The Sparrows were a Newfoundland-born Catholic family who arrived at Little Bay Mines for work.
John Sparrow (1850–1920) first appears there in 1889. His wife, Mary Ellen, died there in 1895, and by 1901 the family had moved to Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, to work another mine. By 1918, John had returned to Argentia, where the family had earlier ties.
His son, John Gerard Sparrow (1891–1985), was working in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on a fishing visa. That year, as war intensified in Europe, he was called to active duty in the U.S. Army. He chose to return home first, packing his belongings into a trunk and heading to Argentia to see his father.
When the time came for John to leave again, his father refused to let him store the trunk at home. He feared that if his son left, he would not return. It was a kind of premonition.
The Florizel was one of Newfoundland’s most important passenger vessels, carrying mail, civilians, and servicemen between St. John’s and New York. In February 1918, she left St. John’s in winter conditions, bound south, with John Sparrow among the passengers.
She would not make it.
On February 24, 1918, the Florizel ran aground on the rocks at Cappahayden. It became one of Newfoundland’s most devastating maritime disasters. Rescue efforts were delayed by weather, and the ship broke apart under heavy seas. Of the 138 people aboard, only 44 survived.
John Sparrow made his way to the Marconi room, one of the few enclosed spaces aboard. It quickly filled with others seeking shelter. When the survivors were finally pulled from the wreckage, he was among them.
He returned to the United States, became a citizen, and built a life as a fishing captain in Gloucester. He lived a long life, dying in 1985 at the age of ninety-four.
This story, like so many from Little Bay Mines, is one of movement and change. The Sparrow family, like most mining families, were chasing opportunity in an era shaped by industrial expansion and global conflict. It’s a story of survival.
Sources
- Image of John Gerard Sparrow (1891–1985) from site listed below
Primary Records & Archival Material
- Newfoundland Voter Lists, 1889, 1893 (Indian Bight; Little Bay Harbour)
- McAlpine’s Newfoundland Directory, 1894
- Newfoundland Vital Statistics:
- Birth of John Gerard Sparrow (Feb 4, 1891)
- Birth of Ellen May Sparrow (May 25, 1893)
- Birth of Helena Sparrow (Aug 18, 1895)
- Death of Mary Ellen Sparrow (Oct 3, 1895)
- 1901 Census of Canada (Glace Bay, Nova Scotia)
Secondary Sources & Accounts
- Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador / Community Stories Project:
“John Sparrow and Alex Ledingham” (Loss of the SS Florizel)
https://www.communitystories.ca/v2/loss-ss-florizel_naufrage-ss-florizel/story/john-sparrow-and-alex-ledingham/ - Contemporary and later accounts of the SS Florizel disaster (February 24, 1918), including reporting in the Harbour Grace Standard