Twenty-six of the over fifty passengers were killed and all but two of the survivors were injured. When the Ada Hancock finally released its last gasp of air a huge bubble came up from its grave on the bottom of the bay. A great wave rocked the Senator moments after the ship exploded. General Banning and his family were thrown off the stern and injured but he lived long enough to realize a great portion of his dream for San Pedro Harbor.Īfter the explosion the ship sank right away. In either case the explosion blasted the deck house, wheel house, and valuables into the air and whatever didn't go straight up went forward through the crowd on the deck killing many of them including Captain Seely. One of the boilers had exploded, or was it the barrels of gunpowder that had been loaded on earlier that day and had not yet been off loaded. Bodies and debris rose into the air as if in slow motion. When he looked again to the ship it exploded. He watched for a short period of time and then he says he stepped back to let a crewmember pass and while his eyes were diverted he heard gunshots. When finally boarded the ship backed away from the dock and proceeded towards him. One of the passengers who saw the affair said that the ferry had cast off and then gone back in to pick up a passenger. About a thousand yards out, roughly half way to its destination the Ada Hancock suddenly blew up to the horror of all those who awaited her on the decks of the Senator. The Ada Hancock then turned away again and chugged its way out towards Dead Man's Island and the anchored Senator. It turns out that Louis Scheslinger was also a Wells Fargo messenger but not working at the time. The dockhand said that Scheslinger was very angry. Later a Mexican deck hand reported that the man was Louis Scheslinger, a man he knew well on the docks. Some of the crew tossed out a line and by hand pulled the ship into the pier so the man could be boarded. The vessels lines were cast off and the ship had started to swing away from the pier when a late border ran up and demanded to be put on the ship. Clouds hung over the harbor and it is said there was a chill in the air. The ships papers, passengers' valuables, and the Wells Fargo messenger's gold were safely stored on the Ada Hancock's bridge for the short run out to the anchored Senator. Included on this last voyage were Captain Seely, General Banning and his family, many well-wishers for the party, and a Wells Fargo messenger named William Ritchie. Captain Seely had bumped into General Banning on shore and in the course of their conversation Seely agreed to assist in the transporting of a group of Bannings friends along with the other passengers to the deck of the Senator for a gala bon voyage party. The steamer was set to leave early that evening for San Francisco and was awaiting the arrival of its own Captain Seely who was on shore taking care of last minute details. On Apa coastal steamer named the Senator was anchored off Dead Man's Island in Wilmington Bay. Ada Hancocks duties were to transport cargo and passengers out to the anchored steamers. This 85-ton double prop ship was once called the Milton Willis but a new coat of paint and its brass bright and shiny made it a proud member of the Banning Fleet. One of these ships was the trim 65' Ada Hancock. together a small fleet of ships to alleviate this problem. The wreck of Ada Hancock almost cut his dream short.įor years the steamers had to anchor a mile offshore and row their cargo and passengers ashore. His dream was to develop San Pedro Harbor into the finest harbor on the west coast. Banning had come to California from Delaware in 1851 and had set himself up in the freight and passenger business between his dock and Los Angeles. A man named Timms located in the town of San Pedro owned one of the docks and the other located in the town of Wilmington owned by General Phineas Banning. In the 1860's Los Angeles Harbor had but two docks and neither the docks nor the harbor entrance were large enough to accommodate the deep draft of coastal steamers. Lost Gold of the Ada Hancock By Land ~ Sea Discovery Group Staff Reprints from the Los Angeles Star of May 2, 1863.
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