Loss of the Lady of the Lake, The

DESCRIPTION: In 1833 the Lady of the Lake sails from Belfast for Newfoundland. After three weeks on a pleasant sea "the ice came down like mountains" The Captain and some sailors escape in a long boat. The singer os rescued by the Lima and returns to Liverpool.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1989 (Leyden-BelfastCityOfSong)
KEYWORDS: emigration rescue death sea ship storm wreck
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 11, 1833 - The _Lady of the Lake_ strikes an iceberg off Newfoundland and sinks, taking with her most of her passengers
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Leyden-BelfastCityOfSong 35, "The Loss of the Lady of the Lake" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Lady of the Lake (The Banks of Clyde II) [Laws N41]" (subject)
NOTES [256 words]: Leyden-BelfastCityOfSong: "Total saved 34; perished 197; total 234" with a list of those saved, including Captain Grant; the ballad claims the author to be survivor George Monaghan via the Lima, who is not on Leyden's list. Leyden's list has one person saved by the "Lima," 13 in the "Harvest Home," and twenty in the "Lady ..." long and stern boats. - BS
Northern Shipwrecks Database has 18 left on Harvest Home -- abandoned after striking ice on May 9 -- rescued by Gypsey and transferred to Amazon - BS
Doerflinger-SongsOfTheSailorAndLumberman, p. 301: "Bound from Belfast to Quebec, the ill fated emigrant ship struck the underwater tongue of an iceberg on May 11, 1833, south of Newfoundland. Her captain, mate, and some of the crew, with a few of the passengers, got clear of the sinking ship in the boats, leaving the rest of her 230 men, women, and children on board the hulk or struggling in the icy water. All but those in the captain's boat perished."
Curiously, for such a major incident, I find no mention of the Lady of the Lake in my books on seagoing disasters. But Patricia Kostelnik of St. Petersburg, Florida, in May of 2012 verified much of the information:
"I am writing to confirm that, indeed, George Monaghan was a survivor. He returned to Ireland and told the tale of the shipwreck in letters to friends. I also recall an article in the newspaper; perhaps the 'Freeman's Journal' of that year.
"I do know that George Monaghan was on that ship, as he was brought along by my family as a hired man." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.7
File: Leyd035

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