South Central Alaska for the purposes of this website is that largest in area and contains the most wrecks. It includes the area W of Cape Spencer around the Gulf of Alaska and down the Alaska Peninsula to Unimak Pass and up into the Bering Sea NW to Cape Newenham S of Kuskokwim Bay. I have used NOAA International Chart 500 to map the losses. The locations of each wreck, given in longitude and latitude, are of the geographic feature nearest the loss, not of the wrecks themselves. I will leave that to those who visit the actual areas and seek out evidence of the casualties. I am adding the information alphabetically and putting a link here as I post.
( A ) ( B ) ( C ) ( D ) ( E ) ( F ) ( G ) ( H ) ( I ) ( J ) ( K ) ( L ) ( M )
( N ) ( O ) ( P ) ( Q ) ( R ) ( S ) ( T ) ( U-V-W ) ( X-Y-Z )
My late grandfather told his oldest son our father that he was on a ship that ran aground near the Homer area we assume because he claimed he stayed and worked in the mines in the area. I know of coal mines in the area.
He claimed to be born in Louisville, Kt. area in 1884. We know he was in the Tacoma area in 1917/1918 because he met and married our grandma. He was quite secretive and verifying any of the first paragraph has been impossible.
Does anyone know of crew records for the time frame of 1899 until 1916 that showed any person named Patrick M. Murphy surviving a ship running aground and possibly staying in Alaska mining? I know that question is a real shot in the dark!
There were many sailors named Murphy during that time period. James Murphy was the sole survivor of the loss of the Eacreet in 1899 and J T Murphy of Bowling Green Kentucky was the captain of the Jessie when it was lost in 1898. The coal barge Bydarky was lost while loading in front of the Bluff Point Coast Mine in 1916. That was very near Homer.
I haven’t looked at this site for years after my posting and I just did realizing you answered with a comment back in 2014.
Since I wrote my posting on 8/18/2014 I’ve come to realize our late father possibly didn’t get his facts straight with regard to his father named Patrick Michael (also seen Mickel) Murphy. It’s also possible his father skirted the truth somewhat possibly to avoid explaining his secrecy about his past.
We think he could’ve been older than he said he was, possibly had another family and/or kept his early life secret for other reasons.
Doing my DNA proved he probably was Irish like he claimed but didn’t help finding that side of the family.
Where did the boat go aground or did it? Was he in Coal Mines or Gold Mines in other areas? In other words these questions may never be answered?