Watertown Herald (Watertown, NY), Saturday Oct 20,1894

Last week’s Herald contained a brief account of the loss of a schooner near the mouth of the Little Sandy pond. It was the Hartford, bound from Detroit to Cape Vincent with a cargo of 22,000 bushels of wheat. She was owned by W..A. Consaul, Mr. McKisley and Captain William O’Toole of Clayton. The latter was in command of the schooner and was accompanied by his wife and a baby girl six months old.

The Hartford was first seen trying to work out of the bay, and was laboring heavily in the big seas that came down the lake before a fierce gale from the northwest. Mrs. Eugene Bartlett was the first to see the vessel. She was heading directly for the breakers, when the crew hauled her up and attempted to work her off shore. Three times she careened over and the angry waves seemed to roll clear over her. Three time she righted. Then a sea apparently larger than the others struck her on the port side, and she went over on the beam end and the main mast and topmast were out of her. Before she could right herself two other heavy seas struck her and she appeared to be filled with water. Suddenly with one plunge the vessel went down head first into the storm tossed lake, and the angry waters rolled over her. She had foundered and not one of the crew was left to tell the tale. When first seen the vessel was about a mile and a half on two miles from the beach. She had been put about and the crew were making a gallant effort to work her out into the lake and away from the breakers, which could be plainly seen. But there has never yet been a sailing vessel that has be able to work away from the long stretch of sandy beach that marks the shore line of Mexico, bay in the teeth of a northwest gale, and the Hartford has followed others of her class that have attempted it. All without exception have foundered or been driven out into the in breakers and quickly destroyed.

The name of the lost are: Captain William O’Toole, his wife and six moths old baby of Clayton; Richard Seymour, mate and Micheal Purcell of Clayton; Dennis McCarthy sailor, Oswego; unknown. Unknown seaman of Grindstone Island; unknown seaman. The body of the infant came ashore.

The wheat was insured for $13,000 and was for Farell & Rhine of this city the vessel left Detroit on Saturday.