Headstone honours family killed in disastrous shipwreck 100 years ago

“We realized it was first and foremost the largest marine disaster that had happened on the Pacific Northwest coast of North America, and nobody knew about it,” Leverton said. “There were so many people who tragically lost their lives, we wanted to do something that was a tribute to the families, the descendents who had suffered so terribly from this.”

William and Sarah O’Brien lived in Whitehorse and boarded the Princess Sophia in Skagway, Alaska, with their five children, ages two through 14.

Just four hours after leaving the port, the ship ran aground at full throttle on the Vanderbilt reef, about 50 kilometres northwest of Juneau, Alaska. It was the middle of the night and without the help of modern-day navigational technology, the vessel had strayed about two kilometres off course.

“The only way that they could dead reckon was to blow the ship’s whistle and count the seconds for the back echo. So with strong winds and strong currents, they ended up getting progressively off course,” Leverton said.

The captain sent out mayday calls and the first help boat arrived around 5 a.m., but fluctuating tides and blizzard conditions prevented them from getting close.

“They thought they would be able to get passengers off but the weather wouldn’t abet,” Leverton said.

Over the course of two days, the captain continued to reassess the situation as the ship lost power and stormy conditions continued, but continued hopeful that the weather would turn in their favour.

“You had more than 300 passengers and crew who didn’t have any light, didn’t have any heat and all they would have heard was the sound of the gale force winds outside, the pounding of the sea and ship grinding on the reef,” Leverton said.

Waves battering the stern ultimately dislodged it from its perch and it’s believed the Princess Sophia sank in the course of an hour. When rescue crews arrived on the morning of Oct. 26, 1918, the weather had calmed but all they could see was the mast protruding from the water.

There was a public inquiry and lawsuit, but ultimately it was determined that the captain had done everything he could to protect his passengers, and crew and the disaster was caused by “perils of the sea,” Leverton said.

It took many months to recover the victims’ bodies and the last O’Brien, Sarah, was recovered 10 months after the accident.

Many are buried in Seattle, at Victoria’s Ross Bay Cemetery and the largest number — 74 — are at Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver, including the O’Briens.

Anyone whose body was not claimed by family was interred at Mountain View and several graves were never marked.

The museum was unsuccessful in tracking down any of the O’Brien family’s relatives, but Leverton said anyone can visit their grave site now that it’s marked.

“Anyone going to Mountain View Cemetery, when they walk past the O’Brien plots, there will now be a gravestone there to recognize the family and pay tribute.”

Amy Smart, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Headstone honours family killed in disastrous shipwreck 100 years ago

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