Alice M. Colburn- salvaged bell inquiry

[CWile]

I am looking for any information on the schooner Alice M. Colburn which sank off the coast of Manchester Massachusetts on January 4, 1923. This was just off the eastern end of Little Egg Rock. My grandfather was the engineer on this boat. The crew all survived. Per an account by Raymond Bates in his book, "Shipwrecks North of Boston" in 1992 divers from western Massachusetts recovered a 200 pound bronze bell from the wreck site. (This is an exempt dive site.) I have spoken to Mr. Bates as I am searching for this bell. Unfortunately he did not have any other information on the bell. I have spent a number of years looking for the bell and was wondering if anyone on this site might have any knowledge of its where about or heard anything about this bell.
Thank you!
Chris Wile

 

[Celt]

I am looking for any information on the schooner Alice M. Colburn which sank off the coast of Manchester Massachusetts on January 4, 1923. This was just off the eastern end of Little Egg Rock. My grandfather was the engineer on this boat. The crew all survived. Per an account by Raymond Bates in his book, "Shipwrecks North of Boston" in 2009 divers from western Massachusetts recovered a 200 pound bronze bell from the wreck site. (This is an exempt dive site.) I have spoken to Mr. Bates as I am searching for this bell. Unfortunately he did not have any other information on the bell. I have spent a number of years looking for the bell and was wondering if anyone on this site might have any knowledge of its where about or heard anything about this bell.
Thank you!
Chris Wile

The account doesn't sound right, at least the bells weight doesn't at 200 pounds. The RMS Titanic,s bell is 150 pounds. Average bell less than 100 pound.

 

[CWile]

I am looking for any information on the schooner Alice M. Colburn which sank off the coast of Manchester Massachusetts on January 4, 1923. This was just off the eastern end of Little Egg Rock. My grandfather was the engineer on this boat. The crew all survived. Per an account by Raymond Bates in his book, "Shipwrecks North of Boston" in 1992 divers from western Massachusetts recovered a 200 pound bronze bell from the wreck site. (This is an exempt dive site.) I have spoken to Mr. Bates as I am searching for this bell. Unfortunately he did not have any other information on the bell. I have spent a number of years looking for the bell and was wondering if anyone on this site might have any knowledge of its where about or heard anything about this bell.
Thank you!
Chris Wile

 

[CWile]

I am looking for any information on the schooner Alice M. Colburn which sank off the coast of Manchester Massachusetts on January 4, 1923. This was just off the eastern end of Little Egg Rock. My grandfather was the engineer on this boat. The crew all survived. Per an account by Raymond Bates in his book, "Shipwrecks North of Boston" in 1992 divers from western Massachusetts recovered a 200 pound bronze bell from the wreck site. (This is an exempt dive site.) I have spoken to Mr. Bates as I am searching for this bell. Unfortunately he did not have any other information on the bell. I have spent a number of years looking for the bell and was wondering if anyone on this site might have any knowledge of its where about or heard anything about this bell.
Thank you!
Chris Wile

 

[CWile]

I appreciate that thought. I also wondered why this bell would have been required to be so large. I did locate a smaller bell, about 12" tall from the Alice M. Colburn, so maybe the information on the 200 pounds is inaccurate. I will check back with Mr. Bates to see the source of his original information.
Thanks!

 

[Celt]

I appreciate that thought. I also wondered why this bell would have been required to be so large. I did locate a smaller bell, about 12" tall from the Alice M. Colburn, so maybe the information on the 200 pounds is inaccurate. I will check back with Mr. Bates to see the source of his original information.
Thanks!

12in. sounds more plausible for her size.

WRECKSITE - ALICE M. COLBURN SCHOONER 1896-1923

ALICE M. COLBURN SCHOONER 1896-1923, wreck, wreck database

wrecksite.eu

 

[1bubbleoff]

Don't be so sure....ships, especially of that period, ( wooden 1800's thru early 1900's) often had several ships bells. And honestly, a 200 pd bell is not really that big.

Check this out for somes pics which serve as good examples...

For Whom The Shipwreck Bell Tolls

Many wreck divers consider a ship’s bell to be the quintessential artifact to find and recover. Here prolific shipwreck explorer, historian, and author Gary Gentile recounts his and colleagues’ adventures recovering bells from numerous well-known shipwrecks including the Andrea Doria. He regards...

gue.com

 

[Jared0425]

I am looking for any information on the schooner Alice M. Colburn which sank off the coast of Manchester Massachusetts on January 4, 1923. This was just off the eastern end of Little Egg Rock. My grandfather was the engineer on this boat. The crew all survived. Per an account by Raymond Bates in his book, "Shipwrecks North of Boston" in 1992 divers from western Massachusetts recovered a 200 pound bronze bell from the wreck site. (This is an exempt dive site.) I have spoken to Mr. Bates as I am searching for this bell. Unfortunately he did not have any other information on the bell. I have spent a number of years looking for the bell and was wondering if anyone on this site might have any knowledge of its where about or heard anything about this bell.
Thank you!
Chris Wile

I've seen 160lb bells on Great Lakes Schooners. Don't forget that ship bells come from a variety of sources and not all of them new. The 160 lbs bell on the HP Bridge in Lake Huron was actually recycled from an abandoned church and second hand engraving on it. Farm bells, school bells, and locomotive bells are common on "poorer" merchant vessels.

 

[CWile]

I reconnected with Raymond Bates Jr. and he noted that a friend of his had seen this bell and that it took two men to lift it. So this would seem to indicate that the bell is fairly large.
Someone had mentioned Gary Gentile in the thread above. I had connected with him a couple of years ago. He has no knowledge of where this bell might be but is now aware of it's existence and keeping his eyes and ears open for it.