Survivor

“Will you go down with me?”

“Yes, Captain.”

Even though James had a young wife, and two small children at home in Brooklyn, he agreed to stay at his captain’s side until the end. They both dressed in full uniform and stood together on the wheelhouse – waiting for their inevitable doom. All of the sudden the ship made three great lurches as it started to go under. A massive wave engulfed the ship and tore James from Captain Herndon’s side.

As he splashed into the sea, James instinctively threw off his boots and coat and swam away from the crowd of drowning men and the whirlpool effect created by the sinking vessel.

He then spent several hours in the open ocean, throughout a dark, stormy night, desperately holding onto a chair. Close to complete exhaustion, James came upon one of the ship’s passengers, Dr. Obed Harvey, who was using a door as a floating device. Even though it was a risk to his own life, Harvey agreed to share his door with James. Dr. Harvey is later quoted with saying:

“The man said his name was Frazer and that if he were lost at sea, he would leave a young family in New York destitute. ... I told him ... that we would sink or survive together."

In the very early morning, they were rescued together by another ship, the Norwegian bark Ellen. At his first opportunity, in the port at Norfolk, Virginia, James sent his wife the precious telegram we found in the box.

“Ship foundered at sea. Will be home as soon as I can. J.M. Frazer”

After learning more about our ancestor’s history and connection to the notorious event, our family heirlooms (the book and telegram) became even more of a treasure to us. We handle them carefully like the cherished objects they are; considering them more precious than gold…

Now….if only we could have gotten our hands on some of that sunken gold….Oh wait, we did!

To be continued…

The Telegram

Just when we thought our Mary Poppins-like box had run out of surprises, one last dive into the unknown unearthed a folded, yellowed piece of paper.

See image:

It was a telegram! - a telegram sent from my forth-great grandfather, James Monroe Frazer, to his wife in Brooklyn, New York!

“Ship foundered at sea…”???

What did THAT mean? The telegram was sent September 18, 1857, just six days after the sinking of the SS Central America!

Was my grandfather a part of that historic event?!
WHY was he on the ship? And HOW did he survive?

Little did my mother and I realize that the search for answers to these questions would occupy us for the next several months -- even years. We searched and analyzed every possible resource: newspapers, books, websites, forums, historical societies, and even traveled to New York City - all in our quest to discover more.

Of course, we first assumed that James was one of the passengers on the Central America. But shiver me timbers! Imagine our surprise when we discovered that he was actually an OFFICER! but not any officer! he was the captain’s 2^nd mate! and not only 2nd mate, but the highest ranking officer to survive the sinking!

Because of this, his official deposition of the incident was recorded in all the country’s major newspapers. His survival story was also recorded.

After a fierce three-day battle with a foundering (sinking) ship in the middle of a tremendous hurricane, the captain, Lt. William Lewis Herndon, directed the transfer of all one hundred women and children to the brig Marine, another vessel five miles off. Once all of the women and children were safely on board the Marine (a heroic feat for the Captain, his officers, and crew), Captain Herndon turned to my grandfather and asked: “Would you like to go down with me?”

And my grandfather answered...

To be continued…