A group of immigrants arrived on the shores of Quebec aboard The John Mackenzie. It had sailed from Scotland, its passengers full of anticipation and excitement, the date June 26, 1857. The 250 passengers upon their arrival to Quebec City disembarked only to find their way onboard The Montreal, heading to the next stop on their journey, Montreal.
There were up to 300 passengers onboard The Montreal when a fire broke out near the boiler. The two lifeboats quickly filled and were swamped. With limited choices, people remained onboard as long as possible before jumping in the water, many ended up with severe burns. It is estimated 248 people died in the incident.
I came across information on The Montreal when researching a relative, Robert Andrew Jeffrey. Robert is mentioned in the newspaper as he helped in the recovery of the bodies. What an incredibly grim task.
The Montreal Herald And Daily Commercial Gazette, Thursday, July 9, 1857 col. 3 reported that
“…of the bodies recovered, one hundred and thirty have been picked up by a boatman named Robert Jeffery, who is well known to be a strictly honest man, and who went up to the wreck in the same Steamer as the Mayor, on the night of the occurrence; the remainder of the bodies have been recovered by Michel Barribeau, Joseph Belieau, and the Water Police.”
Reports following in the newspaper condemn the recovery of the bodies claiming thefts of the victim’s belongings as rampant. The Commercial Gazette’s article is defending the recovery process of the victims as other newspapers reported that
“Quebec is the head quarters of two sets of the greatest scoundrels and ruffians on the face of the earth, crimps and immigrant runners.”
and that “…crimps have been reaping a rich harvest by robbing the bodies of the dead”
The victims were mostly laid to rest in Quebec City.
A partial list of passengers was found here – List of passengers
More information on The Montreal can be found here – Maritime History of the Great Lakes
Clip of the article from the newspaper mentioned above
The newspaper was accessed through the BAnQ website where the full article can be found.
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Thanks Susan!
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My great, great grandmother, Catherine Mackenzie, was one of the survivors of the steamship Montreal disaster in 1857. She saved a child thinking it was her sibling. Sadly it was not. 13 family members died that day. Catherine was the only survivor.
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Wow Lorna, what a horrible day for Catherine. What became of her after the sinking?
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I too have been researching a family that suffered great grief over the burning and sinking of the steamer Montreal.
James Wylie 1824-1857 married Agnes Jane Love 1824 – 1869 in 1845, both aged 24. Their first daughter died aged 9 in 1855, along with their first son died aged 2. Hugh was born in 1848, Mary born 1850 and James born 1855. Elizabeth was born in February of 1857 before the family set sail for Canada on the ss “John McKenzie. Their son James, now aged 2 died on consumption during the crossing in 1857. The family arrived in Quebec and boarded the Montreal for the journey up the St Lawrence River to Montreal. During the terrible fire and subsequent sinking of the Montreal, only Agnes survived having lost her husband and remaining 3 children. How she survived we will never know but my research finds her marrying a Robert Taylor 1830-1864 in March 1858 Columbia. They had a daughter Elizabeth Mary Taylor 1859-1925 and lived in New York. Her 2nd husband died in Dekorra in 1864. She married for a third time a John Campbell in October 1865. As far as I can tell Agnes died in July 1869 in Poynette. It would have been lovely to see a happy ending to this story but if anyone knows what happened to her surviving daughter Elizabeth and any living family that resulted I would love to know. Graeme Weir 28 Dec 2024.
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I am so sorry to learn of this history of your family. I hope you are able to locate Elizabeth or any family members.
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