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Newfoundland's most
famous Sealing Captain: Abram Kean
Captain Abram Kean is the most famous ship’s captain ever to command a Newfoundland vessel. His career spanned more than 60 years, during which time he was the object of praise and ridicule, fame and controversy. Captain Kean was a sealing Captain and a a fishing Captain. Captain Kean was also Newfoundland and Labrador's first ever Minister of Marine and Fisheries
Abram Kean was born on July 8, 1855, on Flower’s Island, Bonavista Bay, the son of Jean and Joseph Kean. He received four years of schooling at nearby Poole’s Island and Greenspond, before convincing his father to let him begin fishing at age 13.
Within 10 years he was in command of a fishing schooner. During the next 50 years he was to command vessels engaged in the Labrador, coastal, mail and passenger services, but his exploits at the seal hunt helped him become a household name in Newfoundland.
The seal hunt off the northeast coast of Newfoundland took place in the months of March and April. After several seasons at the front as master watch, second hand, and bridgemaster, Kean finally took command of his own ship, the Wolf, in 1889. In a voyage lasting only 11 days, he brought in a record load of 26,912 seal pelts.
His accomplishments at the front continued as he brought in bumper loads year after year. He took command of Bowring’s coastal boat service in 1903, as master, in turn, of the Portia, Prospero, Florizel and Stephano, all legendary ships in Newfoundland mercantile lore.
In addition to their primary functions as passenger and freight vessels, these ships participated in the seal hunt each spring, as their owners were amply compensated for the month they were out of the coastal service by the profits realized from the hunt.
While skipper of the Florizel in 1910, Kean set a record which was to last for 23 years, when brought in a load of 49,069 seal pelts. In 1934 he reached the million-pelt mark for his career and receiving accolades from Bowring’s, the St. John’s Board of Trade and the governor, including the Order of the British Empire, for his achievement.
The 1914 disaster
At the 1914 hunt, Kean was a major player in the greatest disaster in Newfoundland sealing history. He was in command of the Stephano, while his son, Westbury, was captain of the Newfoundland. On March 30, the younger Kean received a signal from his father that he had located a patch of seals. Wes ordered his men over the side, telling them to head for the Stephano, where his father would direct them to the herd, and give shelter for the night.
Abram Kean did point out the location of the seals to these men, but told them to return to their own ship when they were finished, despite indications that a storm was brewing. The men, under the direction of second hand George Tuff, attempted to return to the Newfoundland, but were caught in a severe blizzard which kept them on the ice for 53 hours.
They had no food, no protective clothing and no shelter other than what they could build out of ice and snow.
Because there were no wireless radio connections between the ships, Wes Kean assumed his crew were safe on board his father’s ship, while Abram Kean assumed the men had reached the Newfoundland before the blizzard struck. As a result no search party was sent out from either ship.
Of the 115 men and boys caught on the ice, 78 died, either by drowning or exposure. Only 37 survived the ordeal, and 11 of these were permanently disabled.
A government inquiry was appointed to investigate the disaster. Two of the commissioners found Abram Kean to be partially responsible while a third ruled that it was an act of God. Despite becoming something of a pariah in the eyes of many, Kean continued to go to the hunt until his retirement in 1936.
Active in politics
In addition to the seal hunt, Kean also left his mark on Newfoundland politics. He was first elected to the House of Assembly as a member of the Reform party, representing Bonavista in 1889. He did not stand for re-election in 1889, but returned in 1897 as the Conservative member for Bay de Verde.
The following year, as part of a major re-organization of the administration of government, Prime Minister James Winter announced that a new department of marine and fisheries would be created. He invited Kean to be first minister of the department, and Kean was instrumental in securing passage of the necessary legislation through the House of Assembly.
His only other attempt at election saw his defeat in St. Barbe in 1919, but his political career did not end there. He was appointed to the legislative council in 1927 and served until its dissolution in 1934. The following year he published his autobiography, Old and Young Ahead.
Abram Kean married Caroline
Yetman in 1872. They were the parents of five sons and two daughters. They
also raised several of his brother’s children after their father died.
Kean, a life-long Methodist and supporter of temperance, died at St. John’s
on May 18, 1945
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This is a harp seal . The spot on its back is where an electronic device had been placed for research purposes. Newfoundland. 2000. H. Pinsent |
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Two seals enjoy the weather and the water. The seal on the left is a harp seal. The seal on the right is a hood seal. They are two different species. Newfoundland. 2000. H. Pinsent. |
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