Robert Prince was born in Seal Cove (Princeton) Oct 29, 1871, son of John and Martha Prince. Robert attended the local school in Princeton and at a young age like many of the Seal Cove residents, he participated in the seal hunt. According to early records his father was a merchant and owned several schooners therefore fishing and sealing came natural to young Robert. He was at the front in 1898 along with his future brother-in-law, Charles Prince, during the spring of the "Greenland" disaster. They were among the men searching for their lost mates during the terrible storm. Over the years he often told stories of that fateful trip when many sealers froze to death on the ice. It was due to knowledge and experience that Robert and Charles survived to tell of their ordeal. They had killed some seals earlier in the day and as the storm increased and the temperatures dropped they knew they had to find a way to keep warm so they pelted some of the seals and wrapped themselves in the pelts. The seal skins kept them from freezing.

During his early years Robert went to the ice fields in spring and come summer he went to the Labrador coast fishing on his father’s schooner. He earned quite a reputation as a fisherman and it wasn’t long before he became a captain of his own vessel. In 1908 Robert’s own schooner the "J & M Prince" was under construction at Seal Cove. This was a single deck, double mast schooner seventy-two feet in length, twenty-one feet wide with a depth of nine feet. It wasn’t long before Robert was fishing the Labrador coast in his own sixty-one gross ton vessel. Somewhere along the way Robert had earned a great deal of respect in the community and was given the title Skipper Bob by the local residents.

Robert married Maria Prince the daughter of James and Rebecca Prince of Seal Cove. He built a home for him and his bride across the road from his father’s house overlooking the river that runs through the community. It was here they started their family together and they were blessed with ten children, two son’s and eight daughters. Maria with the help of her girls Myra, Frances, Daisy, Alice, Hilda, Effie, Marion and Nellie tended the garden and did the household chores. Their oldest son Thomas fished on his father’s schooner and worked as a telegrapher at the Princeton station, while Charles the youngest boy, was just approaching the age where he would soon be sailing with his dad on a regular basis. During the early 1900's life was good for Robert and Maria but like many Newfoundland families of that era tragedy and heartache was about to strike.

In May of 1922 Robert and Maria lost their youngest son Charles at the age of fourteen, to the dreaded disease, turberculosis. The family was still in mourning for their beloved Charles when fate dealt them another unbearable blow, and they lost their oldest son Thomas in September of 1922. Thomas had contracted a disease, possibly chlorea and never recovered. Although this tragic loss was devastating for the family, Robert and Maria with the love and support of their daughter’s somehow managed to go on with their lives. The fishery would never be the same again for Robert after the loss of his son’s but he managed to continue fishing his schooner and providing for his wife and girl’s.

Robert’s daughter Francis met and married George Banfield of Corner Brook. George was a conductor with the Newfoundland Railway and he met Francis while at the station in Seal Cove. George was a wonderful man and he and Robert were very close. When Francis gave birth to her first child, a son, in 1924 they named him Charles after her young brother who had died. After the birth of his grandson Charles, Robert’s life took on a new meaning and he absolutely adored the new addition to the family. The thought of future grandchildren gave life a new meaning for Robert and Maria but there was more pain and suffering yet to come. Their daughter Alice married Alexander White of Seal Cove and was expecting her first child. What was suppose to be a happy and exciting event turned to tragedy when Alice and the child both died during childbirth. Robert and Maria were heart broken when Alice was laid to rest in the cemetery next to Thomas and Charles.

After so much tragedy, pain and suffering Robert lost his schooner off the Newfoundland coast in 1926. By this time he had lost the will to rebuild his fishing operation and his life in Seal Cove (which was now called Princeton) was so filled with sad memories that life there was unbearable for him and Maria. Their daughter Hilda had married a man by the name of Hann and they were making a good living in the US. Another daughter Myra had married William Moore in 1912 and they had moved to the US in 1920. They were living a very comfortable life in the US and Robert and his son-in-law George Banfield were considering moving there as well. Robert was familiar with the eastern US and had been there many times during his fishing days. After much consideration he decided to move his family to the Massachusetts area where he hoped to provide an easier life for his daughters and his grandchildren then the life offered here in Newfoundland.

In 1926 Robert and Maria along with their daughter Francis, her husband George, Francis’s child Charles, Robert’s unmarried daughters Effie, Marion, and Nellie made the move. Their daughter’s Myra and Hilda were already in the US and their daughter Daisy had married Harry Quinton of Southern Bay and remained in Newfoundland. Upon arrival in the US the family went through the process at the boarder and after having their medical exams it was discovered that Effie had contracted turberculosis. She was taken to an asylum to be treated for the disease and was kept in quarantine for the duration of the treatment. So much tragedy in one family was almost unbearable and Robert and Maria were having doubts weather this was the right move for the family. It’s been said that every cloud has a silver lining and the silver lining in this case was the fact that Effie was diagnosed with the disease at the early stage and she recovered completely with the treatment. It made the family feel so much better about their move to the US when they got over the initial shock and they realized that it might not have been detected if they had stayed in Newfoundland and even if it had, maybe the treatment for the disease was much better in the US. The memory of losing one son to this disease was still strongly planted in their minds and they were very thankful that Effie made a complete recovery.

Robert purchased a two family home in Roslindale, Mass. and the entire family moved in. George and Francis started a store and went into business while Robert did carpenter work. He was a very good carpenter and had learned to build thing’s while he lived in Seal Cove. The many skills he learned in Newfoundland would prove to be very beneficial in his new home and he started constructing houses. Three of the homes he built in Westwood, Mass. still exist today and they are fine examples of his superior craftsmanship. Robert made a good living and life was much easier in the US but with the approach of the 1930's and the Great Depression the economic climate was not as good as they had anticipated. Robert was in a much better position to enter this era then many at that time because he and George had bought a chicken farm in Medway, Mass. and this would help the family through the tough times ahead. With the farm they could be more self-sufficient and most of the family lived together including George’s sister who was also living in the US. The family actually did fairly well during the depression and by the late 1930's the future once again looked bright.

For some unknown reason Robert and Maria decided to return to their home in Newfoundland. It’s possible that Maria wasn’t feeling well or it could be that they simply missed their home but whatever the reason, they packed up and came back to their roots. For the next two years they spent some quiet time together living in their first home in Princeton. They were older now and not as active and their days were filled with growing vegetables for their own use and fixing up their home that had been neglected while they were away. They often visited the cemetery where their two son’s and daughter were buried. They had come to accept their fate in life and instead of dwelling on what might have been they were thankful for the years they were fortunate enough to have Thomas, Charles and Alice and they were thankful that their other children were doing well. It was a time of peace but like all things that too would end. Maria passed away at her home in Princeton in 1938 and she was laid to rest in the cemetery next to her children.

Robert’s daughter Francis came to Princeton and convinced him to move back to the US. He returned and lived with Francis, his son-in-law George and his grand-son Charles. He watched Charles grow up and complete his education. It was around the time that Charles went off to the navy and later to college that Robert’s son-in-law became sick with cancer and they decided to sell the farm. At this time Robert, Francis, and George moved back to Roslindale to the house that Robert still owned and had been renting. Robert’s life revolved around his family and it gave him great pleasure when Charles married Patrica Mellinn and gave him three great-grandchildren, Deb, Beth and Robert Charles. In his later years Robert spent much of his time with his great-grand-children on his knee telling stories of his life in Newfoundland.

In 1959 Francis’s husband George Banfield passed away. Robert lost a son-in-law and a best friend. The bond between Robert and his grandson Charles continued to grow and he shared with him his good times in Princeton. He told about his youth, his fishing days, the celebration when the railway officially opened in Princeton and the many good times as well as the sad times. Many of his memories are preserved in pictures because of his great-grandchildren especially Deb who inherited her love of Newfoundland from Robert.

Robert passed away in Roslindale, Mass. in 1967 at the age of 96 years. His grandson Charles accompanied his remains back to Princeton, Newfoundland for burial. It was a sad journey but it was a journey that Charles had promised to make. Robert wanted to be buried back in his hometown. He was laid to rest in St. Peter’s Anglican Cemetery in Princeton next to Maria, Thomas, Charles and Alice.

Fisherman, captain, businessman, farmer, carpenter, and family man. After 96 years Skipper Bob made his final journey home.

Written By: Geraldine Prince with the help of Deb Frazer (Robert’s great grand-daughter)