The Faithful Steward and My Lee Family Legacy

 

The Faithful Steward: A Tale of Survival Against All Odds

In the late summer of 1785, as the three-masted ship Faithful Steward approached the Delaware coast, 26-year-old James Lee stood on deck with a mixture of hope and trepidation. Behind him lay Ireland, the only home he had ever known. Ahead lay America, a land of promise and opportunity. Around him stood his family—his elderly parents, James Sr. and Isabella, his siblings, uncles, aunts, and dozens of cousins—48 Lee family members in total, all bound for a new life across the Atlantic.

The Journey of Hope

James had left behind the rolling hills of County Donegal, the familiar paths and streams where he had spent his youth. The decision to leave hadn't been easy, but America beckoned with possibilities that Ireland could not offer. His father, James Sr., then 78, had gathered the extended family—three brothers and their families, two sisters, three uncles with their families, a sister-in-law, and 33 cousins. Together, they had sold their possessions and pooled their resources for passage on the Faithful Steward.

The voyage had been long but relatively uneventful. For weeks, they had endured the cramped quarters below deck, the monotonous diet, the constant rocking of the ship. Children cried, the elderly prayed, and everyone dreamed of what awaited them in Philadelphia.

As September began, a sense of unease spread through the passengers. According to the captain's calculations, they should have reached Philadelphia already, yet no land was in sight. Still, life aboard continued. On September 1, a celebration was held—a passenger named Mr. Gregg commemorated his first wedding anniversary with a dinner party. Captain McCausland and the first mate attended, drinking heavily into the night until they were carried, unconscious, to their cabins.

The Night That Changed Everything

At ten o'clock that night, as most passengers slept, a cry shattered the quiet: "We are in four fathoms water!" The second mate, the only officer on duty, had discovered they were dangerously close to shore. Someone roused the captain, who, still in a drunken stupor, shouted, "The man who takes my command, I will hang at Philadelphia!"

Despite the captain's threats, the officer at the helm turned the ship, but it was too late. The Faithful Steward struck a sandbar with a sickening jolt that killed two children instantly. The ship listed to one side, immovable as the waves began to pound against it.

James awoke to chaos—screams of women and children, shouts of men, the groaning of the ship as it began to break apart. In the darkness, he searched frantically for his family members, finding all except one sister who had disappeared in the confusion.

Through that terrifying night, James watched as the hurricane-force winds and mountainous waves battered the ship. He saw the fear in his parents' eyes, felt the trembling hands of his siblings as they clung together, and heard the prayers of his relatives as they faced what seemed like certain death.

A Morning of Desperation

Dawn brought little relief. The shore was visible, tantalizingly close at just a mile away, but between the ship and safety raged a churning sea that had already claimed lives. Four sailors braved the waters to swim ashore, hoping to secure a rescue boat. They succeeded in finding the ship's longboat, which had been cut loose during the night, and attached ropes to it.

From the ship, passengers pulled desperately on the ropes, drawing the boat ever closer. Hope surged as the boat neared—perhaps they would be saved after all. James watched the crowd gathering at the ship's edge, each person desperate to secure a place in the boat for themselves and their loved ones.

Then came a cry that pierced even the roar of the ocean—the ropes had broken. The boat was swept away, and with it, their best chance of survival.

The Agonizing Choice

As the day wore on, James witnessed many passengers attempt to swim to shore. Some made it; many did not. He watched in horror as his friend, Doctor Campbell, was carried away by the receding tide, struggling alone in the vast ocean until he disappeared beneath the waves.

The hardest moment came when James's parents and siblings urged him to save himself. Standing in waist-deep water on the listing deck, his mother's tears mixing with the seawater, she pleaded: "Go, my son, go, and may God preserve you."

Twice James walked along the fallen mast toward the water, and twice he returned, unable to leave his family behind. The sound of their cries seemed to rise above all others, pulling him back. But on the third attempt, knowing he could do nothing more for them by staying, he plunged into the sea.

The swim was brutal. Waves crashed over him, salt water filled his mouth and nose, and his limbs grew heavier with each stroke. When his strength finally failed him near the shore, a sailor named Brown, one of the four who had swum ashore earlier, saw his struggle and plunged in to help. Though Brown initially pulled away when James's desperate grip threatened to drown them both, the sailor returned, wading in as far as possible to drag James to safety.

Alone on a Foreign Shore

On September 2, 1785, James Lee stood on Cape Henlopen, Delaware—his first steps on American soil. But there was no joy in this arrival. Soaking wet, exhausted, and in shock, he walked along the beach, desperately searching for any sign of his family members among the survivors.

Local residents had gathered to help, some tending to the half-drowned survivors, others—less charitably—stripping valuables from the dead. James joined the rescue efforts, helping pull people from the water while scanning every face for his loved ones.

As the day progressed, the terrible truth became clear. Of the 48 Lee family members who had boarded the Faithful Steward, only six had survived: James himself, his sister-in-law Mary Lee, and four cousins. His parents, James Sr. and Isabella, had perished along with most of his siblings, uncles, aunts, and cousins.

You hear about people who came to America with just the change in their pocket. James undoubtedly had even less on the morning of September 2nd when he found himself an orphan. Grappling with the loss of nearly his entire family on the cold beach on that September morning, he had nothing but the clothes on his back and an uncertain future in a strange new land.

The coins from the ship's cargo—400 barrels of penny and half-penny pieces—began washing ashore, leading locals to name the area "Coin Beach." But no amount of money could replace what James had lost.

Building a New Life

For days, James remained near the wreck site, helping with recovery efforts and hoping against hope that more of his family might be found alive. But as the days passed, hope dimmed. Eventually, he had to accept the reality of his situation—he was alone in America, with no family save his sister-in-law and four distant cousins, no possessions, and no clear path forward.

In the months that followed, James made his way to Pennsylvania, where he began the slow, painful process of rebuilding his life. The memories of that terrible night haunted him—the sounds of splintering wood, the cries of the drowning, the last glimpse of his mother's face as she urged him to save himself.

Seven years after the shipwreck, on March 15, 1792, James married Elizabeth Rankin, a woman of Scotch-Irish descent from Fayette County, Pennsylvania. They settled in Chartier's Valley, Washington County, Pennsylvania, near what is now called Meadowlands. Together, they had nine children, including William Lee, born on Christmas Day 1798, who would later father Captain Albert W. Lee.

Though James rarely spoke of the tragedy, the story of the Faithful Steward was passed down through generations of the Lee family. His descendants would spread across Ohio and beyond, carrying with them the legacy of the young man who had survived against impossible odds and found the strength to begin again.

The Legacy

Today, 239 years after the Faithful Steward sank off the Delaware coast, I stand as living proof of James Lee's remarkable survival and resilience. Had he not made it to shore that day—had he stayed with his parents and siblings, had his strength failed him completely in the water, had the sailor Brown not returned to help him—I would not exist to tell this story.

When I think about the themes that run through my family history—perseverance, courage, and the will to rebuild after devastating loss—I'm humbled by the legacy I've inherited. James Lee's journey is my journey. His strength flows in my blood. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

Survivors of the Faithful Steward

Crew Members (13)

1. Capt. Con. M'Causland (Drunk/Hungover)
2. Mr. Standfield (1st mate) (Drunk/Hungover)
3. Mr. Given/Gwyn (2nd mate)
4. Mr. William Lin/Linn (boatswain)
5. Samuel Irwin (sailor)
6. John Quigly (sailor)
7. Patrick Mourn (sailor)
8. Edward M'Caffry/Caffrey (sailor)
9. John Brown (sailor) - who helped save my ancestor James Lee
10. Pelick Hudson (sailor)
11. William Dalrample/Dalrymple (sailor)
12. Owen Phillips (sailor)
13. Robert Kelly (sailor)

Cabin Passengers (10)

1. Thomas Calhoun/Colhoun
2. Gustavus Calhoun/Colhoun
3. John O'Neill/O'Neil
4. James Dougherty
5. James Marshall
6. Thomas Blair
7. John M'Calister/McCallister
8. Robert Laurence
9. John York
10. Samuel Heburn

Passengers (45)

1. Samuel Moore
2. James Beaty
3. James Devin
4. Sarah Campbell
5. Thomas Moore/More
6. Alexander Moore
7. Arthur Higginbottom
8. Charles M'Williams
9. Samuel Wright
10. George Munro
11. Andrew Watt
12. James Watt
13. James Smyth/Smith
14. Robert Dinmore/Dinsmore
15. William M'Clintock
16. John M'Illheney/McIlheney
17. John M'Nab
18. John Brocket
19. Neill M'Kinon
20. Sarah M'Kinon
21. John Aspill
22. James Aspill
23. Thomas Ranolles/Ranolls
24. John M'Mullen/McMullan
25. Mary Burns
26. James M'Intire, senior
27. James M'Intire, junior
28. Rebecca M'Intire
29. John Scott
30. John Spires
31. James Stunkard/Stankard
32. James Lee (my 5th great-grandfather)
33. Mary Lee (my 5th great-grandfather's sister-in-law)
34. Thomas Baskin
35. Margaret Kincade
36. Doctor M'Dougle/McDougal
37. Mary Maginniss/Maginnis
38. Matthew Caldwell
39. Hugh M'Clean
40. John Shaw
41. Matthew/Mathew M'Manes
42. Simon Ellist/Ellit
43. James Ellist/Ellit
44. John Davis
45. George Richford

As for those who did not survive—including my 6th great-grandparents James Lee Sr. and Isabella Bascowan Lee, along with 42 other Lee family members—their names are lost to history. The ship's manifest went down with the vessel, and with it, the formal record of those souls who perished. But through family stories passed down through generations, their memory lives on, a testament to the sacrifices made by those who sought a better life on distant shores.

How many Scotch-Irish families in America today have an ancestor who swam ashore from the wreck of the Faithful Steward? We may never know the full count, but their legacy of courage and resilience continues to shape the American story.