Levi Jackson, 32, fisherman, helped to save William H. Haskell, 46, sea captain; Ida M. Haskell, 34, and 12 others from drowning, Edgartown, Massachusetts, January 23, 1910. In a very rough and treacherous sea following a heavy storm, Captain Jackson and a crew of four men went in the “Priscilla,” a small fishing boat, to a disabled schooner that had grounded on a shoal in the Atlantic Ocean four miles from shore. The “Priscilla,” after careful maneuvering, was brought in the lee of the schooner and anchored, and three of the crew, each with a 17-foot dory, made trips to the wreck and rescued its occupants, one at a time. Great difficulty was experienced in effecting the rescues on account of the waves that swept over the wreck, but after two hours’ work, under Jackson’s direction, all were gotten aboard his boat. The “Priscilla” had to make a trip of 13 miles, part of the way through very heavy seas, to reach Edgartown, a huge wave at one time nearly filling the boat. 4732-551
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4732-551Obituary
Levi Jackson, 83, a 56-year resident of Edgartown, Mass., died on Jan. 2, 1962, at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital after a lingering illness. He was the hero of a daring marine rescue in 1910.
In his youth, Jackson was a lobster fisherman, living at Cuttyhunk Island in Massachusetts. He was the son of the Hiram Jackson, who lost his life going to the rescue of the brig Aquatic, off Cuttyhunk, in 1893.
On Jan. 23, 1910, Jackson and the crew of his fishing vessel, the Priscilla, went to the rescue of the Mertie B. Crowley, grounded off Cape Pogue. Jackson received the Carnegie Medal and a cash gift for his rescue work. He also was the holder of a medal from the Humane Society of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(Edited from an obituary in the Standard Times, Jan. 3, 1962.)