Jay, Ohio, USA: Silent vessel with passengers — 1858
Alerted by a sudden shadow over the place where they were standing, several witnesses
including Mr. Henry Wallace are said to have looked up in time to see “a large and curiously constructed vessel, not over one hundred yards from the earth.” A number of very tall people were seen aboard this craft, which the recorder of the event believes was “a vessel from Venus, Mercury, or the planet Mars, on a visit of pleasure or exploration, or some other cause.” Mr. Wallace reportedly added: “The vessel was evidently worked by wheels and other mechanical appendages, all of which worked with a precision and a degree of beauty never yet attained by any mechanical skill upon this planet (…) This was no phantom that disappeared in a twinkling…but this aerial ship was guided, propelled and steered through the atmosphere with the most scientific system and regularity, about six miles an hour, though, doubtless, from the appearance of her machinery, she was capable of going thousands of miles an hour.” Author Jesse Glass rediscovered the book containing this report and claimed he found evidence at the Ohio Historical Society regarding the existence of a man named Henry Wallace in Jay, Ohio at the time. Research by C. Aubeck disclosed that there was indeed a Post Office at Jay from March 14th 1839 to March 23rd 1842, but its whereabouts had become unknown shortly afterwards. Indeed, the town did not figure in any gazetteer or Erie County history. Aubeck managed to pinpoint the location of Jay from comments made by the historian Henry Timman in his popular weekly column, Just Like Old Times. It was, he said, “on the township line between Milan and Huron” but nothing marks the spot today. According to census records a Henry C. Wallace lived in nearby Erie County in 1850, a fifteen year old lad from New York. By 1860 he must have either died or moved on, because he is not listed again in the state of Ohio. This Mr. Wallace was too young to have lived in Jay and in fact was registered as a resident of Florence, a different township. We can only conclude that the claim rests on the veracity of names that cannot be verified today.
Source: Dr. William Earl, The Illustrated Silent Friend, embracing subjects never before scientifically discussed (New York, 1858). 462. Case: W416