Norman Barry, a retired Gymnasium teacher from Bad Schussenried,
Germany, has unearthed many interesting items that relate to "John
Maynard" directly or peripherally. Follow the links below to see a
sampling of them.
ALGER
Transcription of
"How I Came to Write "John Maynard" by Horatio Alger, Jr., from The
Writer (Boston, Mass.), Volume 8, 1895, pp. 182-183 and scan of the original Writer
article
Biographical
information about Horatio Alger, Jr., in Wikipedia.
A report of an 1872
recitation of "John Maynard"
A 1920 newspaper inquiry about
Alger's poem.
"Philosopher of Folly's Column"
reporting on the words of Alger's poem. Cleveland Plain Dealer,
May 3, 1946, p10.
An article in "Everybody's
Corner" of the Philadelphia Inquirer of June 26, 1921, reporting the
verses of Alger's "John Maynard," but attributing them to
"anonymous."
An article about a woman who is
trying to remember the words to old Vermont folk songs. "John
Maynard" in the form of Alger's verse is one of them. The
Springfield Sunday Union and Republican, Dec. 4, 1932.
An article from The Omaha
World Herald, September 12, 1909, p. 14: Fond memories of reciting
"John Maynard, A Ballad of Lake Erie," by Horatio Alger, Jr.
GOUGH
TWO Heroic
Helmsmen: John Bartholomew Gough's prose version of "Brave John
Maynard!" alongside an anonymous prose version of "Brave James
Maxwell." The FIRST John Maynard ballad by "Josephine." And an
unusual portrayal of Maynard on the bridge, and not at the helm -- all
found in The British Workman, No. 107, November, 1863
A report of a lecture on John Maynard by
John Gough (see below) in The Living Age, Volume 67, Issue 856,
October 27, 1860, held at Cornell University Library.
Remarks to be read at the memorial service for John
Gough, "Distinctive Traits of John B. Gough," 1886
A report of a lecture on John Maynard by
John Gough (see below) in The Living Age, Volume 67, Issue 856,
October 27, 1860, held at Cornell University Library.
"The Power of Habit," a story
with a moral, about a trip by John Gough from Buffalo to Niagara Falls
published in The Royal Gallery of Poetry and Art: An Illustrated
Book of the Favorite Poetic Gems of the English Language, the Choicest
Productions of Authors, Living and Dead, for the Uncrowned Kings and
Queens of American Homes, (New York : N. D. Thompson Publishing
Co., 1886), including images of the cover of the book, the dedication
page, and the title page.
"The Labors of Mr. John B.
Gough," the story John Gough's extensive travels in 1847, published in
New London Democrat of New London, Connecticut, Saturday,
February 12, 1848, Vol. III, No. 48, Whole No. 152, p. 1, c. 3.
"John B. Gough in England," John
Gough on the virtues of water, published in The Portage County
Advocate, Wednesday, September 13, 1854, Ravenna, Ohio, New
Series: Vol. I, No. 24, First page.
LINDEN
Lexikon deutscher Frauen der Feder contains
information about Luise Förster, the poet who, under the
pseudonym Ada Linden, wrote a poem about John Maynard in German.
See the title page of this book, the Linden/Förster bibliography in this
book, and the Luise Förster biography in this
book,
Norman Barry's translation
of the title page and the Luise Förster biography in Lexikon
deutscher Frauen der Feder.
The preface to Aus der Stille, a book of poetry by Ada
Linden -- a transcription
of the original German and Norman Barry's translation into English.
Information about Luise Förster from the Municipal
Archives in Mönchengladbach in the original German and
Norman Barry's
translation into English.
Ada Linden's poem "Das Gebet der Mutter" or "The Mother's
Prayer," as transcribed, collated, and translated by Norman Barry.
English. German.
DICKENS
Who Wrote
"The Helmsman of Lake Erie?" An Examination of Two Candidates: Charles
Dickens and James Fenimore Cooper
An article from
Cleveland's Plain Dealer (June 9, 1963, pp. 10, 12, 13) that
starts with an anecdote about Dickens's impressions of Lake Erie
before turning to a scientific discussion of the lake.
Charles Dickens, who has been
considered as a possible author of "The Helmsman of Lake Erie," writes
about his visit to Niagara Falls in 1842
RAPP
"John
Maynard - Lake Erie Hero," by Marvin A. Rapp, published in Inland
Seas, a journal of the Great Lakes Historical Society, in the
spring of 1956 (Vol. 12, pp. 3-15).
Norman Barry's
transcription of "John Maynard - Lake Erie Hero," by Marvin A. Rapp,
published in Inland Seas, a journal of the Great Lakes
Historical Society, in the spring of 1956 (Vol. 12, pp. 3-15).
Norman Barry's comments on
the Rapp article: "John Maynard Research in 1956: A Review of 'John
Maynard - Lake Erie Hero' by Marvin A. Rapp."
A newspaper article entitled
"Great Lakes Hero Lives on in American Folklore," published in The
Herald Express (Saint Joseph, Michigan) in 1956 summarizing an
article written by Marvin A. Rapp in the spring 1956 issue of the
journal Inland Seas.
Marvin A. Rapp's obituary
from the Buffalo News.
HISTORY OF THE STEAMSHIP ERIE
This is Chapter VI, "Burning of
the Erie," from A Twentieth Century History of Erie County,
Pennsylvania: a narrative account of its historic progress, its
people, and its principal interests by John Miller, published in
1909 by Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago.
"A Steamer of Four Seasons:
The Short, Precarious Life of the Steamboat Erie" in which Norman
Barry comments on newspaper articles that mention the Erie between
1838 and 1841.
A painting of the Steamship Erie held by the National Gallery of Art
in Washington, DC.
A HUMOROUS PARODY OF "JOHN MAYNARD"
This
parody is posted on the website of the Gesellschaft zur Stärkung
der Verben (Society for the Strenghtening of Verbs). Norman Barry has
translated it (but with normal English verbs) for those who don't read
German. The German
original. The English
translation.
CALCULATING THE ERIE'S LOST AND SAVED
NEWLY REVISED! "A Question of Figures: New Material
on Calculating the Erie's Lost and Saved" by Norman Barry.
NEW! An interesting story of a Coin
found on the body of one of the painters on the Erie, contributed by his descendent, Rick Lux.
BACKGROUND -- STEAMSHIPS, GREAT LAKES, IMMIGRANTS, COMMUNICATION
"The Loss of the George Washington
Off Silver Creek in 1838." Certain "coincidences" demand our
attention: for example, the conflagrations of the George Washington
and the Erie. A compilation by Norman Barry of newspaper articles
about the George Washington disaster.
"The Lessons of the
Lexington." Captain Titus of the Erie testified that he thought of the
Lexington as he decided what to do when the fire broke out. A
compilation by Norman Barry of newspaper articles about the burning of
the Lexington.
Originally published in the
Buffalo Daily Journal, the July 15, 1840, article in the
Wiskonsan Enquirer (Madison, WI) has a nice description of the
Erie's "speed" back in 1840: "Three Hundred Miles a Day".
A steamboat schedule that
gives us an idea of how long it took to cross the ocean in 1845, from
Milwaukee Sentinel, May 2, 1845
An 1840 New-Yorker
article that will help you get a "feel" for the state of steamship
navigation around the time of the Erie disaster
A short book excerpt that
provides a sense of train travel during the "John Maynard" era
A small 1840 New-Yorker
article called "Steamboat Outrage"
An 1848 Scientific
American article about the Great Lakes
A description of the
"Conflagration of the Phoenix, Sept. 5, 1819"
An article about the sinking of
the steamship Alabama in Lake Erie in The New York Times,
August 30, 1854
An 1845 newspaper article
about the development of the telegraph system
A silly poem illustrating the
enterprising spirit of new German settlers moving in to tame the West,
followed by an article about a steamboat in Cairo during a flood.
An article in the April 1893
issue of The New England Magazine (Boston), Vol. 14, Issue 2
(pp. 237-257), by Frederick J. Shepard entitled "The City of
Buffalo."
"Navigation and Winter Ice
on Lake Erie from 1821 to 1845, with References to Water Levels
(With an Appendix of Newspaper Clippings dealing with Lake Erie and
Buffalo Harbor)" -- an essay by Norman Barry.
A photo of a model of
Walk-in-the-Water, the first steamboat on Lake Erie, and a story about
it from the Buffalo News, contributed by William Paine.
LIFE PRESERVERS AND PLANKS
Norman Barry has
collected some articles about life preservers and related topics.
An 1845 newspaper article
that demonstrates the value of life preservers at that time
SALVAGING THE RUINS OF THE STEAMER ERIE
Thirteen Years Afterwards: The
Buffalo Democrat Remembers by Norman Barry
An 1845 newspaper article entitled
"Ruins of the Steamer 'Erie.'"
THE TIT-BIT PRIZE
NEW! A version of the story of John
Maynard that won a prize from TIT-BITS. Published Sat, 12 Nov. 1881:
TIT-BITS from all the most interesting Books, Periodicals and
Newspapers in the World, p. 9, c. 1 (until 1886, located in
Manchester; afterwards, London).
THE PULPIT -- SERMONS ON JOHN MAYNARD
"A report of an inspiring talk
given to children on Children's Day by Rev. Dr. Samuel P. Sprecher,
who mentioned the story of John Maynard as an example of a good deed
that will endure forever. It was published in the The Cleveland
Plain Dealer, June 15, 1891.
A news report about a lecture on
modern chivalry given by Rev. E. H. Chapin. It contains a reference
to the Helmsman of Lake Erie. Syracuse Daily Standard, December
18, 1854.
A news report about a sermon
on the immensity of human capacity given by Mr. Hepworth. It begins
with a reference to the story of John Maynard. New York Herald,
April 19, 1875.
An excerpt from "Devotion to
Duty," a sermon by Rev. J. H. Dingle, found in Central Somerset
Gazette, Dec. 31, 1915, p. 2, c. 2.
NEW! An excerpt from "Gap Men," a sermon by
Rev. Dr. Cheever, found in The Congregationalist, June 6, 1856,
p. 1, c. 4, published in Boston.
RECITALS
A newspaper report of a meeting
of the Association of Elocutionists at which there was a recitation of
"John Maynard" in The Irish Daily Independent (Dublin),
Saturday, March 31, 1894.
A newspaper report of an oration
of the story of John Maynard at a celebration by the Order of Red Men
in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Thursday, May 13, 1869, page 2,
column 3.
OTHER INTERESTING ITEMS
A 1903 article recounting the
story of the wreck of the steamer Erie, with historical inaccuracies
noted by Norman Barry.
A portrait of Emil
Rittershaus, author of "Ein deutsches Herz"
Emil Rittershaus poster
stamps advertising a soap factory!
An 1855 article about the death
of Captain Titus, along with a related poem and article
A mention of the Erie
disaster in Harper's New Monthly Magazine in 1871
A mention of John
Maynard in a short biography of Gene Stratton-Porter
Rummagings, 4: John Maynard
in Leacock's Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town
by D.M.R. Bentley
A 1900 suggestion that John
Maynard should be included in a "Hall of Fame"
"Ach! Wer ist John Maynard?"
An article by George Condon about how few Americans know about John
Maynard, Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 20, 1972, p17.
This is a follow-up to the
article above, with more about "John Maynard," Cleveland Plain
Dealer, May 3, 1972, p17.
"The Last of the 'Mascot'"
by C. C. Converse -- another story about a helmsman on Lake Erie,
with a transcription
by Norman Barry. It was published in the Philadelphia
Inquirer, December 17, 1893.
"The Wreck" -- another
Lake Erie story by C. C. Converse. It was published in the The
Inter Ocean Illustrated Supplement (Chicago, Illinois), Nov. 19,
1893, page 5, columns 2-4.
A failed attempt to link
Jim Bludsoe and John Maynard, published in the The Sunday
Herald (Boston), August 27, 1905, Magazine Section.
Vestiges of a long- forgotten tale
that, somehow, just does not die....? A mention of John Maynard found
in The Storm Lake Pilot (Storm Lake, Buena Vista County, Iowa),
January 14, 1874.
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