Stonehooker, Port Credit Harbour, Lakeshore Road Bridge

Some weeks the topics for this column come easily. Other weeks, inspiration comes from unexpected sources. Earlier this week we received an inquiry relating to stonehooking vessels out of Port Credit. We have certainly explored that topic in the past, in this column and in many other mediums. Some years ago, I delved into the story, and loss, of one ship in particular – the Maggie Hunter. Now admittedly it has been some years since I looked into that story, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn, that back in 2023, the Maggie Hunter may have been found – more than 146 years after she went down. I do have to caution that the wreck identity is not yet confirmed that I am aware of, but the location, estimated size, and vessel type closely match the ill-fated ship.

The Maggie Hunter was not a large ship, even judged by the standards of her time, but she was a big vessel for Port Credit, and much larger than the other stonehookers. She was 104 feet long and just over 24 feet wide. The Maggie Hunter, a two-masted schooner, was built between 1856 and 1859, and was first christened as the Hamilton. In 1862 she was registered under the name John S. Clarke. She underwent a name change again in 1875 (some sources say 1869) when she was purchased by Samuel Hunter of Toronto and was renamed Maggie Hunter, likely after either Samuel’s wife or infant daughter, both of whom were named Margaret. Although the Maggie Hunter was registered with the home port of Toronto, she regularly sailed out of Port Credit and Oakville, and was engaged in both stonehooking and in the cross-lake transportation of general cargo. She could carry about 300 tons when fully loaded. She was sold again in 1875 to Quackenbush & Reid out of Port Dalhousie, and her home port was registered as Kingston, although she remained a familiar sight in Port Credit. With the last ownership change, her name may have been officially changed to Helen, but to the locals she would always be the Maggie Hunter. Clear as mud.

On her last fateful voyage, on October 10, 1876, the Maggie Hunter was at Oswego, New York, carrying 272 tons of coal bound for Toronto. Her captain was a wild, hard-swearing veteran mariner named Frank Nixon, a much-respected ship captain on Lake Ontario, having sailed for more than 30 years. It was said that his language frightened young ladies and challenged Methodists who forbade the use of “colourful” words.

On the eve of the fateful trip, two ships well-known to Port Credit sailors – the Maggie Hunter and the Minnie Blakely – were tied up at Oswego. George Sharpe of Port Credit was mate on the Maggie Hunter, and his brother Dan, who would later serve as the harbour master in Port Credit, was the captain of the Minnie Blakely.

“I'm not going out this day”, Dan was said to have remarked to his brother George. The weather was turning and a strong nor ’wester was beginning to blow. “We are,” said George, “but it’s not of my choice, I tell you. The Old Man says neither Hell nor Helen are enough to hold him back.” Observers noted that the Maggie Hunter seemed to be riding low and that her canvas was old.

George Sharpe had married Mary Naish, of Port Credit, and they had a snug little house down by the lakefront in Port Credit on the east side of the harbour. They had two young sons, James and Daniel, with another baby on the way (daughter Grace, born 1876). That night, in the midst of a vicious storm, Mary Sharpe had a fearful dream that her husband was in peril, and she became frantic for news.

Captain Dan Sharpe himself returned to Port Credit a week later. The Minnie Blakely had made a good run up to Toronto, and Dan had come home to Port Credit by train. Captain Dan believed that his brother George was safely home long ahead of him, for the Maggie Hunter had left Oswego two days before the Minnie Blakely had departed.

But the Maggie Hunter never made it to port. Long they looked for her and her crew, but little was found except that her jib boom was picked up, long afterwards, and small bits of other wreckage. Also found, a year later near Oswego were a window frame, a spar, and a trunk. The body of the ship’s cook was found later still.

Those lost with the Maggie Hunter were Captain Frank Nixon, who left a wife and six children in Toronto. George Sharp of Port Credit left a wife and three young children. One of the sailors was a young man named Walter Post of Ferry Point, near Belleville. The other sailors were brothers, Thomas and William Martin of Belleville, and John Newman, likely also from Port Credit. There was also a passenger on board, but his identity was not recorded. As mentioned, the only body recovered was that of the cook, Ann Wallace of Belleville.

The story of the Wreck of the Maggie Hunter remained part of the mariner’s legend for generations – and as of 2023 her final resting place may have been found, only 6 miles off-shore of Oshwego in deep water. She may not have made it far on the stormy evening back in 1876. One of the few reminders to the loss of the Maggie Hunter can be found on the Sharpe family gravestone in Springcreek Cemetery on Clarkson Road, where it notes that George Sharp was lost at sea on Lake Ontario.

In 1934 the story of the Maggie Hunter was recorded as a folksong by famed nautical historican C.H.J. Snider as the Loss of the Maggie Hunter:

There is no known picture of the Maggie Hunter or her crew.