The Past Speaks: One man’s brush with death on Peconic Bay

In the late 1890s a man by the name of Wallace Nesbitt of Flanders miraculously received a second chance at life. Wallace, born in 1872, was a young fisherman and the owner of a duck ranch near Riverhead village. One February he and Joseph Vail from Riverhead planned a duck hunting trip at the mouth of the Peconic River.

There was nothing unusual as the trip began in the early afternoon. Nesbitt and Vail walked along the shore and then out on the ice drawing a small skiff behind. They were doing quite well for themselves and were oblivious to the change in the weather. As the wind began to increase, the weather took a turn for the worse and the ice began to break up.

Joseph Vail jumped from ice floe to ice floe then fell into the river, but was close enough to wade in to the shore.

The wind continued to blow Nesbitt and the skiff eastward toward the Peconic Bay. The skiff was not well made and could not be placed in the water without sinking. In addition there were no oars with which to row. Around 6 o’clock it was totally dark and Joseph Vail should have found help by now, but Joseph was wandering around in the woods trying to get his bearings.

Realizing his perilous situation, Nesbitt yelled for help until he had no voice left. He viewed all the lights on the Jamesport shore but no one seemed to hear his screams. On land, Captain Ed Jones did hear Nesbitt’s cries for help and made a diligent effort to locate him, but the sound grew fainter and finally stopped.

Captain Ed quickly sought help. A boat was soon launched with three men and Captain Ed. After a difficult search rowing to the left and then to the right to miss the ice floes, the men spotted something in the distance. Quickly closing the distance, they realized that Wallace Nesbitt was standing next to the skiff that was stuck fast to the ice, as was he. No response came from the man standing there and it was first assumed that Nesbitt had frozen to death. After transferring him into the rescue boat, the men pulled for shore with all their strength. Dr. Cornwell was immediately summoned. Around 8 o’clock the next morning, Wallace Nesbitt regained consciousness. He hands and feet as well as his ears were badly frozen.

As the years progressed, Nesbitt continued to enjoy the outdoors becoming a fishing guide. He told the Brooklyn Eagle that one of his fishing protégées caught two black bass on one hook – at the same time. The paper thought it a tall tale.

Nesbitt raced pigeons at the Suffolk County Agricultural Fair, although he didn’t win any prizes. Then why was it every time a family member died, Wallace’s brother, Lewis Nesbitt, wrote home from places around the world, never knowing of the death? One time Lewis wrote from Saint Louis about his life on a ranch in North Dakota and was enlisting in the army. The year was 1919 – World War I.

In 1890 Nesbitt broke his “knee pan” jumping over barrels while in Greenport. Dr. R. H. Benjamin, Riverhead’s noted physician, repaired the damage and said Nesbitt would be laid up for several months. For an 18-year-old, immobility for several months must have seemed as though it was forever. Dr. Benjamin was an excellent M.D. and people who knew Nesbitt in later years did not mention a limp, although he was crouched over, and certainly Dr. Cornwell certainly deserves all the credit for having saved his life.

Based on the life that followed being almost frozen to death on the Peconic Bay, Wallace Nesbitt lead a full life. When in church he enjoyed hymns –and sang lustily. Could we possibly assume that was due to his near-death experience?

Goergette Case is the Riverhead Town Historian.