- Date
- 1889-11-02
- Kind
- Shipwreck
- Wreck of
- Francis Palms
- Eras
- Irish era
- Concepts
- shippingmaritimeshipwrecks
- Within
- Beaver Island archipelago
- Media
- Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision
Summary
A compiled Great Lakes vessel file reports that the schooner Francis Palms was lost in a storm on November 2, 1889, three miles northwest of Gray’s Reef near Beaver Island. The report is a useful identification lead, but the underlying contemporary casualty notice and enrollment have not yet been inspected.
Map conflict and evidence limits
The 1978 Historical Map instead prints “Princess Palms” in a three-vessel group
at Hog Island Reef. The compiled file calls that name erroneous and
places the casualty elsewhere. This event therefore has no took_place_at
point or wreck-site geometry, and Hog Island Reef remains only a related
conflicting map claim.
The event’s exact date and Gray’s Reef relationship are modeled at unverified
confidence until supported by a contemporary newspaper, Life-Saving Service
record, enrollment surrender, or federal casualty list. No cargo, master, crew,
loss-of-life, rescue, salvage, or remains claim is made.
Open questions
- What contemporary report fixes the casualty date and position?
- Was the crew rescued, and did any Life-Saving Service station respond?
- Did the vessel founder, strand, or break up, and is a wreck site known?
- What source led the Historical Map to “Princess Palms” and Hog Island Reef?
See also
Sources
- Compiled vessel entry dates the storm loss to November 2, 1889, and places it three miles northwest of Gray’s Reef near Beaver Island. It calls Princess Palms an erroneous name. No coordinates, contemporary article text, enrollment image, casualty report, crew list, or rescue outcome were inspected from the compilation’s coded references.
- Described in this archive: Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision.Prints “Princess Palms” with J. L. Case and Lafinire in a dagger-marked group labeled Hog Island Reef, eight miles due east. Independent evidence corrects the name to Francis Palms and conflicts with the shared location, so the map is treated as the research lead rather than proof of the casualty point.
Added 7 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Wreck of the Francis Palms, 1889”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/wreck-of-francis-palms-1889/, accessed [date], citing Great Lakes Shipwreck Files, “P,” Francis Palms entry, accessed 2026-08-07. (and 1 further source listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-07. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
BibTeX for “Wreck of the Francis Palms, 1889”RIS for “Wreck of the Francis Palms, 1889”