During her years living on the south shore of Long Point, Norfolk County, Abigail initiated and participated in the saving of 14 sailors and a child who had fallen into a well.
Shelter for Shipwrecked Seamen
In 1848, Abigail married a widower with six children, Jeremiah Becker, a trapper/fisherman with whom she had eight children. Abigail loved their home on the dunes though she endured isolation and heavy storms.
Late one evening, four exhausted and half-frozen seamen arrived at the cabin during a raging storm when Jeremiah was away. They had struggled from their sinking ship to a lighthouse, then on to the cabin, but two of their shipmates remained on the beach where they had fallen.
While the men warmed by the fire, dried their clothing, and enjoyed some food, Abigail and two of her sons set out on a mile-and-a-half trek along the beach. They found the men still lying on the wet ground, and, unable to rouse the exhausted pair, managed to carry them to the cabin. In the morning when calmer weather prevailed, Jeremiah returned and the sailors felt strong enough to continue on their way to the mainland.
November 1854 Rescue at Long Point
During a fierce blizzard, the three-masted schooner “Conductor”, laden with grain, foundered on a sand bar near Long Point. Jeremiah Becker was away at the time. In the morning when she went to the lake for a pail of water, Abigail heard sails flapping in the wind. While two of her boys built a fire on the shore, she went up a small hill for a better view, and heard a great cheer from eight men clinging to the ship’s rigging
Though unable to swim, she removed her shoes, waded into the wild waters, and with outstretched arms encouraged the men to jump and swim toward her. The Captain removed his coat and boots, and told the men to follow if he made it safely to shore. He disappeared in the heavy waves twice, but Abigail waded farther out, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to safety.
One by one, she managed to rescue seven of the sailors, some of whom were barely conscious. She and her sons kept the fire going and gave each man a hot cup of tea, and then as daylight faded, they helped each of the men to the warm cabin. Unable to swim, the ship’s cook who remained tied to the rigging over night thought he would go down with the battered vessel. In the morning, his shipmates constructed a makeshift raft, and moved his almost lifeless body to the shore. With proper care, his half-frozen feet mended and he managed to get around within a few weeks.
Letter from Queen Victoria
All crewmembers loudly praised Abigail’s heroism. The sailors and merchants of Buffalo, New York raised $550 for her. Though she received only $535 of the total amount, she was able to purchase a 50-acre farm in Walsingham Township north of Port Rowan.
She received a special gold medal from the New York Lifesaving Benevolent Association, a letter of praise from the Governor General, and a medal from the Royal Humane Society. Most highly prized by Abigail was the handwritten letter with an accompanying 50 pounds from Queen Victoria.
Because Jeremiah Becker was not successful at farming, he soon returned to his cabin at Long Point to continue his fishing and trapping for additional income. While out on the marsh at the trap line, his hut was flooded in a sudden storm, and he froze to death.
Abigail, known as the ‘Angel of Long Point’, continued to work the farm with her young family, married Henry Rohrer, and died peacefully there at age 74. Funds raised to erect a monument were more appropriately disbursed to provide furnishings in a ward of the Norfolk General Hospital.
Commemorations of her heroism include a plaque in Port Rowan (1958) and the Abigail Becker Conservation Area, which includes part of her farm property.
Sources:
The Story of Abigail Becker (As Told by Her Stepdaughter Mrs. Henry Wheeler), Rev. R. Calvert, Wm. Briggs Pub., 1899
Heroines of Canadian History, by W. S. Herrington, Publisher William Briggs, 1909
Kathleen Airdrie - Kathleen has thirty years' freelance writing experience covering history, biographical profiles, environmental and social issues
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