James M King
- Octavia Bragg King (nee Elliott)
- A White Cap. (1895, May 18). Portsmouth Times, p. 2.
