Robert Francis Brien

1899 - 1991  (92 years)

• Name	Robert Francis Brien
  Born	26 Feb 1899	Aquaforte, Newfoundland   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Baptism	6 Mar 1899	Holy Trinity RC Parish, Ferryland, Newfoundland   [1]
  Died	13 Dec 1991	Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States
  Buried	Abt 15 Dec 1991	St. Patrick's Cemetery, Watertown, Massachuetts, United States   [2]
  Notes	Ellis Island Passenger Manifest for S.S. Rosalind from St. John's, NF arriving Brooklyn, NY - November 16, 1922. Robert O' Brien - 23, male, single, fisherman, from Aqueforte (sic), NF. Robert's next of kin there was his father, Patrick O' Brien. His destination was Boston Mass and this was his first time in the U.S. He had paid his own passage and was in possession of $150. Robert stated that he was going to stay with a friend, W. Sullivan, 49A Saratoga St. Boston, MA. His intention were to settle permanently in the U.S. Robert is described as being in good health, 5' 6'' tall, with a light complexion, brown hair and blue eyes. The Boston Globe - ROBERT F. O'BRIEN, CAPTAINED DORY FISHING SCHOONER; AT 92 Author: By William P. Coughlin, Globe Staff - Date: 12/14/1991 Page: 41 - Section: OBITUARY Robert F. O'Brien, one of the last of Boston's and Gloucester's dory fishing schooner captains, died of cancer yesterday at his Watertown home. He was 92. In Capt. O'Brien's heyday, when Boston was the world's top fishing port, a vessel would return here with at least 100,000 pounds of cod, haddock and flounder, or more than 20 times a shipload today. The big dory schooners and 130-foot steam and diesel beam trawlers jostled for space at the noisy dock every day. Capt. O'Brien's two-masted, 95-foot schooner Putnam nested 13 to 17 dories on deck, which were dropped over the side on the fishing grounds with two fishermen each. Trips averaged seven to nine days, and Capt. O'Brien recalled one trip in 1948 when his vessel landed 200,000 pounds -- a record in a time of records. A native of Aquaforte, Newfoundland, Capt. O'Brien came to Boston in 1922. He is widely remembered for the accident in 1942 off Cape Cod when the Putnam was struck and cut in two by a steamship in a wartime convoy out of Boston. Capt. O'Brien and his crew of 23 narrowly escaped in their dories after the steamer sailed on. Only one man was injured. Capt. O'Brien and his men, adrift without radios or lifejackets, were picked up by a Coast Guard cutter that spotted his flashlight blinking in the darkness. A fisherman for 50 years, Capt. O'Brien also fished in the famed Boston schooner Adventure with Capt. Leo Hynes, now of Nashua. Hynes was the Boston Fish Pier's all-time high line fishing captain of the 1930s -- the man who caught the most fish per trip. Capt. O'Brien also skippered an ex-minesweeper converted as a fishing vessel in early 1950s, and he alternated as mate and crewman on the Boston beam trawlers Flying Cloud, Arlington and Challenge. He leaves his wife, Margaret (Carey); a daughter, Mary B. Ryan of Watertown; a son, Robert J. of Belmont; six grandchildren and a great- grandson. A funeral Mass will be said Monday at 10 a.m. in St. Patrick's Church, Watertown. Burial will be in St. Patrick's Cemetery.
  Person ID	I1663	Families of Calvert (Caplin Bay), Newfoundland
  Last Modified	17 Jan 2021

  
  

  Father	Patrick Brien,   b. Nov 1867, Aquaforte, Newfoundland ,   d. 1 Sep 1943, Aquaforte, Newfoundland  (Age ~ 75 years)
  Mother	Robertha Caroline "Bertha" Condon,   b. Abt Mar 1871, Aquaforte, Newfoundland ,   d. 19 Apr 1910, Aquaforte, Newfoundland  (Age ~ 39 years)
  Married	22 Nov 1894	St. John's, Newfoundland   [3]
  Family ID	F594	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Margaret M. Carey,   b. 3 Mar 1903, Witless Bay, Newfoundland ,   d. 23 Jan 1998, Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States  (Age 94 years)
  Children	1. Robert J. Brien   2. Mary B. Brien
  Last Modified	10 Apr 2015
  Family ID	F597	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 26 Feb 1899 - Aquaforte, Newfoundland Baptism - 6 Mar 1899 - Holy Trinity RC Parish, Ferryland, Newfoundland Died - 13 Dec 1991 - Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States Buried - Abt 15 Dec 1991 - St. Patrick's Cemetery, Watertown, Massachuetts, United States  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S88] Holy Trinity RC Parish (Ferryland) Baptisms 1870 -1910, Newfoundland's Grand Banks, (Online: Transcribed records of photocopied parish records held at The Rooms Archives for Brigus South to Aquaforte, Ferryland District). [S90] Approximate date based on another recorded event, Reddigan, Kevin, (A date calculated by using a recorded date and a person's age, or by estimating the most likely date, based on other recorded life events). [S87] Basilica of St. John the Baptist RC Parish (St. John's) - Marriages.