Missionaries' Escape from Shipwreck on the S.S. Belgenland
Published October 12, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
Latter-day Saint missionaries traveling on the steamship Belgenland experienced two near-disasters. In heavy fog, they narrowly avoided a collision with the Wilson Steamer Ottawa, missing by only 16 feet. The next day, the ship entered shallow waters off the Old Head of Kinsale; they stopped within 400 feet of the rocks after receiving a warning call.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 61, No. 42, 19 October 1899):
The steamship Belgenland, on which a company of Elders were passengers, had a narrow escape from a collision with the Wilson steamer Ottawa, off the coast of Queenstown, on the 11th inst. The vessels were in a dense fog, and passed each other at a distance of only sixteen feet. The next day the Belgenland was in dangerous proximity to the rocks off the Old Head of Kinsale, but was stopped within four hundred feet of them, in response to a warning signal.
In Their Own Words
“The Elders who arrived last week from Zion on the s.s. Belgenland, reported having two narrow escapes from shipwreck on the voyage. On the 16th of October when about 150 miles west of Queenstown, while sailing in a heavy fog, the vessel came within about 16 feet of colliding with the Wilson Steamer Ottawa, but the danger was over and the vessel passed before the passengers were aware of the close escape. The next day they found themselves in shallow water off the Old Head of Kinsale, the sounding showing only five and three-quarter fathoms, when the call of “Breakers dead ahead” came from aloft. When the vessel stopped she was within 400 feet of the rocks. The Elders felt truly thankful for their almost miraculous escape from a watery grave. — Millennial Star 61:42”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 19 October 1899 (Vol. 61, No. 42). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1899-10-19_61_42 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 61, No. 42, 19 October 1899 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1899-10-19_61_42
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