Pomeroys in Brigus and the Riseover Disaster  by John Pomeroy

 The Pomeroy’s in Brigus and the Riseover Disaster 

Written by John Pomeroy, Pomeroy Family Association 2023 

Mercantile Company “Pomeroy Bros” 

Captain George Pomeroy and Susannah Percy had four sons born in Brigus who formed a mercantile company in Brigus called Pomeroy Bros. They were : 

William Pomeroy in March1881 (Billy) married Rose Smith in 1924 

James Pomeroy in June 1878 married Annie Percy in 1907 

John Pomeroy in December 1891 

Frederick Pomeroy in 1889 (Fred) 

They lived and operated from the quay in Brigus near Grave Hill. They had a grocery store and a number of schooners, including: 

Samuel L. Teel - originally owned by William Pomeroy in 1861 and inherited by George. 

Rise Over – owned and registered to George Pomeroy in 1883 

Ellen X Maxiner – owned and registered to James Pomeroy around 1921 

They were major traders in fishing both for Cod and Seal products. They also shipped goods, provisions and sometimes people between coastal ports in Newfoundland and Labrador. They retained the fishing rights to Indian Harbour in Labrador passed down from their grandfather William. They also worked with their trading partners Job & Co. and J W Hiscock, brother in law to their sister Mary Ann Pomeroy (Annie). 

The Rise Over Disaster 

On the 19th November 1911, the schooner “Rise Over” was shipping timber from the port of “Seldom Come By” on Fogo to the port of St. John’s. The captain on the day was William Pomeroy accompanied by his brothers, John and James plus three others in the crew. 

One of those crew was James Archibald Spracklin, born in Brigus 7th May 1883 to James and Emily Spracklin. He married Ethel Pomeroy in Brigus on 27 April 1907 and she was also the daughter of George and Susanna Percy. James Spracklin, otherwise just known as “Archibald” or “Archi” was therefore the brother in law of William, James, Fredrick and John Pomeroy. 

Then from newspaper reports of the day, there was William Percy. It’s reasonable to assume he was actually “James William Percy” the brother of Annie Jane Percy, wife of James. Also finally there was reported William Jones the sixth crew member who it’s also reasonable to assume is actually William Janes the son of Elizabeth Norman Pomeroy who married James Fox Janes, cousin to the four brothers. So, therefore the crew of the Rise Over on that day were all family members. Three were called William and two James, but the captain was known as Billy and James was possibly called Jim. 

According to newspaper articles at the time (see below) and told by rescuers. The schooner Rise Over was sailing from “Seldom Come By” in Fogo to St. John’s when she was caught in a gale at night. William Pomeroy the skipper and decided to turn back to port. But he knew they were approaching dangerous Muddy Shag rock, near Mustgrave Harbour. At 2am when they saw the rocks coming ahead, William gave the order “Hard Down” meaning steer the ship Leeward or downwind. But the helmsman misheard him and pushed the wheel “Hard Up” steering into the wind. Moments later they hit the rock and the ship started to break up. 

To save themselves the skipper decided they should build a raft of the timber which was successfully completed by 10am. They all climbed aboard to make for shore at Peckford’s Island to the north. But the raft soon broke into two pieces and John and Archi were cast adrift from the others. William, James and the other two crew made it safely ashore but John and Archi Spracklin were seen drifting away past the island unable to steer to safety. A search and rescue attempt was later carried out but delayed for refuelling of the rescue ship Fogota. John and Archi were later assumed lost and drowned, never found, just some wreckage and pieces of the raft. 

The official death records show John was aged 20 and Archibald aged 25, however he must have been actually 28. (ages not as reported in some newspapers ) In the 1921 Brigus census, John’s wife Ethel is a widow, living with her father in law James and their 3 children, a son named Clinton and daughters Mona and Gwendoline. 

For the surviving brothers, they carried on the business up until 1938 using the Ellen X Maxner but the Riseover was a total loss and they weren’t insured. At Pomeroy Quay today there’s a story board in the pub which tells the story of the disaster. 

Places in the picture below include: 

Seldom Come By to St. John’s - original route shown in red. 

Suggested Return route - shown in yellow, wind allowing. 

Muddy Shag Rock near Mustgrave Harbour. the wreck site 

Peckford’s Island 4 miles north of Shag Rock. – the rescue site. 

Note : The wind direction was reported as from the S.E. in the afternoon