Joshua James

Early life and education

Joshua James was born on November 22, 1826, in Hull, Massachusetts. He was the seventh of ten children to Esther Dill, of Hull, Massachusetts, and William James, who had emigrated from Dokkum, the Netherlands as a young man. Little is known of William James's early life except that he was a soldier in the Dutch Army before running away and becoming a sailor. In time he made his way to America, landing in Boston, where he earned a living as a sailor on numerous small schooners that provided paving stones to the city. Eventually he made his home in Hull and via frugality became the owner of his own schooner and engaged in the paving-stone business for himself.

Esther Dill was the daughter of Nathaniel and Esther (Stoddard) Dill, of Hull, both descended from the early English colonists. Her great-grandfather, John Dill, who "for a number of years," was the skipper of the boat which supplied the market at Oliver's Dock [Boston] with fresh fish." Three of Esther's uncles, Daniel, John, and Lemeul, a "famous drummer," served in the Continental Army under George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Another uncle, Samuel, appears to have died in the Maine wilderness while serving with General Benedict Arnold's expedition against Quebec in 1775. Esther's father, Nathaniel (1756-179?), occasionally mustered as a fifer, spent most of his Revolutionary War service at Boston Harbor forts, but also appears to have served in the Continental Army early in the War. One of Esther's brothers, Nathaniel, lost his life aboard the 32-gun wooden frigate USS Boston during its engagement and capture of the 22-gun French corvette Berceau in 1800 at the end of the Quasi-War with France, while another, Caleb, died on a military expedition to Canada during the War of 1812. Esther Dill was the only girl in a family of seven children and was sixteen at the time of her marriage to William James in 1808. Not long after Joshua's birth, about 1829, William James purchased the Dill home by the sea along present-day James Avenue in Hull. He was a Lutheran, and it was his custom to read from the Bible he brought with him from the Netherlands. When his children were old enough they were required to read every morning in English from the King James version of the Bible. During Joshua's childhood, there were occasional Methodist itinerant preachers who visited Hull as they had for decades. There was no church building save a one-room schoolhouse prior to construction of a Town Hall in 1848.

He was described by his elder sister Catherine that he had a thoughtfulness and reserve that distinguished him from other children. He was the favorite of his father, beloved by his brothers, idolized by his sisters. Joshua was a great reader from childhood on, preferring historical and scientific books, notably astronomy. His preference for practical literature is most likely due in part to his parents, whose strict religious views largely guided the children's choice of reading. Esther Dill prohibited the reading of novels and fiction of all kinds, and forbade the neighbors lending her children novels. On one occasion she destroyed a beautiful and expensive copy of The Children of the Abbey that she found in the hands of one of her daughters.

Career

Joshua's lifesaving activities began on December 17, 1841, when he was just 15 years old. Five years after the death of his mother and sister, Joshua James leaped aboard a surfboat manned by volunteers from the local chapter of the Massachusetts Humane Society at Hull heading toward the ship Mohawk which was being "hammered shapeless" off Nantasket Beach at Harding's Ledge. He would continue to save lives for the next six decades as a member of the Massachusetts Humane Society and later the U.S. Life-Saving Service.

By 1886 he was involved in so many rescues that the Humane Society struck a special silver medal for "Brave and faithful service of more than 40 years." The report said, "During this time he assisted in saving over 100 lives." However, many records of his early rescues were lost when the archives of the Massachusetts Humane Society were destroyed in the Great Boston Fire of 1872.

Appointment as U.S. Life-Saving Service keeper

In 1889 the U.S. Life-Saving Service established Point Allerton Station at Hull, Massachusetts. James was 62 years old, seventeen years past the mandatory retirement age of 45 for a federal appointment with the new U.S. Life-Saving Service. Due to his unequaled lifesaving record, considerable petitioning by townspeople of Hull and his allies in the service Congress made a special provision to allow him to be appointed as keeper of the new station. Under the question on the form calling for past experience qualifying him for the position he wrote "fisherman."

Significant rescues

The hurricane of 1888 came in the guise of a northeast gale and snowstorm accompanied by extremely high tides, and 100 mph (155 km/h) winds created tremendous surf conditions. The snow and sleet in the early part of the storm gave way to rain. Early in the day of November 25, 1888, Captain James and a few hardy beachmen climbed to the top of Telegraph Hill, where through nearly blinding snow and wind they observed five schooners and one coal barge anchored off an area southeast of Boston called Nantasket, attempting to ride out the storm. With the intensity of the storm growing and sensing that it was only a matter of time before some of the ships at anchor yielded to the storm, Captain James notified his volunteers to be ready for service, and about two o'clock ordered patrols all along the ocean shore.

The beach patrols had hardly begun when the schooner Cox and Green was discovered broadside to the beach. When Captain James judged the seas too heavy to risk launching a rescue boat, the beach apparatus was called upon. With the assistance of local residents Captain James and his men rescued the entire crew by rigging a breeches buoy to the stricken schooner. This was to be the first rescue of an extraordinary 36 hours during which 28 Hull volunteers would work in five crews to save 29 lives along the town's shores.

No sooner than the last crewman from the Cox and Green was safely ashore the schooner Gertrude Abbott had struck some rocks about one-eighth mile to the east of the Cox and Green and was too far out to reach with the line and breeches buoy. Because the night was approaching, the incoming tide was very high and the storm was increasing in a fury, Captain James decided the best course was to wait until low tide the next day. He ordered the surfboat R.B. Forbe brought on the beach abreast of the Gertrude Abbott and a bonfire lit on a bluff so the stricken vessel could be kept in view. During the evening, weather and sea conditions deteriorated so much that between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm the crew chose to row out to the Gertrude Abbott during the night. Knowing that the conditions were extremely dangerous, Captain James told the men that only volunteers would be taken for the rescue attempt; all the men volunteered.

They launched the surfboat R.B. Forbe through the breaking waves and rowed to the wrecked Gertrude Abbott with two of the crew bailing constantly to keep the boat from swamping. After desperate rowing the R.B. Forbe maneuvered under the ship's bow and a line was heaved from the surf boat to the schooner, and as the smaller craft was lifted by the cresting waves the eight sailors leaped one by one from the rigging into the surfboat. With 17 men aboard, they began the hazardous return journey to shore. Between rescuers and survivors, the R.B. Forbe was overcrowded, leaving little room to work the oars. The overcrowding also made the boat even more difficult to manage. Within two hundred yards of the beach, the R.B. Forbe struck a rock, rolled one gunwale deep under water, and began taking on seawater. The occupants quickly shifted their position and succeeded in righting the boat. One surfman was washed out of the boat by a wave, but was reclaimed by his comrades before the sea carried him away. The surfboat was buffeted along at the mercy of the waves and struck rocks a number of times. With most of the oars lost or broken, the men managed with the few oars left to steer the R.B. Forbe toward the shore so that the waves might push her in. Captain James admonished everyone to stick to the boat as long as possible. Finally near shore the R.B. Forbe was thrown upon some hidden rocks and completely wrecked. The occupants promptly jumped out and scrambled to shore and safety. The schooner's crew were immediately taken to a neighboring house and given care. For the rescue that Captain James himself called "miraculous," all nine surfmen were awarded the Treasury Department's U.S. Gold Lifesaving Medal, the highest possible award.

Known rescues

December 17, 1841, assisted in the rescue of twelve crewmen of the Mohawk.

October 10, 1844, assisted in the rescue of eight crewmen of the brig Tremont.

December 9, 1845, assisted in the rescue of crew of the Massasoit.

April 1, 1850, assisted in the rescue of crew of the brig L'Essai.

April 1, 1850, assisted in the rescue of crew of the Delaware.

March 2, 1857, assisted in the rescue of crew of the brig Odessa.

December 23, 1870, assisted in the rescue of the crew of schooner William R. Genn.

March 15, 1873, assisted in the rescue of the crew of the Helene.

February 1, 1882, assisted in the rescue of the crew of the Bucephalus.

February 1, 1882, assisted in the rescue of the crew of the Nellie Walker.

Date unknown 1883 assisted in the rescue of the crew from the schooner Sara Potter.

February 17, 1884, assisted in the rescue the crew of the brig Swordfish.

December 1, 1885, assisted in the rescue of the crew of the brig Anita Owen.

January 9, 1886, assisted in the rescue of the captain of the Millie Trim, but was unable to save the rest of the crew.

Offices

1876, appointed keeper of 4 Massachusetts Humane Society life-boats at Stony Beach, Point Allerton, Nantasket Beach, Gun Rock Cove and a mortar station at Gun Rock Cove.

October 22, 1889, James took the oath of office as keeper of the U.S. Life-Saving Station at Point Allerton.

At 62, James passed all of the physical examinations with no difficulty and at 73 again. During the thirteen years he was keeper of the Point Allerton station he and his crew saved 540 lives and $1,203,435.00 worth of estimated value of ships and cargo.

Death

The dramatic death of Joshua James occurred on March 19, 1902. Two days earlier all but one of the Monomoy Point Life-Saving Station crew perished in a rescue attempt, drowned by the panicked victims of a ship wreck they were attempting to save. The tragedy affected Joshua deeply and convinced him of the need for even more rigid training of his own crew. At seven o'clock the morning of March 19, with a northeast gale blowing, James called his crew for a drill and to test a new self-bailing, self-righting surfboat. For more than an hour the 75-year-old man maneuvered the boat through the boisterous sea. He was pleased with the performance of the boat and the crew. Upon grounding the boat he sprang onto the wet sand, glanced at the sea and stated, "The tide is ebbing" and then fell dead on the beach from a heart attack.

James was buried with a lifeboat for a coffin. A second lifeboat made of flowers was placed on his grave. His tombstone bears the Massachusetts Humane Society seal and a Biblical inscription from John 15:13, "Greater love hath no man than this — that a man lay down his life for his friends." The superintendent of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, Sumner Increase Kimball, said of him:

Here and there may be found men in all walks of life who neither wonder or care how much or how little the world thinks of them. They pursue life's pathway, doing their appointed tasks without ostentation, loving their work for the work's sake, content to live and do in the present rather than look for the uncertain rewards of the future. To them notoriety, distinction, or even fame, acts neither as a spur nor a check to endeavor, yet they are really among the foremost of those who do the world's work. Joshua James was one of these.

Despite his frugal habits Joshua James was practically destitute at the time of his death leaving his invalid wife and children with insufficient support. A grateful public did not forget Joshua James' lifelong efforts, and $3,733 (equivalent to $138,911 in 2025) was raised and given to Mrs. Louisa James.

Captain James is buried in the Hull Village Cemetery in his hometown of Hull, Massachusetts. In addition to his tombstone, there is a monument to him in Hull.

Legacy

James is honored every year at his grave-site on May 23, Joshua James Day, by the Hull Life-Saving Museum at the former Point Allerton Lifesaving Station. His house built in 1850 still stands in Hull, Massachusetts and is marked as having been his home. The Point Allerton station also still stands, housing the Hull Lifesaving Museum.

In 2003, the Coast Guard created the Joshua James Ancient Keeper Award to honor the Coast Guard personnel with the most seniority in rescue work and the highest record of achievement.

USCGC James (WMSL-754), the fifth National Security Cutter, was named in honor of his life and dedication to saving lives. The cutter's sponsor is James' great great niece, Charlene Benoit. She is the great grand daughter of Joshua James', brother Samuel James.

There is a small memorial park in honor of Captain James in Hull, Massachusetts.

Captain James' Gold Lifesaving Medal is in the collection of the United States Coast Guard Museum at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.

Cultural References

James' life and heroic achievements were depicted in the musical drama, Toilers of the Sea: The Life of Joshua James by Cinzi Lavin.

Awards and decorations

United States Government

– Gold Lifesaving Medal awarded on January 10, 1889 for several rescues during the Hurricane of 1888 on November 25–26, 1888, including the rescue of nine men from the schooner Gertrude Abbott.

Massachusetts Humane Society awards

Bronze Lifesaving Medal from the Massachusetts Humane Society for the rescue of the crews of the Delaware and L'Essai on Toddy Rocks on April 1, 1850.

Certificate to Joshua James for his persevering efforts in rescuing the officers and crew of Ship Delaware, wrecked on Toddy Rocks, March 2, 1857.

Special Silver Lifesaving Medal: 1886 from the Massachusetts Humane Society for, "brave and faithful service of more than 40 years". During this time he assisted in saving over 100 lives.

Gold Lifesaving Medal from the Massachusetts Humane Society for the rescue of 29 persons from five different vessels during the period of November 25 through 26th 1888.

Silver Lifesaving Medal from the Massachusetts Humane Society for the rescue of the crew from the schooner Ulrica on December 16, 1896.

Personal life

In 1859, when he was 32, James married 16-year-old Louisa Francesca Lucihe of Hull. Six of their ten children reached adulthood. Three girls and one boy died in infancy or childhood.