Fair warning; this is a macabre and melancholy story.

John Cantwell (1804-1889) was from Ballyhesan, County Waterford in Ireland. He moved to Newfoundland in 1824 when he was 20 years old. He settled and raised a family in Tizzard’s Harbour. There he earned a reputation as a respectable merchant.

His sons; Nicholas, Edward, and Pierce worked to expand the family business and it was to that purpose that Nicholas built the schooner Hiberian in 1880. That was probably the last joyful time for the family. Things would go very, very wrong for the Cantwells after that. That year would see the start of a series of events which would spell their tragic downfall.

It all started with a pack of strays. Hungry dogs had begun feeding from the family’s drying fish. It was a costly problem and not one easily solved. This continued on for several days without anyone catching sight of the animal’s responsible. To remedy the situation Nicholas was assigned to keep watch of the fish-flakes. So it was that he found himself armed with a gun while on watch on the night of October 7th. That was when he spotted what he thought was one of the beasts prowling in the vicinity of the flake. He took aim and he fired. This act would seal the family’s fate for he had not shot a dog but his very own brother. The fatal shot ended young Pierce Cantwell’s life.

Nicholas left Tizzard’s Harbour for Little Bay after that. He rented a room in Mrs. Morris’ boarding house and found work in the mines there. That was a dark period. Newfoundland’s northern region was plagued by disease. Four other Cantwell siblings perished to consumption. Their mother died and diphtheria claimed the lives of two of Edward’s children in the summer of ’88.

Their father, John Cantwell, passed away in Tizzard’s Harbour in April of 1889. He was 85 years old. His body was carried from Tizzard’s Harbour to St. John’s onboard the SS Volunteer with the funeral held from ship’s side upon its arrival. He did not leave his property divided evenly between his two remaining sons. Most of it went to Edward. Context suggests that perhaps Nicholas wasn’t the only one who couldn’t forgive Pierce’s death. The schooner Hiberian was to be shared between the brothers. The ship that had been built by Nicholas had been with his father’s property and remained back at Tizzard’s Harbour with Edward. One has to wonder how Nicholas must have taken its sale by auction only one year later. We can’t know with any certainty but perhaps it informed what happened next.

Two months later Nicholas received a letter from Edward. What was written within is unknown. We only know what Nicholas did next. Mrs. Morris noticed his low spirits when he left for work that evening. He had not slept. He told her that something had been hanging over him for a long time. He further told her that should he die he’d like to be buried alongside his friends in St. John’s. On that note he left for his night shift in the mine. His coworkers noticed how distracted he was. He’d forget conversations he’d just had and was visibly out of sorts. Nevertheless he worked his shift to the end. He waited behind until the last of the men had ascended the ladder for home before finally following them up. It seems he made sure that no one was behind him before he reached the top. From there he plummeted back down the shaft. He did not use the ladder. Most of his broken body was found later below – most of it. There are conflicting reports of the shaft’s depth but the fall was either 200 or 300 feet. Nicholas Cantwell lay a twisted heap at the bottom.

Reports of his death were broad with one even printed in Pennsylvania. The newspapers framed it as an accident but some do mention his state of mind arguably hinting at suicide. I think his behaviour certainly indicates such but the suspicion is all but confirmed by what happened next. It wasn’t until May that the steamer Conscript finally arrived in Tizzard’s Harbour with Nicholas’ effects. They’d been sent back home to Edward. He’d been desponded since the news of his brother’s death but what he found next would spell his doom. Nicholas’ belongings had arrived in a box. When Edward opened it he found more than just clothes inside. Along  with his brothers things was a letter – a letter that Nicholas had penned to Edward the day before his death. It was upon reading this letter that he walked outside, went into his store-loft, and hung himself by the neck. I suspect Edward’s letter to Nicholas following their father’s death had blamed Nicholas directly for Pierce’s demise and Nicholas’ letter back made Edward responsible for Nicholas. We’ll likely never know for sure but it appears the years of loss and grief and blame had gotten the better of Edward. The tips of his shoes scraped the floor below his body when it was discovered soon after by none other than his 15 year old daughter. He’d left her, her two sisters, and their mother to grieve the loss. The scale of this Cantwell family’s tragedy must have occupied their thoughts for a lifetime.

Thanks for reading.

Sources:

• 1880 – Schooner Hiberian constructed by Nicholas John Cantwell (Crew lists)
• 1880, Oct – Accidental shooting of Pierce by Nicholas (The Public Ledger)
• 1882 – Schooner Phenix constructed by Nicholas John Cantwell (Crew lists)
• 1888, June – Death of Edward’s children to diphtheria (Twillingate Sun)
• 1889 – Will of John Cantwell (Estate files)
• 1889, May – Death of John Cantwell (TS / Evening Telegram)
• 1889, Dec – Notice of the estate of John Cantwell (TS)
• 1890, Oct – Property of Edward Cantwell including the schooner Hiberian for sale (TS)
• 1890, Dec – Death of Nicolas J. Cantwell (ET / TS / Altoona Mirror / Moments in Time)
• 1891, May – Suicide of Edward Cantwell (Harbour Grace Standard / Evening Herald / ET / TS)
• 1891, Dec – Property of the late Nicolas Cantwell for sale by Mrs. M.A. Cantwell (TS)
• 1892, Jan – Property of the late Nicolas Cantwell for sale by Mrs. M.A. Cantwell (TS)
• 1892, Oct – Property of the late Nicolas Cantwell for sale by Mrs. M.A. Cantwell (TS)