“Brother Very having a taste for geological pursuits felt desirous of obtaining specimens from Cape Blomidon, so well known as Professor Chipman’s favourite resort for that purpose. They agreed to form a party for a visit to the spot.” (Distressing Calamity, Christian Messenger extra, 11 June 1852, 1) Archivist Wendy Robicheau knew little about Rev. Very before this research but soon learned that...
“Soon after [Phalen and Coldwell washed away], Mr. Very was washed off, but he swam to the boat, and was assisted on it by [Charles] Benjamin. He held on by the stern for ten or fifteen minutes, when three heavy seas in succession broke over them, and swept Mr. Very away.” (Distressing Calamity, Christian Messenger extra, 11 June 1852, 1) The story told by Charles Benjamin and recounted in the...
“The remaining four still clung to the boat. They were washed off two or three times, but gained it again. At length, Phalen and Coldwell were washed off together, and rose no more.” (Distressing Calamity, Christian Messenger extra, 11 June 1852, 1) The story told by Charles Benjamin and recounted in the newspaper by Dr. Cramp helps us know that Mr. Coldwell fought the swells but could not keep a...
“The remaining four still clung to the boat. They were washed off two or three times, but gained it again. At length, Phalen and Coldwell were washed off together, and rose no more.” (Distressing Calamity, Christian Messenger extra, 11 June 1852, 1) The story told by Charles Benjamin and recounted in the newspaper by Dr. Cramp helps us know that Mr. Phalen was swept away from the boat and sank....
Not until June 11 did newspapers report the accident. Four days had passed. Three bodies had been discovered and two of them buried. Did rumours about the accident swirl through the community in that time? Had the story about the sinking been changed from a simple accident to a calamity? The use of the word “calamity” is worthy of note. In the 1850s, calamity did not imply a tragedy (as we...
“All [sic] clung to the boat, and endeavoured to get upon it, when it turned completely round till it bottom upwards again: Rand and King were lost in this last movement.” (Distressing Calamity, Christian Messenger extra, 11 June 1852, 1) The story told by Charles Benjamin and recounted in the newspaper by Dr. Cramp helps us know that Mr. King did not hold onto the boat as it turned over for at...
“All [sic] clung to the boat, and endeavoured to get upon it, when it turned completely round till it bottom upwards again: Rand and King were lost in this last movement.” (Distressing Calamity, Christian Messenger extra, 11 June 1852, 1) The story told by Charles Benjamin and recounted in the newspaper by Dr. Cramp helps us know that Mr. Rand lost his hold on the overturned boat as the victims...
“All with the exception of Grant (who sunk at once) and Professor Chipman, of whom presently, clung to the boat, and endeavoured to get up on it…” (Distressing Calamity, Christian Messenger extra, 11 June 1852, 1) The story told by Charles Benjamin and recounted in the newspaper by Dr. Cramp helps us know that Mr. Grant drowned immediately. Archivist Wendy Robicheau found more tributes to William...
by Wendy Robicheau, Archivist In June 1852, Acadia College mourned. A distressing calamity took place on the treacherous Minas Basin, cutting short the lives of one-quarter of the student body and half of the faculty. Two more men were swept away with them. Had not one man survived, we would have never known the story of what happened that day. The legendary tale began early on the day of the...
At least three people witnessed the accident on the Minas Basin, although it is unclear if two of the witnesses came forward at the time. Kings County inquest documents for 1852 no longer exist for the month of June, hampering research efforts to uncover what happened. Presumably an inquest was held each time the bodies were recovered, but this is speculation. Archivist Wendy Robicheau uncovered...
