Retelling the story of The Voyage of the Priscilla.
By Jeff Dodge

This is a story about a story—a story written and published in 1907 by “The Mate”—John Copeland Crisson—of Grand Turk and Bermuda. It is the tale of a voyage from Bermuda to Grand Turk aboard the American schooner Priscilla.

Background and the New York to Bermuda race

In June 1907, the American schooner Priscilla participated in the second annual New England to Bermuda Race. She was one of twelve starters in the 680 mile (590 nautical miles) race to St. David’s Head, Bermuda. At 80 feet in length, she was one of the largest vessels to enter the race which began at the Brooklyn, New York Yacht Club (Gravesend Bay) on June 5, 1907. Today the race begins at Newport, Rhode Island and is known as the Newport–Bermuda Race or just the Bermuda Race. 

Priscilla was built in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1891 for the  fishing industry. Gordon–Pew Fisheries Co. of Gloucester, Massachusetts sold her to Henry Neun of Rochester, New York in August 1906 for $3,500. (Gorton–Pew became famous for their frozen fish sticks in 1953. They changed their name to Gorton’s of Gloucester in 1965.)

Neun and partner Manson go to Bermuda

Henry Neun and his New York City partner, Philip Manson, traveled to Bermuda in September 1906. Their objective had little to do with Priscilla—they were looking for business opportunities.

For example, in December 1906, Neun and Manson made unsuccessful efforts to establish an electric utility company on Bermuda. Their plan included using Priscilla to haul coal from the United States for its coal-fired steam generators.

Priscilla goes fishing

The schooner Priscilla sailed to Bermuda from the USA in late December 1906, arriving January 1, 1907. Following the failed attempt to build an electric utility plant, her owners decided to use Priscilla as a commercial fishing vessel. The idea was to catch fish off Bermuda and ship them to hotels and restaurants in New York City.  

Bills soon began piling up—fishing had not turned out to be profitable. Apparently New York City restaurants did not know how to prepare fish such as grouper or their customers, familiar with cod and haddock, were afraid to order fish unknown to them.

Since fishing was unprofitable, Philip Manson wrote Henry Neun from Bermuda on March 25, 1907 to say he thought Priscilla should be entered in the New York to Bermuda Race. The $1,000 prize was no doubt the incentive and wining the race would enhance Priscilla’s prestige and her resale value. Neun agreed.  

The race

On May 16, 1907, Priscilla and Bermudian sloops Zena and Isolt left Bermuda for New York in preparation for  the big race. The three vessels arrived at the Brooklyn Yacht Club’s anchorage at Gravesend Bay on May 25 in plenty of time for the start of the race on June 5, 1907.

Priscilla did not win the race—she crossed the line sixth in her class at 10 AM on June 10. She remained in Bermuda following the competition and, in a matter of weeks, she sailed again—not as a racing yacht or fishing schooner, but as a cargo-carrying merchant vessel.  

Priscilla prepares to leave for the Turks & Caicos Islands

In late June 1907, shortly after the Bermuda Race, a local crew made up of Bermudians and Turks Islanders was busy preparing to take Priscilla to the Turks & Caicos Islands with a cargo of lumber. The crew anticipated an enjoyable voyage since it would include several days on Grand Turk where they could spend time with friends and relatives. Officially, the purpose of the voyage was to transport a cargo of lumber to the Turks & Caicos Islands and return with a load of salt.

The crew included: Henry Kruger, master; John Copeland Crisson, 1st mate; Captain J.F. Leseur, navigating officer; Charles Leseur (Captain Leseur’s son), Robert Linley, and Arthur S. Harriott (related to Harriotts of Salt Cay), seamen; P. Anderson, cook; J. Tucker, cabin-boy; and four others including John Crisson’s brother-in-law, Arthur Spencer, for a total complement of 12 men. A yellow stowaway cat, name unknown, made for a total of 13—perhaps an unlucky number.

The voyage to the Turks & Caicos Islands was delayed. Lumber was loaded and then unloaded—Priscilla was not registered as a merchant vessel and didn’t have the necessary papers to leave Bermuda carrying cargo. The schooner’s owner(s) eventually obtained the required merchant papers and on July 1, Priscilla was cleared to leave Bermuda loaded with lumber. 

The 1st Mate — author of the Voyage of the Priscilla story

At this time it might be appropriate to introduce the author of the Voyage of the Priscilla story. It was written by “The Mate” who was in fact John Copeland Crisson. Due to errors in the first edition of his story, which he attributed to his publisher, Crisson had a corrected second edition published in October 1907. 

Crisson served as 1st mate aboard Priscilla following the Bermuda Race. John Crisson was born on Grand Turk Island in 1864. In 1888, he married Mary A. Spencer, also of Grand Turk. They had two children, Charles and Herbert. In 1892, John Crisson owned and edited a short-lived (18 months) newspaper, the Weekly Record.

The Crisson family moved from Grand Turk to Bermuda about 1894 where they had three more children. What exactly John did in Bermuda is uncertain, though no doubt his work involved the sea. By 1900 John was apparently employed by the Bermuda Wrecking Co. as a salvage worker.

In 1924, John Crisson launched The Chronicle and Dependency News on Grand Turk confirming that by then he was again living full-time on the island—his wife and children however, remained on Bermuda. Though John lived separately from his wife and family, they were not divorced—he traveled to Bermuda to visit them from time to time. Some said John preferred the weather on Grand Turk, as well as the company of his Turks Island friends. 

Back aboard the Priscilla

On Tuesday, July 2, 1907, Priscilla’s captain, H. Kruger, and his crew weighed anchor leaving the Narrows outbound for the Turks & Caicos Islands. Two days later, on July 4 and 5, Priscilla was becalmed. The glass-smooth seas provided the crew with the opportunity to swim overboard. This was one of the few diversions available to them as Priscilla’s deck was piled high with lumber. The crew was not happy about this as they had anticipated much “lolling and loafing about the decks.”

July 6 and 7 were days of light winds and calm seas, somewhat like the two days before. All sails were aloft while light winds lasted, but in the calms, the flapping of the sails and the rolling of the schooner caused a heavy strain on the halliards and one sail after another broke away and fell to the deck.

On Monday, July 8, a light wind moved Priscilla toward her destination. Later in the day, a black cloud came up in the northwest and before long, a squall struck Priscilla. The winds were heavy, putting her gunwale under—she was making an indicated speed of 11 knots. Fortunately, the winds died down quickly and the schooner was back in calm seas.

On Tuesday, July 9, the captain and mate and three others put a dory over the side for a row and to take photographs of the schooner—she was becalmed again. By Wednesday, Priscilla was about 312 nautical miles from Grand Turk.

Easterly trade winds gradually increased on Thursday, July 11 and by late afternoon on Friday, Priscilla was located just 40 miles from Grand Turk. At 5 PM, the Grand Turk light was sighted and an hour later a pilot was taken aboard. The anchor was dropped in 15 fathoms of water in the roadstead off Cockburn Town, Grand Turk by 7 PM. 

On Grand Turk Island

Shortly after dropping anchor off Cockburn Town, Grand Turk—the capital of the Turks & Caicos Islands—government officials boarded Priscilla to inspect her papers. Following the officials’ visit, the crew hired a boat to take them ashore where a crowd of local residents waited to welcome them. Most, if not all, of the crew were well known among the Turks & Caicos Islands.

On Saturday, July 13, after their luggage was examined and paying the necessary duty at the Customs House, the schooner’s crew gathered to plan their day’s activities. These included touring the island, riding in donkey carts, wading in salt ponds, and annoying shopkeepers along Front Street where they admired various goods and souvenirs such as postcards, seashells, sponges, and half penny cigars. 

Priscilla sails to South Caicos

First Mate John Crisson wrote that at 10 AM on Sunday, July 14—having left most of the crew behind—Priscilla left Grand Turk and (quote) “sailed for the port of Cockburn Town at East Caicos, where her lumber was discharged, and 1,500 bushels of salt taken in.” 

(Note: What we now know as South Caicos was identified in early records as East Caicos, and its harbour was known as East Harbour. By the early 19th century, South Caicos was being recorded as a separate island from East Caicos and in 1840, East Harbour was renamed Cockburn Harbour by the Governor of the Bahamas Francis Cockburne. Therefore, by 1907, John Crisson should have written that Priscilla sailed for Cockburn Harbour on South Caicos. The names East Harbour and Cockburn Harbour were used interchangeably from 1840 until the early 1900s. Keep in mind also that Cockburn Town is the name of the town on Grand Turk Island and Cockburn Harbour is on South Caicos.)

At this point in his story, John Crisson goes on to briefly outline the history of the Turks & Caicos Islands including their geographical features, invasions by the Spanish and French, and the governments that ruled the Islands over the years. He also listed various resources found on the Islands such as sisal, guinea corn, plantains, hard woods, sponges, conchs, cave earth (bat guano) and, of course, salt.

Author Crisson briefly describes the process the Turks & Caicos Islands employs to extract salt from seawater by solar evaporation, as well as how it was gathered, why it was ground for the New England fisheries, how it was shipped, and the prices it brought. 

Priscilla began discharging her cargo of lumber at Cockburn Harbour, (a.k.a. East Harbour) South Caicos early on July 15. By noon, after her cargo of lumber was unloaded, 1,500 bushels of salt were taken aboard. A few hours after the salt was stowed below decks, Priscilla left South Caicos for Grand Turk, arriving Tuesday, July 16.

Back on Grand Turk

On Sunday, following the departure of Priscilla for South Caicos, some of the crew on Grand Turk attended services at Parish Church “like good little chaps.” Others strolled along the banks of North Creek to the white sandy beach at Little Bluff next to B.C. Frith’s coconut plantation.  

Friends on Grand Turk went out of their way to insure that Priscilla’s crew had a most enjoyable visit. Beds were made available for them at the homes of friends and acquaintances, dinner invitations were tendered each day, and a trip to the lighthouse on the north end of Grand Turk by donkey cart was arranged for a picnic. 

Having arrived back on Grand Turk from South Caicos late on Tuesday, July 16 and owing to the fact that several hours would be required to obtain ship’s papers for the homeward voyage, Priscilla’s entire crew was able to spend Tuesday evening at a party at the home of the superintendent of the cable station. 

Homeward bound

Priscilla was cleared to depart Grand Turk early on Wednesday, July 17, 1907 bound for Bermuda. Light winds ruled weather conditions from weighing anchor until Monday, July 22. On the morning of July 23, clouds formed in the south and a few hours later, Priscilla was under double-reefed foresail reeling before gale strength winds. The crew fought the storm for over four hours until the weather began to clear. Fortunately, damage consisted only of the forward starboard shroud falling to the deck. Soon after, Bermuda’s Gibbs’ Hill light was sighted.

At 5 PM on July 24, Priscilla took a pilot aboard and at 8:45 PM she arrived in Grassy Bay and let go of the anchor. There were mixed feelings among the crew—sorrow that a very enjoyable voyage was over and joy to be home with family and friends.  

Priscilla’s owners continued business on Bermuda

As stated earlier, Henry Neun and Philip Manson went to Bermuda for business opportunities, not to race their schooner. In 1907, Philip Manson leased Bermuda’s Hotel St. George and was seeking permission to build a new hotel at Par-la-Ville. In December 1908, Henry Neun, Philip Manson, and investors launched the Bermuda–Atlantic Steamship Company with service between New York and Bermuda. Manson continued his business activities on Bermuda and elsewhere until his retirement in 1929. (His activities occasionally ran up against the law.)

The demise of the schooner Priscilla

The schooner Priscilla arrived back in Bermuda following her voyage to the Turks & Caicos Islands on July 24, 1907.On May 13, 1908, the St. Georges Marine Slip Co. filed a legal claim against Priscilla and her cargo for unpaid haulage and dockage fees incurred in December 1907. On May 19, 1908, Priscilla left Bermuda for Philadelphia with a load of Bermuda onions, arriving in that city nine days later. She returned to Bermuda with a cargo of coal on what was possibly her last voyage. 

In June 1909, Philip Manson wrote Henry Neun from New York City that he had received a letter from Bermudian Isaac Golinsky saying that he had a buyer for Priscilla, but had been told by William Meyer of Bermuda (who was living at the St. George Hotel at the time), that the schooner had already been sold. Believing something shady was going on, Manson urged Neun to go to Bermuda to clear things up and then hire a crew to sail Priscilla back to New York to sell her. There is no record a sale ever took place and there is no evidence Priscilla ever returned to the United States.

It seems likely that Priscilla was not sold and that mounting expenses forced her owners to abandon her to deteriorate, spring leaks, and sink. The exact date of her demise has not been confirmed. However, one report stated she sank in Mullet Bay in 1911 and that her sunken remains are still visible.

In 2007, 100 years following Priscilla’s participation in the second annual Bermuda Race, descendants of Henry Neun donated the compass salvaged from Priscilla to the Rochester Yacht Club. The compass is on display in the trophy room today. The plaque reads: “The Compass Raised From the Wreck of the Priscilla, the First Vessel to Represent RYC in the New York–Bermuda Race in 1907.”

Afterward—John Crisson

By about 1923, John Crisson was living on Grand Turk with occasional visits to Bermuda to see his family. He launched The Chronicle and Dependency News in 1924—six years later it was put out of business in retaliation for critical articles Crisson had written about the government. 

John was not only a newspaper man, but also a photographer, amateur shipwright, salvage worker, and the captain of his ketch Mariette. He could also play the violin and speak Spanish. John Crisson died on Grand Turk at the age of 75 on November 17, 1939 and was buried there—a grave stone also appears in Bermuda. His wife Mary A. Spencer Crisson died on February 25, 1944 in Bermuda.

The author wishes to thank the following for their contributions to this article: John Copeland Crisson for writing and publishing his story in 1907; Linda Abend, National Trust of Bermuda representative and archive researcher extraordinaire; C. Harris, MBE, PHD, JP, FSA of the Bermuda Maritime Museum for sharing his insights about Priscilla; the Rochester Yacht Club Historical Committee; and John McCormick and Mary Ellen Parry for sharing Neun family records.