Tolesby and Trepassey
It takes a special kind of person to allow himself to be lowered over a treacherous cliff by means of a rope lashed around his waist — especially on a January morning on coastal Newfoundland. But Joe Perry, born at The Drook, below Portugal Cove South, did just that over a century ago. And 27 shipwrecked British seamen had Joe to thank for their deliverance.
It was the 13th of January 1908 that the S.S. Tolesby, burdened with a load of cotton from the American south, became disoriented in a snowstorm below the Avalon Peninsula. The ship laboured up into Trepassey Bay but the rocks got her before she could find shelter; a terrifying end to a voyage that had commenced ordinarily enough in a Texas port. Her destination to offload had been France.
‘The Cotton Ship’
Readers may remember that in midapril of this year that I did a column on the wreck and the rescue.
In Worcester, England, Derek Savage was researching the story of Charles Joseph Payne, a great-grandfather of his. Payne was captain of the Tolesby (here in Trepassey region called “the cotton ship” because of her cargo) on her last voyage. Derek and his research efforts were the focal point of my April column and I asked readers here to email him if they could help. And many did so.
Derek was also interested in Joe Perry, who, at 27, seems to have been the hero of that dramatic rescue. Derek has uncovered some of Joe Perry’s biography, but perhaps not enough. Last month he e-mailed from England, “It’s thought that Joe Perry was born at The Drook in 1881.
He was raised there but soon after the rescue he moved to Boston where he worked as a fisherman and seaman. One reader sent a U.S. Naturalization document from 1940, which gives Joe’s date of birth at Trepassey as 12 December 1881. In 1940, Joe lived at 157 Meridian Street, Suffolk, East Boston and two locally born sons were listed as Ernest (born 16 August 1923) and George (born 18 September 1927). I wonder if a photograph of Joe Perry remains in the family? His parents are said to have been Joseph Perry and Ann Kiely.”
Filling in the story
Derek’s email continued, “Following your article about the wreck which occurred at Little Seal Cove near Trepassey, I received a dozen or so emails. They have confirmed that the story of brave Joe Perry is still known in the area after more than a century. The British mariners had been trapped on the frozen beach for over 18 hours and time was rapidly running out for them.
“Captain Payne and Chief Engineer Fred Osbon wrote to local newspapers to thank their rescuers for saving them and spoke of the hospitality of the local people. Tolesby’s crew made a collection for their rescuers and it’s clear that the crew felt they would have perished had it not been for the bravery of Joe and his fellow fishermen.
“I’m pleased to report,” Derek continues, “that the helpful people of Trepassey and Portugal Cove South, as well as some from other parts of Newfoundland, were quick to come forward with information. The 27 men were shown great generosity after their shipwreck by a number of people in the area.
“I am grateful to everyone who took the trouble to send information, along with pictures of the coast and scene of the event. My research of the incident continues and I am trying to learn more about Perry and his fellow Newfoundlanders who came to the rescue of Toleby’s crew.
“I also had correspondence from someone who remembers her grandmother singing “The Cotton Wreck Song.” The song was penned by James Murphy and printed in the Evening Telegram one week after the event.”
The ship’s bell
Derek Savage also wrote to tell me that “two separate and intriguing replies came from people who said they knew the owners of Tolesby’s bell. Both offered to send a photograph of the bell, but unfortunately nothing materialized. I appreciate, of course, that it’s a tightknit community and the owner may just not want to be identified. That’s fine by me, I’d just like a picture!”
So I asked questions Intrigued that the bell might well be owned by someone in the province right now, I went a step further. I contacted Provincial Archaeologist, Martha Drake. I wondered if there are laws or regulations against owing such an historic item or whether anyone retrieving the bell from the wreck more than a century ago might have been actually tampering with things of archaeological value.
“There would have been no legislation in place” about archaeological items when the bell was found in 1908, Martha informed me. “But in any case, something recovered from a ship is not considered an archaeological item; it belongs to the family who retrieved it. Ships’ bells are important memory items for seamen,” Martha added. And she agreed with me that the possibility of Tolesby’s bell still being here somewhere, and (presumably) cherished and protected by someone, would mean a wonderful outcome for a long-ago event.
I would only underscore the point that Derek Savage would love to have a picture of the bell. His email is dereksavage@talk21.com . In point of fact, I too would like to see the bell and I’d even drive from St. John’s to Trepassey Bay to see it!