News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-04-09
SAVED 81 HUMAN LIVES.
PLENTY OF MEDALS FOR HIS GOOD
WORK BUT NO MONEY GIVEN HIM.
The Veteran Captain Hussey Tells How he
Did lie and How he Won his Wife.
from the New York SUM-

From the New York SUM-
Capt. Jack Hussey, the man who
saved 2 women, 8 boys, and 81 men
from drowning, and besides that fshed
7 horses out of East River, is living at
80 Jackson street, where he first settled
when he came to New York thirty-two
years ago. His blue eyes sparkle
| ioyially above his bronzed cheeks and
grayish mustache and goatee. He is of
middle height, sturdy, and we'll made.
| On his red fannel-lined waistcoat, he
has pinned four life-saving gold and
silver badges which he proudly displays
and cherishes. Six years ago Congress
man Cox got him an appointment as
gatekeeper at Castle Garden, and he
faithfully performs his duties there.
Recently Capt. Jack talked about him
self to a reporter, He said:
sat Castlemurtha, County Cork,
Ireland, I was born on June "a, 1928.
I've been back five times since. When
was boy I learned to swim on the
river that runs through the town, and
I've been good swimmer ever since. I
worked on farm in Ireland, and when
was % years old came to New York
and carried hod for year. I kept at
that for while, and then I went out to
Illinois and went to work on the Rock
Island Railroad, which was being built
then. When the road was finished /
came back here thirty-two years ago,
and began to work along the docks.
ST was twenty-five years old then,
and I've been 'longshoreman at piers
45, 46 and At East River ever since.
The 18th of next month will make
thirty-two years since I've been mar
ried. I've three daughters and one son,
and wife.
'I never learned to read or write, and
I can't now read the medals have on.
I couldn't say anything in the Bible in
print, and I didn't learn the Lords
Prayer that way, but I can say it by
heart, and some verses I've picked up,
too.
"My wife was the first one I saved
from drowning. I saved her two miles
out from Dunkirk, on Lake Erie, when
the steamer went down. That was
thirty-two years ago April II. She was
going to Boston from Chicago, and I
was going to New York from Chicago,
where I had finished working on the
Rock Island Railroad. Her name was
Ellen Dooney. She came over from
Ireland when she was six years old,
about forty-fve years ago. She went
on together with a lot of other passen-
gers from Chicago to Dunkirk on the
steamer. We were going to take the
Erie Railroad from there. On stormy
night the boat sunk. There were plenty
of boats, and no lives were lost. The
people were going ashore all right,
but Miss Dooney fell off into the water
and would have been drowned, for it
was dark and stormy, but 1 jumped in
after her and got her out and swan with
her to small boat. Then we got ashore
and went on the same train to New
York. 1 liked her very well, and when
we got on the ferryboat at Jersey City /
thought while, and then I says:
"'Will you marry me?'
There are so many other girls here
she said, 'and you might rather have one
of them
"'No. 1 wouldn't says l. I'D
rather have you, and asked her again
and she said yes, and We went up on
Chambers street and got married, and
we began to keep house at so jackson
street, and we've lived there happily
ever since.
1.-THE first man / pulled out was a
junkman. l used to work at unloading
tea ships that came in from China, and
loading them up with -four and grain at
night, as they were in hurry to be off
again. The junkman fell into the East
River atnight and jumped in after him.
All the others I saved, except my wife,
were in the East River or around the
Battery, where I am working row.
have the names of only few of those l
fshed out Most of them were foreign
ers, Swedes or Dutch, who walked into
the water and thought they were going
along the street. Some of them were
lunatics and wanted to commit suicide.
They never gave me cent, and l got
nothing from any OF them All this
money l got was 500 from the Wall
street life-saving society. Few of the
men saved thanked me even. and I'd
been better off if had never spoiled my
clothes jumping in after them. But I
don't regret it, and I'm glad that I've
been able to help anybody, though it
hasn't made me rich.
"The last man got out of the water
was few weeks ago, when a crazy
Swede jumped in. He wanted to kill
me for saving him, and it took five men
to put him in strait jacket and keep
him quiet.
"My medals tell more about me than
I can recollect. The reason I'm called
captain is because was captain in some
target and shooting companies before
the war"
Capt. Jack took off his badges and
laid them on the table. They were four
well-worn, carefully kept and proud
tokens. The Oldest one is a silver
medal, fastened to the pin by red,
white and blue faded ribbon.
81 am the only man who ever got one
of these" said Capt. Jack.
The inscription is:
presented to John Hussey by the
American Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals, as an appreciation |
of his brave and humane conduct in
saving 7 horses from drowning on 9th |
Sep, 1871, at Pier At, N. r. By order
of the committee. HENRY BERGH,
president"
"There was one badge 1 got before |
that" Capt. Jack went on. SIT was |
given to me by Harbor Masters James |
Thompson, Amos briggs, Miller and |
Conger about the end of the war. 1t |
was stolen from me three years ago,
when I had three medals stolen-this
one, my first gold life-saving medal
from the government and my first Wall
street ife-saving society medal. Two
fellows were in South street car terri
flying women and children. [ interfered |
and had my three medals stolen. Sun
set Cox got me another medal by special
act of Congress.
"Under the act of Congress of 1874
Policeman Mcbride got the first life
saving medal and got the second one.
It was given to me for saving John
Brown, of Brooklyn, who fell in the
water on the night of Feb. Is, 1877, and
Mr.. McNogle, who fell in on the next
night. The medal is twenty carats
fine, and soft. / showed it to fellow
and he let it fall and bent the edge
OF it."
1t is big gold medal, two inches in
diameter, and is engraved:
ITO Capt. John Hussey, for rescuing,
on two occasions, persons from drown
ing, at the great peril of his life, Feb.
Is, 16. 1871"
Another gold medal is inscribed:
presented by the Life Saving Asso-
citation of 81 Wall street, to Captain
John Hussey, for bravery and humanity
in rescuing twenty-five persons from
drowning"
Last Christmas eight of Capt. Jacks
friends on the piers presented him with
another GOLD medal IT. ia n Maltese