Heroine. On November 24, 1854, she spotted the schooner Conductor that had run aground during a violent storm in Long Point Bay on Lake Erie. Her sailors were clinging to the rigging as the ship was breaking apart. It was not far from her modest cabin on the isolated peninsula of Long Point. Her husband, Jeremiah, was away and her children were in their cabin. She first started a fire on the beach to attract the sailors. She knew that if they were not rescued soon, they could not survive the bitter cold. She ventured out into the icy water, although she could not swim, appealed to them one by one to jump into the turbulent water and swim toward her. She rescued the entire crew of eight, starting with the captain, making separate trips into the water for each sailor and pulling them to shore. She was handsomely rewarded with a number of honors. Sailors contributed a purse, with which she purchased a farm. The Benevolent Life Saving Association of New York presented her with a gold medal for bravery and Queen Victoria wrote her a letter acknowledging her deed and enclosed a monetary reward. "The Heroine of Long Point", by John G. Whittier, was published in the Atlantic Monthly in May 1869. News of her death appeared in newspapers across the United States and Canada. Part of her farm is now dedicated as a conservation area and a ward in the Norfolk General Hospital is named in her memory.
Heroine. On November 24, 1854, she spotted the schooner Conductor that had run aground during a violent storm in Long Point Bay on Lake Erie. Her sailors were clinging to the rigging as the ship was breaking apart. It was not far from her modest cabin on the isolated peninsula of Long Point. Her husband, Jeremiah, was away and her children were in their cabin. She first started a fire on the beach to attract the sailors. She knew that if they were not rescued soon, they could not survive the bitter cold. She ventured out into the icy water, although she could not swim, appealed to them one by one to jump into the turbulent water and swim toward her. She rescued the entire crew of eight, starting with the captain, making separate trips into the water for each sailor and pulling them to shore. She was handsomely rewarded with a number of honors. Sailors contributed a purse, with which she purchased a farm. The Benevolent Life Saving Association of New York presented her with a gold medal for bravery and Queen Victoria wrote her a letter acknowledging her deed and enclosed a monetary reward. "The Heroine of Long Point", by John G. Whittier, was published in the Atlantic Monthly in May 1869. News of her death appeared in newspapers across the United States and Canada. Part of her farm is now dedicated as a conservation area and a ward in the Norfolk General Hospital is named in her memory.
Inscription
ABIGAIL BECKER, WIFE OF HENRY ROHRER, BORN FRONTENAC CO., ONT., MARCH 14, 1831, DIED MARCH 21, 1905. THE HEROINE OF LONG POINT
