Sam Patch, the Famous Jumper

Rochester officials could not recover Sam Patch’s body, and rumors that the jump had been a hoax spread quickly. Many believed that he had swam to safety and hidden until crowds dispersed. A few days after the fatal leap, a letter apparently signed by Patch appeared on the door of a Rochester tavern, promising a triumphant reappearance a few days later. Although a crowd showed up on the designated day, Patch was nowhere to be seen. A few weeks later, a long letter appeared in a Boston paper written by a man claiming to be Patch. The letter claimed that Patch had stood safely in the crowd while a dummy wearing his clothes and weighted with rocks was tossed over the edge. The real Patch apparently waited in the crowd to feel his fans’ grief before leaving Rochester forever.

Stories persisted for years, even after Patch’s corpse was found seven miles away near Lake Ontario in March 1830. Although his face was badly damaged, his distinctive jumping clothes were still recognizable. Patch was buried in a small plot near the spot where his body was found. His epitaph read “Sam Patch—Such is Fame” (162).

Johnson notes that Patch was famous for only the last few years of his life and that his fame after death was much more significant.