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The Heroine of Long Point By Mrs. Margaret Wheller, Abigail Becker's Step Daughter
Abigail Becker-Heroine of Long Point by
Bruce M. Pearce
Heroine of '54, A Poem By Amanda Jones
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Lore--Abigail Becker


The Heroine of Long Point

Mrs. Henry Wheller, of Walsingham, Ontario whose maiden name was Margaret Becker, is the daughter of Jeremiah Becker, the trapper, and step-daughter of Abigail Becker, the heroine of Long Point. She was present on the Island at the time of the wreck of the conductor, taking charge of the home and younger children, and afterwards assisting in the care of the men. 1889 

 

Father was away from home at the time. The northwest wind had been blowing very high all night. Early in the morning mother went down to the lake to get a pail of water.

Her attention was first called to a vessel ashore by the noise of the sails flapping in the wind. She came back to the house at once and said, "Children, there is a vessel ashore about a mile up the beach. Edward, you go and see if we can help them."He went, and on returning said," If they cannot get to shore they will all perish. She said, �I will go up behind the sand hills and see what condition they are in."

When she got opposite them she went to the top of the hill. There were eight men in a suffering condition, clinging to the rigging. Returning she said,�We will go down on the beach at once and see if they will come ashore." The sailors saw her coming down the hill and gave a cheer, and said to one another, �If we can get to shore we shall be all right, for there must be a family living on the island."

She and the little boys built a fire on the beach and put water to heat for making tea. She beckoned for them to come ashore and signalled that she would help them out. The men were stiffened and half helpless with the cold.

The captain said, �lf we stay here we shall be lost. I will go first; if I get to shore safely the rest can follow." He pulled off his coat and shoes and plunged into the water. The waves carried him down the beach quite a distance. He was becoming exhausted and mother, who was tall, waded in and caught him by the hand. She dragged him to the fire and gave him some hot tea, and then beckoned for the rest to come. The mate was the second to make the attempt. Edward, my brother, who was lame and walking with crutches, wanted to help, and he tried to go in to his mother's assistance, but the sea was so heavy he could not stand; and she had to get them both out of the water.

One by one they came ashore, but some of them not so easily as the first ones. Some were nearly perished and had to be dragged helplessly to the fire, being unconscious for some time. She took off her shawl and shoes and put the on the men one at a time till she got them all to the house, where I and my younger brothers had a good fire in the large, old-fashioned fireplace. I remember being interested in the men standing around the fire drying their clothes and their paper money. But the poor cook of the Conductor had to hang in the rigging all night as he could not swim. Mother, who had scarcely been able to sleep all night for thinking of the poor fellow, called the men early in the morning to see if they could not get out to the boat and save the man if he had not been swept away by the waves.

They went to the beach and saw that he was still in the rigging. The sea had gone down somewhat. The men made a raft out of the boards that were about, and put out to the wreck. There still were evidences of life in him. The poor fellow had lashed himself to the rigging; otherwise the waves would have washed him away. He was able afterwards to tell of the awfulness of his feelings when he saw his seven comrades rescued and himself left to pass another night in his position of helplessness and apparently to die. He said that while hanging there he thought he saw a boat coming to his rescue. It was probably the raft he saw.

He was brought to the house, and mother put his frozen feet in cold water to draw out the frost. It was some weeks before he could get around. The men were very grateful for what had been done for them. The captain remarked to mother that it was a good work she had done that day, for not one of them was prepared to die.

The Buffalo merchants and sailors made up a sum of money�$550�and put it in the hands of the customs' officer of Port Rowan at the time. She wished with the money to buy herself a little home. She decided on fifty acres (not one hundred) where she now resides on the seventh concession, east of the centre road of North Walsingham. The place is cut up with Big Creek and a number of large gullies.

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The Story of Abigail Becker
By Rev. R. Calvert, B. D.
Toronto, 1899
As told by her Step-Daughter, Mrs. Henry Wheller

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Created: 99 12 24, Modified: