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...
by Wendy Robicheau, Archivist While researching the early days at Acadia College, I found a program for the Anniversary Exercises (that tended to happen annually in June). Interspersed between the students’ orated essays, were musical interludes. A research side-quest was born, asking ‘what music occurred on campus in the earliest years?’ and ‘how did the students learn that music?’ In 1852,...
A program of the public exhibition provides details of the papers given before a crowd on June 4. Nine students spoke that day. Essays written by four of those nine students were later published in the Christian Messenger, giving us insight on their writing style and classroom learning. Archivist Wendy Robicheau highlights those four essays. The second speaker of the day was Henry King, of Onslow,...
Two days of examinations performed under the watchful eyes of faculty and Governors’ alike proved successful for the College. Now the anniversary celebration could finish with a public exhibition when the students demonstrated their learning to the community. Archivist Wendy Robicheau found several surprises when researching the public exhibition. Nine of the sixteen students enrolled at Acadia...
Anxious to put the disagreeable past behind them, President Cramp and Professor Chipman tailored a report to the Maritime Baptist community that encouraged support. Both men were highly skilled at crafting a positive message. For the Christian Visitor, they wrote of the Anniversary of Acadia College, The examination of the several classes into which these have been arranged, was conducted by the...
