— 21 Donahue. “Sinking of The W. H. Gilcher.” True Stories…Ships…Men That Sailed Them.
— 21 Jaworski. “Revisiting the Mystery of the W. H. Gilcher.” Glen Arbor Sun, MI, 8-25-2005.
— 21 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 690.
— 21 Swayze, David D. Shipwreck!…Directory…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 97.
— 20 Logansport Chronicle, IN. “Later.” 11-5-1892, p. 8, col. 3.
— 18 Cleveland Press. “Lost! Another Terrible Disaster…Steamer W.H. Gilcher…,” 11-2-1892
— 18 Logansport Journal, IN. “Hope Abandoned. The Steamer Gilcher….” 11-4-1892, p. 2.
— 17 Mansfield, John Brandts (Editor). History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). 1899, p. 763.
Narrative Information
Donahue: “The one-year-old steel steamer W. H. Gilcher was laden with coal, bound from Buffalo to Milwaukee, when it foundered during a gale on Oct. 28-29, 1892, taking its entire crew of 21 sailors to the bottom of Lake Michigan with it. The Gilcher thus became one of many fine ships that disappeared during the early days of lake shipping without the full stories of what happened to them ever being known.
“The vessel was one of the Gilchrist Shipping Co. boats, commanded by Captain Lloyd H. Weeks of Vermilion, Ohio. It was a sister ship to the Western Reserve that foundered two months earlier under similar circumstances on Lake Superior.
“News reports said the Gilcher was last seen when it passed Mackinaw on its way through the Straits at 2:20 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28. It never arrived at Milwaukee.
“Wreckage began washing up on the Michigan shoreline south of Charlevoix on Nov. 2. Also Captain George Dennis, master of the schooner John Shaw, reported to Chicago authorities that he passed “a large quantity of wreckage, doors, stools, windows, sashes and part of a steamers bridge with the bell still upon it, floating in the lake.” No bodies were recovered.
“That the wreckage of a second ship, the schooner Ostrich, also lost in the storm and in the same area, also was found mixed with the Gilcher flotsam, led to speculation that the two ships collided at the northern end of the lake. Six sailors were lost on the Ostrich.
“Captain Duncan Buchanan, master of the schooner Seaman, said he believed he was the last person to see the Gilcher before it went down. ‘We were about 20 miles northeast of North Manitou Island and 15 miles due west of Fox Island light, at 8 o’clock, Friday night, when we sighted the Gilcher just ahead,’ Buchanan told a Chicago newspaper. ‘She was in our track and we burned a torch for the steamer to make room for us. She made not a move and was lying with her head west-northwest, directly in the wind, and did not appear to be working her wheel more than to keep her head to the wind. We had to turn out and pass within 300 feet of her. No attention was paid to us and I believe that Captain Weeks had already discovered the precarious condition his boat was in. It is likely the crew was at work either trying to stop leaks or otherwise save their boat.’
“The 302-foot-long Gilcher was still considered a fine new ship and said by some to be among the finest steel vessels on the lakes. Only weeks before the disaster, it set a record of carrying the largest cargo of grain, 121,000 bushels of wheat, at Chicago.
In addition to Captain Weeks, other crew members included Captain Ed Porter of Lorain, who shipped as first mate, Chief Engineer Sydney Jones and Second Engineer Peter Schakett, both of Marine City.
Two other vessels were lost in the storm. They were the schooner Hammond, wrecked on Lake Michigan, and Zach Chandler, on Lake Superior. Eight lives were lost in the other wrecks.” (Donahue. “Sinking of The W. H. Gilcher.” True Stories…Ships…Men That Sailed Them.)
Jaworski: “Leelanau County [MI] experienced its own version of the Edmund Fitzgerald story in the 1890s, when the largest and most technologically advanced ship of its time “sailed through a crack in the lake” off the Leelanau coast. The ship still lies undiscovered in the cold dark waters, and the mysteries of its loss remain unresolved.
“The 1880s and ‘90s experienced many revolutions in ship design and construction on the Great Lakes. One advent greeted with great skepticism was the use of iron and steel as hull materials. Despite doubts and grim predictions, the first iron-hulled carrier, the Onoko of 1882, proved a great success. 1890 saw the construction of the Western Reserve and W.H. Gilcher. These ships’ 300-foot hulls were of steel, not iron. Longer than a football field, they were among the largest ships of their time. The two vessels had different owners and slightly different construction details, but were considered sister ships. They met their owners’ fondest expectations for speed and efficiency. Almost at once the Gilcher captured the grain-carrying record by transporting 113,885 bushels of wheat from Chicago to Buffalo, New York.
“But August 30, 1892 found the Western Reserve bucking against a summer gale on Lake Superior. In addition to her regular crew, the owner, his family, guests and the captain’s sons were aboard. At about 9 p.m. that evening a sudden jolt shuddered through the hull, and the mainmast crashed to the deck. Forward of the spar, a break appeared in the deck, groaning and widening with the passing of each wave. Two lifeboats cleared: a wooden boat with the owner, his family and some crew, and a metallic yawl with the others. The yawl capsized, and the lifeboat picking up two survivors. The 19 occupants of the lifeboat bailed and drifted in the blackened sea for 10 hours, when within a mile of shore a wave suddenly capsized the boat and all but one man drowned. The lone survivor struggled 10 miles along the desolate and uninhabited Lake Superior coast to reach the Deer Park Lifesaving Station, and there, news of the tragedy spread. Bodies from the lost ship began to wash ashore, and the Deer Point Lifesaving men buried them above the wilderness beach in lone graves with a simple prayer.
“Harsh and bitter criticism soon rocked the owners and builders of the Western Reserve, and investigations questioned the safety of steel ship and lifeboat construction. But no flaws were found in the design or construction of the ship.
“Meanwhile, at 2:20 p.m. on October 28, while public debate on the Western Reserve’s sinking continued, the W.H. Gilcher passed through the Straits of Mackinaw and into a storm-swept Lake Michigan. Fully laden with coal and making headway for Milwaukee, Capt. Lloyd H. Weeks, veteran master of the Gilcher, did not doubt the integrity of his vessel. The Gilcher was the finest vessel lakes technology could produce, and she was ideally loaded for heavy weather, unlike her lost sister, which had carried no cargo and traveled in water ballast. Other ships were seeking shelter as the intensity of the storm increased. South Manitou Harbor was crowded with storm-beaten vessels weathering at anchor or aground. Somewhere in the ragged, black expanse of northern Lake Michigan the W.H. Gilcher, with it’s crew of 22 men plowed on.
“The intensity of the storm peaked in the late afternoon and early evening. At Glen Haven, barrels of cranberries setting on the big dock washed into the bay. On a rocky shoal near what is now The Homestead resort, the schooner Flying Cloud lay stricken. As the rocks gored the sailing vessels hull, its cargo of 2,300-barrels of oat spilled out onto the beaches along the Glen Arbor coastline. People attending a political rally at the Traverse City Opera House could not hear the brass band performing over the din of the storm outside. Farmyard fences and barns all around Leelanau County were laid flat by the fearsome winds.
“During the light of the next day the weather began to abate, and ships left their protective anchorages for their ports of destination. As vessels arrived, or failed to arrive, the tragedies of the storm became apparent. Among the list of vessels overdue was the Gilcher. None of the ships in South Manitou harbor reported seeing the lights of any ship pass into the open lake. Some, however, reported sailing through fields of wreckage, including a battered pilothouse. The steamer White & Triant picked up a piece of cabin work in which “James Riley 9 PM” was carved. The mail carrier at South Manitou reported wreckage including a box labeled “Lackawana” drifting ashore on the west side of the island. The steamer Shaw reported a schooner, found to be the Ostrich, bottom up and wrecked upon the shore of South Manitou with no apparent survivors. The majority of debris found was from a steamer.
“Nearly everyone presumed the Lackawana had been lost — until she sailed into Green Bay. Damaged by the gale, the seas had swept her decks clear. Hopes that the Gilcher may be disabled and at anchor or adrift prevailed until detailed reports of the debris field came in. Owners of the Gilcher claimed the description of the cabin work and pilothouse “matched that of the Gilcher exactly.”
“Dock gossip spread like wildfire. Theories ranged from a collision with the Ostrich, to sinking after hitting the Fox Island shoal. No lifeboats were ever found. Later, the lifeboat strong-backs from the Gilcher were located. They had apparently been struck with an axe as the crew, in desperation, slashed through the canvas boat cover to gain entry. This would indicate that the Gilcher might have foundered very suddenly, the crew not having time to release the cover in the usual fashion. Few of the Gilcher’s crew was ever found….
“While the fate of the Gilcher may never be known, its effect upon Great Lakes shipping is clear. The Gilcher was the heaviest single loss ever incurred by insurance underwriters on the lakes. This dramatically affected the underwriter’s future policies. The new era of steel shipbuilding came to an abrupt halt, as everyone questioned the use of steel in Great Lakes vessels. Ship builders fully tooled for steel construction worried as orders for new ships ceased.
“Seaman accused builders of sacrificing sailor’s lives with experimental building techniques. Ultimately, some answers were found. Both of the “sunken sisters” were built of a new, (and less expensive) steel formed by the Bessemer process. Investigators testing this steel “found it impossible to get a homogenous stock of steel even in the same plate. Lab tests found that the plates and angles would crack in handling, heating and punching.” To this day Bessemer process steel is not accepted for marine use.
“The fate of the Gilcher may be presumed as catastrophic structural failure, but only with the discovery of the wreck in the timeless depths of the lake will the story be completely told.” (Jaworski, Jed. “Revisiting the Mystery of the W. H. Gilcher.” Glen Arbor Sun, MI, 8-25-2005.)
Newspapers — Chronological
Nov 2, Cleveland Press: “Another terrible Lake disaster is to be chronicled. The loss of life by the collapse of the steel steamer Western Reserve has not yet ceased to be a subject of sorrowful conversation in Cleveland marine circles, and now comes another and similar catastrophe. The fears that the big steamer W. H. Gilcher had gone to the bottom have been confirmed. As in the case of the Western Reserve a great loss of life was attendant upon the sinking of the vessel. Eighteen men found watery graves in Lake Michigan.
“Especially does this second disaster strike home to Cleveland and the vicinity, for the captain and some of the crew of the Gilcher were recruited along this shore as was the case with the Western Reserve. Another good and well known captain from Vermilion has perished with his vessel and the little town is again in mourning.
“The terrible struggles with the wind and waves that swept across Lake Michigan with awful fury will probably never be known,. It is not thought that a single soul survived the wreck. The fight that these men made for their life can be imagined in every city and town along the lakes, for the storms that sent them down to death was felt all along the great inland seas. The strength and stability of the steamer must have made her battle a long and gallant one, but the power of the sea and wind finally overcame her. The broken wreckage washing to shore on the Manitou Islands and the Michigan beach were mute evidences of the struggle that the steamer and her crew made.
“The Gilcher was lost near Manitou islands, the bleak and barren spots that lie near the east shore of Lake Michigan a short distance south of Charlevoix. There is a life-saving station on one of the islands but it has no telegraphic communication with the mainland. The Gilcher had a crew of 17 men under charge of Captain L. H. Weeks, of Vermilion. She was a sister ship to the ill-fated Western Reserve and like her was built by the Cleveland ship building company. She was valued at $200,000. The news of the disaster came as a terrible shock to the vessel men of Cleveland who, if not for the precedent given by the Western Reserve wreck, would have considered it impossible. The Gilcher was considered by many, the finest steel vessel on the lakes. She held with the E. C. Pope the record of having carried the greatest cargo of grain out of Chicago, about 121,000 bushels of wheat.
“Captain Gilchrist of Vermilion, her main owner, who is associated in the Perry-Payne building with Captain Moore & Barton, was besieged, Monday morning by vessel owners asking for news. “The Gilcher is reported lost,” a PRESS man said to M. A. Hanna in front of the Perry Payne building early Wednesday morning. “Good God, is that true?” the vessel owner exclaimed. “I had not heard of it.” And he entered the building and sought further information. Captain Gilchrist was found in his office. “I have nothing new to give in regard to the disaster. It is no doubt true that the Gilcher is sunk. The news is terrible. She was a magnificent steamer. The place where the white wreckage of cabins was found is undoubtedly the locality where she arrived when the gale was strongest. Her cabins were white and that fact alone is almost sufficient verification of the truth of the story. Then I have tried to obtain information of her whereabouts, but without the least success, she must have sunk. Outside of her crew of 17 men and Captain Lloyd H. Weeks, I know of no one else who on board.”
“The Gilcher was built two years ago and was constructed on the same lines as the Pontiac. Captain Bartow believed that the Gilcher struck on a reef at the foot of Lake Michigan. He had no doubt but that she was lost. “We would have heard of her,” he said, “Long before now had she put into any port. The news is a terrible surprise, for the Gilcher has proved a staunch boat and this, which is her last, was also her first mishap.” It is supposed that the vessel went down sometime during Friday night, when the gale was heaviest. The following dispatch was received from Sandusky:
“The Gilcher’s Owners Sandusky, O., Nov., 2- The first intimation Messrs. Gilcher and Schuck received of the loss of the steamer Gilcher was conveyed by a PRESS reporter Wednesday morning. Schuck said that the last heard was at 2:20 pm Friday when she passed Mackinac from Buffalo to Milwaukee. She was built by the Cleveland ship building company to the order of J. P. Gilchrist, of Vermilion, and put in commission in the spring of ‘91. L. H. Weeks of Vermilion, was captain and her crew numbered 17. She was a sister ship to the ill-fated Western Reserve. Her owners were Frank and J. C. Gilchrist, Vermilion; Thomas Maytham, Buffalo; R.E. & J.E. Schuck and W. H. Gilcher, Sandusky; Norman Kelley, Kelley’s island; P.G. Walker and C. G. Nielson, Sandusky. Schuck knew nothing of the crew, which is constantly changing. The Mate was Edward Porter of Lorain.”….
“She had on a cargo of coal for Cox Bros., of Milwaukee and had sailed from Buffalo. She was about 400 net tons light of her full capacity, and I should think, could not have been better loaded than she was for this kind of weather. My opinion is she must have struck a rock or reef and had a hole punched in her bottom, or else that she was in a collision. I don’t believe the weather alone could have overcome her. What did he value the boat at? About $200,000. We had her insured for $180,000.
“Capt. Weeks, who sailed her, was formerly master of the J. C. Gilchrist, and he has been sailing for us since 1880. He was one of the best captains on the lakes and a man who was respected by everybody who knew him. He had a wife and two children, a son and a daughter, who live at Vermilion.” When asked what effect the loss of the Gilcher would have on the building of such boats, Gilchrist said: “I don’t see why it should effect the building of such boats, because I don’t know why her style of build could have had anything to do with the disaster unless it can be shown that she broke in two, as the Western Reserve did. I don’t believe that was what happened to her if she went down. Her engine was considerably lighter than that of the Western Reserve, too, which was another thing in her favor. The Gilcher’s engine was 1200 horsepower.”
“It was the general supposition of the vessel men who gathered in Gilchrist office Wednesday forenoon, that the Gilcher must have struck the South Fox Reef, which is four miles south of South Fox island. She was, according to all calculation, about at that point when the storm struck her. She was last heard from when she passed Mackinaw, and is now four days overdue.
“As far as can be learned, her crew consisted of 18 men. Captain Weeks, about a month ago in Buffalo, discharged most of his old sailors, nearly all of whom hailed from Vermilion, and hired others whose names are not known to the owners f the boat. Those who were known to have been on the Gilcher when she sailed from Buffalo the last time were Capt. L. H. Weeks, of Vermilion, Capt. Ed Porter of Lorain, First Mate; Sydney Jones of Marine City Michigan; chief engineer, a young man named Thompson, a son of Daniel Thompson of Vermilion, who was employed as a sailor, and a wheel man named King, who was formerly of Vermilion but has lately made his home in Chicago. There were no passengers that the owners of the boat are aware of.
“It was learned Wednesday forenoon, that vessel men have frequently expressed the opinion that the Gilcher was not as strongly built as she ought to have been, that the steel plates put in her were rather light for a boat of her size. J. C. Gilchrist, when asked about this, said he had no reason to believe there was any foundation for such an opinion. H. D. Coffinberry, President of the Cleveland ship building company, was seen at his office on the viaduct Wednesday morning, and asked what he thought had caused the loss of the Gilcher. “I have no reason to suppose,” he replied, “that she has been lost. The description of the wreckage, as far as I have learned doesn’t tally with any part of the Gilcher’s make-up. They say the stuff that has come ashore is white. There wasn’t a bit of white on the Gilcher. Her cabins were all grained, and instead of her bell being attached to the bridge, as I learned was the case with the boat from which the wreckage that is being picked up came, the Gilcher’s bell was fastened to the mast. There wasn’t a glass door in her either. They say that the doors which are being washed ashore have glass in them. I don’t say that the Gilcher hasn’t gone down, but I’m not going to accept this rumor till I’ve had more definite information. She may have struck a rock or a reef or been in a collision and gone down in 80 fathoms of water, so thus, we’ll never hear from her again. Any boat might meet with such a fate.”
“When asked what he had to say in regard to the rumors that the Gilcher was not strongly built, Coffinberry said; “It’s a d—d lie. No boat could have been better built than she was. She was in every respect a model boat. What do I think the effect of her loss will be upon the building of such boats? Now I’m not going to enter into any speculations at all. I don’t think it is the province of the press or of any set of people to immediately begin giving opinions this way and that way when such a thing as this happens. We’d better wait till we get the facts and not rush into print with our opinions. As far as I can learn, the Gilcher was loaded just right for the greatest safety at this season of the year, and I don’t believe she could have broken in two. I am very anxious to hear from her definitely and have been busy telegraphing all morning.”
“Captain Weeks, who sailed the Gilcher, was a man about 45 years of age. The boat was his ideal of a lake vessel and had about all the money saved from a dozen years sailing, invested in her. The mate, Captain Ed Porter, was about 50 years of age. He was formerly in command of one of the Webb line of boats and was known to nearly every vessel man in Cleveland.” (Cleveland Press. “Lost! Another Terrible Disaster…Steamer W.H. Gilcher…,” 2 Nov 1892.)
Nov 3, Logansport Journal: “Leland, Mich., Nov 3.—There is now no doubt of the fate of the big steamer W. H. Gilcher. She has undoubtedly gone down, with all on board. Furniture and wreckage have been picked up on North Manitou island marked ‘W. H. Gilcher.’ The steamer must have foundered on the night of the 28th north of the Manitous.
The Victims.
“Cleveland, O., Nov. 3.—A special to the Press says the life-saving crew at North Manitou island, Mich., confirm the loss of the steamer W. H. Gilcher. Pieces of the wreck are said to have been picked up by the life savers, who have been unable to learn anything that would indicate the survival of a single member of the Gilcher’s crew. The crew of the Gilcher, so far as known was:
[We break names out of paragraph form in the original into separate lines.]
Lloyd H. Weeks, master, Vermillion;
Edward R. Porter, first mate, Loraine;
_____ Finley, second mate, Buffalo;
Sidney B. Jones, chief engineer, Marine City, Mich.;
_____ King, wheelman, Chicago, formerly from Vermillion;
_____ Thompson, oiler, a son of Daniel Thompson;
Charles Hontoon, oiler, Marine City;
Will Faulthauber, fireman, 21 years old, Vermillion
“This leaves ten men the names of whom are unknown. Vessel owners have given up discussing the disaster and have turned their attention to business. Shippingmaster Rumsey says he has no knowledge of the crew outside of a personal acquaintance with the officers, whose names have ben given….” (Logansport Journal, IN. “Hope Abandoned. The Steamer Gilcher has Undoubtedly Foundered.” Nov 4, 1892, p. 2.)
Nov 4, Cleveland Leader: “….A special dispatch received from Marine City, Mich., says: ‘Five of the crew of the lost steamer W. H. Gilcher reside here, and they are now mourned as lost. Their names are: [We break names into separate lines.]
Sydney B. Jones, chief engineer;
Peter Schakett, second engineer;
Charles Huntoon, oiler;
Two brothers names Hostler, deck hands.
“So far as known here, the others on the vessel were Captain Weeks, First Mate Ed Porter, Second Mate Thomas Finley, of Buffalo, Wheelman King of Chicago; Oiler Thompson of Vermilion; Fireman Faulhaber, of Vermilion; and a cook named Wilson, who, with four deck hands, was taken aboard at Buffalo on her last trip down.” (Cleveland Leader, OH. “All Hope Abandoned.” 11-4-1892.)
Nov 18, Sandusky Daily Register: “Northport, Mich., Nov. 18 – A message from Fox Island reports that Charles Row has found two bodies on the beach with the steamer Gilcher’s life preservers on them. From papers found on the remains it is believed that one is the body of a steward names Chas. E. Williams. The other is the fireman named Green. The mizzen mast of the Gilcher was found on the beach at Fox island.” (Sandusky Daily Register, OH. “Telegraphic Taps.” Nov 19, 1892, p. 1.)
Sources
Cleveland Leader, OH. “All Hope Abandoned.” 11-4-1892. Accessed 11-24-2020 at: http://www.mfhn.com/glsdb/porter-gilcher/gilcher_series.asp
Cleveland Press. “Lost! Another Terrible Disaster. The Steamer W.H. Gilcher Foundered During the Gale on Lake Michigan,” Nov 2, 1892. Accessed 11-24-2020 at: http://www.mfhn.com/glsdb/porter-gilcher/w_h_gilcher.asp
Donahue, James. “Sinking of The W. H. Gilcher.” True Stories of Ships and of Men That Sailed Them. Accessed 8-24-2011 at: http://perdurabo10.tripod.com/ships/id54.html
Jaworski, Jed. “Revisiting the Mystery of the W. H. Gilcher.” Glen Arbor Sun, MI, 8-25-2005. Accessed 8-24-2011 at: http://glenarborsun.com/revisiting-the-mystery-of-the-wh-gilcher/
Logansport Chronicle, IN. “Later.” 11-5-1892, p. 8, col. 3. Accessed 11-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/logansport-chronicle-nov-05-1892-p-8/
Logansport Journal, IN. “Hope Abandoned. The Steamer Gilcher Has Undoubtedly Foundered.” Nov 4, 1892, p. 2. Accessed 11-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/logansport-journal-nov-04-1892-p-2/
Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters from Ancient Times to the Present. New York: Pocket Books, Wallaby, 1977, 792 pages.
Sandusky Daily Register, OH. “Telegraphic Taps.” 11-19-1892, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=12433662
Swayze, David D. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. Boyne City, MI: Harbor House Publications, Inc., 1992.
Thompson, Mark L. Graveyard of the Lakes. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2004.
