Harbor of Saint John's New Brunwick 1800s - Virtual Gallery of Historic Saint John.
Anderson Strongbow was a sailor who first went to sea at around 19 years old. He would serve 3 years in the British Navy and 36 years on Merchant ships. Anderson was born in St. John's, New Brunswick, Canada. He was a widower when he entered Sailors Snug Harbor in 1858 and had a sister in New Brunswick.
Packet Ship Louis Phillipe Painted by Fredrick Roux in 1843 - Long Island Maritime Society
The last ship that Anderson would serve on was the Louis Philippe, a three-masted French Packet Ship. On April 14, 1842, the packet, on its way from Bordeaux, France, to New York City, was grounded at Mecox Beach in Bridgehampton. To refloat the ship, the cargo had to be thrown overboard. This consisted of linen trees, shrubs, rose bushes, and champagne. As the cargo was washed ashore, East Hampton Town residents gathered the horticultural specimens and planted them in the town. One of the Roses that was planted is known today as Shipwreck Rose (Long Island Maritime Museum). It is identified as Celesiana, a Dutch Damask Rose, which is hardy and survives in cold-weather climates.
Celsiana Rose - Chicago Botanical Gardens
The Louise Philippe would be refloated and salvaged, and its routes from France to New York would continue. In 1849, the ship was modified and used by owner Capt. R.V. Fitzgerald to ship passengers and supplies from Maryland to California for the Gold Rush (California Bound).
Anderson Strongbow was on leave from Sailors Snug Harbor and staying with a friend, Susan Rogers of 28 Rose Street in New York, when he died at 5 am on December 5, 1876. Anderson may have left the harbor to celebrate the holidays with Friends. John McGregor would travel to Sailors Snug Harbor to inform the governor that he arranged the inquiry into the death and had an undertaker, Mr. Stiers, arrange for the transport of Anderson's body by Ferry to Sailors Snug Harbor for Burial. Anderson Strongbow was 81 years old and an inmate at the harbor for 18 years. He is buried in Plot 3 of the Sailors Snug Harbor Cemetery; see Cemetery Map (Anderson Strongbow Registration Page).