1885 — Dec 4-6~, schooner Orphan Boy grounds, Lake Mich. storm, Big Sable Pt., MI–7-10

–7-10 Blanchard estimated death-toll range.*

–12 Mansfield. History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). 1899, p. 744.
–12 Shelak, Benjamin J. Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan. Big Earth Publishing, 2003, p. 153.
–12 Swayze. Shipwreck!…Directory of…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 179.
–10 Daily Journal, Freeport IL. “The Orphan Boy Probably Lost.” 12-23-1885, p. 5, col. 4.
— 9 Quincy Daily Journal, IL. “All Hope Abandoned.” 12-23-1885, p. 3, col. 3.
— 8 Boston Daily Globe. “Given Up As Lost.” 12-29-1885, p. 7, col. 1.
— 8 Cambridge Herald, OH. “West and South.” 1-7-1886, p. 1, col. 4.*
— 8 Evening Gazette, Monmouth, IL. “The Orphan Boy Is Lost.” 12-30-1885, p. 1, col. 3.
— 8 Life-Saving Service. Annual Report for year ending June 30, 1885, Table 64.
— 8 Winona Daily Republican, MN. “Telegraphic Brevities.” 12-19-1885, p. 2.
— 7 Daily News, Goshen, IN. [Orphan Boy missing.] 12-15-1885, p. 4, col. 2.
— 7 McNeil. “Orphan Boy (Schooner)…sunk, 17 Dec 1885.” Maritime History…Great Lakes.
— 7 New York Times. “Lost With All On Board….Orphan Boy…” 1-3-1886, p. 1, c. 4.*

* Blanchard estimated death-toll range. *We have not been able to locate a definitive statement on the loss of life. Most of the reporting at the time noted seven or eight deaths. One of the accounts (NYT) named seven individuals and noted their position on the schooner. Not named was a clerk, which another paper notes was on board, without naming the individual. We have noted one account (out of several) noting nine deaths, though it is not crystal clear that there were eight crew in addition to the captain, for a total of nine. We note another report at the time noting ten deaths. Though we have gone through more than two hundred articles from December 1885, through the year 1886, I have found no article noting twelve, or more than ten deaths. Thus I cannot account for the reporting of Mansfield, Shelak and Swayze on twelve deaths, and choose not to use that number.

As for the dating of the loss, it is clear from newspaper reporting at the time that Mansfield could not have been correct in noting Dec 17, 1885 as the date of loss. No one knows when the schooner was lost, but the clear majority of reporting at the time speculated the loss as sometime between late evening of Dec 4 to early morning of the 5th, though there were a number of reporters speculating the loss was on the 6th – all based on the extremely bad weather and the last sighting.

*New York Times. The number is a count of named fatalities.

Narrative Information

Mansfield: “1885….Orphan Boy Lost. – The schooner Orphan Boy, loaded with lumber, was caught out late in the season of 1885 by a severe storm December 17, and went down in Lake Michigan with her crew of twelve.” (History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). 1899, p. 744.)

Shelak: “The following year [1885], it was the turn of the three-masted schooner Orphan Boy [previous sentence concerned loss of the Kitty Grant off Little Sable Point]. The Orphan Boy encountered a heavy gale on December 5. Unable to fight the winds and seas, the Orphan Boy was forced ashore. Twelve men lost their lives, presumably as the schooner was battered to pieces by waves.” (Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan. Big Earth Publishing, 2003, p. 153.)

Swayze: “Orphan Boy. Package and bulk freight bark or schooner of 365 t. [tons] and 144 ft., launched in 1862 at Lorain, OH. Lake Michigan: Although Lakes schooners were generally seaworthy vessels, they could be easily outmatched by weather if their skippers or owners sent them out to face the big fall storms. The Orphan Boy was making a late run with lumber on December 5, 1885, when she was attacked by a violent, but seasonal, storm. She was literally picked up and hurled ashore on Michigan’s Big Sable Point, where she immediately went to pieces. The 12 seamen aboard would surely have regretted challenging the storm gods of the Chippewa, had they lived.” (Shipwreck!…Directory…Shipwrecks on…Great Lakes. 1992, p.179.)

Newspapers

Dec 11: “Chicago, Dec 11….Vessel men are confident of the safety of the Orphan Boy. It is their unanimous opinion that she is securely anchored at the Manitous or Beaver Island. ” (Trenton Times, Trenton, NJ. “Lake Steamers Safe.” 12-11-1885, p. 1, col. 4.)

Dec 14: “Chicago, Dec. 14. – The consignees of the schooner Orphan Boy have not yet received any tidings from the missing vessel. Two theories are yet advanced for the failure to hear from her, and both are tenable – that she is frozen in at Beaver Harbor, south of St. James, or taking advantage of the southwest wind of a few days ago.” (Evening Gazette, Monmouth, IL. “The Missing Orphan Boy.” 12-14-1885, p. 1, col. 5.)

Dec 14: “Chicago, Dec. 14. – The missing schooner, Orphan Boy, has not yet been heard from. The wrecking tug, Saugatuck, left St. Ignace for the Beaver Islands in search of her, and news is expected by tomorrow. The Orphan Boy is probably frozen in at St. James, in Big Beaver island harbor, and the crew will not suffer.” (Daily Globe, St. Paul, MN. 12-15-1885, p. 1, col. 7.)

Dec 15: “Chicago, Dec. 15. – For thirteen days nothing has been heard of the schooner Orphan Boy and fears are expressed that she is lost with all on board numbering seven souls. A tug is out hunting for her and her owners are hopeful that she will yet be found.” (Daily News, Goshen, IN. 12-15-1885, p. 4, col. 2.)

Dec 19: “Nothing reliable has been heard from the schooner Orphan Boy, on Lake Huron [sic], since Dec. 6th. It is feared that the crew perished. She carried 365,000 feet of lumber and a crew of eight men.” (Winona Daily Republican, MN. “Telegraphic Brevities.” 12-19-1885, p. 2.)

Dec 21: “Escanaba, Mich., Dec. 21. – The tug Owen was fitted out yesterday and left this morning in search of the schooner Orphan Boy. She takes twenty-five tons of coal [fuel] and twenty days provisions. Captain Bartley will cruise down the West Shore of the islands at the entrance of Green Bay to Dealer’s Harbor and then back to the east side to Manistique. ” (Buffalo Daily Republic, NY. “The Lost Schooner.” 12-21-1885, p. 1, col. 6.)

Dec 23: “Chicago, Dec. 23. – The tug Saugatuck, that has been in search of the lost schooner Orphan Boy for some time, has arrived at St. Ignace without finding any trace of the schooner. Almost twenty days have elapsed since the Orphan Boy left St. Ignace with a cargo of boards for this port [Chicago]. Among marine men the belief is general that the schooner and Capt. Halliday, with his crew of nine men, have been lost.” (Daily Journal, Freeport IL. “The Orphan Boy Probably Lost.” 12-23-1885, p. 5, col. 4.)

Dec 23: “Chicago, Dec. 23. – It is now deemed certain that the Mackinaw Lumber Company’s schooner Orphan Boy whose whereabouts has been a matter of anxiety for the past three weeks went down in the northern waters of Lake Michigan during one of the late storms, with all on board. She had a cargo of lumber and a crew of nine men.” (Quincy Daily Journal, IL. “All Hope Abandoned.” 12-23-1885, p. 3, col. 3.)

Dec 23: “St. Ignace, Mich., December 23. – The Mackinaw Lumber Company have give up all hopes of finding the schooner Orphan Boy, and have ordered the tug Saugatuck to return here. The captain of the Saugatuck telegraphed from Northport: ‘Nothing has been seen of the schooner at Fox’s Hog Island, Whisky Island or Beavers. No wreckage or lumber to be found. Vessel could never get to Green By with the wind northwest. Think she will be first heard from on the east shore. She passed the head of Beavers’ [Island] the afternoon of the 4th, at four p.m. We go South when the weather suits.’ What has become of the schooner is a deeper mystery than ever.” (Daily Reflector, Norwalk, OH. “All Hope of Finding the Schooner Orphan Boy Abandoned.” 12-23-1885, p. 4, col. 4.)

Dec 29: “Chicago, December 29. – The consignees of the missing schooner Orphan Boy have given up all hope of her safety. In the opinion of the firm she either foundered in the terrific gale of December 4 or struck a reef in attempting to make the southern passage. There were eight men on board, who doubtless went down with her.” (Boston Daily Globe. “Given Up As Lost.” 12-29-1885, p. 7, col. 1.)

Dec 30: “Chicago, Dec. 30. – McElwee, Billings & Carney received a letter, Tuesday morning, from Capt. Coats, of St. Ignace, who has been out with the tug Saugatuck in search of the missing Orphan Boy, that offers no encouragement to her owners or friends of the crew. On the last search the Beaver islands were visited, and the beach patrolled as far as possible for any wreckage that might have drifted ashore, but found no trace. Capt. Coats also ascertained positively that the last seen of the schooner was opposite the Beaver’s at 5 o’clock on Friday, December 4. His belief is that the schoon4r foundered before 12 o’clock that night, as no vessel was able to stand that wind and sea, and it was so cold that she iced up and became top-heavy and unmanageable. She had a crew of eight men, of whom the captain was Aaron Holliday, of Collier, Kas. Most of the remainder of the crew lived in Chicago.” (Evening Gazette, Monmouth, IL. “The Orphan Boy Is Lost.” 12-30-1885, p. 1, col. 3.)

Jan 2, 1886: “Chicago, Jan. 2. – A dispatch from the special correspondent of The Times at Grand Haven, Mich., settles the fate of the schooner Orphan Boy, which has not been heard of since Dec. 4 last. The correspondent sends a letter from the keeper of the Grand Point au Sable life-saving station in which it is stated that the beach at that point is strewn for ten miles with wreckage, consisting of timber and portions of a vessel, which must have been a three-masted schooner. To clinch the fact of identity, the stern of a yawl with the name ‘Orphan Boy’ upon it is one portion of the wreckage found. This shows conclusively that she went down in deep water during the gale of Dec. 6, and that her crew went down with her.” (Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. “The Orphan Boy’s Fate.” 1-2-1886, p. 1, col. 3.)

Jan 2, 1886: “Grand Haven, Mich., January 2. Superintendent Robbins, of the Life-saving Service, received last night a letter from the keeper of the Grand Point Au Sable Station, dated December 30, saying that there was a great deal of wreckage in his vicinity that had been coming ashore for nearly two weeks. Among other things is the stern of a yawl which bears the name ‘Orphan Boy.’ This, it is thought, settles positively the fate of the vessel. There is no doubt that she went down in the terrible storm of December 6, with all hands.

“The Orphan Boy left St. Ignace, Mich., on the morning of December 1. She was loaded with dry lumber, a cargo which, under ordinary circumstances, would prevent her sinking in a storm, even though she had sprung a leak. The last seen of her was on the afternoon of Friday, December 4, when a fisherman at Beaver Islands saw a vessel answering her description off that bleak and desolate coast. The wind was blowing forty miles an hour and the mercury was ten degrees below zero. The vessel was sailing on a northwest course, but from the moment the fisherman beheld the schooner beating down before the horrible gale not a word has been heard from her. Two searching parties spent nearly two weeks looking for her, without success. Her master was Captain Aaron Halliday. The first mate, Bert Smith, was a married man. He leaves a wife and family, who reside in Chicago. The cook, J. E. Stickney, was an unmarried man, whose home was at Saugatuck, Mich. The seamen were John Davidson, James Rogers, Stephen Levin and Edward Downey. All were unmarried.” (New York Times. “Lost With All On Board….Orphan Boy…” 1-3-1886, p. 1, c. 4.)

Jan 12, 1886: “Chicago, Jan. 12. – Mr. W. O. Johnson, one of the owners of the lost schooner Orphan Boy, who has been looking over the wreck at Point Au Sable, and found the beach strewn with a wreck, is in the city to-night. He says the lumber was broken into kindling wood, and the yawl boat was found under it, and gave the impression that it was cut away from the schooner with an ax. Mr. Johnson was under the belief that the Orphan Boy ran aground about Dec. 6, under full sail, as the masts were broken off close to the deck. The schooner then went to pieces and washed ashore. None of the bodies of the unfortunate sailors have been discovered, and some venture the opinion that they were found by the fishermen, who are the only inhabitants of the shore, and after being stripped of their valuables, were buried. Captain Halliday carried several hundred dollars and a valuable gold watch, the clerk also had considerable money. Investigations are still toing on, and will occupy several days.” (Indianapolis Journal, IN. “The Schooner Orpah Boy.” 1-13-1886, p. 3, col. 3.)

Jan 14, 1886: “H. L. Hanson, formerly keeper of the range lights at Bailey’s Harbor, but for the past three or four years stationed at Big Point Sable, Mich., furnishes the following interesting account of the discovery of the wreckage of a vessel, which is undoubtedly that of the lost Schooner Orphan Boy:
Persons interested in the schooner Orphan Boy ought to know that she is a total wreck on Big Point Sable, four miles north of this lighthouse. I did not know anything about the Orphan Boy being wrecked on this point until yesterday. I then went up to the wreck and looked it all over. The schooner is broken in pieces, the only part of her that is of any size being a small part of her side, and that is in the water. The bulwarks are painted white and the hull green. No part of her name can be seen. One John Snag, a resident of Hamlin, found the stern of a yawl with the name Orphan Boy on it, and he turned it over to me. My opinion is that the unfortunate disaster occurred on the night of December 4th, or on the morning of the 5th, as we then had our severest gale and snow-storm. The wreckage itself goes to show that the vessel was lost at that time, because it is still covered with snow and ice, and a large part of it is upon the beach as high as the driftwood that was washed up at the same time. The lumber is broken in pieces and is piled up as high as eighteen feet in places, and the wreckage is mixed up with it. Along the water’s edge the lumber is piled straight up and down like a pier. Very little of the rigging is to be seen, and none of the cabin furniture has yet washed ashore. The only thing I did see was a piece of a leather-covered trunk with iron corners, and a few strips of bed-ticking. Everything is high and dry on the beach, and I rather think some of the bodies are among the wreckage.

“Bib Point Sable light is situated about midway between Ludington and Manistee.” (Door County Advocate, Sturgeon Bay, WI. “Marine Intelligence. Loss of the Orphan Boy.” 1-14-1886, p. 2.)

Sources

Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels. Proceedings of a Special Meeting of the Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels, Washington, DC. Treasury Department, 1891. Accessed 1-2-2021 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=Nw1FAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Boston Daily Globe. “Given Up As Lost.” 12-29-1885, p. 7, col. 1. Accessed 1-3-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-dec-29-1885-p-7/

Buffalo Daily Republic, NY. “The Lost Schooner.” 12-21-1885, p. 1, col. 6. Accessed 1-3-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/buffalo-daily-republic-dec-21-1885-p-1/

Daily Globe, St. Paul, MN. 12-15-1885, p. 1, col. 7. Accessed 1-2-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/saint-paul-daily-globe-dec-15-1885-p-1/

Daily Journal, Freeport IL. “The Orphan Boy Probably Lost.” 12-23-1885, p. 5, col. 4. Accessed 1-3-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/freeport-daily-journal-dec-23-1885-p-5/

Daily News, Goshen, IN. 12-15-1885, p. 4, col. 2. Accessed 1-2-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/goshen-daily-news-dec-15-1885-p-4/

Daily Reflector, Norwalk, OH. “All Hope of Finding the Schooner Orphan Boy Abandoned.” 12-23-1885, p. 4, col. 4. Accessed 1-3-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/norwalk-daily-reflector-dec-23-1885-p-4/

Door County Advocate, Sturgeon Bay, WI. “Marine Intelligence. Loss of the Orphan Boy.” 1-14-1886, p. 2, col. 3. Accessed 1-3-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/sturgeon-bay-door-county-advocate-jan-14-1886-p-2/

Evening Gazette, Monmouth, IL. “The Missing Orphan Boy.” 12-14-1885, p. 1, col. 5. Accessed 1-2-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/monmouth-evening-gazette-dec-14-1885-p-1/

Evening Gazette, Monmouth, IL. “The Orphan Boy Is Lost.” 12-30-1885, p. 1, col. 3. Accessed 1-3-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/monmouth-evening-gazette-dec-30-1885-p-1/

Indianapolis Journal, IN. “The Schooner Orpah Boy.” 1-13-1886, p. 3, col. 3. Accessed 1-3-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/indianapolis-journal-jan-13-1886-p-3/

Janesville Daily Gazette, WI. “The Orphan Boy’s Fate.” 1-2-1886, p. 1, col. 3. Accessed 1-3-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/janesville-daily-gazette-jan-02-1886-p-1/

Mansfield, John Brandts (Ed. and Compiler). History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co., 1899. Google digitized. Accessed 1-2-2021 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=iHXhAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

McNeil, William R. “Orphan Boy (Schooner), U18919, sunk, 17 Dec 1885.” Maritime History of the Great Lakes. Accessed 1-2-2021 at: https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/55583/data

Quincy Daily Journal, IL. “All Hope Abandoned.” 12-23-1885, p. 3, col. 3. Accessed 1-3-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/quincy-daily-journal-dec-23-1885-p-3/

Shelak, Benjamin J. Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan. Big Earth Publishing, 2003. Partially digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=4CBCcye0n6IC

Swayze, David D. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. Boyne City, MI: Harbor House Publications, Inc., 1992.

The Times, Philadelphia. “Lost With All Hands.” 1-3-1886, p. 5, col. 1. Accessed 1-3-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/philadelphia-times-jan-03-1886-p-5/

Trenton Times, Trenton, NJ. “Lake Steamers Safe.” 12-11-1885, p. 1, col. 4. Accessed 1-2-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/trenton-times-dec-11-1885-p-1/

Winona Daily Republican, MN. “Telegraphic Brevities.” 12-19-1885, p. 2. Accessed 1-3-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/winona-daily-republican-dec-19-1885-p-2/