Judith Vinson gave permission for me to forward this to the Rutherford co., TN lists. Her relative, William Vincent was living in Rutherford co., TN at the time of the New Madrid Quakes. She plans to transcribe William Vincent's journal. Hope this is not too far off topic, and is of some interest. Rebecca Christensen << Subj: Re: [NCBERTIE] Vinson Diary Date: 11/8/01 12:55:14 AM Central Standard Time From: texaslil@flash.net (judith) To: NCBERTIE-L@rootsweb.com Dear Virginia and List, My sincerest apologies for not keeping in touch. My mother passed this summer and I've been trying to get her affairs in order. Perhaps right away I'll actually get some of the transcribing done. To complicate matters, a query I sent out two years ago was finally answered from the Center for Earthquake Research and Information at the University of Memphis. (Type this in a search engine for some fascinating info, maps, and pics on ongoing quakes in the mid-south and the US.) William Vincent b. 1779 Granville Co NC. recorded three major earthquakes and 13 lesser ones in his journal that struck TN in the last week of 1811 and the first week of 1812 in TN. They are known as the New Madrid Quakes of 1811-12. (The university of Memphis has been studying them for the last twenty years.) The epicenter was in MO, but they were of such magnitude that the later San Francisco Quake could be considered child's play. They were felt all over the eastern seaboard and said to have even made the church bells ring in Boston. Much of the hilly topography of AR along with natural lakes is said to be a result of those quakes. William's account was different on two or three of the quakes, if memory serves, compared to the information on record at the University of Memphis. They seem to be trying to discover how far the various shocks were felt and at what magnitude. I have been trying to transcribe his notes as well to record what he "felt" in middle TN. (william was in Rutherford Co TN) It might come as a suprise that the main shocks were of a magnitude of 8.1, 8.0, and 7.8! According to the University of Memphis records, the magnitudes, (* main shocks), and approximate times (+/- 20-30 min.) were: M8.1* 16 Dec. 1811 @ 02:15 AM M6.6 16 Dec. 1811 @ 03:00 AM M5.9 16 Dec. 1811 @ 07:15 AM M7.2 16 Dec. 1811 @ 08:15 AM M6.2 16 Dec. 1811 @ 10:00 AM M7.1 17 Dec. 1811 @ 12:00 NOON M5.6 16 Jan. 1811 @ 11:00 PM M7.8* 23 Jan. 1812 @ 09:00 AM M5.5 23 Jan. 1812 @ 11:00 PM M6.3 27 Jan. 1812 @ 09:00 AM M6.2 04 Feb. 1812 @ 05:00 PM M8.0* 07 Feb. 1812 @ 03:45 AM M6.3 07 Feb. 1812 @ 08:00 PM M7.0 07 Feb. 1812 @ 10:40 PM M6.5 10 Feb. 1812 @ 04:00 PM M6.5 11 Feb. 1812 @ 06:00 AM As one can see, these were major events in the history of earthquakes. The New Madrid Earthquake of 1811-12 is still the largest ever recorded in the contiguous United States. (San Francisco was only 7.7) Apparently there was little damage done inasmuch as there were probably few buildings of more than two stories although quite a number of chimneys were lost. William's report of the shocks was a rather matter of fact narrative of the times and severity of the events. He seemed more in awe than anything else, or else our ancestors were made of sterner stuff. He titled the page: "An Accomplishment of the Great Earth." Sorry to digress, but I've wondered how such natural events may have shaped our history. I promise to get parts of the journal out soon, even if it's piecemeal. Again, sorry to be so tardy. Regards, Judith Vinson >>