Evidence
11 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-11).
-
[1]research packet mk-packet.md (10 sources cited) [other_primary]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-essex-ix10-pkt-mk-packet-md
-
[2]DANFS, 'Essex III' (ScStr) - verbatim transcription (live NHHC DANFS page returned 404 on 2026-09-29, same link-rot pattern documented in BATCH-01) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS 'Essex III' entry, full text
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS documents this hull: wooden screw steamer, 1,375 tons, 185 ft x 35 ft x 14 ft 3 in, 10 kts, armament 1x11-in, 4x9-in, 1x60-pdr; built by the United States and Donald Mackay at East Boston, Mass.; commissioned at Boston Navy Yard 3 October 1876 under CDR W. S. Schley; North Atlantic Squadron with a Liberia/west-Africa cruise (1877), South Atlantic Squadron (1878-79), Pacific Station (Nov 1881-Dec 1882), Asiatic Station two years (rescued the crew of the shipwrecked Ranier), return to Asiatic Station June 1886 with October protection of American missionaries at Ponape; out of commission New York May 1889; Annapolis cadet cruise 1893 and apprentice-training tours 1894-1898 and 1898-1903; loaned to the Naval Militia of Ohio 1904-1916; Ninth Naval District 1917-1926; Naval Reserve of Minnesota training ship from August 1927; stricken 27 October 1930; sold 23 December 1930.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1876-1930
- Population
- Crews, 1876-1903; Ohio Naval Militia trainees 1904-1916; Ninth Naval District personnel 1917-1926; Minnesota Naval Reserve 1927-1930
- Limitations
- Verbatim transcription of the official DANFS entry hosted on a mirror; the live history.navy.mil page 404'd, so the canonical NHHC URL still needs re-locating (standing NHHC link-rot note, per BATCH-01). Entry carries no asbestos, insulation-material, complement, or launch-date information.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-essex-ix10-01
-
[3]National Register of Historic Places / NRIS record 94000342, 'USS Essex Shipwreck Site' (listed 1994-04-14; NPS NPGallery asset) [nps]
- Locator
- NPGallery AssetDetail NRIS 94000342; nomination by Steven R. James, Jr., Panamerican Consultants, Inc.
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The USS Essex Shipwreck Site is a listed NRHP archaeological property (NRIS 94000342, listed 14 April 1994, Duluth, St. Louis County, MN; address restricted). Significance per NRIS: criteria in information potential, architecture/engineering, and event; areas maritime history, engineering, non-aboriginal history; significant years 1876 and 1931; architect/builder credited as Donald McKay.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1994 (listing); significance years 1876, 1931
- Limitations
- NRIS metadata only - the full nomination text is not digitized in NPGallery (the two posted assets are the one-page NRIS record); the nomination's adapted text is carried separately (ev-uss-essex-ix10-03). No asbestos, materials, or hazard content in the record. Address restriction is NPS's own control for a documented looted site; coordinates are therefore not carried in this record.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-essex-ix10-02
-
[4]Minnesota Historical Society, 'Lake Superior Shipwrecks: U.S.S. Essex' page set (Historic Description; Construction and Career; Description of the Wreck Event; Post-Depositional Impacts; Present Description; Significance) - adapted from the NRHP nomination by Steven R. James, Jr. [other_primary]
- Locator
- MNHS archived shipwreck pages, essex/essex.html, esshd.html, esscac.html, essdwe.html, esspdi.html, esspd.html, esssig.html (archived March 2022)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Nomination-derived record documents: construction authorized under the Act of 10 February 1873 (eight war vessels, aggregate not over 8,000 tons, four to be built by lowest responsible bidders); McKay won contracts for USS Adams and Essex, built to identical dimensions and tonnage; keel laid 1874, machinery contract to Atlantic Works, launched 1876; out of commission New York Navy Yard 15 January 1885 and 11 May 1889, Norfolk Navy Yard 13 June 1893, Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard 6 April 1898 and 5 December 1903; loaned to the Naval Militia of Ohio 1904-1916 (Toledo; 1904 transit conducted mainly under sail because the engines were in poor condition); reactivated in the Ninth Naval District in World War I; transferred to the Naval Reserve of the State of Minnesota in 1927; in 1928 the ship was housed over, the engines removed, and used as a receiving ship for the U.S. Naval Reserve and Minnesota Naval Militia at Duluth; stricken 27 October 1930; sold 23 December 1930 to A. J. Klatzky of Klatzky Iron and Metal Co. for $400 after a 17 December offering; towed to the lake side of Minnesota Point 13 October 1931 and fired with 200 gallons of kerosene/oil on 14 October 1931, burning to the waterline; remains winched further ashore to expose the bottom.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1873-1931
- Population
- Construction trades (McKay yard, East Boston, 1874-76; Atlantic Works machinery); Toledo naval militia 1904-1916; WWI Ninth Naval District personnel; Minnesota Naval Reserve 1927-1930; Klatzky Iron & Metal scrappers 1930-31
- Limitations
- Adapted secondary-formatted rendering of the NRHP nomination text hosted by a state historical society; contains two internal inconsistencies - the builder's yard is styled 'Kitter Navy Yard, East Boston' (no such yard name; McKay's yard was East Boston, which DANFS controls) and the overview page dates the sale 'Nov., 1930' while the wreck-event text and DANFS give 23 December 1930. Contains no asbestos or insulation-material statement.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-essex-ix10-03
-
[5]Minnesota Historical Society, 'U.S.S. Essex - Present Description' (nomination-derived; 1992 site investigation) [other_primary]
- Locator
- MNHS archived page esspd.html (Present Description) and esspdi.html (Post-Depositional Impacts), 1992 survey data
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- The wreck site at Park Point, Minnesota (~one-third mile northwest of the Superior Harbor entrance jetties) consists of a 50-foot length of hull bottom partially submerged in ~4 feet of water: portions of keelson, rider keelson and sister keelsons, frames to the turn of the bilge, ceiling and hull planks, and a machinery mount. Fastening is copper-alloy drift bolts with lignum-vitae plugs. Relic collectors have removed fasteners with chain saws, axes, and pry bars.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1992 survey; post-depositional impacts to present
- Population
- Relic collectors/recreational public (contemporary site exposure)
- Limitations
- Documents what physically survives: timber structure, copper-alloy fastenings, one machinery-mount remnant - no insulation-bearing systems are present in the archaeological record. The absence of machinery/insulation in the wreck is consistent with the documented 1928 engine removal and 1931 burning, but the nomination contains no asbestos or materials-content statement; absence of documentation is not evidence of absence aboard during service.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-essex-ix10-04
-
[6]Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources, 'Preservation of Historic Shipwrecks, Lake Superior' - final status report (1993) [other_primary]
- Locator
- LCMR final status report 1991_03h.pdf, section A.5 (p. 2 of report extract)
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- State of Minnesota LCMR final report documents the May 1992 field survey of USS Essex (with Hesper, George Spencer, and Amboy) under the federal Abandoned Shipwrecks Act implementation, which produced the National Register nominations; describes Essex (1874-1931) as a 185-ft wooden gunboat burned and sunk in shallow water near Duluth, the only naval vessel sunk in Minnesota waters, and nationally significant for its Donald McKay association.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1991-1993 (project); survey May 1992
- Limitations
- Documents the survey/nomination provenance and statewide significance; contains no asbestos, insulation, or materials-content information. 'Burned and sunk' is a loose description - the documented sequence (ev-03) is towing to the beach, burning to the waterline, and winching the remains further ashore.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-essex-ix10-05
-
[7]Merriman, A., & Olson, C., Maritime Heritage Minnesota, 'USS Essex Shipwreck Assessment 2011' (filed with the Minnesota Office of the State Archaeologist) and 'USS Essex Shipwreck Assessment 2013' (archive.org/details/EssexReport2013IA); Minnesota Legacy grant project 'Developing a Plan of Action to Preserve the USS Essex' (2010) [other_primary]
- Locator
- archive.org items UssEssexShipwreckAssessment2011 and EssexReport2013IA (full text); legacy.mn.gov project page
- Finding type
- environmental_record
- Finding
- MHM has assessed the NRHP wreck annually since 2007; the 2011 and 2013 reports document shifting sand burial (including a June 2009 USACE dredge-spoil event that buried the site), keelson and frame deterioration from ice/wave/sand erosion, a metal pipe alongside the keelson dislodged since 1988 imagery, and ongoing human looting - condition monitoring of surviving timber-and-fastener remains only.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2007-2013 (assessments to date)
- Population
- Site visitors/relic collectors (contemporary)
- Limitations
- Condition monitoring of archaeological remains; contains no asbestos, hazmat, or materials-content statement and does not address the service-era hull. The 2010 MHM preservation-plan deliverable (Minnesota Historical and Cultural Grant) is referenced but was not located online - carried as an archival lead in ev-uss-essex-ix10-09.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-essex-ix10-06
-
[8]Navy Department / GPO, 'Standard Nomenclature and List of Vessels, U.S. Navy, July 1, 1920' - implementation print of General Order No. 541 establishing standardized hull-classification symbols [other_primary]
- Locator
- archive.org scan of GPO 1920 printing (UC-NRLF copy), prefatory note + vessel lists
- Finding type
- regulatory
- Finding
- The 1920 GPO list documents the General Order 541 hull-symbol scheme under which this hull is designated IX-10 (Unclassified Miscellaneous). The digitized printing does not itself carry the Essex entry - militia/reserve hulls on loan were thinly covered in the July 1, 1920 list - so the specific IX-10 assignment printing in an official register was not located in digitized form.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- context
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1920
- Limitations
- Establishes the classification system and era only; does not itself name this hull. The exact IX-10 assignment date (secondary sources give 17 July 1920, the GO 541 effective date) is unverified against an official printed register - Ships' Data Book 1921/1922 editions are the archival lead.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-essex-ix10-07
-
[9]USS Essex deck logs - U.S. Navy official records, held at NARA (RG 24) with copies via U.S. Naval Academy; ~50 volumes digitized by Maritime Heritage Minnesota (Internet Archive 'essexlogbook' collection, logbooks #1 through ~#62 covering 1876-1919) [other_primary]
- Locator
- Internet Archive identifier LogBookOfTheUssEssexOctober31876-March311877 + related essexlogbook collection items
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- A substantial run of this hull's official deck logs exists and is digitized (logbook #1, 3 October 1876 - 31 March 1877, through the WWI-era volumes), digitized under Minnesota Legacy grants from NARA/USNA-held originals. These are the primary-source path for machinery alterations, refits, and shipboard conditions - including whether insulation/asbestos materials ever appear in the records.
- Verification
- unverified
- Role
- archival_lead
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 1876-1919
- Population
- Ship's company, 1876-1919 (log entries)
- Limitations
- Archival lead, not an executed search: the digitized logbooks were identified but not read this pass for insulation/asbestos mentions. Unverified as evidence of any materials condition; the logbook series ends in 1919, so the 1920s receiving-ship era and 1928 engine removal are not covered by the digitized run.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-essex-ix10-08
-
[10]Batch-4669 search ledger (this record): DANFS/NHHC transcription; NPS NRIS 94000342 + NPGallery assets; MNHS nomination-derived shipwreck pages; LCMR 1993 state report; MHM wreck assessments 2011/2013; GPO 1920 nomenclature print; CourtListener opinion/docket sweep [other_primary]
- Locator
- search_ledger rows sl-uss-essex-ix10-01 through sl-uss-essex-ix10-09
- Finding type
- historical_record
- Finding
- No qualifying ship-specific asbestos record located: no asbestos survey, abatement contract, hazmat disclosure, materials analysis, or docketed case naming this hull was found in the public sources searched (see search_ledger). Bounding facts are documented - construction (1874-76) predates widespread marine asbestos use, the machinery was removed in 1928, and the hull was burned to the waterline in 1931 - so the surviving site contains no insulation-bearing systems.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Absence of a located public record does not prove absence of asbestos in service (particularly for 1904-1928-era insulation renewals, which are undocumented) and does not establish or defeat any claim of exposure or legal eligibility. Does not address crews' shore-side or other-ship exposures.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-essex-ix10-09
-
[11]CourtListener API v4 sweep, 2026-09-29 (authenticated, fleet-paced helper): "USS Essex"+asbestos opinions = 0 results; "USS Essex" opinions = 2 results; "IX-10" opinions = 101 results [court_record]
- Locator
- cl-auth-search.py runs 2026-09-29; result JSON retained in session scratch
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- No qualifying asbestos litigation naming this hull was located. The asbestos-qualified name search returned zero results. The two opinion hits for the exact name 'USS Essex' are courts-martial (United States v. Nichlos, NMCCA 2014; United States v. Painter, NMCCA 2022) - criminal cases arising on a later ship of the name (this hull was destroyed in 1931), classified as name collisions / other litigation. The 101 'IX-10' hits are string collisions (exhibit numbers, citations, and codes inside opinion text); none names this vessel.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- negative_finding
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-29
- Study period
- 2026-09-29
- Limitations
- Search-index coverage: CourtListener opinion and RECAP indexes are not exhaustive of all state/federal filings; the hull name 'USS Essex' is shared with CV-9/CVA-9/CVS-9 and LHD-2, so any genuine hull-specific result for this vessel would still surface under the exact name. The opinion-level sweep is complete; the RECAP docket query timed out / was paced out during this session - logged as pending in the ledger. A ship destroyed in 1931 also substantially predates the asbestos-litigation era.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-essex-ix10-10