The Ghost Ship of Brown’s Hill

 

David Hosking put this photo up on the People from the Eastern Townships Facebook page yesterday and I had to do something with it. His caption was:

“It’s not well known, but this ship is situated between Fitch Bay and Ayers Cliff, Quebec. Not far from Brown’s Hill. There was a bit of a drought when the photo was taken”.

So anyone that knows me knows I enjoy a challenge– so here is my fictional story I wrote about this fictitious lost ship in the photo.

 

                                                The Ghost Ship of Brown’s Hill

Captain Ebenezer Hovey was a native of Connecticut, and was one of the earliest pioneers of the settlement of Hatley, Quebec. The freewill Baptist sustained the office of Captain of Militia for many years, and was actively employed in public affairs. In March of 1794 he set out for Magog with an ox team carrying his wife and eight children, bedding, and provisions searching for their new home.

They went by way of Missiquoi Bay and it took seven days to get through the woods from Freighlisburg to Lake/Lac Memphremagog. The snow was deep and the women and children suffered from the cold and fatigue. Captain Hovey ended up discovering Massawippi Lake with a party of explorers and they camped out on the east side of the outlet near the point of its issue from the lake.

In Stanstead county-there are miles and miles of breathtaking countryside, and the view is said to be spectacular–whether along the banks of the Niger River, or up on the heights of Brown’s Hill.  Not only are there anecdotes and historical notes about the area’s hidden corners, landmarks, and first settlers, there is one story however that some seldom discuss.

Captain Hovey may have died on the 24th of April 1836 in Stanstead County at the age of 83, but his legend lives on years later. It has been said that one of Hovey’s son’s (Horace) later descendants gave life to a  story about a ghost ship that sat not far from Brown’s Hill.

Hovey had kept the ship in a undisclosed area in a Lake/Lac Memphremagog cove.  No one knows how that ship remained hidden from prying eyes, and little has been said about the skeleton of a ship that some say still rests somewhere between Fitch Bay and Ayer’s Cliff.

Generations of locals have heard the stories about the ship that tried to make it through the rain, forest and humidity of one Quebec summer. Folks say that a steel cable towing the ship ruptured because the tension and pressure had gotten so incredibly high that the pressure inside the cable became incandescent. Inside the enormous pulley system hauling the ship the cables continued to heat up, and they had to down the cables with buckets of water. This is something they didn’t expect, but they had to do it.

The ship was from a former expedition and 129 men had tragically vanished. The mystery surrounding the failed expedition haunted historians and explorers alike. There was no definite answer to the reason of their deaths: some of the evidence suggests that they died of pneumonia, while other clearly indicated it was from lead and food poisoning.

They say there were cut marks on human bones that were interpreted as signs of cannibalism. No one has been able to put all the puzzles of this tragedy together, yet a descendant of Captain Ebenezer Hovey and his son Horace was determined to get this ship to Brown’s Hill for its final resting ground.

Moving through endlessly rolling valleys, receding to a distant range of mountains and sky, Brown’s Hill was the final goal. To say the ship was being moved by ‘engineering’ down Brown’s Road is a little bit far fetched. They had 800 lumbermen and Caterpillar drivers moving multiple winch systems, and they were very disciplined, had a good rapport, and all worked professionally.

The ship was completely battered at this point, and it was headed to a river near Brown’s Hill.  The journey became very precarious and the ghost of Captain Hovey  was there in the upper right hand part of the ship’s deck leading the procession. It wasn’t natural to move that ship to Brown’s Hill and they were imposing themselves against the laws of nature.

You didn’t need that much force going down the undulating gravel road–it was more of finding a delicate balance. If they pushed the ship too much, it was going to slide and all hell would break loose. They knew it would go down like an avalanche–that was the major complication in all of this.

When they finally found the river, they had to take a six-month hiatus, because the river was only a trickle of water due to a dry season. They left the boat at the top of a hill and hired a large family to live on the ship until they were ready to move again. Fighting the vines and the rust was the least of it, as they had to protect it from being disassembled  by the locals for the iron and the wood.

The ship stayed at the peak of a hill overhanging ominous skies closing up a tiny opening in-between the vista. What was awaiting this curious ship if the river finally regained its strength?  It was never to be discovered, and the photo sent in by David Hosking is the only photo in existence of Horace Hovey’s ghost ship.

They said you could only shoot that photo once—there were no second takes. There was only one chance to do it, and understand just what the camera saw. Some say the ghost ship vanished-never to be seen again.

But if you look closely on a clear day on top of Brown’s Hill–you’ll feel part of every mountain sea and shore. You can hear from far and near–a world you’ve never, never seen before-the ghost ship of Horace Hovey.

 

 

Related reading:

Linda’s Dreadful Dark Tales – Minecraft Story of the Lake Memphremagog Monster

 

The story of Captain Ebenezer Hovey is true-the boat not so much:)

Old North Church Cemetery
Hatley
Estrie Region
Quebec, Canada

 

 

Brown’s Hill Cemetery-click here By Leslie Nutbrown ( don;t know if she is related to my Nutbrown family connection in Sherbrooke- but this is one #superhistoricalwoman

Directions to the cemetery:

Browns Hill Cemetery is on top of the hill overlooking Ayer’s Cliff,probably less than 5 minutes away. From the town of Ayer’s Cliff, head west on Main Street (Rte 141). At the edge of town before you get to Lake Massawippi, take Dustin Road (on your left) and stay on this road for a couple of kilometers until you reach Brown’s Hill Road.  Turn right and go up over the hill past a couple of farms. Be watching as you come over the hill as the cemetery is on the left side of the road.

This is one of the oldest Stanstead County burial grounds, with stones dating from 1803. Many of the earliest settlers came here from Vermont and New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Some stones are difficult to read and some stones are sunk in the ground.  There are  numerous unmarked graves as evidenced from church records. (Indicated by CR) in the listing.

The cemetery is maintained by the Brown’s Hill Cemetery Corporation, made up of Dustin descendants. If you have relatives interred here or you are interested in helping to maintain this cemetery, please let me know.

I visit this cemetery frequently and have photographs of all monuments.  

Leslie Nutbrown   [lnutbrown@bell.net]

Total records = 187

Legend: CR= church record

Last updated: October 29, 2016

??, ??, d. 4 Feb 1894, aged 70y 8m 4d, top of stone missing,”Gone to her rest”

??, Homer B., d. 12 Mar 1846, aged 6m 5d, son of John A. & P

Ayer, Gardner M., b. 16 Oct 1808, d. 10 Dec 1879

Ayer, Louisa; d. 19 Jul 1840, aged 26 yrs, wife of Ira Wright

Ayer, Mary; d. 15 Feb 1853, wife of William Ayer

Ayer, Matilda; d. 11 Apr 1843, aged 32 yrs, wife of Gardner Ayer

Ayer, Miranda; d. 9 Aug 1837, aged 35 yrs, wife of Noah Glidden

Ayer, Myrtie L.; b. 13 Aug 1867, d. 13 May 1876

Ayer, Osgood; d. 10 Sep 1883

Ayer, Thomas; d. 8 May 1842, aged 68 yrs

Ayer, Wildar; d. 1 Jan 1851, aged 32 yrs, husband of Sylvia Wright

Ayer, William A., d. 10 Jan 1858, aged 81y 1m

Ayer, William L.; b. 7 Apr 1837, d. 28 Aug 1873

Bachelder, Sophia;  no headstone

Brown, ?, d. March 1821, aged ? Months 15 days

Brown, Abigail K., d. 30 Aug 1863, aged 45y 3m, wife of John Q. Brown

Brown, Abigail; d. 23 Jul 1850, aged ?y 6 d 4m

Brown, Alfred W., b. 9 Sep 1883, d. 7 Feb 1911, husband of Evelyn Rexford

Brown, Alvira;  no headstone

Brown, Ann; d. 2 Aug 18?5, daughter of Sherburn & Hannah

Brown, Ann; d. 30 Sep 1835, daughter of Theo & Polly

Brown, Asa W., b. 20 Sep 1833, d. 21 Jan 1918

Brown, Carroll; infant twin son of Charles & Ida

Brown, Catherine; d, 17 Jul 1825, aged 40 yrs, wife of Sherburn Brown

Brown, Charles A., b. 14 Oct 1888, d. 2 Aug 1950

Brown, Charles Robie; b. 1859, d. 1948, husband of Ida May Reed

Brown, Elizabeth Ann; b. 1847, d. 1929, wife of William M. Clark

Brown, Ella G., d. 7 Sep 1879, aged 19y 6m 6d, wife of Charles H. Towle

Brown, F. Pearl; b. 1888, d. 1975, wife of Gordon Temple

Brown, Florence H., d. 26 Aug 1889, aged 33y 8m, wife of C.A. Brown

Brown, Hannah Matilda; d. 6 Apr 1875, aged 39 yrs

Brown, Harold, infant twin son of Charles & Ida

Brown, James; d. 23 May 1808, son of Theo & Polly

Brown, John;  s/w Mehitable Brown

Brown, Josiah G., d. 25 Aug 1847, aged 2y 6m, son of J.Q. & A. Brown

Brown, Julia Ann; d. 21 Oct 1852, aged 51y 1m 10d, daughter of John Q. & Abigail

Brown, Louisa; d. 12 Jan, daughter of Sherburn

Brown, Mehitable; d. 11 Dec 1829, aged 19 yrs

Brown, Mehitable;  s/w John Brown

Brown, Minnie A., no dates, daughter of E..D. & M.J.

Brown, Nancy A., b. 24 Jan 1845, d. 26 Sep 1915, widow of William L. Ayer & wife of E.R. Webster

Brown, Nancy; d. 9 Mar 1837, age 57y 3m 14d, wife of Amos Shirtliff

Brown, Nelson;  no headstone

Brown, Ozro Harvey; b. 16 Jul 1887, d. 20 May 1957, husband of Ethel Vaughan

Brown, Robie G., b. 1883, d. 1897

Brown, Robie, d. 11 Jan 1862

Brown, Robie; b. 22 Mar 1808, d. 22 Oct 1903, husband of Flavilla Hopkins

Brown, Sanborn;

Brown, Sarah A., b. 12 Aug 1830, d. 25 Feb 1917, wife of Harvey Libby

Brown, Sarah L., d. 9 Jul 1891, aged 45 yrs, wife of Edward Hill

Brown, Sarah; d. 1861, wife of Eleazer Clark

Brown, Sewall; d. 1 Aug 1888, son of Sherburn & Susan

Brown, Sherburn S., d. 17 Apr 1892, aged 88 yrs

Brown, Sherburn; husband of Catherine

Brown, Susan;

Brown, Theophilus;

Brown, Velma I., d. 19 Mar 1937, aged 86 yrs, wife of L. P. Adams Jr.

Brown, Wilder; b. 2 Apr 1832, d. 27 Nov 1911, husband of Sula Smith

Burdett, Fannie A., d. 6 Feb 1897, aged 24y 5m, wife of Fred E. Wells

Buzzell, Homer;  no headstone

Buzzell, John;  no headstone

Clark, Charlotte; d. 19 Jul 1854, agedd 63y 6m, 3rd wife of Jonathan Dustin

Clark, Eleazer; d. 1830, husband of Sarah Brown

Clark, Gordon B., b. 7 Nov 1875, d. 22 Nov 1948

Clark, Nathaniel; d. 26 Nov 1849, aged 42 yrs

Clark, Osborn; b. 15 Feb 1820, d. 5 Nov 1893

Clark, Sewell; b. 8 Jan 1805, d. 3 May 1886, husband of Harriet Dresser

Clark, William M., b. 22 Jul 1848, d. 12 Jan 1896, husband of Elizabeth Ann Brown

Coburn, Alexander; d. 1 Jun 1877, aged 82y 6m, husband of Ruhamah Parker

Cole, Alvin; d. 13 May 1846, aged 27y 9m

Cole, Asa Wellman; d. 26 Sep 1830, aged 1m 18d, son of Asa & Lovisa

Cole, Asa; d. 26 Jan 1833, aged 42 yrs

Cole, Maranda E., d. 9 Sep 1852, aged 21y 1m 15d

Cole, Thomas; d. 9 Apr 1836, aged 49y 20d

Coulombe, Pierre; 1948-2016, époux de Louise Hurtubise

Cox, Jennie, d. 30 May 1887, aged 18y 11m, wife of H. H. Getty

Cox, Joseph;  no headstone

Cox, Oliver; d. 10 May, 1921, no headstone

Coxen, Statira; d. 2 Nov 1851, aged 57 yrs, wife of Joseph

Davis, Artemus; d. 17 Mar 1881, aged 76y 9m

Davis, Augusta M., d. 2 Feb 1904, aged 53 yrs, wife of V.W. Eaton

Davis, Mattie Wade; d. 31 May 1912, no headstone

Davis, Rozina; b. 27 Jun 1821, d. 19 Jul 1903, wife of Gardner Ayer

Davis, Sabrina; d. 27 Mar 1863, wife of Artemus

Davis, Walter;

Dodge, Lovisa; wife of  Asa Cole

Dresser, Harriet; b. 2 Sep 1818, d. 29 Sep 1896, wife of Sewell Clark

Dunn, Frederick; b. 1857, d. 1940, husband of Melvina Huckins

Dustin, Florinda; d. 28 Jan 1901, aged 68 yrs, wife of Rodney Towle (no stone)

Dustin, Hannah; d. 13 Dec 1855, aged 49 yrs, wife of Sherburn Brown

Dustin, Jonathan; d. 1 Oct 1848, aged 80y 9m, husband of Charlotte Clark

Dustin, Lizzie M., d. 4 Jul 1878, daughter of William S. & Mary B. Dustin

Dustin, Ozro; b. 1864, d. 1955, husband of Nettie Hartwell

Dustin, William S., d. 6 Aug 1896, aged 75y 8m, husband of Mary Bullock Dyer

Dyer, Mary Bullock; b. 1826, d. 1905, wife of William Sargent Dustin

Dyer, Mehetabel P., d. 7 Nov 1871, aged 46y 6m, sister of Mary B. Dyer

Eaton, Augusta J., d. 2 May 1871, aged 21y 8m, wife of Howard K. Wells

Eaton, Rosetta L., d. 1865, daughter of of V.W. & M.

Eaton, V. W., b. 1821, d. 1914

Gladden, Mary O., d. 17 Oct 1881, daughter of W.H. & A.

Glidden, Noah; d. 12 Feb 1873, aged 76 yrs, husband of Miranda Ayer

Glidden, Orpha; wife of Winthrop Fox

Hartwell, Nettie; b. 1877, d. 1903, wife of Ozro Dustin

Heath, Gilman; b. 1794, d. 1873, husband of Lydia Lovering

Heath, Philip; d. 9 Dec 1836, aged 30 yrs

Heath, Ruth A., d. 26 Jan 1858, aged 30y 9m, wife of Marshall Lincoln

Hopkins, Flavilla S., b. 18 May 1818, d. 19 Aug 1903, wife of Robie Brown

House, James; d. 22 Nov 1853, aged 39 yrs

Hovey, Mary A., b. 1818, d. 1897, wife of J.B. Shirtliff

Huckins, Melvina; b. 1852, d. 1934, wife of Frederick Dunn

Jewell, Albert H., b. 3 Apr 1820 in Tamworth, NH, d. 14 Jun 1901, husband of Mary Morse, (no stone)

Lee, Almira E., d. 11 Aug 1870, agedd 27 yrs, wife of William M. Lee

Libby, Edwin;  d. 30 Aug 1865, infant son of Harvey & Sarah, (no stone)

Libby, Erwin H., d. 18 Oct 1865, infant son of Hervey & Sarah, (no stone)

Libby, Harvey H., b. 5 Jun 1834, d. 9 May 1908, husband of Sarah A. Brown

Libby, Katie;  no headstone

Litch, Hannah; d. 29 Dec 1867, aged 81 yrs, wife of Bracket Towle

Locke, Peter; b. 14 Apr 1800, d. 2 Apr 1862

Lovering, Lydia; b. 1795, d. 3 Mar 1862, aged 66y 11m, wife of Gilman Heath

McPherson, Betsey;

McPherson; Elsie,  no headstone

Morrill, Abigail C., b. 12 May 1824, d. 28 Sep 1910, wife of Osborn Clark

Morse, Mary; d. 14 Jun 1896, aged 82 yrs, wife of Albert Jewell (no stone)

Moulton, Mary, d. 31 Jan 1870, wife of John B. Towle, mother of Mary Achsah Towle Thurston

Moulton, Ora H.,  daughter of F. A. & H. G.

Nevers, Alexander;  no headstone

Nevers, Elsie; d. 28 Dec 1863, aged 19 yrs, daughter of Alex & Elsie

Nevers, George S., d. 23 Aug 1866, aged 19y 23d, son of Alex and Elsie

Nevers, Harriet;  no stone

Nevers, Mary;

Nevers, William;  no stone

Norton, Nehemiah R., d. 4 Apr 1849, aged 2yrs, son of Joseph & Mary

Norton, Sarah A., d. 26 Mar 1903, aged 75 yrs, wife of Johnathan Towle

Parker, Ruhamah; d. 19 Jun 1885, aged 68 yrs, wife of Alexander Coburn

Pool, Achsah B., d. 6 Jul 1866, wife of John B. Towle

Reed, Ida May; b. 1861, d. 1940, wife of Charles Robie Brown

Rexford, Evelyn; b. 29 Apr 1882, d. 29 Jul 1978, wife of Alfred Brown

Richerson, Sylvia; d. 23 Dec 1891, aged 82 yrs, wife of Sherburn Brown

Rider, Elizabeth; d. 10 Apr 1911, aged 67 yrs

Roby, Priscilla; stone sunken

Ruiter, Katherine Brown; b. 4 Apr 1874, d. 19 Nov 1943

Sharon, Verna; b. 1881, d. 1972, wife of Briggs Waite

Sherman, Elizabeth; b. 2 Mar 1755 Woodbury, Conn., d. 2 Dec 1835, wife of Simeon Cole

Shirtliff, Amos; d. 3 Mar 1837, aged 62y 1m 12d

Shirtliff, Flavilla; d. 11 Nov 1815, aged 1y 4m 14d

Shirtliff, J.B., d. 3 Oct 1888, aged 81y 2m 25d, husband of Mary Hovey

Shirtliff, John; d. 30 Jul 1815, aged 4y 4m

Shirtliff, Lathrop; d. 23 Feb 1842, aged 37y 7m 1d

Shirtliff, Sanborn; d. 7 Dec 1803, aged 1y 3m 8d

Small, Isaac; d. 28 Oct 1892, aged 91y 7m

Smith, Sula A., b. 27 Feb 1840, d. 2 May 1916, wife of Wilder Brown

St. Marie, Harry; no headstone

St. Marie, Robie G., 1883-1897

Temple, Gordon L., b. 1888, d. 1966, husband of F. Pearl Brown

Towle, Ada F.,  no stone

Towle, Anthony; d. 19 Apr 1843, aged 59 yrs

Towle, Bracket; d. 2 Feb 1851

Towle, Charles Henry; d. 5 May 1932 (no stone)

Towle, Dustin Ai; b. 18 Jan 1865, d. 20 Aug 1866, son of Rodney & Florinda (no stone)

Towle, Ernest Alfred; d. 1 Mar 1909, aged 39 yrs, (no stone)

Towle, Fred; no stone

Towle, Hannah;  daughter of Anthony & Priscilla

Towle, John B., d. 6 Jan 1883, aged 62y 8m

Towle, Johnathan; d. 10 Feb 1881, aged 65y 11m 5d husband of Sarah Norton

Towle, Lyman E., b. 24 Nov 1854, d. 6 Jul 1913

Towle, Mary; d. 29 Jan 1844, daughter of Bracket & Hannah

Towle, Mehitable N., d. 13 Oct 1888, aged 71 yrs, wife of Henry

Towle, Rodney; d. 13 Apr 1898, aged 69 yrs, husband of Florinda Dustin (no stone)

Tryon, Emily Caroline; b. 1 Jul 1826, d. 9 May 1912, wife of Enoch Wait

Varnum, James; d. 1 Nov 1897, aged 82 yrs

Varnum, Mary; d. 16 Sep 1847, aged 63 yrs, wife of Theophilus Brown

Vaughan, Ethel; b. 3 Apr 1879, d. 1 May 1862, wife of Ozro Brown

Waid, Mary Jane; d.  31 May 1921, aged 72 yrs, wife of Elmer Hartwell, (no headstone)

Waid, Philander;  d. 18 Oct 1902, aged 69 yrs, (no stone)

Wait, Eddie; b. 8 Feb 1860, d. 5 Dec 1862, son of Enoch & Emily

Wait, Emaline; d. 10 May 1885, aged 55y 9m, daughter of E. & H.

Wait, Enoch, d. 24 Oct 1869, husband of Emily Tryon

Waite, Alonzo; d. 2 Feb 1912, aged 64 yrs

Waite, Briggs; b. 1857, d. 1926, husband of Verna Sharon

Waite, Emily;  no stone

Waite, Hiram H., b. 7 Mar 1850, d. 8 Apr 1898

Waite, James E., b. 23 Apr 1852, d. 18 Oct 1916

Wellman, Rose Ann;b. Jul 1852, d. 24 Oct 1939, wife of Lyman Towle (no stone)

Wells, Mary; d. 26 Aug 1873, aged 72y 1m, wife of Willard Ayer

Wheeler, Edmond;  d. 17 Feb 1882, aged 27 yrs, (no stone)

Wright, Deborah; b. 30 Apr 1834, d. 30 Apr 1897

Wright, Sylvia; d. 18 Mar 1860, aged 82 yrs, wife of Thomas Ayer

 

 

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read.

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in Hometown News and now in The Townships Sun