“Extract of a Letter”
Date
1-24-1812
Newspaper
Norfolk Herald
Page and Column
Page 3, Column 1
Newspaper Location
Norfolk, Virginia
Serial Number
999
Abstract
Felt report from Suffolk, Virginia 20 miles west of Norfolk, Virginia for the January 23, 1812 earthquake. Time of the earthquake was 9:22 am(local time) and the duration was 8 seconds. Direction of the quake was from west to east as noted by an eyewitness who noted the motion seated in a chair. He and others left their homes upon feeling the shock and it was noted that it was felt “very sensibly by all” and that people complained of giddiness for several minutes after the quake.
Transcript
Extract of a from a gentleman in Suffolk. "SUFFOLK, 23d Jan. 1812. "This morning at twenty-two minutes past nine, the shock of an Earthquake was felt very sensibly by all the inhabitants of Suffolk. The writer of this was sitting by the fire with his face to the South, and the motion which the undulation gave, was by wavering his body on the chair from the West to East. Starting up, he exclaimed, "the house shakes," and moved into the street with three other persons who were in the room. The duration of this terrifying convulsive power did not exceed eight seconds of time, and all those who felt it complained of a giddiness for some minutes after the tremor of the Earthquake ceased."
Recommended Citation
"“Extract of a Letter”" (1812). New Madrid Compendium Far-Field Database. 969.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/cas-ceri-new-madrid-compendium/969
