A major geological event occurred : Monday, December 16, 1811, at 2:30a.m. the earth shook . . . In the center of all this, in that area where the Ohio River meets the Mississippi, where Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois come together fantastic splits appeared in the ground and huge tracts of land were swallowed up. A few miles from the Mississippi, near the Kentucky-Tennessee border, a monstrous section of ground sunk as if some gigantic foot had stepped on the soft earth and mashed it down. Water gushed forth in fantastic volumes and the depression became filled and turned in a large lake, to become known as Reelfoot Lake in West Tennessee. The whole midsection of the Mississippi writhed and heaved and tremendous bluffs toppled into the muddy waters. Entire sections of land were inundated and others that had been riverbed were left high in the air. The Mississippi itself turned and flowed backwards for a time. It swirled and eddied, hissed and gurgled, and at length, when it settled down, the face of the land had changed. This was some information found regarding this earthquake. I thought I would share this. Does anyone know whose family bible this was recorded in? Vicky Hutchings wrote: > > Below is the posting to the Gibson County List which was posted last > week. > > Vicky > > -----Original Message----- > From: RTR [mailto:dixey@ix.netcom.com] > Sent: Saturday, December 05, 1998 2:58 PM > To: TNGIBSON-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [TNGIBSON-L] 1811 Earthquake > > I copied this from The Messenger, Union City, Tennessee, a newspaper > which > is on-line. > > 2:52:30 PM Saturday, December 5, 1998 > > Family Bible reports earthquake > > Family Bible reports earthquakes of 1811-12 > > By JOHN BRANNON > > Messenger Staff Reporter > > An old family Bible found in Dyer County recently may yield more > information > about earthquakes on the New Madrid fault that formed Reelfoot Lake > 1811-1812. > > "Any new account that no one has known about before is very important to > us. > We would like to come up and see it," said Arch Johnston, director of > the > Earthquake Research and Information Center at Memphis. > > The Bible's leather-bound cover is cracked and broken. Its pages are > brittle > and water-stained. A few pages are missing. Yet it's not in bad shape > for > the shape it's in. > > Pen-and-ink entries from the early 1800s are faded but readable. There > are > several pages of a family record of several generations. > > The Bible was given to Henry Dozier of Rutherford by his aunt, Janey > Somers > of Dyer, in mid-November. > > Dozier, an employee of Kellwood at Rutherford, said he immediately > noticed > the handwritten entries about the earthquakes. > > "I took a flashlight and went over it letter by letter and copied the > whole > thing down on paper," Dozier said. "I may have missed a letter or two, > but I > think I got it all." > > Here's what Dozier copied from the Bible: > > "December the 16th day 1811 > > this day there was an earthquake > > the earth received the First > > shock at two o'clock in the morning - > > at half past, another, > > and at 7 A.M., very severe, > > one at 10 A.M. another at 12, > > another at about 10 in the > > evening, another the 18th > > at Nine in the evening, > > another shock the 23rd, > > 4th of January 1812, > > there was two very scary shocks > > then But till the 12th of February in > > the morning at Six, this has been the > > severest shock we ever expericed" > > (Sentence structure, wording, and punctuation are repeated as they > appear in > the original.) > > Dozier doesn't know who penned the entry or where he or she was living. > That > information may have been contained in the pages that are missing. In > the > family record section, there is an entry, dated 1806, that has some of > his > ancestors living in Davidson County. > > "I just hope the information about the earthquakes will be helpful. It > might > tell us something about the next one to come," he said. > > Johnston said the accounts of the earthquakes may be very valuable to > modern > scientists. > > "Virtually all the accounts that we have say the Feb. 7 shock was the > strongest felt in the New Madrid region which would certainly include > West > Tennessee," Johnston said. > > "This wording makes it sound like it's the 12th of February. We'll have > to > check and see if there's any record of a strong after-shock on the 12th. > This gives a lot more detail on the other earthquakes than almost all > other > accounts we have." > > Johnston said a man in Louisville, Ky., kept "careful records" of the > quakes. "From December 1811 to March 1812 he totaled over 1,800 shocks," > Johnston said. "We think a magnitude 8 was the biggest." > > On the Richter scale that modern scientists use to measure earthquake > intensity, each full-point increase is 10 times greater than the last. > For > example, a quake measuring 5 on the Richter scale is 10 times greater > than a > quake measuring 4. Hence, it would be more destructive. > > When it comes to energy produced by an earthquake, how much is much? > Johnston said a magnitude-8 quake "is equal to a nuclear explosion of > over > 100 megatons." > > Hence, some of the strongest 1811-1812 quakes were felt as far away as > Boston where ground waves caused church bells to ring. > > "My best estimate is, there were three principle events back then," > Johnston > said. "Dec. 16, 1811, was the biggest. We estimate it would measure 8.1. > Then the next largest was a 7.8 on Jan. 23, 1812. Then on Feb. 7, 1812, > an > 8.0. All those are big quakes. Each had its own after-shocks. > > "Of course, there's an uncertainty on those estimates. There were no > (seismological) instruments back then. So our estimates are a plus or > minus > point-3." > > Johnston said seismologists believe the Tiptonville area rose and dammed > off > Reelfoot Creek, forming Reelfoot Lake. The total difference between the > lake > bed sinking and the Tiptonville dome rising was 12 to 15 feet. > > "That was from the Feb. 7 shock. We know that because we have two > riverboat > accounts that were in it," Johnston said. "One of them talks about being > swept back up the river. That's where the legend about the river running > backward comes from." > > Johnston said that he or some other professor will visit Dozier this > month > to see the old Bible for themselves. "I want to get the feel for > something > 200 years old," he said. "Also, I'm very intrigued about the Feb. 12 > entry. > Sounds like it most probably was an after-shock. We just don't have > anything > on that date at all."