Norwich bulletin., 1922-08-16
WRECK SURVIVOR REACHES
 HER soTH BIRTHDAY

HER SO1H blhI f7OAr II
 Mrs. Priscilla Adams of IA Broad way, one of the two remaining sur 'vivors of the wreck and burning of the | City of New London in the Thames | River on November %, 1872, celebrat ed her 90th birthday Tuesday at her | home. many Norwich friends calling ] on her during the day, others send ing flowers, or cards, among them being Rev. Richard R. Graham now | in Maine.
 Mrs. Adams thoroughly enjoyed the day and met many of her callers and | talked with them. Of the terrible dis { aster of 1871 she could recall only a | few incidents, memory having failed 1 to hold them throughout the years.
 The name of the other living sur vivor she could not remember, but other incidents of the wreck on the Thames are told of in the columns of the Bulletin of November 23, 1871 in part as follows:
 Shortly after o'clock on the morn ing of the 22nd word reached this city of the terrible disaster on the Thames, i rlImors running wild telling of a large loss of life which were later proved to be false, although 17 lives. were l lost, of the fl souls on board the City l of New London. l The City of New London, a freight and passenger boat owned by the l Norwich and New York Transports ! tion Company was headed for Nor | wich from New York when fire was | discovered in the kitchen as the boat | lay fDg-bound off Montville. The fire | had been started by a red hot poker l laid down by a cook, which had set l fire to woodwork near by. On board ! besides miscellaneous cargo were some l 300 bales of cotton. The crew of the boat immediately fought the stubborn l blaze and after it was evident that the l fire had been eXtinguished the boat l continued up the river and about 6 o'clock had reached a point opposite Poquetanuck. Here fire was again dis 1 covered, this time in the cotton on l board, and soon the fire was beyond I control.
 The engines were stopped and the boat slowly drifted into the cove and 1 grounded near Walden's Island. Cap
 tain William R. Brown running his
 ship ashore when he saw it was inn
 possible to save the boat from the flames.
 People on board rushed to the sides
 of the boat and jumped into the icy waters below, r losing their lives, 24 being saved after trying battles against the tide and freezing tenn perature of the water.
 l Among those from Norwich who l were passengers on the boat were 1 William T. Norton, H. K. Hammond
 C. B. Rogers, J. c. Palmer, Harry 1 Aldrich, Mrs. William P. Adams and
 Chauncey Johnson of Norwich. Those . lost in the disaster were MT. Nor ton, MT Aldrich, of Norwich, William . P. Ely of Hamburg, Ct, Matthias W
 Baker of this city, 1st engineer of the , boat, Henry Dugan of New London
 and others of the crew of the ship. Mrs. Adams story of the disaster
 was tod as follows. After the boat was <; 1 discovered to be on fire, MT. Morton :. took me onto the forward deck where , i MT. Harvey met. Another young Mat }, 1 thias w. Baker of Norwich. came uI l and put life preserver on me. low l cred myself over the rail and stoot , | on the side of the boat, until MT ? Baker and the men with me made m, ? jump, because the flames were al ready scorching our clothing and ther' ' 1 was no other means for escape. l wa ' | in the water for one half an hour un : til rescued by Captain Smith and hi ' mate, who carried me to the home O l. Captain Champlin on the west banl
 of the river Here they did everythini l, possible for my comfort. supplyin l, me with clothing and necessities, fo l. which I am deeply indebted. l sal
 no more of MT. Norton after he lief me on the upper deck. when Mir. Bake e tied the life preserver on me, and tol ', me to jump, he jumping with me, say n before we jumped into the water. " - can't swim much, but with Gods hel
 I'll keep you up as long as 1 can.
 MT. Baker was lost, having given m
 the only available life preserver O l. the boat.
 n His deed has no superior in tn $, heroic deeds of history. Working q T. his post until impossible to remain h s seized a life preserYer and was safl ,e Seeing a lady on board with no visi
 ble means or support he took off hi
 preserver and fastened it about m
 and then sprang into the water onl a to lose his life.
 'D NIT. Norton, NJ. Rogers and Mir. Al
 drich other passengers on board wit
 me were seen no more, their bodie es being found later by searching partie
 who secured the river in hopes to fin
 more survivors.
 For many. years Mrs. Adams keI
 he life preserver that no doubt brougl
 her safely to shore, but recently gay CT it to John H. Perkins whose unc ce lost his life in the wreck.
 ne Mrs. Adams was born in Essex. c Ia August Is, 1882, the daughter of M!
 rick and Lucy A. William ManwariT 4, and is the widow of William P. Adam