Page 22. MAINE COASTAL NEWS December 2013 HISTORY FROM THE PAST - Bangor Daily Commercial - Early 1900s Continued from Page 21.


port of Bangor having been here many times and was in port last summer with a cargo of coal. On account of her age she had been refused by some insurance companies, and it is not known whether she is insured now or not.


Capt. Blair Not in Command. Boston, Massachusetts, January 23. – It was learned here Saturday that Capt. Blair was not in command of the schooner AUGUSTUS HUNT which is reported as having been wrecked off West Hampton, L. I. Capt. Blair is in this city, having stayed at home during the present trip of the vessel and he states that his mate, Capt. Conary, was in command of the HUNT. The schooner carried a cargo of 1718 tons of bituminous coal valued at $5,000 and insured, consigned to A. Gove & Son of East Boston. The vessel is valued at $30,000 with partial insurance.


Known as Jumbo in Bath.


Bath, January 23. The four-masted schooner AUGUSTUS


HUNT reported wrecked off West Hampton, L. I. Saturday, was the pioneer among the big four-masters. She was built by B. W. and H. F. Morse of this city in 1882 and for many years was known as “Jumbo” because of her unusually large proportions for a schooner at that time. She was 1,141 gross tons; 208 feet in length; 40.7 feet beam and 20.6 feet deep.


26 January 1904 2 Men Drowned 2 Vessels Lost


Tragic Marine Disaster Off Cape Cod Shore Sunday Night. Schooners in Collision


The Boston Vessel FRANCIS SHUBERT and the Thomaston Schooner ELLA PRESSEY Lost – The Details. Boston, January 26. – Two men drowned and two schooners lost formed the theme of the narrative told by Capt. Thomas G. Starkey, of the Boston schooner FRANCIS SHUBERT who with the four men of his crew were brought into this port on the tug GEORGE M. WINSLOW early Tuesday. On board the WINSLOW were also three survivors of the schooner ELLA PRESSEY of Thomaston, Maine, which vessel was in collision with the SHUBERT on Sunday night and sank less than two minutes after the impact.


The men who were drowned were Capt.


Elias White and Mate Fred E. Peterson of the PRESSEY. Capt. White was a native of Nova Scotia but of recent years had lived at Rockland, Maine, where Mate Peterson also resided.


The collision occurred on Sunday night about 8:15 o’clock, two miles off the Cape Cod shore, at about midway between Nauset and the Highlands. Two men of the PRESSEY’s crew who were on deck at the tiem of the crash jumped aboard the SHUBERT, while the captain, mate and a sailor, Oscar Scott, hastily lowered a small boat. The painter’s fender became fouled, however, and the small craft sank as the vessel went down, carrying the three men with it. Capt. White and Mate Peterson were not seen after the Pressey sank but Scott managed to jump clear of the tender and when the schooner went down he clung to the topmast and was later rescued by a boat from the SHUBERT.


The force of the collision tore away the forward part of the SHUBERT and the vessel began to fi ll. The next morning the tug GEORGE M. WINSLOW came alongside and attempted to tow the SHUBERT to Boston but the vessel was leaking so badly that Capt. Starkey decided to abandon her


and he with his men and the survivors from the PRESSEY, boarded the tug. Fearing that the SHUBERT would sink in the path of other vessels and become a menace to navigation, Capt. Starkey set her on fi re. Her cargo consisted of 1300 barrels of kerosene oil and the destruction of the vessel was a matter of a few hours only. As soon as the WINSLOW docked Tuesday morning Capt. Starkey told the story of the disaster to a reporter of the Associated Press. “We were bound from New York to Portland,” said he, “with 1300 barrels of kerosene. About a quarter past eight o’clock Sunday night when off Cahoon’s Hollow I saw a green light and thought that we were going to clear the approaching vessel all right. Then a moment later I saw a red light cross our bows. I ordered the man at the wheel to put the helm down hard. He did so but we could not clear and the vessels came together bow on. “A moment late two men from the


PRESSEY jumped aboard the SHUBERT. They were the steward, Arthur A. Buckman of Rockland, Maine, and Carl Hansen a Swede. It was less than two minutes before the PRESSEY sank.


“When I saw that the SHUBERT would probably keep afl oat for some little time I lowered a boat to pick up any survivors who might be fl oating in the water. The only man we found was Oscar Scott, a Finlander. He was clinging to the topmast of the PRESSEY which protruded from the water. When we pulled him aboard he told us that Capt. White and Mate Peterson and himself had got into the tender, but that the painter was fouled and the small boat went down with the schooner. We looked around for a long time but could fi ind no trace of the captain or the mate. “My cargo was worth between $6,000 and $7,000 and the schooner cost me $3,000 fi ve years ago and I have put out a good deal of money on her since then in the way of repairs. The schooner was my property and there was not a dollar of insurance on her. She was about all I have in the world.” The three men who were rescued from


the PRESSEY did not have time to collect any clothing other than that they had on. The steward, Arthur Buckman of Rockland who is a cripple, said that he was below just before the collision occurred. He said he heard somebody call “Throw up that wheel; throw up that wheel.”


He rushed up the companionway to see what was the trouble and just as he poked his head above the hatch the vessels came together. He had barely time to get abroad the SHUBERT.


After the search for Capt. White and Mate Peterson had been given up Capt. Starkey made all possible attempts to save the SHUBERT. She was leaking badly and a strong northwest gale was sprung up aggravating the diffi culty. Capt. Starkey put his schooner about and anchored under Nauset. The schooner held fast. The WINSLOW came alongside on Monday morning. Signals of distress had been set and the WINSLOW which was bound for Boston with a tow of barges responded to the call for aid. A hawser was stretched from the schooner to the tug but as soon as the tow began to make headway the SHUBERT fi lled rapidly. Capt. Starkey fi nally decided that his vessel was undoubtedly doomed and although the SHUBERT represented his entire possessions he ordered her set on fi re in order that other shipping might not be endangered.


The ELLA PRESSEY was bound from Stonington, Maine, to New London, Connecticut, with a cargo of granite. The FRANCIS SHUBERT was a two- masted schooner of 317 tons gross and 183


tons net burden. She was built at Mays Landing, New Jersey, in 1872. She was 108.2 feet long, 31.2 feet in breadth and had a depth of 8 feet. Her homeport was Boston. The ELLA PRESSEY was a two-


master, with a tonnage of 154 tons net. Her length was 138.3, breadth, 27.3, and depth 8.7 feet. She was built in 1870 at Thomaston, Maine, which place was her home port. * * * * *


Capt. White Lived in Rockland Also Mate Peterson of the Ill-fated Schooner ELLA PRESSEY – Both Drowned.


Rockland, January 26. Capt. Elias White and Mate Fred E. Peterson, who were lost when the schooner ELLA PRESSEY was wrecked in collision with the schooner FRANCIS SHUBERT off Chatham, Massachusetts, belonged in this town, Capt. White was a native and one of the best known and most highly regarded citizens. He was 48 years old and is survived by a widow and two children, aged four and eight years. He had sailed for Cobb, Wight & Co., about 20 years, going on the schooner, LENA WHITE, which was built for him several years, until he took the PRESSEY a year ago.


Mate Peterson was a son of Capt. Frank A. Peterson of Rockland, was 23 years old and unmarried. Washburn Bros. were managing owners of the PRESSEY, Capt. White holding one- eighth share. The schooner was valued at $5,000 and was partially insured. She had a capacity of 2,633 barrels of lime. * * * * *


Capt. E. W. Cookson Drowned Bath, January 26.


The schooner FRED A. DAVENPORT has arrived here Tuesday from Brunswick, Georgia, with her fl ag at half mast for the loss of her fi rst mate, Capt. E. W. Cookson, who was washed overboard and drowned when the schooner was off Thatcher’s island. Cookson was walking on the foreward house when he was thrown into the sea by the pitching of the vessel.


Capt. Cookson formerly lived in Rockland and for many years was one of the best known master mariners sailing from that port. He had commanded the schooners HELEN MONTAGUE, CARRIE E. COOKSON, and the NATHAN F. COBB. Of late years he had made his home in Everett, Massachusetts, where he leaves a widow and four children. He was 45 years old.


* * * * * With the Ships


Schooners ELLA PRESSEY and FRANCIS SHUBERT Lost C. H. Veneer Ashore


Maine’s Oldest Shipbuilder, Thomas W. Dunn of Rockland, Dead – JOSIE HOOK Sunk.


Disasters to Maine shipping are occurring with great frequency at present. The schooner CLARENCE H. VENNER, owned in Dennis, Massachusetts, went ashore on Bantam ledge, Sunday, light while entering Penobscot bay but has been hauled off with a large hole in her and beached at Port Clyde. The VENNER was light, New York for Bucksport, where she was to have loaded ice for Norfolk. She will need considerable repairing before being able to leave Port Clyde where the revenue cutter WOODBURY took her.


The two schooners reported probably


in collision off Cape Cod Monday, one of which sunk and the other sailed out to sea afi re, were the ELLA PRESSEY and the FRANCIS SHUBERT. The PRESSEY is the vessel sunk. She is a two-master, loaded with stone from Deer


island for New London. She is owned by the Washburn Bros., of Thomaston where she was built in 1872. She is 154 net tons. The schooner FRANCIS SHUBERT,


Capt. Starkey, is well-known in Bangor having loaded here last summer by the Ashland Mfg Co. She is a three-master of 183 net tons and was bound to Bath with coal from Edgewater. She was reported at Vineyard Haven, January 24. She also was built in 1872.


The captain and mate of the PRESSEY were drowned as told in another column. Thomas W. Dunn Dead.


Thomas W. Dunn, well-known as


Maine’s oldest shipbuilder, died at his home in Thomaston Saturday night, aged 82 years. Mr. Dunn was a native of Boston. He began business in 1864, and retired about a year ago. During this time he built 46 schooners. He was treasurer of Orient lodge of Mason for more than 30 years. Eulogy of AUGUSTUS HUNT. The Bath Times must have owned insured shares of the late schooner AUGUSTUS HUNT which went aground and broke up on the Long Island coast, Saturday. Following is from the Times: “The extent of the growth of merchant vessels in size since 20 years ago is emphasized by the loss of the “Jumbo” of that time, the AUGUSTUS HUNT, registering 1141 tons, little more than a third of the size of the larger vessels of today and about the tonnage of the smallest schooners that are built for the particular trade in which the HUNT engaged. She was the second schooner equipped with more than three masts, and was considered a more or less reckless experiment on account of her size and novel rig.


“She was also under Capt. Baker, her original commander, a pioneer of the coastwise fl eet of today, which braves all weathers and plies up and down the coast with almost the regularity of the steamship lines. Capt. Baker is said to have been the fi rst of all coastwise skippers to keep the sea in all sorts of weather and if he couldn’t beat off a lee shore to cast his anchors where he happened to be and ride out the storm on the heaving bosom of the open ocean. That is the ordinary practice of the big schooners of today, and the weather that holds them in port has to be pretty severe, but the small vessels of 20 years ago kept inside the headlands when the storm signals were aloft and the heaviest part of the coastwise carrying was done in the summer. “Needless to say, with such managers


as B. W. and H. F. Morse, and with such a dare-devil skipper as Capt. Baker, the HUNT was a great moneymaker. She paid for herself many times over and was so much in advance of her day that she remained a fi ne dividend earner throughout the 22 years of her life. The HUNT was in many years an epoch maker in the schooner fl eet, and her wreck will be noted with interest in all American ports.” Schooner JOSIE HOOK Sunk. The Bangor schooner JOSIE HOOK


has fi lled and sunk in Rockland harbor. The HOOK was loaded at Bangor last fall with lumber by Lowell & Engel and put into Rockland in a leaking condition. Her cargo was sold to C. E. Bicknell and she has been ice bound at Rockland ever since. The JOSIE HOOK was a schooner of 90 tons, built in Brewer in 1880 and was owned by her captain, Frank Getchell, of this city. She was 78.4 feet long, 23.9 feet broad, and 7.5 feet deep, carrying a crew of three men. She was a most familiar fi gure in the Penobscot river and the port of Bangor having plied up and down the river and the coast for the past 23 years.


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