Happy Canada Day! Where were they in 1867?

Happy Canada Day!

1 July 2017, Canada celebrates 150 years as a confederation.

So, I asked the question – where were my grandparents when Canada became a political entity? I can answer the question for many of my grandparents from that era. 

Thomas "Silas" Elyea

In the year that Canada became a country, my great-great-great grandparents (mother's side) 42-year-old Daniel Elyea and 34-year-old Sophia Elizabeth Cade were living in Collingwood with their children 15-year-old Thomas "Silas" (my great-great grandfather), 9-year-old Perry, and four-year-old Lottie Elyea. Daniel was working as a Teamster. Daniel was a descendant of Jan "John" Alyea who left Delaware, USA for Ameliasburgh, Ontario as a United Empire Loyalist arriving in Canada by at least by 1792. Daniel Elyea was already a 3rd-generation Canadian when the country was formed!

The Elyea's first arrived in North America around 1678 as French Huguenots escaping persecution in France. Our history is entwined with both the USA and Canada, as are many families whose origins are traced back to arrivals to New York in the mid- to late 1600's. Even after the time of Canadian Federation, many families moved back and forth across the American/Canadian border. 

Great-great-great grandfather, 53-year-old James Hall Sr and his wife 52-year-old Jane Breakey were living in St. Vincent Township near Meaford in 1867 with seven of their boys, Thomas, 23, Joseph 21, Isaiah 19, Samuel 17 (my great-great grandfather), 13 year old Robert, 11 year old Norton and 9 year old Henry. James was working as a farmer as were the boys Thomas, Joseph, Isaiah and Samuel. The couple arrived from Ireland to the USA first and subsequently landed in Canada around 1835 which was about a decade before the "great Potato Famine" but the start of the economic decline and increasing hardship in Ireland.

Annie Hall-VanMeer-Grant nee Waugh

They had 12 children in total (3 girls and 9 boys) including my great-great grandfather Samuel Hall (who was the father of my great-grandmother Mae Elyea nee Hall). Five years later Samuel Hall married 19-year-old Annie Waugh; they had eleven children, but after the birth of their eleventh child, Samuel died of heart failure when the baby was only 10 months old and sadly, baby Samuel Robert Hall died 6 months after his father.  Forty-six year-old Annie Hall (nee Waugh) was left widowed with 10 children under 15 years of age. She re-married five years later only to be widowed again two years later. Annie married a third time at 55 to William Grant. Oddly, Annie's daughter, my great-grandmother Mae Elyea was also widowed after the birth of an eleventh child with all of them under the age of 15 (however Mae never did remarry after she lost her husband at the age of 40).

Mae Elyea daughter of Annie Hall-VanMeer-Grant nee Waugh

Conrad Swalm Jr. and wife Elizabeth Cober Baker

In 1867, great-great-great grandfather Conrad Swalm Jr (23 years) and his wife of three years, Elizabeth Cober Baker (21 years) were welcoming their first child, Maria Cornelia Swalm in September of that year. Eleven more kids would follow in the next 20 years (including my great-grandfather Norman Swalm).

Conrad Jr. was working as a shoemaker in Collingwood, Ontario in 1867. Conrad Jr’s parents, Conrad Swalm Sr and wife Mary Ruhl were still living in Duntroon, Ontario where that couple first landed in Canada from Germany in 1834.

Conrad Jr was born in Canada and was the first generation of his family to be born here. His wife Elizabeth Cober Baker was a second-generation Canadian; her grandfather Samuel Baker arrived in Canada from Pennsylvania in 1808, part of a German migration from Pennsylvania to Ontario.

Fred Maier Sr with a group of men by the Niagara River

Great-great-great grandfather Frederick Maier, born in Wurttemburg, Germany arrived in the USA in 1866, he was 21 years old in 1867.  Five years later he was welcoming his first-born son Frederick Jr with his wife 20-year-old Augusta Siede who arrived in 1865 to New York, USA at the age of 15. She was born in Bruhlsdorf, Prussia. The couple raised their family in Buffalo, New York; father Frederick Maier Sr. was listed as a carpenter. Their daughter Martha Matilda Maier later married Norman Swalm.

Augusta Maier nee Siede with Fred Maier Jr.

On my father’s side, my great-grandfather Arthur Holroyd had not yet landed in Canada – he arrived from England an orphan at the age of 12 in 1874. His wife Lottie Myers was born in Osprey Township in 1866. Her parents, Joseph Myers, 38 and Jane Bullock, 38 arrived in Canada from England around 1865. Joseph Myers was a farmer in Osprey Township, Grey County, Ontario.

Arthur Holroyd and wife Lottie Myers

My great-great-great grandfather William Phillips was born in 1821 in Upper Canada, I don’t know when the Phillips arrived in Canada but it was before 1821, they did have connections with the USA as his wife Rebecca McCuthing was from Upper New York State but was born in Upper Canada in 1831. In 1867, 46-year-old William Phillips and 36-year-old Rebecca were living in Dundas, Ontario with their family, James Norman Phillips, 17, William Phillips Jr 14, 12-year-old Alice and 7-year-old John. William Phillips Sr was working as a labourer. Great-great grandfather James Norman Phillips married the following year in 1868 to Mary Elizabeth Adair, he was 18, she was 17; they had three children.

Mary Elizabeth Adair was born in Canada; her parents emigrated from Ireland between 1846 and 1849 at the height of the great potato famine. In 1867 her parents 42 year-old John Adair and 42 year-old Anna Elizabeth Newell were celebrating the birth of their last child, a son named Lorenzo Adair. The family were farmers in Osprey Township, in Grey County, Ontario.

Mary Elizabeth Phillips nee Adair

One of Canada’s Worst Railway Accidents: The Azilda Train Crash – 12 September 1906

Percy Baker

Young Percy Baker was heading west on the Canadian Pacific Railroad’s No. 1 train, the “Harvesters’ Special” when tragedy struck.  He and his cousin Charles Baker, were travelling to Regina, heading west to earn some money farming in Saskatchewan. Percy and Charles were part of a large migration of seasonal workers heading from the east to the west to help harvest the wheat for three to four weeks before returning home to Ontario or one of the other eastern provinces. 

In 1906, Percy was living in Stayner, Ontario, his family had a farm on the 6^th Line in an area known as the “Dutch Settlement” (which was really “Deutsche” or the “German Settlement”).  He was from a farming family and likely no stranger to hard work. He would have had to travel to Toronto to catch the early morning train. There were so many migrating workers heading west that the train was broken into three sections that left Toronto in the early hours of September 12^th. Percy boarded the third section, which included seven coaches and a heavily loaded baggage car. Percy’s coach would have followed right behind the baggage car, while a heavy Pullman sleeper pulled up the rear of the train. The last section of the train left Toronto at 4:00 a.m. and began its journey west.

The No. 1 westbound was to meet CPR’s eastbound No. 2 train the “Imperial Limited” at the small town of Azilda, 11 kilometres west of Sudbury. The Azilda station had an 800 m long siding and at 7:30 a.m. on September 12^th, the No. 1 Harvesters’ Special paused just short of the eastern switch to the siding, ready to pull off with the approach of the eastbound No. 2 train. 

It was raining that day, and the rails were slick. The eastbound train was running late – but had been trying to make up time and was running fast in the last 47 kilometres approaching Azilda. As the eastbound train approached the station at Azilda, the last run within 1.2 km was gently sloping downhill. Engineer W. Thurlow reduced steam and applied brakes within 400 metres of the station, intending to stop four car-lengths from the standing westbound train. Brakes on the front sections of the No. 2 train (the locomotive, tender, refrigerator car and baggage car) engaged, but none of the brakes further back along the train came on. The train continued bearing down on the stopped train at 64 km/hr without slowing. Engineer Thurlow realized something was wrong and signalled for the emergency brakes then blew a steam signal to warn his own crew and the crew of the standing “Harvesters’ Special” train. There was no time for the standing train to start backing up. Both crews jumped for their lives before the locomotive of the eastbound No. 2 train crashed into the standing train loaded with excursionists and all their gear.

The passengers on the eastbound train were saved by the refrigerator car that had been loaded with salmon. This unit took most of the force and saved the passenger car from taking the brunt of the impact. The standing No. 1 Harvesters’ train was not protected in any way and the lead baggage car telescoped into the leading passenger car, killing twelve passengers. Many were trapped between seats and under flooring and some of the injured had to wait more than two hours before the luggage could be cleared to release them.

The twelve killed were all from Ontario, Percy was the youngest male at 24, all the rest were men between the ages of 35-55 years with the exception of two sisters, aged 10 and 12 who had been sitting in front of their parents. Their parents walked away from the wreck but their daughters were not spared. An additional 17 were injured.

Train wreck at Azilda, Ontario, 12 September 1906. Credit: photographer William G. Gillespie/Library and Archives Canada/PA- (no restrictions on use, copyright expired).

Ultimately the cause of the crash was attributed to mechanical failure due to the unexplained closure of a brake valve on the rear cars of the eastbound No. 2 train and no one was blamed. Investigators attributed the closure of the valve as the result of two dangling chains that may have swung wildly from the train’s movement, striking the valve behind the third car of the No. 2 train, closing it and rendering the braking power of the train behind the front three cars useless. However, Halliday (1997) questions whether investigations were thorough enough to count out how environmental conditions (wet, slippery rails) and speeding (as the No. 2 train had been trying to make up lost time as it approached Azilda) contributed to the crash. It was also unclear as to why the Harvesters’ Special train had not moved off onto the Azilda siding and off the main track. But it had been running late that day. Accounts from surviving passengers stated that the Harvesters’ Special was moving forward very slowly at the time of the crash, perhaps it was just starting to enter the siding when the other train appeared. It would have been impossible for the Harvesters’ train to move backwards or forwards fast enough to escape the collision with the oncoming train. The Azilda train crash is considered one of Canada’s worst railway accidents (see Halliday 1997). 

Train wreck at Azilda, Ontario, 12 September 1906. Credit: photographer William G. Gillespie/Library and Archives Canada/PA- (no restrictions on use, copyright expired).

Percy Baker was born Horace Percival Baker, eldest son of Isaac Cober Baker and Caroline Brillinger. Percy was born 9^th of May 1884 in Nottawa, Ontario. Percy’s mother Caroline “Carrie” Brillinger, died in 1891 when Percy was only 7 years old. Percy’s father Isaac remarried the following December 1892 to Leah Toman. In 1901, 16 year old Percy was living in Nottawasaga Township with his father Isaac C. Baker and stepmother Leah Toman Baker and family which included Percy’s full siblings, Cora (15 years), Lydia (13 years) and Fred Nicholas Baker (10 years) and half siblings (children of Isaac C. Baker and Leah Toman), Eunice (7 years), Alvin (6 years) and Elma (3 years) as well as their grandmother Barbara Baker (nee Cober) 83 years. Barbara Cober Baker was my own third great grandmother on my mother’s side.

After the Azilda train wreck of the 12^th of September 1906 that took his life, 22 year old Percy was buried at the Brethren in Christ Church Cemetery, 6^th Line, Stayner, Ontario, his grandmother Barbara Cober Baker was buried there four years later in the spring of 1910. By 1911, the Baker family was living in Saskatchewan but included only parents Isaac and Leah, eldest son Fred and younger siblings Eunice, Alvin and Elma. Percy’s father Isaac became a prominent character in the Kindersley area as a he had migrated to the area from Ontario with a number of families to homestead and to start a new branch of the Brethren In Christ Church. Elder Isaac Cober Baker and Bishop Charles Baker came from Ontario to Kindersley in the summer of 1906 to scout out land along with William Hahn of Delisle and Sam Swalm of Regina (both also originally from Nottawasaga Township, Ontario). Isaac Cober Baker had returned to Ontario that summer before Percy was killed on the ill-fated train. Isaac and his wife Leah and children returned to Saskatchewan in July of 1907 where they lived out their lives. Reverend Isaac Cober Baker died in 1946 at the age of 88 and his wife Leah died in 1931 at the age of 69. They are both buried in the Merrington Cemetery in Kindersley, Saskatchewan.

Percy’s sister Cora Baker married Charles Hall in 1917 and sister Lydia Baker married Merton Klippert in March 1907 in Collingwood, Ontario. Both Cora and Lydia’s families eventually made their way west. Cora passed away in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1960 at the age of 74; Lydia passed away in Calgary, Alberta in 1933 at the age of 45, her husband and eleven children all grew up in Calgary. Percy’s brother Fred Baker married Lena Winger in 1916; the couple had six children in the Kindersley area of Saskatchewan before leaving for California in 1926. Fred and Lena lived in California for most of their lives, Lena died in Nevada in 1972 at the age of 78, Fred passed away in Arkansas in 1977 at the age of 86 (he was likely living with one of his daughters at the time). 

Percy is my 1st cousin three times removed.

List of Passengers Killed in the Azilda Train Wreck*

All were found dead at the crash site except Samuel Kingston, who died of his injuries in Sudbury as a result of the wreck.

1. William B. Puddicombe (record #98), male, about 35 or 31 years of age of N.W.T., formerly of Haysville, Ontario; farmer and speculator, born in Ontario, Wilmot Township, Waterloo County, married, Episcopalian, nephew of Thomas B. Puddicombe; member of the New Hamburg A.F. and A.M.; leaves a wife and two small children.
2. Samuel Kingston,(record #99), male, 50 years from Frankfort, farmer, died in Sudbury of injuries received in Azilda train wreck, born in Ontario, married, Protestant.
3. Henry Hermann (record #100), male, about 40 years, successful farmer from North Easthope, Ontario; twice married, leaves a widow and five grown-up children; born in Ontario, resident of New Hamburg, Protestant.
4. Dr. H.S. Milne, (record #101), male, about 50 years from Woodslee, Ont., physician, married, born in Ontario, Protestant; leaves a widow and two children, was living in Hillsdown, Alta, returning home to Alberta when train crashed.
5. Francis “Frank” Blackwell,(record #102), male, 45 years, Toronto Police Officer, married, born in Ont., resident of Toronto, Protestant; member of the Occident Masonic Lodge and the K.O.T.M. (Knights of the Macabees).
6. Reverend Jabez J. Noble, (record #103), male, about 40 years, Methodist Minister, born in Ontario, from Luton, Elgin County, Ontario, Protestant; former pastor of the Elizabeth Street Methodist Church, Barrie, Ont., leaves a wife, no children; was a member of the No. 63 Independent Order of Oddfellows.
7. Charles Palmer, (record #104), male, about 35, from Toronto or Miller’s Hollow, York County, Ontario, married, born in England, Protestant; leaves a widow and six small children at Miller’s Hollow, a village near Wexford; from Worcestershire, England last September.
8. Thomas B. Puddicombe, (record #105), male, 55 years from Haysville, Ontario, capitalist, married, Protestant; was the director of the Standard Loan Company and connected with many other monetary institutions, he was a prominent Free Mason, a Conservative and member of the Church of England. He leaves a widow and five children.
9. Louis Pfaff, (record #106), male, 50 years, from New Hamburg, proprietor of the local bus and baggage line in New Hamburg, born in Ontario, Protestant. Leaves a widow and four children.
10. Percy Baker, #107, male, 24, from Collingwood, Ontario, born in Ontario, Protestant.
11. Olivia Schade, (record #108), female, 10 years, school girl from Mitchell, Ont.; born in Ontario, Protestant.
12. Viola Schade, (record #109), female, 12 years, school girl from Mitchell, Ontario (sister of Olivia Schade); born in Ontario, Protestant.

*Compiled from information available in Ontario Death Records [District of Nipissing, Sudbury, Ontario, Death Certificates, Schedule C, pages 77 and 78. Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938 and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947]; and from news reporting at the time of the crash.

Transcripts of News Articles Regarding the Accident

The Saturday News, Collingwood, 15 Sept 1906 (Front Page)

KILLED IN COLLISION

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The telegram which came to Mr. Samuel Ditson about half-past seven o’clock on Wednesday evening announcing the death of Percy Baker was the first intimation the people of Collingwood got of the terrible accident on the C.P.R. near Sudbury. The sad news quickly spread and those who had friends on the way to the West were much concerned for their safety. Among those from this district were Mr. A. Rentner,  Miss. Agnes May, Mr. Colin McGregor, Mr. Walter Scott and Mr. W. Williams.

For some time no definite information could be ascertained as to the section of the Pacific express was in the trouble. The News put itself into communication with The Globe and learned particulars, scouring the names of the killed and the most seriously injured. This relieved the tension, and the townspeople waited until the arrival of the daily papers to learn further details.

The remains of Percy Baker were brought back to Stayner on Thursday by his cousin, Mr. Charles Baker who was accompanying him to the West. The deceased was the oldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Baker, who live in the Dutch Settlement in the Township of Nottawasaga, about seven miles from here and five from Stayner. He was about twenty-five years of age and was on his way West to engage in farming. His destination was Regina. The deceased was a highly intelligent, progressive and energetic young fellow, and was buoyant with hopes of a bright and successful future in the West. The funeral took place in the Tunkard cemetery yesterday. Mr. and Mrs. Baker, the parents of the unfortunate young man were in Waterloo with friends when they received the news of the death of their son.

The Saturday News, Collingwood 15 September 1906

TERRIBLE C.P.R. WRECK

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Atlantic and Pacific Express Trains Meet near Sudbury

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Twelve Excursionists of Harvester’s Train, Which Left Toronto Tuesday, Killed Outright, and Three Score Injured – Forty of These Are Seriously Injured and Some of Them May Die – List of Dead and Injured.

Sudbury, Sept 13 – Twelve dead and three-score injured, many of them seriously, and some, perhaps fatally in the toll of a collision on the C.P.R. early yesterday morning near Azilda station six and on-half miles west of Sudbury.

Failure of the brakes on the fast-going express bound east is held to be responsible for the collision which caused the first colonist car of the third section of the harvester train No. 1 to be telescoped. All the dead and injured were in this car.

The accident occurred about 7:15 yesterday morning. The third section of train No. 1 going west, which left Toronto yesterday afternoon, and the second section of No. 2, coming east had orders to cross at Azilda station.

The harvester train was to take the siding and had slowed up within 75 yards of the switch when the express plunged into it.

A Tremendous Crash.

There was a tremendous crash, a rendering of metal and wood, the hissing of steam and then the air filled with cries, shrieks and groans of passengers of both trains.

There were fifteen coaches on the harvester train with over 300 people on board. The eastbound train was also well-filled, but these passengers suffered only from the severe shaking up.

Luckily, fire did not break out among the wreckage, and the work of rescue was facilitated considerably. Those who were unhurt joined in the task of removing the injured and dead. Word was sent to Sudbury and four doctors were soon attending the wounded who were later brought here and taken to the hospital and local hotels.

The dead were brought here and preparations for an inquest are underway.

The Dead.

As announced by the C.P.R. officials at Montreal:

F. Blackwell, policeman, 55 Bellevue Avenue, Toronto.

Charles Palmer, Toronto.

J.J. Noble, Barrie.

Thos. Puddicomb, Haysville (probably Hagersville, Ont.).

Louis Pfaff, New Hamburg, Ont.

S.F. Milne, N.W.T.

William Puddicomb, New Hamburg, Ont.

Viola Schade and Olivia Schade, Monkton, Ont. These were two children, 12 and 10 years of age respectively. Their parents were also very seriously injured and are now in the hospital at Sudbury.

Besides these there is still one body which has not been recognized.

Dead as Given in Dispatches

Herbert Williams, Toronto.

Dr. Milne, South Woodslee (near London).

Henry Herman, New Hamberg

Dr. Donald Currie, Emsdale

Official List of Injured

George Arose, Frankfort, Ont., badly bruised.

Sheldon Marrin, badly bruised and leg fractured.

Leonard Schade, head cut and severely bruised.

Mrs. Schade, severely cut and bruised.

E.Walt, Stockdale, Ont., seriously injured.

Samuel Kingston, Frankfort, Ont., leg broken and internally injured.

Besides these about a score of other passengers were slightly injured, with broken fingers, bruises, cuts, etc.

Reported in the Dispatches

William Rowe, Frankfort, feet and internal injuries.

Herbert Williams, Toronto, cuts and bruises, doing well.

Sheldon Moran, Frankfort, fractured leg.

Seymour Chapman, Maple View, Ont., cut and bruised.

Mrs. Willoughby, Tennison, London, England, seriously injured.

George Jaral, Essex, Ont., cut and bruised.

J. Walt, Stockdale, Ont., severely injured.

William Alexander, Parkhead, Ont., cut and bruised.

George Reis, Hanover, Ont., seven ribs broken and other injuries: doing well.

Samuel Kingston, Frankfort, legs and body badly cut; condition critical.

David Martin, Warsenburg, slightly injured.

Jacob Meisenger, Hanover, arms and head injured, not seriously.

C. Hamilton, Harper’s Corners, Ont., slightly injured.

George Rose, Frankfort, slightly injured.

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THE OFFICIAL ACCOUNT.

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Montreal, Sept. 13 – Last night General Manager McNicoll of the C.P.R. gave out the following report of the wreck at Sudbury:

“As far as the meagre despatches we have of the accident go to show, it was caused by the failure of the brakes on the express to act. The harvesters’ train was standing on the main line waiting while the brakeman ran ahead to turn the switch, so that it might be sidetracked to allow the passage of the east-bound express. Before he could get the sitch in position the express arrived and plunged head-on into the train, smashing the first colonist to fragments and killing or injuring over half the people in it.

The engineer of the east-bound express was not killed and he later claimed that the accident was caused through the failure of the brakes on his train A hasty examination of the train proved the correctness of this assertion. A little back of the middle of the express an “angle cock” on the air brake tubes had been turned which shut off the latter half of the train where the heavy sleepers and diner were, from the front end. The result was that when the engineer applied the brakes from the front half of the train was affected, and the weight of the latter half forced it on into the standing train.

Had the brakes not been applied at all there would have been a much greater accident, as the harvester’s train was crowded with passengers.”

A Drastic Investigation

Regina, Sask. Sept 13 – Sir Thomas Shaughnessy, president of the C.P.R. and the annual inspecting party of directors fo the Inc. arrived in the city shortly after 6 o’clock last evening. They had already heard of the terrible accident near Sudbury by which 13 harvesters are reported killed.

The president and individual members of the party expressed themselves as greatly shocked at the deplorable catastrophe and the president said, “You may rest assured that the most thorough and drastic investigation will ensue.”

The Enterprise-Messenger – Thursday 20 Sept 1906 p2 c5

Killed At Sudbury

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Among the killed at the terrible railway accident at Sudbury, was Percy Baker, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Baker, of the 6^th line of Nottawasaga, who was on his way west to engage in farming. The deceased was a highly respected young man and had a bright future before him. The funeral took place to the Tunkard cemetery on Friday. The remains were accompanied by his cousin, Mr. C.W. Baker.

C.W. Baker, a cousin of Percy Baker, who was killed, was one of those who was only bruised, and he assisted in the work of rescue. One man who was twisted and held in a terrible position under two dead men and heavy iron and timbers had a voice like Percy Baker. The work of rescuing the man took two hours but the real Percy Baker was dead of injuries. He was in the wash-room at the time of the crash. C.W. Baker, his cousin said that he had a presentiment that there was to be an accident from the beginning of the trip. He first heard a dull and heavy crash, then a yell of “Collision!” then came a noise of grinding, grating timbers, of ripping and tearing wood. He jumped for the end of the car, and with an unknown woman, jumped from the steps, escaping with only slight bruises.

Amongst those on the ill-fated train from this district were Miss Agnew may, of Banks; Mr. Colin McGregor, Duntroon; Messrs. A. Renter and W. Scott.

Richmond Hill, The Liberal, Page 2, Thursday, September 20, 1906

STORY OF THE WRECK – MANY WITNESSES OF THE AZILDA TRAGEDY RETURN HOME –

 Apparently slippery rails, combined with obstinate air-brakes, had a great deal to do with the terrible wreck on the C.P.R. at Azilda, near Sudbury, according to reports given by passengers who were in the speedy Imperial Limited at the time it crashed into the harvesters special, and passengers who were in the latter also. A number of these passengers arrived in Toronto from North Bay by Grand Trunk, on Thursday, and their hurried descriptions convey an idea of the magnitude of the disaster in which fourteen lives were lost.

THE KILLED.

Viola Schade, aged 12, Monkton, Ontario.
Olive Schade, aged 14, Monkton, Ontario.
Dr. Milne, South Woodslee, Ontario.
Frank Blackwell, Toronto.
Reverend J. J. Noble, Methodist minister, Luton, Elgin County, Ontario.
Nelson Schatz, New Hamburg, Ontario.
A wire from New Hamburg says Mr. Schatz is still living, but his name has not been withdrawn from the official list of dead.
Henry Harmann, North Easthope.
W. B. Puddicombe, N.W.T., formerly of Haysville, Ontario.
Thos. Puddicombe, Haysville, Ontario.
Louis Pfaff, New Hamburg.
Charles Palmer, Miller’s Hollow, York County, Ontario.
Samuel Kingston, Frankfort.
Unknown but, believed to be E. May, Winfield, Ontario.
Percy Baker, Collingwood.

RAIN WAS FALLING as the Imperial Limited dashed up on the special, making the rails decidedly slippery, and thereby causing an additional difficulty in bringing the heavy flyer to a stop. So far as is known at present the special was barely moving, being just about to enter the switch at Azilda. Latest reports indicate that no person in the Limited was injured, though it is said the fireman was bruised by jumping from the cab. Almost every passenger seen unhesitatingly said that the speed of their train had been checked considerably before the crash came. The grinding of the airbrakes on the wheels was distinctly audible, though it is said these did not work as they should have done.

HARROWING SCENES DESCRIBED the description of the scenes subsequent to the collision are harrowing in the extreme. In the downpour of rain the work of rescue was immediately commenced. Passengers and neighbouring farmers nobly assisted the train crew in their duty. The injured and dead arrived in Sudbury at about noon, and their removal from the cars afforded one of the most mournful spectacles in the whole history of the town.

WAS AN ILL-FATED CAR.
In some cases these had lost their baggage or had been shaken up so that they did not care to continue the western trip. Among the number was James W. Bartley of Murray Township, Northumberland County whose coat was torn in the collision and who received a number of scratches as well as a bad shaking up. Mr. Bartley admitted that his escape was little short of miraculous, since he was in the car where all the deaths occurred.
“I was three seats from the front of the car, he said, and I saw that ponderous baggage van come right into our car with hardly a moment’s notice. I crouched down. But two men who occupied the double seat with me were killed. I was pinned down for a few minutes, but releasing myself I crawled through a window, wondering at my escape. The baggage just seemed to chew everything to pieces that was in its path. I lost all my baggage, but was very thankful to get away so luckily.”

MANY BODIES MANGLED
Sitting at breakfast, James F. Kennedy and his daughter, of Lindsay, who also returned, were interrupted by the shock, followed by a shower of broken glass from the chandeliers, while the victuals were dashed to the floor. Mr. Kennedy was in the seventh coach of the westbound special. I went outside to investigate, said Mr. Kennedy, but for fully five minutes we could not distinguish anything because of escaping steam. Subsequent sights accompanied by groans of the injured were simply horrible. Many of the bodies were fearfully mangled, some of them being crushed flat.”

TWO SISTERS EXPERIENCES.
Two sisters, Miss Annie Veitch and Miss Jenn Veitch of Winterbourne, who, were travelling together to Medicine Hat, were so unnerved from the effects of the accident that they decided to return home.
“Did you see anything of the wreck afterwards? the young ladies were asked.
“No, replied Miss Annie, with a shudder. I saw two little girls lying dead just outside our car. That sight was enough; we hadn’t nerve enough to go out and see anything more.

HOW IT OCCURRED
I was standing in one of the tourist cars when the collision occurred, but the shock did not knock me off my feet, said Mr. A. McKellar, a farmer from Hibbert Township, Perth County, in giving a most practical description of the wreck. Mr. McKellar was returning from the west on the Imperial Limited with his wife and Mrs. A. E. Hodgert of Exeter, Ontario.
I distinctly felt the brakes grip the wheels shortly after we had passed the western entrance to the switch at Azilda. Rain was falling, and perhaps the braking was hindered by slippery rails. The collision occurred about 100 feet east of the eastern entrance to the siding. In other words the harvesters special never entered the siding where it was intended the two trains should pass. I cannot tell the reason.”
“What did the wreck look like?
“The engines of both trains were smashed somewhat. The fish car on one train was in splinters, while a baggage car was damaged. On the harvesters special a box car containing baggage next to the engine was turned on end. A heavy baggage car had risen on top of the passenger coach following, where all the people were killed. This baggage car almost went through the coach, pinning the inmates down so that they could not move.

PINNED BENEATH THE DEBRIS.
I saw men jerking at the trunks and hauling them off, but I didn’t know what was wrong until I looked under the car and saw a mass of splintered wood it was the first colonist car half buried under the luggage, while the other end was thrown up and lying skew-gee across the track. The baggage car had telescoped, the other.”
Mr. McKellar started in at the pile of luggage nearest the engine and worked until after 12 o’clock without a break.
Five or six people, they said, were pinned under it. It took us over two hours to get the trunks off, and then the thick floor of the baggage car was between us and those underneath. We got axes and split a hole in it, but that wouldn’t work, and we split it up the centre and jacked the two parts off and got in at the wreckage underneath.
“The two sisters were taken out first. They were near the top, both of them badly crushed. But lower down was a man who was still living, and for hours we worked to get him. He did not complain, however, though he was being crushed and almost smothered. When we got near him we found that his legs were caught in Policeman Blackwell’s, just as firm as if you locked legs. The policeman was farther down, and we had to clear most of the stuff off his body before we got the living man. Just there we found another dead body, and the last of all to be cleared of the whole wreck was the Toronto constable. All this time little could be heard of the cries of the wounded above the roar of escaping steam. It was a terrible time.”

NO ONE TO BLAME.
General Superintendent Brady of the Lake Superior division has issued the following official statement:
“I was over the ground and I know that no one was to blame for the accident. There was no negligence. There was no mistake. It was simply a mechanical failure. Both trains intended to stop. In fact, both trains were where they ought to have been. The train going west had halted two car lengths from the east end of the switch, which is 2,500 feet long. The train going east was to stop four car lengths from the westbound train to allow the later to enter the siding. The eastbound train was not going fast, and Engineer Thurlow put on his air brakes, but, owing to a closed angle-cock only the engine, refrigerator and mail cars responded, and the trains telescoped.”

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Richmond Hill News Article submitted to Ancestry.com message boards by Jay Underwood, Elmsdale, Nova Scotia, Canada December 2005 Canadian-Train-Disasters-List Archives[http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/CANADIAN-TRAIN-DISASTERS/2005-12/1134958990] accessed November 2012

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Post Script

I found it interesting that there had been this historic migration of people moving from eastern Canada to western Canada on an annual basis at harvest time. This is a significant part of Canadian history and yet another thing I had never come across during my Canadian education! I have also included the transcriptions of a number of news articles from the time, not only because of the detail provided, but also because of the style of writing used by newspapers in the early 1900s. While we think our current news and movies are quite graphic, I found some of the descriptions of the accident more graphic than I would have expected in any current news articles. A terrible accident for sure, but not one that should be forgotten. I hope this article provides information for any of the family historians out there who are researching their families who may have been involved. 

Collingwood Maritime History: The Armistice Day Storm 1940 - Captain Russell Elyea

Collingwood Maritime History Remembered

It was several years ago when I "bumped" into this story from my family tree. I remember the discovery vividly. It was around Christmas, my children were all quite young at the time, we were home and I was taking some time out on my computer to do a little Family History Research. I grew up with my great-grandmother Mae Elyea (nee Hall) telling stories and talking about family, but had heard little about her husband Fred Elyea's family. Fred passed away very young, at only 38 years old he left my great grandmother with 11 children under 16 and a farm to run with Fred's parents Silas and Catherine Elyea. My great-grandma lived to be a month short of her 100th birthday and was a force to be reckoned with her whole life. I knew her husband Fred had brothers, and a sister - but had heard few stories of them. In part I believe it was because after Fred's father Silas passed away in 1934, the farm ownership fell to his sons, who promptly sold it. My great grandmother and her flock of children were forced out of their home and livelihood; perhaps the family never forgave the boys (both Russell and Dow) for the eviction and this was the reason this story was never spoken. I don't know for sure. Maybe it is just that no one ever asked?

I was amazed at the stories of both Russell and his brother Dow Elyea and shocked that I had never heard them before. It also saddened me a little that of all the history that I learned as a child growing up in the Collingwood area, this very local story was not taught. As I asked about details of this event, I realized it was a story that had been forgotten.

This year is the 75th Anniversary of the Armistice Day Storm of 1940. While I give my utmost respect to the veterans of the past and present on this day, I think it is time that the tragic story of the crew of the three boats, the Anna C. Minch, the William B. Davock and the Novadoc are brought to light, and remembered.

Captain Russell Elyea 

Captain Russell Elyea was the eldest son of Thomas “Silas” Elyea and Catherine McElroy. The family included two younger sons, Dow and Frederick Silas and a daughter “Frankie” Frankena Gladys May Elyea. Silas’ father Daniel Elyea was one of the original pioneers of the Collingwood area, homesteading at the base of Blue Mountain with his wife Sophia Elizabeth Cade.

Russell Elyea was born 21 February 1885 in Bay City, Michigan. His father Thomas “Silas” Elyea had been working there as a Lumberman prior to 1883 when he married Catherine McElroy in Collingwood, Ontario. The couple returned to Michigan for a short while after marrying but by 1887 the family was back in Collingwood with the birth of Russell’s brother Dow Joseph Elyea on the 5^th of Feb 1887. Sister “Frankie” was born 2 years later on the 15^th of March 1889 and 2 years after that, brother Frederick Silas Elyea was born on the 1^st of June 1891, both in Kirkville near  Collingwood, Ontario. All of the Elyea children went to school at Kirkville; the old school house still stands just east of the corner of the Mountain Road and Grey Road 19. The Elyea farm was located on the north side of the Mountain Road at the base of the south end of Blue Mountain. The farm was sold after Russell’s father Silas passed away in 1934. On the 7^th of June 1945, fire swept through the unoccupied brick farmhouse leaving nothing but smoldering ruins. Today the area is being cleared for a housing development.

Immigration records between Canada and the USA show that Russell started working as a sailor on the Great Lakes when he was about 19 years old and by the time he was in his early 40s, he had ascended to the rank of First Mate (at 42 in 1915 aboard the Mathewston) and Master (by the age of 47 aboard the Oakton). Both the Mathewston and Oakton were owned by the Mathews Steamship Company of Toronto, Ontario plying goods between Port Colborne and Minnesota. Ship records describe Captain Elyea as an Irish Canadian, 5’6” tall with auburn hair and brown eyes. Russell’s brother Dow Elyea also worked on the Great Lakes as a Mariner but left Ontario for Alberta shortly after marriage (after 1915) to join the Hudson’s Bay Company as a ships pilot on the MacKenzie River.

Russell married Zella May Woodhouse on the 7^th of January 1914 in Meaford, Ontario. They had one child, a daughter named Muriel Marguerette Elyea (born 4 June 1915, died 12 Sept 1999). Russell died in 1940 aboard the lake boat, Anna C. Minch that was lost with the entire crew during the Armistice Day Storm on the 11^th of November 1940. At the time of his death, 55 year old Captain Elyea had served as a Mariner on the Great Lakes for 31 years. He left behind his 48 year old wife Zella and 25 year old daughter Muriel.

Muriel married Edward “Ted” Avery on the 6^th of August 1945 at the age of 30. The couple had two children, David and Janice. Muriel lived to the age of 84, outliving her husband by several years, they are buried in the Trinity United Cemetery, Collingwood, Ontario. Zella remarried after the death of her husband Russell. Her second husband, Thomas Skelton (born abt 1885 died bef. 1985) was a local widower and the couple remained in the Collingwood area. Zella died in 1985 at the age of 93 and is buried with her first husband Captain Russell Elyea in the Trinity United Cemetery, Collingwood, Ontario.

S.S. Anna C. Minch (from the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University,  http://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/vessel/view/004914)

The Armistice Day Storm 11^th of November 1940: Three Ships Lost on the Lake

The Sinking of the S.S. Anna C. Minch, S.S. William B. Davock and the S.S. Novadoc

Seventy-five years ago on the 11^th of November 1940, my late-grandfather lost his uncle Captain Russell Elyea when a terrible storm blew across the American Midwest and into the Great Lakes Region.  Captain Elyea was acting as first mate to Captain Donald Kennedy, also of Collingwood, aboard the S.S. Anna C. Minch, a steel-hulled lake freighter that was carrying a load of grain from Fort William (now known as Thunder Bay, Ontario) to Chicago, Illinois.  A day that had started with blue skies and unseasonably warm temperatures ended with a record-breaking cyclonic blizzard thought to be responsible for up to 154 deaths, 66 of these onboard three different lake-freighters, including the Minch, and two other smaller boats caught on Lake Michigan in one of the worst storms of the century.

The storm developed from an intense low pressure system that brought moisture from the Gulf of Mexico up over the southern plains into the American Midwest where it merged with a system blowing in from the Pacific Northwest with hurricane-force wind-gusts[1].  The resulting system collided with a cold arctic air mass from the north producing an intense cyclonic blizzard or a “Panhandle hook”[2] winter storm.  The difference between this storm and regular winter storms was the intensity of the system and the speed at which it was moving.  The warm, sunny morning of Nov 11^th 1940 started to turn by mid-day with blowing winds and rain.  It also arrived unannounced, as the Chicago weather office responsible for issuing weather warnings was unmanned in the early hours of Nov 11^th when the system was building.  As the temperatures dropped, rain turned to sleet and by mid-afternoon a raging blizzard was in full swing that lasted until the next day.  Wind speeds were recorded between 80-130 km/hour (50-80mph), snowfalls of up to 69cm (27 inches) that blew into 6m (20ft) snowdrifts.  Temperatures dropped 30C (or up to 50F).  

Transportation and communications were crippled.  Two trains collided in white out conditions in Minnesota, small boats were caught out on Lake Michigan, duck-hunters taking advantage of the beautiful fall conditions were trapped by the storm; many froze to death.  Those taking refuge on several small islands on the Mississippi River were flooded by 1.5m (5ft) waves and 80 km/hour (50mph) winds blowing through their small camps; some tried to make it to shore but drowned[3]. 

There were many boats on the water that day but three big lake boats on Lake Michigan found themselves in a perilous situation. These were the S.S. Anna C. Minch, the S.S. William B. Davock and the S.S. Novadoc.  The Minch was carrying a crew of 24, the Davock 33 and the Novadoc 19 men; with the Minch and Novadoc crews primarily from the Southern Georgian Bay region and the Davock primarily from the Michigan area of the USA.

The S.S. Anna C.  Minch was a 380ft long, 50ft wide, steel-hulled steamer with a capacity of 2,880 tons.   She was built in Cleveland, Ohio by the American Ship Building Company and owned by the Western Navigation Company, Ltd., out of Fort William, Ontario (now known as Thunder Bay).  According to the Collingwood newspaper, the Enterprise Bulletin[4], the Minch was owned by the James Murphy Coal Company of Fort William and Managed by the Sarnia Steamships Ltd, Port Colburne, Ontario.    The S.S. Anna C. Minch was named after the great grandmother of George Steinbrenner (Jr.), owner of the New York Yankees baseball team. The Canadian crew consisted of 23 men, and one woman who was acting as Assistant Steward to her husband who was Chief Steward.

The S.S. William B. Davock was owned by Pickands, Mather and Co. of Cleveland, Ohio[5]; she was carrying a crew of 33 men under the command of Captain Charles William Allen of Detroit, Michigan[6] and a load of coal from Erie, Pennsylvania.  The Davock was built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works, St. Clair, Michigan in 1907 and was operated by the Interlake Steamship Company.  The S.S. Willliam B. Davock  was a 420ft (130m) long and 52ft (16m) wide steamship.  It foundered off of Little Sable Point Lighthouse, Pentwater, Michigan on Nov 11^th 1940 but the location of the wreck was a mystery until May 1972, when the hull of the Davock was found by divers not far from the sunken hull of the Minch. 

November 3rd, 1940, the Minch had been in port at Collingwood with a part load of grain from the head of the Great Lakes and had left Fort William Nov 8th and was due in port in Chicago Wednesday at 2am.  On the 11th of November 1940, the Minch was carrying a load of hardwood lumber and commanded by Captain Donald Kennedy, 55, encountered seas that were more likely to be found on the north Atlantic than in the Great Lakes.  Accounts of that day estimated waves to be 30 feet high.  First mate of the ship was Captain Russell Elyea, 50, also an experienced Great Lakes Captain and second mate was Gordon Jeffrey, 31, of Collingwood, who was also a respected Captain.  The port at Pentwater would not have been accessible to the S.S. Anna C. Minch, even on a calm day due to the depth of the channel – it is thought that the good Captain Kennedy likely knew they were going down and hoped to get as close to shore as possible in hopes of rescue.  Due to limited visibility, it is likely that those onshore were unaware of what was going on just offshore with the Minch and the Davock. 

A third boat caught in the storm in the same area was the S.S. Novadoc, a Canadian ship that typically carried pulpwood; her crew included Ontario men from Collingwood, Singhampton, Midland and area.   The Novadoc, was another steelhulled ‘canaller’ that found itself in unmanageable seas.  “Nova” means “new” and “DOC” stood for “Dominion of Canada” a series of boats with the name “DOC” sailed out of the Collingwood harbour, some quite famous in their own right.  Accounts from the survivors of the Novadoc indicated that the weather that day was a bit foggy and the atmospheric pressure was dropping, but nobody knew it was going to get as bad as it did.  Swells were so high that they could not turn the boat and were then driven into the sandy shoals off of Little Sable Point near Pentwater, Michigan.  The only time they could see the lighthouse was when they were on the top of a wave that the crew described as “mountainous”. Once they were run aground the pounding surf broke the ship in half but their crew managed to huddle in cabins in the fore and aft parts of the ship for two days until a brave local captain, Clyde Cross and crew Gustav Fisher and Joe Fountain forged the heavy surf in a little fishing boat the “Three Brothers II” and rescued the crew.  Cold, and nearly hypothermic, they recounted that they had needed to support the remaining cabin walls with any extra wood they could find to keep the surf from destroying their last bit of shelter.  They had burned cabin furniture and anything else they could find to keep warm.  Their rescue had come when they had doubted whether the captain’s cabin would hold.  The heroic little fishing boat braved waters that the coast guard had deemed unsafe and there was an extensive inquiry held afterwards determining if the coast guard had indeed made the right decision to hold off on the rescue. 

Twenty four hours after the sinking of the Anna C. Minch and the William B. Davock, bodies began washing up on the Michigan shoreline along with debris from the wrecks.  My great-uncle was found the following spring, identified through dental records.  At the time he was survived by his wife Zella and a young daughter Muriel.  His brother Dow Elyea, also a ship captain working for the Hudson’s Bay Company in western Canada, acted as a pall bearer at his funeral.   Captain Russell Elyea is buried in Collingwood, Ontario along with his wife, Zella Woodhouse.  The wreck of the Minch was found by Captain J.D. Montgomery who discovered the ship’s wind vane sticking above the surface of the water.  Captain Montgomery had the vane mounted with a plaque stating “Presented to Stan Kennedy by Captain J.D. Montgomery, in memory of his brother Captain D.A. Kennedy, master, who went down with his ship, Nov 11 1940.”  Stan Kennedy of Port Colburne, Ontario received the vane and immediately passed it along to David Williams of the Huron Institute so that it could be used as an exhibit.^[7] This weather vane currently resides in the Collection at the Collingwood Museum in Collingwood, Ontario (Pers. Comm. S. Warner[8]).

Early theories were that the Minch collided with the S.S. William B. Davock as the two boats sank very close to each other in waters 1.5 miles south of Pentwater.  Many continued to theorize and speculate until 1972 when the hull was finally found.  With no evidence of a collision on the hull of the Davock and the rudder locked hard to port, the evidence suggests that the Davock was simply overwhelmed by the storm. In 2014, a dive on the wreck confirmed that the loss of the Davock was a result of a broken rudder that jammed against the propeller breaking of one or more of the propeller blades. This would have left the Davock without steering or propulsion[9] it sunk in 200 feet of water, likely after capsizing in the rough waters. The wreck of the Minch lies in two large pieces over a large area.  Early reports soon after the sinking from Captain Kennedy’s brother Mr. Stanley Kennedy indicated that divers found that the upper works of the vessel had been completely swept away and only the hull of the Minch remained.[10]  Recent dives on the Minch indicated that the boilers were still intact on the wreck which may have indicated that the ship had lost power before it sank. If the boat had gone down under full steam, the change in temperature and pressure would have led to the boilers exploding.  If this was the case, both the Minch and the Davock had lost control of their vessels. They really didn’t stand a chance in the hurricane conditions. All twenty-four of the Minch crewmen and thirty-three on the Davock were lost.

Current naval buffs list the Anna C. Minch and the William B. Davock among the ‘ghost-ships’ of the Great Lakes.  These were ships that disappeared, and sank without a complete explanation of their circumstances.  It is clear, however, that these boats, no matter how large or strong, were no match for the monstrous waves generated by the Armistice Day storm of the 11th of November, 1940.

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[1] This was the same storm that took out the Tacoma Narrows Bridge on 7^th Nov 1940 (the famous “galloping bridge”).

[2] Wikipedia (2010) Armistice Day Blizzard

[3] MPRnews (2010) The Winds of Hell.  Minnesota Public Radio News.

[4] Enterprise Bulletin, Collingwood,  Thursday Nov 14^th, 1940

[5] Sandusky Register, Ohio, Nov 13^th 1940

[6] Enterprise Bulletin, Collingwood, Thursday Nov 14^th, 1940

[7] From a newspaper clipping in the collection “Brookes Scrapbooks, July to Dec. 1941, Jul 1941” page ¹⁰, posted at http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/63084/page/14?q=

[8] Personal communication, S. Warner, Collingwood Museum, October 2015

[9] Michigan Shipwreck Research Association, 2015 Research Report

[10] Enterprise Bulletin, Collingwood Thursday Nov 21, 1940

Further information can be found in a video produced by Ric Mixter, "Safe Ashore: The 1940 Armistice Day Storm" at http://www.lakefury.com/ - the video documents the story of the Novadoc with interviews with surviving crew members. 

Listen to Dan Hall's song "Safe Ashore" with video clips of the documentary:

https://youtu.be/N4uh6aJeDoU

Sailors Lost During the Armistice Day Storm 11^th November 1940

Steamer Anna C. Minch

Captain Donald Kennedy, 55, married, Collingwood, ON, five seasons on the Minch

First Mate – Captain Russell Elyea, 50, married, Collingwood, ON, five seasons on the Minch

Second Mate – Captain Gordon Jeffrey, 31, married, Collingwood, ON, five seasons on the Minch

Chief Engineer – Vincent Reive, 57, married, Lefroy, ON, fourteen seasons on the Minch

2^nd Engineer – James Barker, 48, married, Freeman, ON, one week on the Minch

Steward – Howard Kirton, 35, married, Owen Sound, ON, two seasons on the Minch

Assistant Steward – Mabel Kirton, 34, wife of H. Kirton, two seasons on the Minch

Wheelsman – W. Vollick, 35, married, Midland, ON, two seasons on the Minch

Wheelsman – Lawrence Thompson, 21, single, Midland, ON, six months on the Minch

Lookout – George A. Sovey, 19, single, Midland, ON, six months on the Minch

Lookout – S. MacMath, 19, single, Goderich, ON, six months on the Minch

Fireman – Charles Myers, 26, married, Collingwood, ON, two seasons on the Minch

Fireman – Stanley McNab, 29, single, Collingwood, ON, two seasons on the Minch

Fireman – D. Rose, 24, single, Goderich, ON, six months on the Minch

Fireman – Howard Contois, 28, married, Midland, ON, one month on the Minch

Oiler – M. Dillon, 30, single, Maynooth, ON, four seasons on the Minch

Oiler – James McEachern, 25, single, Collingwood, ON, four seasons on the Minch

Ord. Seaman – R. Vollick, 16, single, Midland, ON, five months on the Minch (son of Wheelsman Vollick)

Ord. Seaman – Russ Thompson, 18, single, Midland, ON, four months on the Minch (son of Wheelsman Thompson)

Ord. Seaman – Clifford Contois, 21, single, Midland, ON, one month on the Minch (brother of Fireman Contois)

Ord. Seaman – J. Galliano, 19, single, Britt, ON, two weeks on the Minch

(List from the records of the Sarnia Steamship Company, crew of the steamer “Anna C. Minch” courtesy of Ric Mixter; confirmed in part by the list published by USGenNet 2013, http://www.us-data.org/mi/glm/storm/1940/news/crew.txt ).

Steamer William B. Davock

S.S. William B. Davock (From the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University; http://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/vessel/view/001605 ).

Commander, Captain – Charles William Allen, Detroit, MI

First Mate – Charles E. Price, Highland Park, MI

Second Mate – John Weisen, Ashtabula, OH

Third Mate – Leroy Shurkey, Cleveland, OH

Wheelsman – Frank Stonek, Brooklyn, NY

Wheelsman – Andrew Stiffler, Cleveland, OH

Wheelsman – Walter Kiewice, McKean, PA

Watchman – Lawrence Edward Bleshoy, Ashtabula, OH

Watchman – James W. Bowman, Lyndhurst, OH

Watchman/Crewman – Joseph Rakowski (or Rokowski), Cleveland, OH

Deck Watchman – Martin Patrick Chambers (or Chalmers), Cleveland, OH

Deck Watchman/Crewman – Edward E. Becker, St. Clair, MI, 29 years old

Deck Watchman/Crewman – James Gordon, Harrison, MI

Deckhand – Woodring Wilson, Ashtabula, OH

Chief Engineer – John T. Burns, Toledo, OH

1^st Assistant, 3^rd Engineer/Oilman – Jere Collins, Milwaukee, WI

2^nd Assistant to the Engineer – Harold Mullen, Sault Ste. Marie, MI

3^rd Assistant to the Engineer – Arnold Johnson, Lake Carriers, So. Chicago

Oiler/Crewman – Carl Sharrow, Marine City, MI, 31 years old

Oiler/Crewman – Charles W. Findley (or Findlay), Ashtabula, OH

Oiler/Crewman – Jay E. Weber, Fair Haven, MI, 52 years old

Fireman/Crewman – Charles Ferguson, Tipton, IN

Fireman/Crewman – Lyle Doyle, Ashland, WI

Fireman/Crewman – Frank Parker, Conway, MI

Coal Passer/Crewman – Orville J. Shirkey, St. Clair, MI, 21 years old

Coal Passer/Crewman – Godfried E. Lietka Jr., Forest Hills, MI, 22 years old

Coal Passer/Crewman – Floyd Homer Younkins, Marine City, MI, 26 years old

Steward – Lawrence Gonyea, Duluth, MN

Second Cook – Lyle Campbell, Toledo, OH

Porter – Charles Flint, Ashtabula, OH

Porter – John Janatis, Ironwood, MI

2^nd Mate, Wheelman – George Hanson (unconfirmed if he was part of the crew)

(List from the records of the crew of the steamer “William B. Davock” from data published in SAGL (Strange Adventures on the Great Lakes) and the compilation on "boatnerd" The Great Lakes Ship Wreck File (Swayze 2001) http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/ and confirmed in part by the list published by USGenNet 2013, http://www.us-data.org/mi/glm/storm/1940/news/crew.txt ).

Steamer S.S. Novadoc

S.S. Novadoc (From the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University; http://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/vessel/view/005348 ).

Men Lost:

Steward/Cook - Joseph Deshaw, Toronto, ON

Second Cook - Phillip Falvin, Halifax, NS

Survivors:

Captain/Master – Donald Steip, Wiarton, ON

Captain – Dick Semple, Midland, ON

Chief Engineer - Ernest LaLonde, Collingwood, ON

2^nd Engineer - Fred Chessell, Collingwood, ON

2^nd Mate – Alarie Blanchette

Wheelsman – Lloyd Belcher (interviewed in the documentary, "Safe Ashore")

Wheelsman – Bill Morrison

Lookout – Douglas Houden

Lookout – Joe Lacasse

Deckhand – Thomas Robinson

Crewman – Walter Marshall

Oiler – Dave Prentice

Oiler - Clifford Goldsmith, Singhampton, ON

Fireman - Howard Goldsmith, Singhampton, ON (interviewed in the documentary, "Safe Ashore")

Fireman – John Peterson

Fireman – James Quin

Deckhand – Everett Turner

Seaman – Tom Robinson

Seaman – Ray King

Deckhand – Bill Semple (son of Captain Dick Semple)

(List from the records of the crew of the steamer “Novadoc” courtesy of Ric Mixter; confirmed in part by the list published by USGenNet 2013, http://www.us-data.org/mi/glm/storm/1940/news/crew.txt ).

Foundering S.S. Novadoc off of Pentwater, Michigan in November 1940. The crew was stranded for three days before rescuers dared to try to get the crew off the boat. (photo: http://www.lakefury.com/ ) 

From the Enterprise Bulletin Thursday 21st November 1940, Collingwood, Ontario.