So, what was William Ancient’s role and who exactly was he?
Does the name William Ancient mean anything to you? Probably not, unless you have lived around Terence Bay, Lower Prospect or Prospect, or worshipped at St Paul’s church in Terence Bay. Who was he? He was one of the heroes in the rescue of survivors from the wreck of the SS Atlantic on April 1st, 1873. Reverend Ancient was buried in 1908 in the cemetery of St. John’s, Fairview but at present there is nothing to mark his grave. Soon, his heroism will be recognized again with a proper headstone, thanks to the Facebook postings of the SS Atlantic Heritage Park Society. The story about his courage caught the attention of Frank Jastrzembski in the USA, who has an interest in seeing that graves of heroes are properly marked. He has even traced Ancient’s living descendants and has their permission to place a new headstone.
Why is Ancient a hero? To begin at the beginning, at 3:15 A.M. that fateful day, the relatively new steamship of the White Star Line struck a rock and sank off Meagher’s Island close to Lower Prospect and across the bay from Prospect. It was on its way to New York with nearly a thousand people on board, the majority being immigrants seeking a more prosperous life in North America. Having endured rough seas and head winds for days of its journey across the Atlantic from Liverpool, the Captain had decided there might not be enough coal aboard to fire the steam engines for the remainder of the crossing to New York. Therefore, he decided to head for Halifax to take on more coal.
Sadly, there were navigational errors and the ship was pulled westwards by the strong currents. The lookouts did not see the Sambro light, which would guide them into Halifax. The helmsman was unaware of being off course and close to the shore and so the ship struck the rock at full speed. Almost all the passengers were in their berths below deck, and because of their location on the ship, all the women and children, except one, and nearly all the married men were drowned. The majority of the survivors were single men and crewmembers. Fortunately, this was not a deserted shore: the little fishing villages were close by. Flares and noise awoke the closest resident and the rescue began. Heroic men took to their boats and began pulling survivors out of the frigid and dangerous sea. Once back on land, the women saw to their wounds, and did their best to warm them up and feed them, comforting them after their traumatic experience. There were very few houses in these villages, but they managed to provide food and shelter for close to 420 survivors.
So, what was William Ancient’s role and who exactly was he? Born in England in 1836, he was a ten-year veteran of the British navy. As a layman he had ministered to the seafarers in Halifax. Noticed by the Church, he was ordained a Deacon and sent to serve the mission in Terence Bay. Around 2 P.M. on April 1st Ancient risked his life going out to the ship to rescue two men who were up in the rigging and unable to get down. The fisherman had not yet been able to reach them because of the high tide. As the tide began to fall again, Ancient’s naval skills and daring enabled him to get aboard and guide Chief Officer John Firth to safety. The other young man had, just before, as the boat first reached the ship, fallen into the water close enough to be pulled out and taken to shore.
Ancient was lauded around the world for his incredible courage, seamanship and endurance, and was recognized with several awards. The engraving on a gold watch presented to him by the federal government speaks of the “…gallant and humane conduct he displayed in rescuing at imminent peril to his own life, the life of the Chief Officer of the ill-fated steamship Atlantic…”
In addition to the spectacular rescue, Ancient saw to it that the many victims whose religious affiliation could not be confirmed received a dignified burial, while government officials were dithering about what to do with all the bodies. He thus became famous for his selfless attention to duty. He oversaw the burial with Christian rites of 277 of the victims in a mass grave on land along the shore of Terence Bay near St. Paul’s Church. Another 240 or so were buried in the Star of the Sea Roman Catholic cemetery. Ancient also went to bat for the people of the villages who had given their all to care for the survivors over a period of more than 24 hours. At the end of the winter, these poor and isolated communities were low on supplies and were left with next to nothing for themselves. Eventually, thanks to Ancient’s efforts in speaking up for them, the residents were given compensation.
As for him, he was ordained to the priesthood and moved to Trinity Church in Halifax. He served several parishes prior to his death at age 74 in 1908.
Why his grave is currently unmarked is not known. At the time of Ancient’s death, Bishop Clarendon Lamb Worrell stated: “On shipboard, in parish life and in the Synod office his sense of duty was plainly marked and whatever he did was done to the best of his ability and in singleness of purpose.”
The SS Atlantic Heritage Park Society is delighted at this initiative to recognize this clergyman who played such a vital role in the story of the SS Atlantic. “This is important work that Frank Jastrzembski has undertaken, and we’re privileged to help out in a small way,” said Society President John Corbett.
Mr. Jastrzembski has launched a GoFundMe site at https://gf.me/u/y9r2qs. If you would like to contribute to the recognition of this courageous priest of this diocese, you can make a donation there. You can learn more details of the SS Atlantic story, the amazing deeds of the community residents and William Ancient by going to the Society’s web site www.ssatlantic.com and its Facebook page. Although not as well known a story as it ought to be, it is a wonderful example of bravery and kind hospitality extended to total strangers in urgent need.
Put a visit to the Interpretation Centre on your list of things to do next summer and at any time walk along the beautiful seashore in the Heritage Park to the site where the Reverend Ancient laid 277 victims to rest.
