Beaver Island and Michigan - Subject Cards Q-Z

Pine River Settlement/Early Charlevoix

​ [See also Battle of Pine River]
 

Early Settlement (just after Battle of Pine River) -

Spring 1854 - George Preston family; in Mormon list
- Galen B. Cole family (came from S. Fox Island); in Mormon list
Fall of 1854 - Medad Thompson family & Widow Ring; not in Mormon list
Spring 1855 - Adam See; on Mormon list

  1. Daniel Alvord; on Mormon list
  2. (also in May, 1855 John S. Dixson & family came; Gentiles)
August 1855 - Richardson (a Richmond on the list)
- Bickel (on list)
- Page (which one?)
- Nickels (on list)
[all] came from B.I.
 
The first town election in Charlevoix held in May, 1855. Voting were - Galen B. Cole, Geo. F. Preston, James Young, Calvin Thompson, Hiram Thompson, Medad Thompson, F. J. May, John S. Dixson, S. Chambers, and Mason Kidder. Cole was elected supervisor & the town board was composed entirely of Mormons (Dixson & May were Gentiles, perhaps others).
Shortly after this Dixon left for Northport.
The Mormons were left. They went to Beaver for supplies for the winter, met adverse winds on the way home. Nothing ever heard of them again, although the boat was found below Little Traverse. Lost - Capt. Jonathan Pierce, Geo. Preston, David See, & Horace Bump.
Most of the Mormons at Pine River left in 1856 when those on B.I. left. That left [the] Medad Thompson family the only inhabitants.
Dixson soon returned with his family (after going to B.I. & finding the property the Mormons had stolen).
The Traverse Region, p. 175
Pine River appears to have remained an abandoned settlement after the hasty departure of the fishermen (after the Battle) until the spring of 1854, when George Preston & family arrived from B.I. & took possession of one of the houses on the north side of the river, & at once set about clearing the land & making arrangements for a permanent home. They found everything in & around the houses just as the former occupants had left them. Soon after the arrival of Preston, Galen B. Cole & family arrived from the South Fox Island. ...They took possession of another of the vacant houses as a temporary residence. This was the commencement of the Mormon settlement at this point."
The Traverse Region, p. 175
John S. Dixon family arrived May 11, 1855.
Spring of 1855 - Mormons Adam See & Daniel Alvord came, the fall before Medad Thompson & Widow Ring came. August 1855 came - Bichel, Page, Richardson, & Nickels from B.I..
- Ibid.
 
(They left Pine River as well as B.I. [- author does not specify who here, but probably refers to the Dixson family, below].)
After the Mormons were driven off Mr. Dixson decided to return. He first visited B.I. where he was successful in recovering the greater part of his stolen property. This he took to Pine R., & then returned to Northport for his family.
Stolen property - the Mormons called it "consecration".
 
[- no citation given for this entry]
 

Photographs

Mary (Don Father) Early says that a photographer would come over from Charlevoix, set up a tent back by Nonie's house, & take pictures. In Early house:
Don Father & his wife
Margaret Early, Shawn's wife

Pat Bonner has a wonderful framed tintype of Capt. Roddy, Pat's mother, Mrs. Connolly (Pat's grandmother), & Connolly boy. In the Museum:

  1. Dan Boyle
  2. Michael Boyle (Dan's son who was lost on Lake Erie in 1905)
  3. Michael Boyle (the young-looking one - Dan's brother who lived in Pennsylvania

and only visited the Island twice)

  1. Bridget Boyle Malloy (Dan Boyle's daughter who married Anthony Malloy)
  2. John Bonner & Daniel Green (sons of Black Bonner & White Dan; drowned in

Chicago River)

  1. Capt. Johnson (husband of Hannah Boyle, Pachanog's daughter; father of Peter)
  2. Hannah Malloy (wife of William Boyle); there is a question about this
There are pictures in Mel Big Owen's house.
 

Place Names

Piper's Corner (just east of Bonners'), so named for a Dan Gallagher called Piper. P. 141.
 
​Cheyenne Pt. - no one seems to know the origin of this name, but Lawrence says perhaps it was named by some of the men who worked in the West. When the waters were temporarily fished out one year some of the men (the 2 Greenes, among others) worked on the RR that was building west out of the Sault. It went clear to the far west.
McCauley's Pt. - Owen McCauley fished here with pond nets.
Iron Ore Bay - an ore ship wrecked here & the cargo washed ashore.
Appleby Pt. - just east of the Lighthouse at the Head.

Population, Geography, & Natural History

​Birthplaces of Michigan's 1,184,059 residents in 1870:
Michigan 507,268 Brit. [N.] America 89,590
New York 231,509 Ireland 42,013
Ohio 62,207 Germany (other than 35,483
N. England 41,398 Prussia)
Penn. 28,507 England 35,051
Indiana 12,140 Prussia 28,660
N. Jersey 8,033 Holland 12,559
Illinois 6,055 Scotland 8,552
Wisconsin 5,986 France 3,121
Other states 12,946 Sweden 2,406
Switzerland 2,116
Norway 1,516
Denmark 1,354
Bohemia 1,187
Poland 947
Belgium 832
Austria 795
Other countries 1,158
In 1883 Gov. Begole was "satisfied that the Office of Immigration was a success." In 1885 he decided it should be abolished & 2 years later it was so done.
- Quaife & Glazer, Michigan[1]
 
Became state in 1836;[2] population 87,273.
In 1840 1/2 of its land-area of 60,520 sq. mi. had been surveyed; 1/6 of the whole was still in possession of Indians who had not yet surrendered their claim to title by treaty.
A state geologist [Douglass Houghton] appointed by the legislature in 1837.
Fauna - buffalo gone; "still have several varieties of bear, the wolf, the elk, the moose, the deer, the lynx, the wildcat, the panther or cougar, & all the smaller creatures, such as opossum, raccoon, squirrel, etc.., & the martin, which is still valuable for its skin."
A Superintendent of Public Education is authorized by the Constitution... The state is too young, however, to have the means of carrying out a system of public schools.
Religious denominations:
Protestant - about 10,000
Presbyterian - 4,000
Baptist - 4,000
Episcopalian - 1,000
Roman Catholic - 20,000
French - 10,000
English - 8,000
Rest Irish, Germans, & Indians
 
Population [in] 1840 estimated 200,000.
- J. S. Buckingham, The E. & W. States of Am., p. 404-420[3]
 
1860 census -
1850 population - 387,654
1860 population - 749,118
- an increase of 351,464, or 88.38%
 
Listed are 7,777 Indians (not enumerated in census) "retaining tribal character."
Michigan was the 4th largest producer of sawed & planed lumber - value $7,033,427; [only]
NY, Penn., & Maine produced more.
Michigan was the largest copper state - value $2,292,186, over 2/3 of whole U.S.
[production], which was valued @ $3,316,516.
She had increased her lumber industry by 185.4%, from $2,464,329 to $7,033,427.
She was the largest producer of whitefish in the U.S. - $250,462, producing of the national
output.
Population of Manitou County - white: 488 male, 374 female, total 862
- Indian: 90 male, 90 female, 180 total
(total: 1,042)
Density of population - 7.07 per sq. mi. in 1850; she was 3rd lowest state, [behind] TX (0.89)
& WI (5.65).
- 13.32 per sq. mi. in 1860; she was 8th lowest state
In 1860 population of Manitou County - 862 whites, 180 Indians.
 
Violent deaths compared to states with comparable population:
Pop. Total Deaths #Violent  %Violent
Mich. 749,000 7,399 441 6.5%
Wisc. 776,000 7,129 398 5.6%
SC 704,000 9,745 632 6.5%
Miss. 791,000 12,214 816 6.7%
Louisiana 708,002 12,329 692 5.6%
Iowa 675,000 7,260 317 4.3%
Maine 628,279 7,247 367 5%
NJ 672,035 7,183 342 4.75%
 
- [note that SC, LA, & MS are] slave states
 
Geography -
 
Area - 57,480 mi.
Lakes - 40,000 sq. mi. within its boundaries
Coastline - 3,177 mi.
Climate - tempered by the Lakes
Flora - when white man came, 35,000,000 of its 36,787,200 acres timbered with pines &
hardwood.
54,687 (roughly 95%)
 
Population -

In 1840 only 2 cities, Detroit & Ann Arbor, had as many as 3,000 people: Detroit, 9,102; Ann Arbor, 3,600. State population: 212,267.
In 1854 a state census showed 509,374 in the state. There was a large increase in [the number] of towns.
- Quaife & Glazer, Michigan, p. 185
 
Population - Mackinac -
 
Census
U.S., 1830 Mackinac Co. - 877
Mich., 1834 Mackinac Co. - 891
Mich., 1837 Mackinac Co. - 664 (Hohmes Twp.)
Mich., 1854 Mackinac Is. - 1,014
 
Streams (Beaver Island) -
There evidently were many more sizeable streams than now. Maria tells of one between Big Phil's & Big Sand Bay that after a rain they had to swim the horses over. She also talks of a large pond lying in the depression beyond Winnie's & Lawrence's that must have included the present cedar swamp there. She & Nonie say there was a stream that flowed constantly right behind Vesty's, where they caught suckers. Mrs. Andy Mary Ellen also talks about this stream. The Sand Bay School was near it. [All this checks with Strang's report on water power.] There was a constantly-flowing well in Vesty's kitchen.[4]
 
Changes in geography of B.I. -

French Bay
P. 61
Lawrence - The Dan Malloy property was up on the bluff. The topography was quite different from today. There was what was called "Joe Smith's Lake," & they removed the rocks & made a channel in it - it was a fine harbor. There have been two big "ice shoves" since then, the last one in the thirties, that changed the shore completely, bringing up that heavy ridge of gravel.
Natural resources -
Use of berries - blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, cranberry.
 
[Assume B.I. only] Census figures:
1854 - 2,608 (Mormon census)
1910 - 1,065
1920 - 779
1930 - 520
1940 - 521
1950 - 396
 
Census of 1854: Peaine Twp. - 2,020
"This census was taken when James Strang was King of Beaver Island and false returns were made of the population, as was afterwards satisfactorily shown."
The Traverse Region (1884)
 
1850 - these figures are from those for "Michilimackinac Co.," so I cannot be sure just where B.I. begins & ends. They are not far off however.
At Cable's Bay 123 people (33 households)
The rest of Island 394 people (79 households)
517 112
 
- Of these, 76 households and 372 people were Mormons, leaving 145 Gentiles.
 
People born in 1805 or [before], according to census:
 
1860 1870 1880
Edward Murloy, 60 à Edward Maloy, 75 à Edward Maloy, 82
Living with Patrick & Mary Living with Grace Martin Living with Bryan Gallagher
Gallagher
Roesy O'Donald, 60 à Rosa O'Donnel, 70 Susan O'Donnell, 81*
Living with son James Living with James & Living with son Anthony & Sophia
Bridget O'Donnell
Cornelius Goliger, 60 Condy Gallagher, 68 (70?) Condy Gallagher, 80
Living with Bryan Goliger & his wife Grace, 70 Living with son Dan
Bridget Golicher, 80 Catherine Gallagher, 75
Living with James & Mary Living with son Neil
Golicher
Thomas H. Boyle, 70 Daniel Gallagher, 90
Living with wife Mary Living with son Wm.;
(Pete McCauley's mother) which Wm. this is I don't know
Hannah O'Donnell William O'Malley, 63
Dunlevy, 55, wife of (recorded in 1850 census as born
Capt. Daniel (according 1805)
to stone. Census says
45.)
 
*In 1860 she said she was 50; in 1870, 60.
 
Literacy of those born in Ireland, according to the census:
 
1860 1870 1880
This census lists 127 as born 229 born in Ireland 238 born in Ireland
in Ireland, but does not ask 114 listed as illiterate 153 listed as illiterate
whether they could read & 49.7+ % illiterate 64.7% illiterate
write.


Population, January 1st, 1962 -
 
202 residents this winter. This does not include 6 boys in the service or 24 Islanders
away for the winter.
55 individual households (47 last year)
36 households with children
109 adults (56 moved here from elsewhere)
93 children
10 married couples with no children at home
16 single men over 18
5 single women over 18
15 widows
3 widowers
1 priest
5 nuns
The largest family is that of Paul Kenawabakic, [with] 12 children at home.
 
St. Helena Island -
W. P. Strickland, in Old Mackinac (1860):
"St. Helena Island is a small island near the Straits of Mackinac, not far from the shore of the northern peninsula, containing a few acres over a section of land. It is a great fishing station, & enjoys a good harbor, protected from westerly winds. Its owner, who has exiled himself a la Napoleon, spends his time in fishing, & other pursuits adapted to his mind"
(in His. Mac.).
 
[On] Dec. 7, 1853 Strang sent the following list of animals found on the Beaver Islands to the Smithsonian Institution:
 
Domestic Wild
Horses Foxes, red, numerous
Oxen Foxes, black, scarce
Sheep Foxes, silver, very rare
Swine Hare or rabbit, 2 species, large & small
Dogs Chipmunk
Cats Otter, very scarce
Beaver - extinct
Deer - none; nearest Green Bay & Manistee R.
 
Birds Fish
Geese Sturgeon
Brant Pike
Duck, many varieties Pickerel
Loons Siskowit
Gulls, two varieties Trout
Crows Whitefish
Hawks, several varieties Herring
Woodcock Suckers
Pigeons Perch
Blackbirds Bass
Robins Ling or Lawyers
Red-headed woodpeckers Sunfish
Snipe
 
He gives a detailed report of what he has been able to find out about the numbers and habits of the fish.
 
- Strang, An. & M. Mack., p. 93+
 
 
1 Milo M. Quaife and Sidney Glazer, Michigan: From Primitive Wilderness to Industrial Commonwealth. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1948.
2 The official date is 1837.
3 James Silk Buckingham, The Eastern and Western States of America. London: Fisher, 1842.
4 Brackets in original.
 

Poverty

(1850 census) Paupers - all states have legal provisions for the support of the indigent.
Total for year ending June, 1850 - 134,972 (66,434 native; 68,538 foreign-born).
 
StateNumber of PaupersNative-bornForeign-bornTotal PopulationPercent Paupers
New York59,85519,27540,5803,097,3942.0%
Massachusetts15,7776,5309,247994,5141.5%
Pennsylvania11,5515,8985,6532,311,786.5%
Michigan1,190649541397,654.3%
 
Michigan, in # of paupers, ranks 16th in a list of 30 states.

Pre-Mormon History

[see also separate Mormon section, below]
"At this time (1847) there were 3 white families temporarily settled in the township, 4 or 5 men with Indian wives, several French half-breeds, and 20 or 30 single men & men whose families were elsewhere spending the winter at Beaver."
- Strang, An. & M. Mack., p. 38
 
When Whitneys moved there (spring 1848):
"Hearing there were many people settling on B.I., several families we knew from N.Y. State, Ohio, & Canada..."[1]
She says at that time Garden Island & High Island had large Indian populations - Islanded[?] deeded to them by government.
 
There were several Painesville, Ohio families [who] came and fished in the summer. Two names were Crane & Hill.
Fishermen also came from Canada and Detroit for the summer, going home in the winter
(- Child of the Sea).
The land was thrown open for homesteading in 1848. no
There was a dock where Strang was [later] killed [that existed] before the Mormons (this must have been for the Northwest Trading Co.).
 
Traders & other Gentiles [on B.I.] before (P) & during (*) Mormon occupation:

PAlva Cable
PJames Cable
*Peter McKinley - did not come back spring of 1852 - house destroyed
PEber Ward - mentioned by Strang [inAn. & Mod. Mack.
*Thomas E. Dodge
PErri Moore
PRandolph Dinsmore
*Richard O'Donnell - attack[ed] Graham
*James Hoy (or Hay) - attack[ed] Graham
PLuneys - not traders; already there [in] 1848 when Whitneys came; had cows
PC. R. Wright - at Cable's dock - cooper; in 1849 Child of the Sea; in 1850 census
*Tom & Sam Bennett - Sam married by 1850 to Julia Sullivan, & Tom to Isabella, with
3 girls
 
Spoken of during Mormon times by Mrs. W.:
William Hill, p. 99 - Fairport (summer)
John Goering (Goring?), p. 98; Ire.
Thomas Crane, p. 101 - Fairport & daughter Eliz. (summer); his daughter kept house
For him; Headlands, Ohio (near Fairport)
James Corlette, p. 126 - Headlands; married Jennie Crane, 1852; in 1850 census
 
Settlers at Pine River (from Child of the Sea):
Capt. & Mrs. Morrison
Whitneys
Alva Cable - left for Little Traverse
 
C. R. Wright - left for Little Traverse
 
1 Fragment in original.

References, Beaver Island

*Water - p. 53, 100
Women smoking pipes - p. 56
Hatred of British - p. 83
Quick sand - p. 87
Town Hall - p. 88
Grist mill at Cable's Bay - p. 90
Horses on B.I. - p. 91
Buildings in the town - p. 99
Communion (1st) - p. 108
Respect for priests - p. 108
Barefooted - p. 108
Old ladies mean - p. 113
Teaching on Garden [Island] - p. 119
Snakes - p. 119-20
Picking berries - p. 120, 139
Mass & Christmas play - p. 124
Weather predictions - p. 127
Hospitality - p. 127
Hemlock bark for tanneries - p. 130
Dallas (seaweed) - p. 133
Going on ice - p. 141
 
* The author does not specify the source of these references.

Religion

The religious background of the population is an important factor in determining the character of a state. Michigan differs from many of the western states, since for the first 60 years its settlers were all Catholics. St. Anne's of Detroit has the 2nd-oldest continuous Catholic parish register in the U.S..
In 1808 Michigan was brought under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Bardstown, KY, and under that of Cincinnati in 1821. In 1833 the Territory had a Catholic population of about 7,000, sufficiently large to warrant the establishment of a separate diocese.
- Quaife & Glazer, Michigan, p. 325-26
 
(1850 census) 36,221 churches in U.S., one for every 646 people, with congregations averaging 384 people, for a total of 13,849,896 - 43.5% in church.
Roman Catholic - 1,112 churches, congregations averaging 558 people, for a total of 620,950 people. One person in 37 of total population a Catholic; 1 person in 22 among church members.
By far the largest denomination is Methodist, [followed by] Baptist, then Presbyterian.
Michigan -
42 Catholic churches; 15,972 members. Catholics were the 4th largest [denomination],
behind:
Methodists 103 churches 33,610 members
Presbyterians 67 churches 22,530 members
Baptists 58 churches 17,615 members
 
Country as a whole - 20 denominations listed; 13,849,896 members. In order of size - those having over 200,000 members:
Methodist 4,209,333
Baptist 3,130,878
Presbyterian 2,040,316
Congregational 795,177
Episcopalian 625,213
Catholic 620,950 (6th [largest])
Lutheran 531,100
Christian 296,050
Quaker 282,823
 
Universalist 205,462

Roads

"A W.P.A. crew of 40 men is building a 3 mile stretch of gravel road which will complete a circular route of the Island... The sponsor is the Charlevoix County Road Commission... At St. James, a village of 357 souls, are many historic spots... Beaver Island is one of 4 in W.P.A. District No. 1 on which projects are underway... $21,752.90 has been allotted the Beaver Island job, which is supplemented by a sponsor's contribution of $4,077,80."[1]
- [from an] undated clipping of Nonie's
 
 
 

1 Commas thus in original.

Saloons

1. Cundy Gallagher (the nephew) kept a saloon where Musette's gift shop is now.
(Mrs. Vesty)

2. Millie Boyle kept one, 1st where the old LaFreniere store was, and 2nd where the Shamrock
is now. This latter one was later kept by Ed. Pratt. (Mrs. Vesty)
3. Billy Boyle (whom I knew) kept one owned by Johnny Green, called the "Silver Star," in
the present P.O. building.
4. Billy's father "Whiskey Boyle" had one next to Willie Joh___'s.
 
I think 2 & 4 are the same -yes.

Ships and Boats

[See also "Emigration & Immigrant Life - Inland Passage"]

Number of merchant vessels built & documented ("Northern Lakes" & "Western Rivers" are lumped together):
1840 - 7,626
1845 - 29,575
1850 - 23,353
1855 - 78,000
1860 - 44,962
1865 - 102,910
1870 - 94,117
 
(1860) "...there were on the Lakes 1459 ships, of which 1122 were sailing vessels, 335 steamers & propellers" (Quaife, Lake Michigan {1944}, p. 164). The number of sailing vessels decreased from 1868, & in 1922 there were 86 in service. All probably out of service by 1947.
- Robt. T. Hall, Island Life (Cranbrook, 1948)1
 
In the winters they got out the cord wood & brought it to the docks to sell as fuel to the steamers during the summer season.
 
1818 - the first steamboat (Walk-in-the-Water) arrived at Detroit from Buffalo in 1818, the
year of the opening of the public land sales. The Detroit Gazette for June 2 & 23, 1820, said the usual time from Buffalo to Detroit was 2 1/2 days & the fare $15; the fare from Detroit to Mackinac, $20.
1819 - Walk-in-the-Water took freight & passengers to Mackinac.
1825-26 - there was a burst, owing to the opening of the Erie Canal, & the number of
steamers increased from 1 to 6.
1830 - from April 1 to May 12 2,400 intended settlers landed at Detroit.
1831 - in one week in May steamboat arrivals numbered 2,000.
1834 - in one day, Oct. 7, there arrived 900 passengers.
1836 - there were 90 steamers that arrived in Detroit in May bearing settlers to Michigan &
to the west.
1857 - 107 sidewheelers, 135 propeller steamers, [ &] 1,006 sailing vessels of all
classes on the Lakes.
1868 - peak of sailing ship era on the Lakes - 1,875 being listed.
 
Patrol Boat #1 piloted by Charlie Allers as supervisor of commercial fishing law enforcement for 30 years. The boat & Allers retired together in 1959.
 
Opening & Closing of Navigation -

1965 - last run Dec. 30
1967 - 1st crossing April 15
1968 - 1st crossing April 11 - this was the year Port St. James developme___ started
1971 - Sundew came in Mar. 10 - oil, gasoline, propane gas
1970 - last trip of Beaver Islander Dec. 26
 
In the spring of 1852 the first trip of the Michigan in April - ice floating in Lake.
 
In Schoolcraft's journal, April 16, 1834: "A party of Beaver Island Indians come in and report the waters of the Straits are clear of ice, & the navigation for some days open."
 
Sophia Bonner - John E. Bonner, owner & captain. Later she was sailed by Manus Bonner, his son. She drew 5-6' of water and was anchored off Bonner's Bluff. She was about 50' long. She hauled posts & ties. She was built on B.I. at Dormer's Dock.
 
U.S.S. Michigan - For the part this boat played in the legal action against Strang and the other Mormons, see Kingdom of St. James, p. 129. For its part in the assassination, see ibid., p. 171. It returned 10 days later, ibid., p. 173.
Construction of the 500-ton iron steamer Michigan was begun in Pittsburgh in 1842. The ship was built in sections, which were transported overland to Erie where they were assembled & the vessel was launched in 1844. She was America's first iron warship, if not the first in the world. She was equipped with two 8-inch guns & four 32-pounders.
The Michigan remained in service for three-quarters of a century, & for almost 20 years she was the only iron ship on the Upper Lakes. Her greatest period of usefulness fell in the years of the Civil War. In 1909 her name was assigned to a great new ocean battleship, & the old "iron ship" became known henceforth as the Wolverine. When her period of usefulness was over she was returned to Erie, where since 1923 she has lain quietly in the bay, exposed to the ravages of decay & vandalism.
- Quaiffe, Lake Michigan (1944), p. 165-66
 
"Christmas Tree Ship" -
Rouse Simmons (3-masted schooner, 200 tons, 125')
Captain Herman Schuenemann (age 41); Captain Charles Nelson, master of the ship, his partner. Shuenemann had chartered the ship from her owner, Capt. Mannus Bonner of Beaver Island. Aboard - wife of Nelson & a short-handed crew of 15.
Sailed from Thompson (a few miles west of Manistique) on Nov. 22, 1912, in threatening weather. (Captain Nelson didn't want to sail, Schuenemann insisted.)
Nov. 23 - sighted off Kewawnee, Wisc. flying distress signals. The Kewawnee Coast Guard telephoned Two Rivers Station, where a 34 power launch searched for 5 hours. During a lull in the storm they sighted her - her canvas in ribbons & rigging & hull covered with ice. The Coast Guard started toward her but before covering half the distance the snow set in again & they lost sight of her. No living person ever saw her again.
Dec. 13 a bottle washed up with message from Schuenemann. Christmas trees washed ashore & also fouled up fishermen's nets. April 23, 1924 a wallet of Schuenemann was found at Two Rivers. 1927, near the same spot, a bottle found with a message from Nelson.
 
Pere Marquette car ferry [1910] -
Grand Rapids Press, July 15, 1973 - story of survivor George Harwood:
29 lives lost, all officers & several passengers; 35 saved. She had been used as a pleasure boat that summer (a slack season for car ferries). Labor Day she returned to Ludington & was inspected for ferry service. Capt. Peter Kilty was dissatisfied with the inspection & did not want to take her out. When the company said they would get another skipper, he is reported to have said, "No, this is my ship & if anybody takes her out I will."
Left Ludington Sept. 8, 11:45, with 29 loaded freight-cars. A north wind & a running sea, but no storm. At 3 a.m an oiler found 7 feet of water in the crew quarters for the firemen, coal passers, & oilers. Pumps started but water continued to rise. Kilty aroused all the crew & they began to jettison the freight-cars over the stern. He ordered the ship to make for nearest port (Sheboygan) & the radio operator to send out distress signals.* Ludington was first to pick up signal & relayed it to Pere Marquette #17, which went to last reported position (20 miles from Sheboygan). Ferry #20 & steamer #6 also ordered to rescue.
6:30 - No. 17 drew alongside & asked instructions from Capt. Kilty. He called back, "Stand by." Pumps were still working & maximum speed maintained, hoping to reach Wisconsin shore. All men at their posts. The end came swiftly (here the article ends, for last page is missing). She sank at 7:30, Sept. 9, 1910.
*At this date SOS had not been adopted. The signal sent was "C.Q.D," followed by, "For God's sake, send help." This was reported to be the first use of wireless for a distress call anywhere in the world & preceded by 2 years the historic C.Q.D. of the Titanic in 1912.
 
Clifton (1924) -
Captain Emmet Gallagher ("Emmet Salty"). Four Beaver Islanders were lost:
? McDonough - Pat Vesty's son, called "Chine"
? Sheid
?
32 men in all were lost when she sank off Saginaw Bay in Lake Huron. She was an ore boat, they say an old one & in bad shape. There are two poems written by Islanders about this disaster (see notebook). One is by Emmet's brother, "Peter Salty," the other by Conn McCauley's son "Frank Conn."
Nonie, who is a cousin of Emmet, the captain, was in California that winter. The night the Clifton went down she had a vivid dream. She saw a small motor boat ("like a skiff w/ a motor") going around & around a lagoon. Three times it went around & in it was a standing man whose face she could not see. Each time it sank in front of her.
 
Clara A. Elliott -
This was the first fishing tug owned on B.I.. She was purchased in Holland, Michigan, in 1888 by the Martin brothers, Dan, James (Shing?), & Barney. These were the children of James Martin & Catherine McCarthy.
 
Badger State -
Union Line of Buffalo, N.Y.. Captain Alexander Clark, master. Served B.I. from the spring of 1873 -1883 (- Child of the Sea, p. 219). Mentioned in "Beaver Island Girls."
 
Marold disaster, Nov. 8, 1927.
Armistice Day storm, Nov. 11, 1940.
 
Marold II -
Exploded Jan. 1, 1937. Killed:
Hugh Roland McDonough, age 29-2-0
Ludlow Leonidas Hill, age 81-4-24
 
Champlain -
Plied between Chicago & Charlevoix. She caught fire 6 mi. south of Charlevoix harbor, 23 lives lost. One, Ella Cooper Smith, daughter of Richard Cooper, & Minnie Bedford, wife of Harrison Bedford.
 
Vernon -
P. 148
On the 29th of Oct., 1887, she foundered. Off ports Sheboygan, Manitowoc, & Two Pines, Wisconsin were found bodies & wreckage. Many Beaver Islanders were lost:
Maria Malloy
Big Rosie, Old Condy's wife (the Uncle)
3 Gallagher sisters (sisters of Big Willie)
Charlie Gallagher, son of Cornelius
Louis Gebo
 
From James McCann's notes:
Sunk, Oct. 31, 1887
Capt. Thorpe
1st Mate Capt. McSwiggin
2nd Mate Gebo
Beaver Island to (Ludington or Manistee?) to Milwaukee
 
She replaced the Champlain after she was lost. She was one of the early propeller boats. Owned by Northern Michigan Transit Co.. Built & owned by A. Booth & Co., named for Vernon Booth. She was built for package freighter on the Lake, principally picking up fish. She also had a cargo of fish onboard that she picked up at B.I.. She sank close to the west shore. She was loaded with pig iron as a cargo, & swamped. Believed to have been about 60 people aboard (passengers & crew). The bodies of all the Beaver Islanders were recovered except one, [a] woman. Beaver Islanders lost:
Mother & two sisters
Nelie Condy's mother
Lawrence Malloy's aunt
Charlie Gallagher (Arthur Pratt's dad)
No one survived except a Norwegian, Axel Stone, a coal passer, who was unable to give a coherent story of what happened.
The death record for Louis Gebo says he was drowned in Lake Michigan "off the Str. Vernon," on June 17, 1887.
Roland - she was a lumber barge & foundered off Two Rivers. One passing ship, that was unable to help because of the storm, saw a woman standing in the prow in a white dress. When the bodies were found, Big Rosie had on a white nightgown.
Dana Thomas Bowen's Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes - he has no story about her, but in his list he has her:
"Oct. 29, 1887 - steamer  Vernon, foundered; 36-41 lost."
 
Boats mentioned in "The Beaver Island Girls:"
Jessie Ann - being fitted out by Charles Alloire
The Fair Play - Sam Leblua, Capt.. The Fair Play was from Fox Island.
Flora - Ben Campbell
Goldsmit Maid (Goldschmidt? [Goldsmith?])
Badger State - Capt. Clark
Coyhoga
 
Mentioned in reprint of Charlevoix paper:
July 24, 1884 - first ad for Claribelle (boat route)
Jan. 29, 1885 - schooner Tom Paine - Capt. Roddy (brought mail on that date)
schooner Hart, from Northport
schooner C. J. Wells went ashore on Whiskey Island reef
- cargo lumber; she broke up
 
Neil Gallagher ("Big Neil")
[see also his card in Biographical section]
Joe - a steamer that carried the mail in competition with the Hackley in the 1890s.
He had other boats. He was a mean man. He was said to have fallen off his boat & drowned, but in reality he was thrown off by a man working for him whom he had abused.
 
Andrew Roddy
[see also his card]
Tom Paine (sailing) - she sank in the harbor & her timbers can still be seen off
McCann's Dock. A flat-bottomed boat.
Six Brothers (sailing) - must have been named for his own family, as he didn't
have six sons at that time.
Milwaukee Key (Belle) - she caught fire as he was bringing her home, & so he
never used her. She sank off the Head Light where her timbers can still be seen.
They salvaged the cabin which was used as a toolhouse on the farm. Bid says she
understands that Dan Boyle (Maria's grandfather) sailed on the Milwaukee Belle
before Roddy bought her. According to Lawrence she was an ore freighter, the
one that wrecked & was responsible for the name Iron Ore Bay. He said Roddy
was part owner.
Florence Smith (sailing) - Bid's father & Dominic Gallagher sailed on this boat with
him. She was a two-spar sailing vessel.
 
John E. Bonner
[see also his card]
Rutland - John E. Bonner, owner & captain. A flat-bottomed boat. This boat was
often used to carry wood from Cable's dock at Cable's Point to the Harbor.
Cable got out the wood & sold it, at the Harbor, to steamers for fuel. This boat brought Bishop Baraga on his last trip to the Island in 1866 (1865?). The Saga says she was a schooner; that she carried lumber from Traverse City to B.I., & supplied the materials for the construction of the church after the Mormons left.
Sophia Bonner - John E. Bonner, owner & captain. Later she was sailed by his son,
Manus Bonner. She drew 5'-6' of water & was perhaps 50' long. They anchored
her off Bonner's Bluff. She was built on B.I. at Dormer's Dock. They used her
to haul posts & ties. In 1879 Manus succeeded as master.
 
Mannes Bonner
[see also his card]
Rouse Simmons (or Shannon) - use for B.I. Lumber Co.; captained by John W.
Bonner.
Peoria
John Early (Shawn)
Margaret Early
Father Gallagher
[see also his card]
Hattie Fisher (a sailing vessel) - she was first sailed by ? McCauley, and then by
John E. Bonner. She was used to bring supplies to the Island. She sank in the
Harbor - that is the wreck off Andy Mary Ellen's, on the east side of the Harbor.

Oct. 18, 1889 - LaFreniere paid $3.00 to the schooner Mary Ann for freight on feed.
 
Freight boats were decked sailing vessels with a hold.
 
Fishing boats were sailboats, but small & undecked. According to Lawrence, they built their own fishing boats, as they had done in Ireland. The lumber they planed by hand. They also made their own fishnets.
Mrs. Andy Mary Ellen (who was a Green) speaks of Red Dan & White Dan Green being shipwrights in Ireland, & of their building boats here.
 
Peter? Johnson
Rough & Ready
Nellie Johnson (after his daughter)
 
James Gallagher ("Jimmy the Jew")
[see also his card]
He had a store & four boats, one after the other.
 
[Also had boats, unnamed:]
Dan Boyle (Maria's grandfather)
Johnnie Gallagher ("Salty")
 
1954 (fall) - Beaver Island Boat Company incorporated. Emerald Isle, capt. Mark Cross,
christened in 1955. From Charlevoix Courier, Aug. 2, 1962:
"It wasn't until the mid-1890s that the first boat took over the ferry run between Charlevoix & St. James... In 1895 the mail route between Charlevoix & the Island was established."
1895 - 1st boat, the Nellie - 60' passenger vessel. Henry Sherman was engineer; captain &
owner unknown.
1897 - Erie L. Hackley - 100'. Capt. Peter D. Campbell.
1906 or '07 - Campbell sold the Hackley (later lost on Green Bay in a storm)
1906-1915 - he purchased the Beaver, which burned at the dock in 1915. Then the Roe
Brothers of Harbor Springs ran a boat for awhile (was this the Irine?).
Capt. James Sanford operated the Sanford (100' boat) out of Charlevoix. Also later the Bruce, Bainbridge2 (150') - too costly to operate; Marold (140') converted from yacht by its owner, Capt. Hill & his son Leon Hill; blew up New Year's Day. Mary Margaret with Leroy Allers & Lawrence Feindt (engineer). North Shore, owned & operated by Lyons brothers Jack & Richard, who sold it to the Beaver Island Boat Company.
 
1955 - B.I. Boat Co. formed. Bought Emerald Isle, 1st boat built especially for the run. Cost $100,000. Put in operation in April 1955. Beaver Islander, Aug. 6[?], 1962 - 96 1/2', carry[ing capacity] 150 passengers & 12 cars.
 
 
 
1 Robert T. Hatt, et. al, Island Life: A Study of the Land Vertebrates of the Islands of Eastern Lake Michigan. Bloomfield Hills, MI: Cranbrook Institute of Science, 1948.
2 This ship name or names appears in two sets of quotation marks, separated by a comma, in the original, so it is not clear whether the vessel operated under the two names consecutively, or something else.

Singing

Songs, p. 121
 
Lilting -
[See also "Dancing"]
H. V. Morton at the "Gaelic __od" at Fort William, 1933:
"In the next hall I was to hear a competition in "Purt-a-beul" or "mouth tunes." A mixed choir sang Gaelic verses, which reproduce with amazing fidelity the rhythm & sound of pipes playing a reel. The effect is gained by repeating tongue-twisting lines with incredible speed... It is difficult to explain the peculiar charm of these tunes. It is impossible to keep still while they are being sung. You must tap the floor in time to them. They are perfect dance tunes.
This mouth music is, I am told, of unknown antiquity. There is an erroneous idea that it dates only from the time of Culloden, when, the pipes forbidden, dancers made mouth-music, and by inventing a word rhyth___ that exactly reproduced the pipes, were able to dance reels & keep the law. But even waiving the fact that there was no reason for anyone to dance in the Highlands after Culloden, Purt-a-beul is obviously something that goes back to the very beginnings of human expression. It is probably as old as the pipe which it imitates."
 
- Morton, In Scotland Again, p 249-51[1]
 
 
1 H. V. Morton, In Scotland Again. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1933
 

Social Life & Speculators

Social Life

Evenings at Dan McCauley's, p. 104
 

Speculators

Wm. Divers, 1856 -
Jas. S. Douglas, 1856 -
Joseph Evans (very confusing transactions in Cable's Bay area, 1864)
George E. Fisher, 1856 - small tract on Drky. T. Rd.
Cooper Jas___ Cronk, 1859 (probably MBL '56)
David Curtis, 1856 (beach L. Sand Bay)
Orrin F____ , 1856 - Harbor area (N. Shore to near Troy)
Harvey Austin, MBLW 1856
James Bailey, 1859
Wm. E. Brown - extensive operations 1856-1869
Archibald D. Lancaster, MBL - Aug. 5, 1856 (what afterwards was Mooney's)
C. P. (Comador) Mitchell, 1860 & '61
Cyrenns Petty & John Shurtleff, July 4, 1856 (the day the Exodus began) - they bought land
from U.S. that had been pat. to the Mormon Daniel Adams in 1848.
James Shannon - just a pencil file for land in 1859
Frank C. Stevens - Aug. 15, 1859, bought Lot E. of lighthouse, sold it the same month
Fredrich Stone (along with Henry Weed & Franklin Converse) - operated, not too extensively,
1861-1866
Joseph Warner - filed (pencil) in Feb. 1858 for land along Trail Rd.. (He was the German - see
Early card - no speculator.)
Israel Williams [and] C. R. Wright - dealing with Wm. E. Brown
 

Travelers Accounts

[Frederick] Marryat -
July 1837 - Boarded the Michigan in Detroit for Mackinac.
Aug. 1 - Arrived Mackinac - met Schoolcraft ([who] called Marryat "perfect sea-urchin,
 
ugly, rough, ill-mannered, & conceited beyond bounds" -Schoolcraft's
memoirs). Went by canoe to the Sault.
Aug. 9 - Again boarded the Michigan & returned to Detroit.
May 10 [or 1, unclear] - arrived Detroit; stayed a week & left for Green Bay.
 
Harriet Martineau in 1836 - "During the bright morning of this day (early in July) we passed the Fox & Beaver Islands" (- His. Mack.).
 
W. P. Strickland, "Old Mackinac," 1860 - "In the northern part of Lake Michigan are located the Beaver Islands. There are 5 or 6 of this group bearing different names. Big Beaver is the most considerable & contains perhaps 40 sq. miles. These islands all lie in the vicinity of each other. The Big Beaver was, up to July 1856, in possession of the Mormons, who claimed it as a gift from the Lord" (- His. Mack.).

Wailers

There were official "wailers" at the funerals.
 
1. Mrs. Green (Red Dan's wife; she was the mother of Lizzie, Mrs. Andy Mary Ellen,
Gallagher)
2. Hannah Johnson - Bid Sendenburg says she still remembers her cry at the grave of
"Oh gora, oh mora" - whatever that means (Bid doesn't know); note: the 1st line
of a keen in the Halls' book - "O mo cara" - O my love.
3. "Nangog" O'Donnell (Darkey Mike's wife)
 

Women Who Stayed in Bed

P. 45
Some old ladies (in their fifties) went to bed & never got up. They were cared for by their families, dressed every day, etc... They "shrank up," got to be only about 4 feet long. They "thought they went back to the fairies." Roland remembers seeing one. She was very small, all dressed in black with a white apron on, lying on the bed. On of them had been in bed for 18 years when the pig fell into the well and she got out of bed and got him out. ( -Roland)

Mr. Nackerman confirms this. He told particularly of Mrs. "Lably" O'Donnell (see her card). He also told the story about the woman who got the pig out of the well, & tells another one about a woman getting up & putting out the fire when the house caught afire when she was there alone.
Stanley Floyd confirms this, & says Mrs. Don Father was one of them. He said (with no prompting on my part), "they did it to get out of the way."

 
Mike Cull's grandmother - Mrs. Lably O'Donnell. ( -Nackerman)
Mrs. Big Phil Gallagher
Johnny Mahane O'Donnell (Maria)
Mary Greene, wife of Big Dominic - she is the one that got up & rescued the pig
( -Roland)
 

Note:
"We also knew of a handful of women who took to their beds in their fifties and in obedience to some strange custom whose origin we could not find, never left their houses again until they died. What a rich field it would have offered to a sociologist! It must have gone back to an incredibly early England."
Bryher, The Heart to Artemis, p. 1751

(She is talking of the Scilly Islands, 1911-17. She stayed on St. Mary's.)

 

Bryher, The Heart to Artemis: A Writer's Memoirs. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1962.