Footnotes to Long Island History
Mt. Sinai Men Were Sailors
by
Thomas R. Bayles
Mt..
Sinai now a residential and agricultural community on Brookhaven town's north
shore was well known as the home of seafaring men in the last century.
Captain
Joel S. Davis was born on July 31, 1833, a son of Goldsmith and Charity (Hulse) Davis.
His father also a native of Mt.
Sinai, was a seafaring man in the early
life but ill health caused him to retire.
At the
age of 11 Joel went to sea as a cook on a market vessel on Long Island sound,
his wages being "$2.00 per month" at first. He was shipwrecked on the Atlantis
when he was 14 and was picked up by the Schooner Alfred Exall. He became mate
at 18 and three years later purchased a part interest in the sloop Alice, of
which he was mate.
Three
years were spent as mate of the Alice, after which he was made captain of the
schooner General Marion. In 1859 he bought an interest in the fine large
schooner R. H. Wilson, and followed the coasting trade in which he made considerable
money and laid the foundation for his future success.
He later
bought an interest in the Willow Harp carrying forage for the government during
the Civil War period from 1862 to 1864. His next venture was building the B. H.
Jones which after sailing three years he sold and built the three masted
schooner William H. Jones.
He
sailed this vessel for three years until it wrecked at Tortugas while on a
voyage from New Orleans to Havana. He and his crew barely escaped with their
lives and the loss was heavy as he carried no insurance.
On
returning home captain Davis at ounce began building the brig John McDermott
which was soon completed under the personal supervision of John R. Mather, the
shipbuilder of Port Jefferson. During the second year that he operated the John
McDermott, while the brig was 500 miles southeast of Halifax a cyclone struck
the vessel and dismasted it with the exception of the main mast. One man was
drowned and the brig ran into Halifax where it refitted and proceeded on its
voyage.
Captain
Davis ran this ship until 1887, when he retired from the sea and entered
business in Amityville. there he operated a general merchandise store under
the name of Homan and Davis.
Oliver
G. Davis brother of captain Joel was born at Mt. Sinai about 1842. When he was 25 he was mate on a coasting schooner.
When he
was 35 he became captain of the brig Leonard Myers. On his second voyage in
this ship bound for Progreso, in the Gulf of Mexico with a load of corn, a
hurricane struck them and broke the
rudder so the ship was helpless. Tremendous seas washed over her decks
wrecking the cabin and all gave themselves up for lost.
The
next the captain knew he was lying on the forecastle deck of a large three
masted schooner.
It
seems he must have been thrown into the sea and rendered unconscious then tossed
by a wave onto deck of schooner which passed near by where he was found by
hands when they cleared away the wreckage.
He was
the only survivor of those on board his brig. The schooner proceeded to
Pensacola to load lumber and the crew took up a collection for Captain Davis, so
he was able to get back home.
In the
spring of 1886 he bought the captains interest in the brig Flora Goodale and
made one voyage from the West Indies to Philadelphia. He then Charted to go to
Cuba for a load of sugar. He reached Matazanas,
took on his load of sugar and started back on august 20th, 1886 but
nothing was never heard of him or his ship since. It is supposed he reached Charleston,
S.C. at the time of the hurricane that partly destroyed the seaport and was lost
in that storm. Another unsolved mystery of the sea of which there were so many in the last century during
the days of sailing ships.