Stevenson’s account of the first New Madrid earthquake in 1811 shows how he perceived the first in a series of quakes that began in the wee hours on Dec. 16, 1811. The Methodist minister was ...

The first of these three major earthquakes began at about 2.15 a.m. on December 16, 1811 and was followed ... of lives and property for an earthquake like in 1811-12 is unimaginable.