Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2012, All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Data Repository Copyright Statement on this page: Submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== VESSEL NAME: Belle Sheridan OTHER NAME(s): - OFFICIAL NO: C74394 DATE OF LOSS: 7 November 1880 CAUSE OF LOSS: Storm LOCATION: Weller's Bay, Lake Ontario RIG TYPE: schooner, 2 mast HULL TYPE: wooden BUILDER: Andrew Miller at Oswego, N.Y., 1852 OWNER(S): James McSherry, Sr. MASTER: James McSherry, Sr. TONNAGE: 256 gt DIMENSIONS: 123 x 23 x 10 CASUALTIES: 6 SURVIVORS: 1 DYING IN EACH OTHER'S ARMS TERRIBLE FATE OF THE BELLE SHERIDAN'S CREW As Related by the Sole Survivor ---------------- James McSherry, Jr., the sole survivor of the schooner Belle Sheridan, wrecked near Consecon, Ont. Says his father and brother, Edward, perished onboard about one o'clock Sunday afternoon from the cold and exposure to the heavy breakers that were washing com- pletely over the vessel from the moment she struck, the vessel going ashore broadside, heading to the north. The father and son, Edward, died together, the latter in his brother James' arms and both bodies were washed overboard. The survivors clung to the shrouds of the foremast together until about four o'clock, when James left the group and worked his way along the rail to the main- mast, where he secured a plank, and then leaped into the water, and after being washed around for about fifteen minutes, he was picked up by the boat sent out from shore. Had the others done the same thing they might have been rescued, as the small boat could not get to the vessel for the breakers. About five o'clock the mainmast broke and a portion of the deck broke down, the remaining four men still clinging to the wreck. The body of John Hamilton was picked up along the shore about a half mile below the wreck, with his skull smashed - in fact, the whole top of his head was gone. The heart and lungs of another of the victims were also picked up on the shore. The other bodies must have been lashed to the rigging and torn to atoms. The distress of the widowed mother when she received the news was indescribable. The fam- ily have been residents in Toronto many years, and Capt. McSherry was generally esteemed an honest, well meaning man. He was a ship car- penter but took to sailing as a calling. He had the misfortune to lose his vessel, the West Wind, about thirteen months ago, not far from the spot which was the scene of his death. The Belle Sheridan sailed from Toronto, Friday the 29th of October. She had been in harbor for some time, getting a new centerboard box and went from Toronto to Wellington to take on barley. She returned to Toronto to complete her cargo, and sailed on the day named for Oswego. She reached Oswego all right, went up to Charlotte and took on a cargo of coal, and as on the way back to Toronto when the storm of Saturday night struck her. The Belle Sheridan was built at Oswego in 1852 by Miller. After a varied career she was brought to Toronto and was lying for several years in the slip at Sylvester's wharf sunk. Two years ago she was bought by Mr. Lamb for betwen $900 and $1,000. Later she was bought by Capt. McSherry, who raised the vessel and set to work to put her in sailing order. New decks and a new mainmast were put in, which, with other improvements, gave her a good standing and she was put into commission this summer with a rating of B-1 in the Canadian register. She was valued at $4,000, and insured for $2,600. Her capacity was about 12,000 bushels. Oswego Palladium, Oswego, N.Y., Nov. 10, 1880 VICTIMS: Boyd, Samuel Hamilton, John; mate McSherry, Edward; (son of James, age 13) McSherry, James Sr.; Captain McSherry, John; (son of James, age 21) McSherry, Thomas; (son of James, age 17) Besides his widow and three sons listed above Capt. McSherry also had two daughters and three sons at home. Capt. James McSherry, Sr., had also previously owned the schooner West Wind which was wrecked in 1879. ======================================================================== Sources: Oswego Daily Times, 12 March 1873 Oswego Palladium, Oswego, N.Y., 10 November, 1880 The Dominion Annual Register and Review, 1882 - p. 255 Finn, "Old Shipping Days in Oswego", 1972 - p. 192 Swayze, David D. "Shipwreck!", 1992 Townsend, "Tales from the Great Lakes", 1995 - p. 122-134