Wolfe Island Biographies 2
Biographies of persons residing on Wolfe Island
This page may be slow to load!
The Langans of Wolfe Island--Shipping Life on the Great Lakes
Maurice married Catherine HORIGAN (b. 1816 in Ireland) and they had three sons and one daughter�Patrick (b. 1844), Johanna and Maurice (b. 1846 on WOLFE ISLAND) and Daniel (b. 1849 in KINGSTON). Maurice, the father, died in 1850 and was buried in St. Mary�s Cemetery in KINGSTON, leaving behind a young family.
Growing up in the WOLFE ISLAND/KINGSTON area, the three sons were lured, one-by-one, into the shipping industry�where all eventually became captains on the Great Lakes.
The first of the brothers called to the sea was Patrick. By the age of 32, he was already a captain of his own ship and he had signed on his brother Maurice as his first mate. They made headlines in the Daily British Whig on October 21, 1876:
�p.3 HEROIC MARINERS
THRILLING INCIDENT OF A GALE ON LAKE ERIE BY KINGSTON MEN
Thursday week at nine o'clock the schooner Chandler J. Wells of 549 tons, belonging to our townsman, Capt. Frank PEREW, sailed with 1,067 tons coal from Erie for Chicago, under command of Captain Patrick LANGAN, of Buffalo, and his brother Morris LANGAN, of KINGSTON, Ont., first mate, Frank ____, second mate; a Norwegian sailor named Neil JOHNS, and five other seamen with the cook comprised the balance of the crew - ten men in all.
About one o'clock Friday morning it was Morris LANGAN's watch on deck. They were then off Rond Eau, being eight or ten miles from the Canada shore of Lake Erie, the wind blowing a fierce gale from the southwest. The vessel shipped a heavy sea which swept the first mate overboard. All hands were immediately called on deck, the helm was put hard down and the schooner brought to the wind. The boat was lowered with all possible dispatch, and Captain LANGAN, the second mate and one seaman, regardless of the terrible risk which they were accepting, sprang in and put off into the darkness, if possible to save the first officer. It was a wildly hazardous attempt, with almost every chance against their own safety. The boat was very soon lost to the sight of those remaining on board the vessel. These were five sailors and the cook. All the officers were gone, but Neil JOHNS, the Norwegian before mentioned, had long sailed the lakes and was competent to take the command. He assumed charge of the deck and vessel. Twenty or thirty minutes after the boat was lost sight of, they bore up and ran in the direction they supposed it had taken, to try and pick it up if possible, but no trace of her could be found. They laid by in the vicinity until long after daylight, but nothing could be seen of the missing boat, although they watched for it from the mast head and cruised along the shore. When ten or twelve miles above Port Stanley, those remaining on board the Wells sadly accepted the conviction that their late officer and companions were lost, and they shaped the vessel's course back to Erie again.
They arrived off that port about five o'clock Friday afternoon, but the wind blew so hard and the sea ran so high that they dared not attempt to enter the harbor, the vessel shipping large quantities of water and making bad weather of it. So they were constrained to shorten sail and keep off for Buffalo, where they arrived and anchored outside the breakwater at eleven o'clock that night.
Yesterday morning the Wells was towed into our harbor, her colors flying at half mast in token of the mourning of those on board for those whom they believed to be lost. It may well be imagined, however, that their mourning was changed to joy when Captain PEREW stepped upon his vessel's deck and read the following dispatch which he had received the previous evening:
Port Stanley, Ont., Oct. 6th, 1876 - 5:30 P.M. Capt. Frank PEREW - At one this morning the mate was washed overboard, with only two men to man the boat I had to go in and save my brother. The vessel has gone to Long Point or Buffalo. There are five men on board. The vessel was sunk when I left her. I could not get back to her after picking up my brother, but there are good men on board. We landed at Port Talbot at ten this morning. Please tell my wife I am all right. --Patrick LANGAN.
Such is the story, briefly told, of one of the most gallant acts of sailor heroism on record. The history of our lake commerce relates many cases of self-sacrificing devotion for the saving of others, but none stand out with fuller brightness than than that which we have just recounted. None but "those who go down to the sea in ships" can really appreciate the peril which Captain LANGAN, his second mate, and the sailor who accompanied them, saw when at midnight, with the wind blowing a fierce hurricane, the sea running all over the ship they had left, and themselves nearly stripped of clothing, to be free in case they should have to struggle in the water for their own lives, they jumped into a frail boat and put out into the darkness and tempest to save a shipmate from the deadly peril. There are many people at the seaboard who do not understand that here on the lakes we have waves the same in magnitude as those of the ocean, and as powerful as in their effects, sweeping decks and foundering vessels with their force. Captain LANGAN and his two aides, with his rescued brother, were in the boat struggling for their lives, from one until ten o'clock. Nine hours before they landed on the Canada shore, stripped of clothing almost, and the mate with his soaked clothing, a heavy gale with cold rain sweeping over them. [Buffalo Courier].�
For his heroism in the rescue of his brother, Patrick LANGAN was awarded gold-life saving medal authorized by an Act of Congress of the United States of America.
While Patrick and Maurice LANGAN had many shipping adventures on the Great Lakes, the WOLFE ISLAND/KINGSTON area continued to serve as an anchor in their personal lives.
The wife Patrick Langan wanted to inform of his safety in the previous article was Marianne McDONNELL (b. 1851). Marianne was the daughter of James McDonnell and Mary Lacey of Wolfe Island.
Later, Maurice moved to Chicago for an opportunity to captain his own ship, the schooner Joseph R. Maston. But he could not forget WOLFE ISLAND and one of my ancestors, Sarah ROGERS. Sarah, a twin, was the daughter of James ROGERS and Margaret McGUIRE of Wolfe Island. When Maurice and Sarah were married in 1879. The following articles appeared in the paper:
�Daily British Whig, Jan. 13, 1879
p.2 Married - At Wolfe Island, at the Church of the Sacred Heart, on Monday, the 13th of January, Captain Morris LANGAN, of Wolfe Island, to Miss Sarah ROGERS, youngest daughter of the late James ROGERS,Esq. No cards.
p.3 Hymenial - Mr. Morris LANGAN, formerly of Wolfe Island, but now of Chicago, participated in a pleasant little affair this morning at WOLFE ISLAND. He was made happy by one of Wolfe Island's fairest daughters placing her future welfare under his control. On the conclusion of the ceremony the party went east, followed with congratulations from many friends.�
Earlier in 1874, Daniel LANGAN, too, decided to join his brothers in the shipping industry. He left his job as a miller to answer the call of the sea. At first he joined his oldest brother, Patrick as a mate on his ship the Chandler C. Wells. But by 1882, he, too, became a captain on his own ship, the E. Fitzgerald. Daniel died November 14, 1883 in a shipwreck on Lake Erie while bound for Buffalo, NY. The following articles told of his fate:
�British Whig, Nov 17, 1883
p.3 CAPT. LANGAN'S FATE!
Loss of the Schr. Fitzgerald and Her Crew Her Master's Last Trip and Sad Death
It was hoped that the people of KINGSTON and vicinity would escape bereavement by the loss of dear ones in the terrible gales that swept the lakes during the past week. But this hope has been dispelled. A telegram announces that Captain Daniel LANGAN, of WOLFE ISLAND, went down with the schr. E. Fitzgerald, near Port Rowan, on Thursday. The vessel was then en route from Detroit to Buffalo, and during a terrific snow storm was beached a few miles west of the West End Lighthouse, Long Point.
The life-saving crew from Port Rowan went at once to the rescue, but Capt. WOODWARD reports that some 10 minutes after striking the crew of the schooner launched the yawl and seven or eight men were seen to enter her. The Yawl Swamped In A Second after leaving the ship, and one by one the men went down till the last sailor succumbed to the undertow when almost within reach of shore. If the crew could have weathered the storm in the rigging the life-boat would have attempted a rescue, but they took to the yawl before the life-boat reached the beach. Many willing hands watched their movements but could do nothing. The name of the schooner could not be ascertained for some time owing to the blow and the fact that she was covered with ice.
Vessel Last Here
It was only a few weeks since that the schooner was in port with a cargo of grain. Capt. LANGAN was about 32 years of age and of a sea-faring family, two of his brothers being, like himself, Captains of vessels. The widowed mother and the sister of deceased live at MARYSVILLE, and only last evening received a letter from the Captain in which he thanked God for the preservation of his life in the terrible gales through which he had just passed. He told of the hard work he had had, that he was completely tired of sailing and that This Was His Last Trip. Poor fellow! he little knew how prophetic were the words. The Captain was genial and industrious, and his death, in such a sad way, will carry sorrow to many hearts.
Statement Of The Late Mate
There were rumors this morning that James LOFTUS, of this city, was mate of the ill-fated craft, but such was not the case. He is at present in Kingston and was met by a Whig reporter this morning. He said he left the schooner at Detroit on Saturday. He left her because whenever the vessel entered a port his wages were stopped. Captain LANGAN may have had another KINGSTONIAN for mate, as he told LOFTUS before the latter left that he intended to telegraph for George RILEY. Whether RILEY accepted is not known. William ABLE, of Buffalo, was a hand before the mast, and one of the Scotchmen who came out several years ago to man GARDEN ISLAND vessels. The cook was a Buffalo woman.
A Brave Genial Fellow
Rev. Fr. SPRATT this morning received a telegram also announcing the calamity. The deceased had been one of Fr. SPRATT�S parishioners, and an active worker in the interest of all benevolent, charitable and church schemes. Mr. LANGAN had other narrow escapes before, but he was always plucky and brave, and, on the water as well as on land, did not flinch from the performance of a duty. He was a member of different societies, but with temperance work was particularly identified.�
Upon receiving news of the accident, Maurice LANGAN, now living in Chicago, immediately set sail for the scene of his brother�s accident. While he hoped for the best, he knew the dangers of life on the Great Lakes and prepared for the worst. The following article appeared in the British Whig on November 20, 1883:
�A Detroit paper says: Capt. Daniel LANGAN, lost on the schr. E.Fitzgerald, was the youngest of three brothers, all of whom have been on the lakes for years. He was born at KINGSTON, and was 32 years of age. He began life as a miller, but left that occupation nine years ago, and sailed with his brothers until July, 1882, when he assumed command of the vessel with which he lost his life. The deceased was to have been married the coming winter. He was the sole support of a widowed mother and sister, who reside on WOLFE ISLAND.
Besides Capt. Dan LANGAN, on the Fitzgerald, were Robert STEVENS, Toronto; Charles BINGHAM, Leamington; and Andrew FERGUSON. The vessel was valued at $10,000.
The Lost Fitzgerald
The schooner E. Fitzgerald, Buffalo, N.Y., lies in the same condition as reported on Friday. Capt. Maurice LANGAN, of Chicago, arrived at Port Rowan yesterday. He will remain until his brother's body is recovered and will inter it at Kingston. John PALEY, of Buffalo, owner of the Fitzgerald, also arrived and proceeded to the wreck. Side planks and hatch cones have been washed ashore. She is almost broken in two. She classed A-2, valued at $12,500, and insured for $10,000. Her cargo is also insured.
PALEY says the Fitzgerald had a crew of eight. At present it is impossible to state the exact number that have met their fate. Mr. PALEY says the vessel must have been disabled, as a distress signal was found which must have been hoisted some time before she was abandoned.�
Although Maurice LANGAN offered a $100 reward for the recovery of his brother�s body, I have no record if the body was ever recovered. I have searched area cemeteries and have found no Daniel Langan.
Patrick and Marianne McDONNELL LANGAN had three children�Maurice Edward (b. Nov 16, 1872 on WOLFE ISLAND), Catherine (b. November 22, 1873 on WOLFE ISLAND) and a third unknown child. They moved to Buffalo, NY, and lived out their lives there.
Although Maurice and Sarah ROGERS LANGAN had no children of their own--they were not alone in Chicago, IL. Two other WOLFE ISLANDERS--Elizabeth Rogers (Sarah�s twin sister�and her husband, John McAVOY�son of Patrick McEVOY and Catherine DAWSON of WOLFE ISLAND) also lived in Chicago.
Maurice LANGAN died November 12, 1912 in Chicago, IL. Sarah ROGERS LANGAN died on October 28, 1928 in Chicago, IL. The four WOLFE ISLANDERS (Maurice, Sarah, Elizabeth, and John McAVOY) are all buried side-by-side in Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, IL.
All articles courtesy of Rick Neilson [email protected]. Rick has a Maritime Web site located at: http://www.hhpl.on.ca/greatlakes
Submitted by Pat McAvoy-Costin
The Islands: Biographies: Wolfe Island Bio 2
Copyright
(�) 2000-2002 Jennifer Hoeltzel. All rights reserved.
Send comments or suggestions regarding this site to the webmaster:
Jen Hoeltzel
Send comments or suggestions regarding this site to the webmaster:
Jen Hoeltzel