Evening Star Newspaper, May 7, 1933, Page 72

reé Ry T A ———— THE SUNDAY STAR, iASHlNGm, ‘D, €, MAY 7, 18 MARRIAGE AND ITS ODD SUPERSTITIONS At Least Six Presidents Were Not Afraid to Have Ceremonies on Saturday—Recalling Dramatic Incidents of Historic Sea Disaster. BY JOHN CLAGETT PROCTOR. “Monday for wealth, Tuesday for health, Wednesday the best day of all; Thursday for crosces, Friday for losses, Saturday no luck at all.” ECENTLY, when the writer obeerved a Saturday afternoon wedding, the fore- going lines came to his mind, and the thought occurred to him that things were gradually changing all around, even in nuptial matters, for only a short while back, it would seem, few would get married on the last day of the week for fear some- thing awful might happen during his or her married life. Nor has this old superstition entirely disap- peared, for many people, even today, prefer “wednesday the best day of all” to the other days of the week, and yet, as a matter of fact, a ocheck-up on the divorces granted in this city and elsewhere would undoubtedly show that so far as the granting of legal separa- tions is concerned the question of the day upon which the parties were married cuts no figure at all. However, in looking up the marriage days of some of our prominent Americans, past and present, we find that many conveniently avoided Saturday, while others, including George Washington, disregarding the old saying, married en the last day of the week. John Quincy Adams married Louise Catherine John- son on a Wednesday; William Henry Harrison, when he married Anna Symmes, November 22, 1795, selected Sunday; John Tyler, in his first marriage, with Letitia Christian, chose the unlucky Saturday, but lived a happy married life of about 28 years or until her death in the White House shortly after Mr. Tyler became President. For his second wedding day, when he married Miss Julia Gardiner of New York, while he was still the Chief Executive, he se- Jected Wednesday. President James K. Polk was married to Sarah Childress on a Thursday; Andrew John- son and Eliza McCardle were married on Sat- urday; Gen. Grant and Miss Julia T. Dent -preferred Tuesday. President and Mrs. Ruth- erford B. Hayes, after thinking the matter over, chose Monday, and Garfield and Lucretia Ru- dolph were married on Thursday. President Arthur, who lost his wife a year before he en- tered the White House, was married on Sat- urday, October 29, 1859. Arthur's bride was Miss Ellen Lewis Hern- don, daughter of Willlam Lewis Herndon of Predericksburg, Va., whose death was a tragic one, while he was on detached service, as cap- tain of the Central American, which floundered and went down when four days out from Havana, Cuba, and bound for New York with & large cargo of freight, including about $1,600,000 in specie and with about 600 pas- sengers on their way east from California The vessel was not regarded as especially seaworthy. It was built in New York in 1833, and was first named the George Law. In an account of the disaster transmitted to The Star by one of the passengers and published September 19, 1857, it is said: “We left Havana September 8, having had @elightful weather and a calm sea from the time of leaving Aspinwall. In the afternoorn of the day of sailing from Havane, a fresh breeze sprang up, and on Wednesday morning, the ninth, it commenced blowing very strongly. The gele continued all day, and at night. it was still increasing and raining in torrents. “On Thursday the wind blew a complete hurricane and the sea ran very high. Through Friday the storm raged with unabating fury, and at 11 am. it was first known among the passengers that the steamer had sprung a leak ’ .and was making water fast. A line was formed and all the men went to work bailing from her engine room, the fires having been already extinguished by the water. After some hard work we gained on the be able to get up steam 0 for only a few minutes, OLD seeking has always had its allurements and its incidental hardships and calami- ties. Many aboard this vessel were from Vir- _ginia and Maryland, not far from Washington. ‘They had been to the California gold fields and some were returning home with what in those days was considered a fortune. However, un- fortunately, upon this occasion, when the crisis came and the ship plunged to the bottom of the sea, many tried to save the gold they had concealed on their persons and died in the attempt to do so, through the added weight, no doubt, of the metal. Capt. Herndon, who was a graduate of the Naval Academy, and at that time a lieutenant in the United States Navy, because he was not then needed for active duty in the Navy, was allowed to take command of the privately-owned Central America, and the chances are that he was well acquainted with the Virginians aboard who went down with the ship as well as those who lived in our immediate vicinity, since he lived here at the corner of Twentieth and H Marriage of Presiden: Cleveland and Miss Frances Folsom, Wednesday, June 2, 1886. streets northwest, where he was employed in the Naval® Observatory. A more extended account of this thrilling disaster says: “On Friday morning, in the height of the blow, the engineer discovered that the ship, which was rolling heavily in the trough of the sea, had sprung a leak. He reported it imme- diately to Capt. Herndon. “By Saturday the ship laid over so much that Capt. Herndon, with the engineer, had to crawl along the decks to reach the after pumps for inspection. Everything that experience could suggest or the extremity of their condition devise was discussed by Capt. Herndon, the mates and engineer. The fires were extin- guished by the increasing leak and early on Saturday it was clear to the experience of all that there was no hope for the ship. “During the moming the brig Marine hove in sight and early in the afternoon bore down to the ship, passing under her stern. Capt. Herndon spoke her, requesting her to lay by and take passeagers, which she consented to do. ‘The engineer was at this time with Capt. Hern- don, who then desired him to give his par- ticular attention to the transfer of the ladies and children to the boats. “Capt. Herndon inquired of Mr. Ashbv if he was armed. He replied that he was—with a knife. Capt. Herndon said he would endeavor to obtain pistols, one for himself and one for Mr. Ashby. This was for protection against any interference while insisting upon prece- dence to ladies and children. Three boats were got afloat, one put in charge of the boatswain and the other two each in charge of a quarter- master. Capt. Herndon ordered the engineer not to suffer a single male passenger to leave in the boats until all the ladies and children were transferred, and he believes this ofger was strictly carried out. The boats returned and visit the brig and urge ucement whatsoever, to to the ship and also use of any baat he might have Algernen Sartoris and Nellie Grant, at the period of their wedding m she O MEFTRE | SRR T ¥l o~ olal s ey 1] IPON arriving oan board the Marine, Mr, Ashby at omce applied to the mastex, Capt. Burt, urging him to make sail for the ship. and then for the first time learned that the brig had lost her mainyard and could mo§ Carry any more eanvas than she had upon her, He then asked for the use of the brig’s boat and was informed that it was in a condition unfit for use and would not live five minutes in such a sea. “While conversing with the master the boat< swain again left for the ship and Mr. Ashby called upon the seamen who had come from the ship to man one of the boats with him and return for passengers. This they positively re= fused to do, declaring that the ship would go down before they could get to her. One man only offered to go with the engineer, but it was impessible in such a sea t> manage the boat. It turned out as the seamen had said, for the ship went down soon after the boatswain’s boat reached her. “In contrast with the above, Capt. Badger has given his opinion. He is unwilling to express any opinion as to the cause of the disaster which shall impute blame to any one. He s, however, very emphatic in speaking of the Cen= tral America as staunch. She was perfectly sound, was not strained by the force of the sea and, in his opinion, did nct spring a leak. 1% seems clear from his statement of the circum- stances that thé engines stopped before these was any considerable amount of water in the .Vessel, and that this could not have been owing, _therefore, to the extinction of the fires by the water. It seems dwe rather to the lack of & proper supply of coal. Whether this was the fault of the men whose business it was to paas it, we have no means of judging: but this fact certainly ought to be within the knowledge of the engineer, as #t was his business to sce that coal was supplied to furnish all the stcam that was needed.” Of the final scenes, the statement goes o to say: ““The passengers continued to bail until with- in an hour of the Central America’s disap- pearance. Life preservers were then given out to them. ‘The ship sank at 8 o'clock. Capt. Herndon stood upon the wheel, and was heard to say that he would never leave the ship. No one who knew the gallant commander could ever imagine that he would. The final scene took pilace more suddenly and at an earlier pyrlod than her unfortunate passengsr an- .ticpated. All at once the ship made a plunge nwmhor&m.andthmm-p- 1 A simultaneous shrick of agony rose from 500 human throats, and 500 human beings were left floating on the bosom of the ocean, with no hope but death. from the Central America’s passengers were heard; and the Ellen hove-to under short sail. And now the task of rescuing those who had been able to survive in the water for nearly five hours was commenced. By 9 o'clock a.m., 31 men were rescued. - Diligent search was ‘made until 12 o'clock, but no more survivors could be seen, 30 the Ellen bore away for Nor- folk, where the passengers rescued by her, ag well as those taken off by the brig Marine, were placed on board the steamer Empire and conveyed to New York. At the 80 to press, no others are known to ha saved, except those picked up by Marine or sent in boats to the bark Central America of 585 souls.” molmmndmwn,spe.flud' the bravery and marvelous composure of other passengers and the crew said: “Suffer me ;to pause a single instant in this. slidanatr y t o v o8 ieThi