CALAMITOUS COLLISION.

The Raritan River Disater---Four Persons Drowned---The Coroner's Inquest and Verdict---Nobody to Blame.

Late on Monday night, 21st inst., a frightful calamity took place in the raritan River, at a place called Point-no-Point, Middle Grounds, some distance below New Brunswick. The tug Bordentown left New Brunswick for New York on the night of August 21, having in tow fourteen canal boats. On one of the boats were Captain Thaurman, his sons George and Henry, and his daughter Annie. About one o'clock on the morning of Tuesday the 22d, the propeller Annie, Captain Steen, of the Wilmington and New York Freight line, came into collision with Captain Thaurman's boat, sinking her almost instantly. All four of the Thaurmans were drowned. After the disaster the Annie kept on her course, passing New Brunswick without giving notice of the calamity. She came back from Wilmington on Friday, passing through New Brunswick at ten o'clock in the night. She started back from New York on a second trip and reached New Brunswick on Tuesday morning. Meanwhile the Coroners of Middlesex county claimed the case and there was likely to be a conflict of authority over the four dead bodies. This happily for decenfy sake, was avoided, and the inquest took place before Coroner Paradin, of New Brunswick. After spending all of Tuesday in taking testimony the case was adjourned till last evening, when

A VERDICT

was reached, as follows:----

That the said CHRISTIAN THAURMAN, GEORGE THAURMAN, HENRY THAURMAN and ANNIE THAURMAN were drowned in the Raritan River, in the county of Middlesex, on the morning of Tuesday, the 22d of August, by the accidental collision of the boat CHRISTIAN THAURMAN which was in tow of the steaming Bordentown, with the steam propeller Annie, of Wilmington, Del., and, in our judgement, no such negligence as amounts to crime can be attributed, under the evidence to any person.

New York Herald, New York, NY 31 Aug 1871
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Transcribed by Linda Horton. Thank you, Linda!