Fred James
Charles “Fred” James (1868-1924), left, and friend share drinks on the Tivoli platform in Oak Bluffs. Mr. James was a very familiar figure on Circuit Avenue at the turn of the 20th century. The son of a blind farmer from Indian Hill, he was among the last of the “Christiantown Tribe” of Wampanoag. He was a teamster, the proprietor of a Cottage City livery stable, and ran freight with an enormous horse-drawn wagon for Chadwick’s Express.
A fierce gale struck New England on a Saturday night in late November 1898, sinking or driving ashore more than 30 vessels in Vineyard Haven Harbor alone with hurricane-force winds. The schooner Island City was bound for Cohasset with a cargo of coal, but turned and ran for Vineyard Haven Harbor when the storm struck. It never made it. As the New York Tribune wrote, “She was discovered Sunday morning off Cottage City ashore, the seas making a clean breach over her. Captain Nelson and his crew of two men were in the rigging. The vessel was sighted by residents of the island, but they were powerless to render aid. No surfboard or life-saving apparatus were available, and the nearest life-saving station was at Gay Head, 20 miles away. All wires were down, and it was impossible to communicate with the station. All the forenoon the men clung to the rigging.”
In that driving snowstorm — later known as the Portland Gale — Fred James and Manuel Chaves attempted to rescue the three men from their wrecked schooner, situated just offshore between the steamer wharf and Highland Wharf. Their heroic efforts ultimately failed, and they nearly lost their own lives in the attempt. The Tribune continued, “During the afternoon, one man was seen to drop overboard, evidently having become utterly exhausted. Soon after, the helpless watchers on the beach saw a second man relax his hold in the rigging and fall to the deck. He was quickly washed overboard. The third man remained in the rigging, apparently limp and unconscious, if not dead. He was lashed In the crosstrees, and undoubtedly perished.” Two bodies were recovered the next day, and three days later the third sailor’s remains washed ashore. Captain Nelson’s two crewmen, whose names were never learned, became the first two interments at the new sailor’s burying ground off Edgartown Road, after a well-attended funeral service.
Chris Baer teaches photography and graphic design at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. He’s been collecting vintage photographs for many years.