Category Archives: Archival Moments

From Fish Hatchery to Fluvarium

Archival Moment

April 23, 1889

From Fish Hatchery to Fluvarium.

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives: VA 21-28; St. John’s: Long Pond a view from Mount Scio.

William Hopkins was not amused, as a youngster, like the other boys, he liked to fish for trout in Long Pond, St. John’s but in April 1889 he and a few friends were charged with trespass for fishing in the pond.

Long Pond is located in the northern part of St. Johns and is now bordered by the Fluvarium, the Health Sciences Centre and Memorial University. While the banks of the pond are heavily developed today, there was a time when the area was on the very fringe of the city.

As early as 1864 Mr. John Martin and other gentlemen of the St. John’s saw some potential in Long Pond and in 1887 incorporated as The St. John’s Game Fish Protection Society, “subscribed a sum of money for the erection of a hatchery for fresh water fish at Long Pond.” Their application to the Crown was well received and a “lease for 15 years of Long Pond and the adjoining rivers, to the extent of one mile in any direction” was granted.

The pond was off limits to the local trouters.

The local newspapers of the day reported:

“The hatchery on the Long Pond proved to be a great success and began to furnish sport not only in Long Pond but in the Ponds connected thereto by rivers outside the one mile limitation.”

The success can be credited to the St. John’s Game Fish Protection Society arranging in 1888 to deliver a shipment of 118,000 Loch Leven brown trout eggs from Scotland to the Long Pond hatchery. As part of the lease arrangement, 10,000 fry from the hatchery were given over to the Newfoundland government each year for distribution throughout the island.

In the 1890’s, Robert Almon Brehm, of Nova Scoita, one of the founders of the Game Fish Protection Association (President, 1892-99) initiated the introduction of German brown trout in Long Pond. English browns were brought over as well.

There are two ponds (Clements and Lees) just north-east of St. John’s, that hold pure strains of English browns from this era.

While William Hopkins was furious that he could not trout in the pond, that he knew so well, Mr. John Martin and his gentleman friends, the local pisciculturists, were quite pleased as they saw the stock in the pond grow.

Jude G. Conroy a stipendiary magistrate and judge of the Central District Court who heard the case of trespass against William Hopkins was most sympathetic. Hopkins admitted the trespass, but alleged ignorance of the exclusive rights of the St. John’s Game Fish Protection Society to the pond. The judge fined Hopkins with nominal damages and costs.

They (the local pisciculturists) would be today very pleased to see the development of their beloved pond.

In 1990, The Fluvarium in St. John’s (meaning ‘windows on a stream’) opened to the public. With a focus on environmental education, especially teaching children about water ecology, conservation and preservation, this facility features many unique attractions. The Fluvarium also offers a speculator panoramic view through nine large viewing windows.

In April 1889 the St. John’s newspaper The Evening Telegram reported:

“The season is now among us when the young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of an occasional hour’s sport with rod, and Long Pond has always been a favorite and convenient haunt for many who enjoy this pastime.”

Long Pond was for many years not available to the young men with their fishing rods but it is now available to trouters with their rods and The Fluvarium offers a series of natural water aquariums that showcase fish species usually found in Newfoundland and Labrador.

John Martin and his gentleman friends (the pisciculturists) should be thanked, from fish hatchery to Fluvarium.

The Long Pond experiment in St. John’s was among the early ‘fish hatchery’ experiments in North America.

When the Dildo Island fish hatchery opened in Newfoundland in 1889, it was the largest and most advanced in the world.

New Word: Pisciculturists: The breeding, hatching, and rearing of fish under controlled conditions.

Recommended Web Site: The Fluvarium: http://fluvarium.ca/

Exiles in Boston join in the sorrow of thousands of Newfoundlanders

Archival Moment

April 12, 1914

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives, LS 50 . Bodies of sealers on the deck of the S.S. Bellaventure.

The news of the death of the 78 sealers who died during the sealing campaign March 31 – April 2, 1914 made international headlines. Messages of sympathy were being sent to the local government and local newspapers from throughout the world.

The people of the Boston area responded not only with letters of condolence but also with offers of financial assistance to help the families who had lost a loved one.

P.A. Buckey, a Newfoundlander who had emmigrated to Lynn, Massachusetts wrote:

“It is with the deepest regret that the Newfoundlanders who reside in Boston have heard of the terrible calamity that has befallen our Island home. The first news received in itself was terrifying but when later messages announced the possible loss of the Southern Cross with 173 souls on board, the Newfoundlanders of Boston assembled decided to take immediate action in making necessary arrangements to help the bereaved so a public meeting of all Newfoundlanders was called for shall now business transacted.”

Buckey reported that on April 12, 1914:

“a masss meeting of Newfoundlanders in Boston, ladies included assembled in the Paine Memorial Hall, Appleton Street to devise any means of providing a relief fund to help the families of our stricken countrymen at home. Fully 500 Newfoundlanders were present which showed the sympathy expressed for our loved ones. Upon entering the hall each one was eagerly scanning at each other, either to form an acquaintance or to meet a friend that they have not seen but known since childhood days. A reunion of Newfoundlanders such as it was never seen in Boston before, and the one topic of discussion was the dreadful tragedy that left so many homeless, destitute and fatherless.”

The meeting was chaired by another Newfoundlander who had emigrated to the Boston area James P. McCormack of East Cambridge. The aim of the gathering he explained was for the Committee to raise at least $20,000 that would be given over to the Newfoundland Marine Disaster Fund.

$20,000.00 in 1914 had the same buying power as $466,098.00 in 2014.

Among the ex-patriot Newfoundlanders attending the meeting were FitzGerald’s, Mansfield’s, Curley’s, Power’s, Cantwell’s, Somerville’s, Hogan’s, Mulcathy’s, Molloy’s Kelly’s, O’Rourke’s, Halleran’s, Puddister’s, Williams, and O’Connell’s. Also among the crowd were Bemister’s of Carbonear; Moulton’s of the West Coast; Farrell’s of Ferryland and Vinnicombe’s of St. John’s.

Newfoundland has had a long relationship with the Boston States. Although Newfoundland and Labrador people moved to other countries for a wide range of reasons emigration occurred on the largest scale during the last two decades of the century when the cod fishery fell into severe decline and caused widespread economic hardship.

The largest concentrations of emigrants were going to Boston and other Massachusetts cities. Between 1885 and 1905, the number of Newfoundland and Labrador people living in Massachusetts jumped from 2,851 to 10,583. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts census for 1915 reports that there were 13, 269 Newfoundlanders in the Boston area.

Many of the men and women who attended the meeting on April 12, 1914 were new emigrants to the Boston States. Newfoundlanders who were living in the Boston area but their hearts were in Newfoundland. Before the meeting adjourned $560.00 was raised ($560.00 in 1914 has the same buying power as $13,050.74 in 2014) for the disaster fund.

Mr Buckely wrote:

“We exiles in Boston join in the sorrow of thousands of Newfoundlander both at home and abroad.”

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Rooms Provincial Archives see GN 121 this collection consists of the evidence taken before the Commission of Enquiry regarding the S.S. Newfoundland. The collection includes the Sealers Crew Agreement and the evidence given by the surviving members of the crew. Evidence entered concerning the loss of the SS Southern Cross is also included on this collection.

Recommended Reading: PERISHED by Jenny Higgins (2014) offers unique, illustrative look at the 1914 sealing disaster through pull-out facsimile archival documents. A first for the Newfoundland and Labrador publishing industry, as readers turn the pages of Perished they’ll find maps, log book entries, telegrams, a sealer’s ticket for the SS Newfoundland, and more that can be pulled out and examined. These are the primary source materials that ignite the imagination of history buffs and students alike and are among more than 200 rarely seen archival photos and documents that illustrate this amazing book. (NEW PUBLICATION)

Recommended Exhibit: Death on the Front: The Sealing Disaster 1914. March 26 – November 16 – Level 3 Museum Alcove. This small display features artifacts from the Rooms Provincial Museum and archival imagery from The Rooms Provincial Archives connected to these tragedies. One of the artifacts featured is a flag that was once flown on the Southern Cross. The National Film Board’s documentary 54 Hours written by Michael Crummey, using animation, survivor testimony and archival footage will be running as part of the Death at the Front exhibition. You can also view the short film from your own home at https://www.nfb.ca/film/54_hours

Crew List: In the days and months following the loss of the S.S. Southern Cross and the tragedy of the loss of the men of the S.S. Newfoundland there was much confusion about the names and the number of men that did die. You will find the definitive list of all those that did die as well as the survivors at http://www.homefromthesea.ca/

Archie character to die, enjoyed holiday in Newfoundland.

Archival Moment

April 9, 2014

Archie Andrews and his friends visited Newfoundland in 1990.

Archie Comics, the acclaimed and bestselling comic book publisher that is home to some of the best-known pop culture creations in the world, including Archie, Jughead, Betty & Veronica, announced on April 8, 2014 that the Legendary comic book character Archie Andrews will die to conclude the hit LIFE WITH ARCHIE comic series.

The iconic comic book character, beloved by millions around the globe for over 70 years, will sacrifice himself heroically while saving the life of a friend in the pages of July’s LIFE WITH ARCHIE #36, the final issue in the flash-forward series, which spotlights Archie’s adventures after high school and college.

The announcement will come as a shock to Archie fans in Newfoundland and Labrador. Archie Andrews and his friends visited in Newfoundland in the summer of 1990 visiting among other places L’ance aux Meadows and the Viking Trail and The Cabot Tower in St. John’s. They also took in a camping and fishing trip. The trip to Newfoundland was explored by the writers of the ‘Life with Archie’ on No. 280, September 1990.

Archie, Jughead and Dilton came to Newfoundland as guests of the wealthy Mr. Lodge, who decided to move his important “international conference” to the province because Newfoundland has no rag weed to aggravate his allergies.

Archie will die in the July edition of “Life with Archie,” which is a spinoff series that explores the character’s life after high school and college.

“We’ve been building up to this moment since we launched ‘Life With Archie’ five years ago, and knew that any book that was telling the story of Archie’s life as an adult had to also show his final moment,” Goldwater said in a statement.

Recommended Archives: The Rooms Provincial Archives has a copy of The Viking Trail,” Archie All-Canadian Digest #1 (Archie, 08/96) Archie, Jughead and Dilton head to Newfoundland as guests of Mr. Lodge. The boys explore the history, culture and recreational opportunities of Newfoundland and Labrador. Accession # 20140036

Recommended Reading: “The Viking Trail, Archie All Canadian Digest #1 (Archie, o8/96)

“Tears stood on the cheeks of men …”

Archival Moments

April 2, 2014

Photo Credit: the rooms Provincial Archives, LS 50. Bodies of the frozen sealers on the deck of the S.S. Bellaventure.

On April 2, 1914 news about the disaster on the icefields that would claim the lives of 78 men of the sealing vessel the S.S. Newfoundland began t reach St. John’s. The St. John’s newspaper the Evening Telegram reported:

“The waiting rooms of the Postal Telegram Offices were thronged with anxious mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, who made heart rendering entreaties of the clerks for the lists of the dead.

At 9:30 p.m. the clerk of the Postal Telegraphs amid a breathless silence posted up another message that was forwarded on from the Fogo Station. After a short silence, the following was read:

On Board the Bellaventure are fifty eight dead and thirty five survivors, on board the Florizel, five dead. On board the Stephano, one dead and two survivors.

Tears stood on the cheeks of men who had often trod the frozen pans and knew well the nature of the experience of a night on the ice, particularly during such as blizzard as we had on Tuesday. Woman gave expression to their grief by weeping and could only with great difficulty be consoled at all.

Shortly after the forgoing message was read it was reported that the steamers Bellaventure, Stephano and Florizel were passing Cape St. Francis and would arrive here (St. John’s) about midnight. Hundreds wended their way to the waterfront, regardless of the weather conditions and for several hours patiently waited for the coming of the ships.”

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Rooms Provincial Archives see GN 121 this collection consists of the evidence taken before the Commission of Enquiry regarding the S.S. Newfoundland. The collection includes the Sealers Crew Agreement and the evidence given by the surviving members of the crew. Evidence entered concerning the loss of the SS Southern Cross is also included on this collection.

Recommended Exhibit: Death on the Front: The Sealing Disaster 1914. March 26 – November 16 – Level 3 Museum Alcove. This small display features artifacts from the Rooms Provincial Museum and archival imagery from The Rooms Provincial Archives connected to these tragedies. One of the artifacts featured is a flag that was once flown on the Southern Cross. The National Film Board’s documentary 54 Hours written by Michael Crummey, using animation, survivor testimony and archival footage will be running as part of the Death at the Front exhibition. You can also view the short film from your own home at https://www.nfb.ca/film/54_hours

Crew List: In the days and months following the loss of the S.S. Southern Cross and the tragedy of the loss of the men of the S.S. Newfoundland there was much confusion about the names and the number of men that did die. You will find the definitive list of all those that did die as well as the survivors at http://www.homefromthesea.ca/

“Man frozen fast in a floating ice cake”

Archival Moment

March 31, 1914

Some of the men who signed up never came home .

This is the weekend that we remember those that died in the sealing disasters of 1914. It was on this weekend (March 31 – April 2, 1914) that 77 men froze to death on the ice, crew members of the S.S. Newfoundland, another was to succumb to his injuries in St. John’s. In another tragedy on this same weekend 100 years ago, 176 men on the S.S. Southern Cross never came home. The theory is that in the height of the storm, somewhere in St. Mary’s Bay the ship’s heavy cargo of seal pelts may have shifted capsizing the steamer.

There was no trace of the 176 men of the Southern Cross, families mourned without the comfort of a proper funeral.

Eight of the men of the S.S. Newfoundland never came home. It is believed that they froze to death on small pans of ice or ice cakes forever separated from their companions.

A month following the disaster, the eight families without the comfort of a body for a proper burial read that a body had been spotted;.The daily newspaper, the Halifax Chronicle, Halifax, Nova Scotia on May 11, 1914 reported:

“On Sunday morning, a lobster fishermen employed by S.C. Clarke’s factory at Bloomingdale Point (Prince Edward Island) on the North side of the island, found the body of a man frozen fast in a floating ice cake about a half mile from land. Having nothing with which to cut the body loose from the ice, the fisherman had to abandon it; a heavy gale coming up, the boat had to make for land, and could not return to the body, which was carried out to sea.

The dead man was evidently a sailor or fisherman judging from his clothing and it is thought to be one of the Newfoundland sealers…”

The man frozen fast in a floating ice cake would have been one of the eight of the S.S. Newfoundland that went missing. The missing men are:

Henry Jordan, D

David Locke

Michael Murray

Art Mouland,

"Uncle Ezra" Melendy

Henry Dowden

James Howell

Philip Holloway

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Rooms Provincial Archives see GN 121 this collection consists of the evidence taken before the Commission of Enquiry regarding the S.S. Newfoundland. The collection includes the Sealers Crew Agreement and the evidence given by the surviving members of the crew. Evidence entered concerning the loss of the SS Southern Cross is also included on this collection.

Recommended Exhibit: Death on the Front: The Sealing Disaster 1914. March 26 – November 16 – Level 3 Museum Alcove. This small display features artifacts from the Rooms Provincial Museum and archival imagery from The Rooms Provincial Archives connected to these tragedies. One of the artifacts featured is a flag that was once flown on the Southern Cross. The National Film Board’s documentary 54 Hours written by Michael Crummey, using animation, survivor testimony and archival footage will be running as part of the Death at the Front exhibition. You can also view the short film from your own home at https://www.nfb.ca/film/54_hours

Crew List: In the days and months following the loss of the S.S. Southern Cross and the tragedy of the loss of the men of the S.S. Newfoundland there was much confusion about the names and the number of men that did die. You will find the definitive list of all those that did die as well as the survivors at http://www.homefromthesea.ca/

Recommended Reading: PERISHED by Jenny Higgins (2014) offers unique, illustrative look at the 1914 sealing disaster through pull-out facsimile archival documents. A first for the Newfoundland and Labrador publishing industry, as readers turn the pages of Perished they’ll find maps, log book entries, telegrams, a sealer’s ticket for the SS Newfoundland, and more that can be pulled out and examined. These are the primary source materials that ignite the imagination of history buffs and students alike and are among more than 200 rarely seen archival photos and documents that illustrate this amazing book. (NEW PUBLICATION)

A woman who cared

Archival Moment

March 25, 1843

Typhus Epidemic

Maria Nugent, a native of Waterford, Ireland, made her profession of vows on March 25th, 1843 in St. John’s, Newfoundland, the first Sister of Mercy professed outside the British Isles.

The Sisters of Mercy are a religious order of women that were involved primarily in health care and teaching. The order was established in Dublin, Ireland in 1831. The first convent of these Irish women was established in Newfoundland in 1842.

Maria Nugent (in the convent she was known as Sister Mary Joseph) was the sister of reform politician John Nugent. She was an accomplished author and musician and was comfortable in a number of languages including Greek, Latin, French and Italian.

In June 1847, a severe epidemic of typhus broke out in St. John’s. All the schools were closed as a preventative measure. Conditions in the St. John’s Hospital were deplorable, with crowded, inadequate facilities and unskilled nursing staff. Rather than follow the strict quarantine regulations established during the cholera epidemic some 15 years earlier Sister Nugent insisted on being with the sick and dying. She walked fearlessly into this hotbed of contagion. Every day she walked two miles back and forth to the hospital where she spent the day, easing the discomfort and pain of the victims, and assisting the dying.

It was almost inevitable that the frail Sister Mary Joseph Nugent would not be strong enough to withstand the infection. She contracted the disease and for two weeks she lay dying at Mercy Convent. On June 17, 1847, Sister Nugent died, she was buried in the place reserved for typhus victims.

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Provincial Archives: GN 2.17. A series of letters written by James Crowdy, colonial secretary, relating to the response of the Newfoundland government to the outbreak of Asiatic cholera in 1832-1833. The letters focus on the preventive measures endorsed by government, including the proclamation and enforcement of quarantine regulations on incoming vessels, crew and passengers; activities and termination of the boards of health in St. John’s and in the outports; and the financial costs of the preventive measures. The volumes also include instructions related to the prevention of a cholera outbreak on the Labrador coast.

Recommended Reading: Kathrine E. Bellamy rsm. wrote the definitive history of the Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland. Weavers of the Tapestry, published by Flanker Press, St. John’s 2006.

Recommended Website: The Sisters of Mercy in Newfoundland: http://www.sistersofmercynf.org/index.cfm

The sound of an Irish organist

Archival Moment

March 24, 1878

On March 24, 1878, Thomas Mullock, brother of Bishop John Thomas Mullock of St. John’s, Newfoundland died at Clonmel, Ireland. Thomas’s claim to fame was that he was the first organist at the Roman Catholic Cathedral (now Basilica) of St. John the Baptist in St. John’s.

Thomas an accomplished organist in Limerick, Ireland came to St. John’s at the invitation of his brother (the bishop). He stayed in St. John’s and remained as organist for about fifteen years. The organ that he played was constructed by Messrs. Robsons of London, England.

For much of his life, Thomas remained in the shadow of his brother. He lived quietly supplementing his income by teaching music and raising his young family. In December 1854 he was devastated when his only child Charlotte Mary died at the age of 2 years, 10 months.

Upon returning to Ireland he was employed as the organist at St. Mary’s, Irish Town, Main Street, Clonmell. He knew the town well as he was married to Charlotte Frances O’Brien daughter of Daniel O’Brien of Clonmel.

Due to deterioration this “Grand Organ” in the Roman Catholic Cathedral in St. John’s, it was dismantled in 1938 under the direction of (Sir) Charles Hutton and was replaced by a Hammond electronic organ.

This, in turn, was replaced in 1954-55 by the organ that is presently used in the Cathedral Basilica. The new organ has 66 stops and a total of 4050 pipes.

The installation actually comprises two organs; the main organ of 51 stops located in the organ gallery, and the sanctuary organ of 15 stops arranged behind the main altar. Each organ may be played from the main organ gallery either separately, or, if desired, simultaneously with the main organ. The organ was built and installed by Casavant Freres Limited of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec.

The sound of an organ was first heard in North America, in a Québec church in 1660-61. Records show that 2 organs were in use in Québec Cathedral by 1663-64.

Recommended Archival Collection: Take some time to explore MG 590 at The Rooms Provincial Archives; MG590 is the Charles Hutton and Sons fonds. It consists of textual records relating to the business interests of Charles Hutton & Sons in St. John’s 1930-1938. The collection consists of correspondence between the company and patrons in Newfoundland and Canada, requesting songs, musical instruments and other enquiries.

Recommended Reading: An introduction to the Pipe Organs in Newfoundland and Labrador by Dr. David Peter’s, 2012 (unpublished)

“As innocent … as an unborn child”

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

MARCH 22, 1834

Richard Snow was baptized on March 22, 1834 at the Old Catholic Chapel on Henry Street. His mother sat in prision – she would be hung for killing her husband,

On March 22, 1834 James Kelly and Gera Purcel stood at the baptismal font in the small Roman Catholic Chapel on Henry Street in St. John’s, the baptismal sponsors for a new born child. The child was the talk of Newfoundland. He was little Richard Snow – his father had been murdered a few months previous. His mother Catherine Manderville Snow had been convicted of the murder.

Catherine Mandeville Snow was the last woman hanged in Newfoundland.

Snow as a young woman moved from Harbour Grace to Salmon Cove near Port de Grave where she took up residence with John William Snow, a native of Bareneed. Together they had seven children, and married on October 30, 1828.

It was not a happy union, there were reports of frequent fights. According to reports, Catherine would fight back and throw things at him. On the night of August 31, 1833, John Snow disappeared. The local magistrate launched an investigation. With the discovery of blood on John Snow’s fishing stage, the investigation became a murder investigation.

Murder charges were laid against Catherine and her first cousin Tobias Mandeville (25) and Arthur Springer, (28) one of Snow’s indentured servants.

The twelve hour trial took place at St. John’s on January 10, 1834. The jury returned a guilty verdict after thirty minutes of deliberations for all three.

On January 31, 1834, Arthur Springer and Tobias Mandeville were hanged.

During the trial it was discovered that Catherine Snow was pregnant with her eighth child. The local newspaper the Royal Gazette reported:

“Twelve respectable Matrons should be empanelled to decide on the truth or falsity of the Prisoner’s allegation; (that she was pregnant) the twelve matrons met on Saturday morning, and returned a verdict that the Prisoner was in the situation stated in her plea.”

Many in Newfoundlandwere determined that Catherine Snow should not hang. Bishop Michael Fleming, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Newfoundland made Snow a cause célèbre. The governor, Thomas John Cochrane delayed her hanging until the baby was born.

On July 21, 1834, as crowds gathered on Duckworth Street, Cathwerine Snow walked out on the platform. At her side was Rev. Thomas Waldron the same priest who had baptized her child. The local newspaper The Newfoundlander reported:

“Rev. Mr. Waldron, was unceasing and assiduous in affording her the soothing consolation of religion, and preparing her for the last awful moment.”

Her last words were,

“I was a wretched woman, but I am as innocent of any participation in the crime of murder as an unborn child”

The St. John’snewspaper the Public Ledger reported:

“The unhappy woman, after a few brief struggles, passed into another world.”

Recommended Reading: The local newspapers of the day – The Newfoundlander and Royal Gazette and Newfoundland Advertiser reprinted much of the testimony that can be found on microfilm at the Rooms Provincial Archives Division.

Recommended Reading: (Historical -Fiction) Catherine Snow by Nellie P. Strowbridge, Flanker Press,St. John’s, 2009.

“He would have to take command of the Bellaventure”

Archival Moment

March 9, 1914

The St. John’s daily newspaper the Evening Telegram in March month ran a column during the sealing season under the banner “Sealing Notes.” The column was eagerly read by the hundreds of men who were arriving in St. John’s looking for berths on the sealing vessels that were tied up in St. John’s harbour. These men were reading the newspaper column looking to see when and where they had to go to get their ‘ticket’ or ‘sign the articles’ to go to the ice.

On March 9, 1914, the Evening Telegram reported:

“The S.S. Newfoundland sailed last midnight (March 8) for Wesleyville. Captain Wes Kean went in charge, though it was expected he would have to take command of the Bellaventure owing to the illness of Captain Robert Randell, but the latter is now sufficiently recovered to go to the icefields.”

The next day the S.S. Newfoundland pushed through the loose ice towards Wesleyville where the young Captain picked up the remainder of his crew. On March 12th, the S.S. Newfoundland left for the ice-field.

Wes Kean was headed to the ice fields where he was keeping a look out for the S.S. Stephano under his father, Captain Abram Kean, a veteran sealer. Although the two ships worked for competing firms, the father and son had agreed to alert the other of any seals they spotted by a prearranged signal.

On March 30 the S.S. Newfoundland found that it was jammed in the ice and could not proceed. Wes Kean ordered his men off the ship the following morning (March 31) He instructed them to walk to the Stephano, believing the sealers would spend the night onboard his father’s steamer after a day of hunting.

The men did not stay on the Stephano, they were ordered to get back on the ice to start scullin. What resulted was that for two days, 132 sealers were stranded on the ice in blizzard conditions and without adequate shelter. 77 men died on the ice, rescuers found only 69 bodies; the remaining eight had fallen into the water. Most of the survivors lost one or more limbs to frostbite.

Wes Kean went to his bunk thinking that his men were on the Stephano, his father made the assumption that the men had returned to the S.S. Newfoundland. The two men could not communicate with each other the owner of the S.S. Newfoundland, A.J. Harvey and Company, had removed the ship’s wireless, the firm was interested in the radio only as a means of improving the hunt’s profitability and did not view it as a safety device.

If Captain Robert Randell had remained ill, Wes Kean would not have been on the S.S. Newfoundland, he would have been on the sealing vessel the Bellaventure that was equipped with a Marconi wireless operated by George Serrick of Bay Roberts.

On April 4, hundreds of anxious spectators lined the St. John’s waterfront as the Bellaventure steamed through the Narrows carrying the 69 corpses stacked on its deck. The Evening Telegram reported:

“The vision sent a shudder through the crowd, the bodies had been laid there just as they were brought in from the ice, many of them with limbs contracted and drawn up in postures wh

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Rooms Provincial Archives see GN 121 this collection consists of the evidence taken before the Commission of Enquiry regarding the S.S. Newfoundland. The collection includes the Sealers Crew Agreement and the evidence given by the surviving members of the crew. Evidence entered concerning the loss of the SS Southern Cross is also included on this collection.

Recommended Exhibit: Death on the Front: The Sealing Disaster 1914. March 26 – November 16 – Level 3 Museum Alcove. This small display features artifacts from the Rooms Provincial Museum and archival imagery from The Rooms Provincial Archives connected to these tragedies. One of the artifacts featured is a flag that was once flown on the Southern Cross. The National Film Board’s documentary 54 Hours written by Michael Crummey, using animation, survivor testimony and archival footage will be running as part of the Death at the Front exhibition. You can also view the short film from your own home at https://www.nfb.ca/film/54_hours

Crew List: In the days and months following the loss of the S.S. Southern Cross and the tragedy of the loss of the men of the S.S. Newfoundland there was much confusion about the names and the number of men that did die. You will find the definitive list of all those that did die as well as the survivors at http://www.homefromthesea.ca/

Recommended Reading: PERISHED by Jenny Higgins (2014) offers unique, illustrative look at the 1914 sealing disaster through pull-out facsimile archival documents. A first for the Newfoundland and Labrador publishing industry, as readers turn the pages of Perished they’ll find maps, log book entries, telegrams, a sealer’s ticket for the SS Newfoundland, and more that can be pulled out and examined. These are the primary source materials that ignite the imagination of history buffs and students alike and are among more than 200 rarely seen archival photos and documents that illustrate this amazing book. (NEW PUBLICATION)

ich the cold had brought about.”

Orphan Asylum School

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

January 30, 1876.

The Orphan Asylum School, Queens Road, St. John’s

On January 30, 1876 the Irish Christian Brothers opened their first school in Newfoundland known locally as the Orphan Asylum School. The school had previously been under the jurisdiction of the Benevolent Irish Society. (BIS).

The arrival of the three Christian Brothers implied far more than the arrival of a few more teachers. It meant the introduction of a group of teachers who taught as a unit, were all trained in the same teaching methods, used the same graded text books and employed the same code of discipline.

Attendance shot up from 66 at the former Orphan Asylum School in November to 300, the full limit of the space available.

The Orphan Asylum was built on Queen’s Road on the side of the hill overlooking St. John’s, across the street from the Basilica. The building featured a prominent tower observatory that was one of the most prominent architectural features of the city in its day.

After a year of teaching at the school, the BIS and Christian Brothers decided that the fifty-year-old wooden structure was no longer suitable and plans were made for a new stone building on the same lot. The Orphan Asylum School was sold for thirty-five pounds and was torn down.

Recommended Archival Collection: Archives of the Congregation of the Christian Brothers, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Recommended Web Site: The History of Catholic Education in Newfoundland. http://fromslatetochalk.ca/

Recommended Reading: Nobel to the View, The Saga of St. Bonaventure’s College by Brother J.B. Darcy, Creative Publishers, St. John’s. 2007