Rochester’s Daredevil: Sam Patch (1799-1829)

Reposted with permission from Local History ROCs!

Readers of a certain age will remember Evel Knievel (1938-2007), known for various daredevil exploits (including an attempted jump over the Snake River Canyon). More recently, on June 15, 2012, Nik Wallenda walked across Niagara Falls on a tightrope, and five years later, his wife Erendira dangled above Niagara Falls by her teeth, 300 feet above the water. Daredevils have always been among us, but only one American daredevil became a legend in Rochester and then the nation — Sam Patch.

Sam Patch was born on June 17, 1799 in Reading, Massachusetts. Raised in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, he went to work in a local cotton mill at the age of 8. In his free time, he and his friends amused themselves by jumping into the water below the falls of the Blackstone River, a practice he continued into adulthood. Two decades later, he moved to Paterson, New Jersey, where in September 1827, he leaped the Passaic Falls, upstaging the celebration of an unpopular local businessman, Timothy Crane, who was dedicating a new pre-constructed bridge at the falls. He repeated the stunt on July 4, 1828 and again 15 days later.

Upon leaving Paterson, he began a career as a professional daredevil.  Having been invited by hoteliers in Niagara Falls, on October 7, 1829, he leaped 80 feet over the falls from a base on Goat Island. Ten days later, on October 17, 1829, he repeated the stunt, this time from a platform that raised the leap to 120 feet. On his way home from the Falls, he stopped in Rochester for his final jumps of the year.

Advertisement for Sam Patch’s last jump (Published in Rochester Daily Advertiser and Telegraph, November 12, 1829)

Both jumps were from the High Falls north of downtown. About 6,000 people watched as he jumped on November 6, 1829 from 100 feet above the river, preceded by his pet bear. Due to public interest, he announced that he would repeat the stunt one week later, on Friday November 13, 1829 at 2:00 PM from a stage which would raise the height to 125 feet. He also proclaimed that his pet bear would repeat the stunt one hour later. In front of a crowd of 10,000 people, Patch leaped from his platform, but lost his balance and landed sideways in the water, from which he never surfaced.

Saw Mill of Thomas Parsons (1860?). Brown’s Island, the site of Sam Patch’s leap from the High Falls into the Genesee River

Because his body was not immediately recovered, various legends grew up around Patch. Known as a hard drinker, it was believed by some that Patch had been drunk the day of the jump and that he had died as a result. Some believed that he had hidden behind the sheet of water of the High Falls and remained there until darkness fell, after which he made his escape. In fact, some were so sure he was alive that bets were placed that he would reappear before the start of the new year.

Such speculations came to an end on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1830, when his body was recovered from the Genesee River in Charlotte. His body was unrecognizable after months in the water, but several clues were used to identify the remains, including the black handkerchief he wore around his waist. Today his mortal remains are interred in Charlotte Cemetery, 28 River Street.

Sam Patch’s legend did not end with his death. Throughout the 19th century he was featured in tall tales, stage plays and children’s books. His name even became a polite epithet, “What the Sam Patch!” Today, his name adorns one of the river boats used for cruises on the Genesee.

Sam Patch river boat

Primary Sources:

“Another Leap! Sam Patch Against the World!” Rochester Daily Advertiser and Telegraph, October 29, 1829, p. 2, col. 5.

“Higher Yet! Sam’s Last Jump!” [advertisement], Rochester Daily Advertiser and Telegraph, November 12, 1829, p. 2, col. 5.

“Shocking Event! Sam’s Last Jump!” Rochester Daily Advertiser and Telegraph,” November 14, 1829, p. 2, col. 2.

“Sam Patch,” Rochester Daily Advertiser and Telegraph, November 28, 1829, p. 2, col. 2.

“Sam Patch,” Rochester Daily Advertiser and Telegraph, March 18, 1830, p. 2, col. 1.

Secondary Sources:

“Sam Patch,” in The Encyclopedia of New York State, ed. Peter Eisenstadt (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 2005), 1184-1185.

Paul E. Johnson, Sam Patch, The Famous Jumper (New York: Hill and Wang, 2003).

Ruth Rosenberg-Naparsteck, “The Real Simon Pure Sam Patch,” Rochester History 52, no. 3 (Summer 1991).

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