From The Daily Astorian, Sunday, March 5, 1882:

• Captain and Mrs. Vessey, of the foundered bark Corsica, will return to England overland from San Francisco, leaving here on the next steamer. Their visit to Astoria will doubtless be remembered by them for years to come … Their little babe, born on the ill-fated ship while lying in this harbor, is to be baptized in the Presbyterian Church this morning by the Rev. J. V. Milligan, and the name bestowed is Astoria Vessey.

Note: The 13-year-old British barkentine Corsica left Astoria Feb. 21, 1882, and ran hard aground while crossing the Columbia River Bar under tow by the tug Astoria during heavy seas. The vessel foundered about 12 miles southwest of Cape Disappointment.

Capt. Vessey’s wife and infant were taken off the ship and returned to Astoria on the Astoria. The tug Fearless stayed with the bark until midnight, when the order was given to abandon ship. By then, the Corsica had 10 feet of water in the hold. It sank out of sight the next morning around 5:30 a.m.

While Capt. Vessey and his family escaped unscathed, they lost both the ship and the cargo. Accordingly, the citizens of Astoria held two benefits — one for the captain, and one for his wife — that raised a “handsome sum.”

Another report in The Daily Astorian mentioned one of the crew members, who was not as fortunate: “Hogg … has been locked up in the Portland jail for being crazy. It is supposed that he was drugged by shanghaiers, yet his diary, which is full of notes concerning the wreck of the bark, shows that his mind has been greatly troubled over the misfortune of his vessel.” (Painting: Ivan Aivazovsky)