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Capt. John Alfred Helander

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Capt. John Alfred Helander

Posted: 21 Dec 2004 9:05PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Helander, Scrughan

This is my second great grandfather. I was so happy to obtain the copy of this newspaper article about him and would like to share it with any other relatives out there that may be kin. Charlotta Ann Scrughan (my grandmother) was daughter to Mary Augustus Helander, who was the daughter of Captain John Alfred Helander.Anyone interested can contact me at marytrah@netdoor.com

"The News and Courier", Charleston, S.C., Thursday morning April 10, 1941, ran the following article:
CAPT. HELANDER'S FUNERAL TODAY-
Retired Lighthouse Officer, Native of Finland, Ran Away to Sea at 15.
"Funeral services for Captain John Alfred Helander, retired officer in the United States lighthouse service, who died yesterday morning at his home at 26 Chalmers Street, will be held at 3:30 o'clock this afternoon at the residence, the Rev. Dr. George J. Gongaware, pastor of St. John's Lutheran church, officating. Burial will be in Magnolia cemetery, with Masonic rites at the grave.
Captain Helander was eighty years old. He was born July 8, 1860, in Maria Hamn, on the Island of Olande, in Finland, a son of John Erick Helander, of Sweden, and Mrs. Edia Maria Helander of Finland.
Up to the age of 15 he assisted his father, who was a tailor, and made uniforms for the King's Guards in Stockholm. Then he ran away to sea, shipping on a Russian ship. He later got work as a carpenter, a petty officer, on an American ship and came to New Orleans in 1881. He had heard much about America and it was his heart's desire to come to this country.
He did not like New Orleans because it was below sea level, so he went to Baltimore, but this was too cold and he came to Charleston seeking work. He was offered $2 a day at first, then he got a job at $2.50 a day for the late John Ahrens, calking a lighter to be used on a filling project at the end of Savage street.
CARPENTER ABOARD TENDER
Shortly after this he went with the United States Lighthouse service as a carpenter on the tender Pharos. Later, he became second mate on the tender Wisteria, which was burned a few years ago in Florida.
He was sent North in 1885 to superintend the building of the tender Water Lily, on which he served the remainder of his forty-two years in the lighthouse department. When the Water Lily was brought to Charleston, he was told he would have to be her master until another was found, but they never found a substitute for him.
During President Grover Cleveland's administration, Captain Helander was ordered to take him to Georgetown aboard the Water Lily to shoot ducks. He continued to do this fourteen years, during and after President Cleveland's administration. President Cleveland passed his seventy-second birthday aboard the Water Lily, dying shortly afterward. The Water Lily later was condemned and sold to Captain Shain E. Baitary, who operated her several years on harbor tours.
At the time of her construction, the Water Lily was the largest naphtha propelled vessel in the world.
Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt and her children cruised aboard the Sylph, also commanded by Captain Helander. She never left the ship or went anywhere without Mr. Helander accompanying her. He sat at her table and was entertained with her friends.
Prior to coming to the United States, Captain Helander traveled all over the world, and visited every port in France and Spain. He said he did not like Spain or Italy, because there were too many soldiers and he liked peaceful countries. He said he never has seen a place in all his travels he liked so much as Charleston, where "the people were so good to me." Marseilles he considered the prettiest in France.
NEVER ATTENDED SCHOOL
When he left his home he could not write his name, but he learned to read and write, though he never attended school a day in his life. He received his pilot's license from the United States government in 1886, five years after coming to this country, and three years before becoming naturalized.
Captain Helander sent his father and mother a check every pay day. He eventually brought his father to Charleston, but he died a few months after arrival.
During the world war when the lighthouse service became a part of the navy, Captain Helander said he could command lighthouse vessels but knew nothing about warships. He was ordered transferred to Key West, but the order was revoked and he remained aboard the Water Lily in Charleston. He collected a bonus of $1,200 for his 1,200 days services in the navy during the World war.
He also was entitled to a pension as a veteran of the Spanish-American war in similar services, but did not accept this pension as he preferred the three-quarter pay he was entitled to after thirty years in the lighthouse service.
During his service, he had charge of all construction work in the district between Wilington, N.C. and Miami.
HAD A PET PARROT
A lover of birds and animals, Captain Helander had a parrot, which is about thirty-five years old. He acquired the bird about 1932. Several years ago when the bird had pneumonia, Captain Helander cured it by administering whiskey, a few drops at a time. The parrot would have nothing to do with other members of the family, but when she saw the captain coming around the corner would call, "Papa, Papa!"
When he returned home in the evening she would crawl over him, and he would say, "Now you can kiss Papa", and she would peck him on the face. In the coldest weather of winter, she would get in bed with him, crawl under the covers and lie on her back, nestling close to him with her feet up. During the winter he kept a lighted candle beneath her cage to keep her warm.
For many years he kept pet alligators. He also had a pet police dog, but it died several years ago.
On one occasion he was sent to Wilmington, Del., to cut a vessel in half to make it longer, so it would have a true balance. The job cost about $8,000 and included moving the engines nearer the center and relocating the smokestack. On another occasion he was entrusted with a check book, on which he was told to sleep until he reached his destination, when he disbursed thousands of dollars.
Mr. Helander was the oldest member of Washington Lodge No. 5, Ancient Free Masons, and of Live Oak Camp, Woodmen of the World. He was retired September 1, 1925. For many years after that he pursued his hobby, cabinet making, and was employed by The News and Courier and The Charleston Evening Post.
Surviving are his widow, who was before marriage Miss Mary Jane Claffy; two daughters, Mrs. Saul Carbot, of Florence, Ky., and Mrs. Jerome Bishop, of Charleston; and two sons, Henry V. and Rodman Helander, both of Charleston; five stepchildren; eleven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Honarary pallbearers as announced by McAlister's will be: Hail T. McGee, Charles Kremser, Carl Knutson, Henry M. Duke, Captain T. Danielsen and George W. Stout.
Active pallbearers will be Jesse M. Murphy, Archie L. Ellis, B. P. Brickman, Girardeau Limbaker, Surry Scaffe and William E. Baldwin."
SubjectAuthorDate Posted
teangelbell 22 Dec 2004 4:05AM GMT 
AliciaKMarsha... 9 Apr 2010 1:17PM GMT 
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