My Family and the Wreck

The following is from a family history
entitled Out of These Roots. It is the
history of my dad's mom's family.

The section is titled "History of
the Bowie Family as written by Annie
Bowie and/or Alice Maude Bowie and/
or Lillian Bowie sometime between the
mid-thirties & 1956" The page is #6.

My great-grand father was Robert Bowie.

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"Charles Bowie, our paternal grandfather,
married Margaret McCray in Scotland, then
later with his wife and little family as well
as his mother, Christina Winton Bowie, went
to Nova Scotia and settled near or in Picton
[sic, Pictou]. Several children were born to
the family in Picton, until seven children
graced the family board.

Robert Bowie, our father, spent part of his
time in a farmer's home, helping with the
chores that a boy could do. This family
was named Frasier and consisted of several
unmarried brothers and sisters and all
evidently were kind to him.

The town offered little in the way of
educational advantages. School ws in
session only a short time during the
winter months.

Thinking to better himself in the States,
our grandfather, Charles Bowie, left Nova
Scotia in company with several other miners
and came to Pennsylvania where he found
employment in his field of labor. When
he had accumulated money enough, he sent
word to his family to join him and make
a new home in this country. As there
were several families leaving Nova Scotia
on the same errand, the entire company
took passage on the Brig Sutledge. There
were 57 passengers on the ship as well
as the crew. They left Picton, N.S. some
time in June or perhaps late in May 1846.

Of the disaster and shipwreck that befell
that little group consisting mainly of
women and children, a full account is
given in a booklet written by Rev. David
Love, who as a boy was on the boat with
his mother, sister and young brother,
so I will not write more about it.
Suffice it to say that our grandfather,
Charles Bowie, who was waiting for his
family at Newport, Rhode Island, only
his wife, Margaret McCray Bowie and one
son, Robert, were left to him. Five
young children were lost at sea and
the mother and son were saved only
because a boat picked them up, when
they were almost exhausted, after
swimming for some time in the sea that
had claimed the lives of so many women
and children.

The survivors of the shipwreck were
cared for by the good people at Newport.
Each broken family received food and
clothing with shelter until they could
adjust themselves to changed conditions.
The two great lodges - the Odd Fellows
and the Masons - were interested in the
care of these people and ave to each man,
who had made the ill-fated voyage, $30.00
and to each woman $35.00.

Later, a monument was erected to the
memory of these people lost at sea, in
an old church yard or cemetery in Newport.
There it stands until this day, moss-
covered and weatherbeaten tho' it may be."

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Robert Bowie was 12 years old in 1846. I
think he was the eldest child.

I would pay good money for a copy of the
booklet by Rev. David Love.

The Olivers were the only family that did
not have any losses. Family legend is that
George Oliver had a rifle and commandeered
seats for all of his family.

The newspaper article cited previously shows
that the churches in Newport did a large amount
of the collecting for the survivors as well
as lodges.

The monument mentioned is the one we found during
our whirlwind trip back in '97. It is easily
located in the giant cemetery in Newport.
America's Cup Street dead ends at Farewell
Street. Continue on into the cemetery for
about 50-70 feet. Another 50-70 feet to
the left is the monument. A picture of the
monument is on an earlier post.

ofs