The Sailing Adventures of Captain Joseph A. Brownell & Captain Hawley M. Boyce
Each month in our corresponding YouTube channel, “Bay View: Town of Lake CAPTAINS!” we post videos about two of the total 71 lake captains that once called Bay View home.
Not found on those videos are the sailing adventures of these captains. While these can be found in the chapter of each captain in the book, “Bay View: Town of Lake CAPTAINS!” on sale now by Volume in both e-book and paperback on Amazon.com, we decided to also include them here in the newsletter for double the coverage because these are so interesting! These stories can also be combined with the free-self guided walking tours of Bay View’s lake captains’ homes on our website, historicbayviewlakecaptainssociety.com, using you phone! Check it out!
This month’s documented sailing adventures are designated for Captain Joseph A. Brownell and Captain Hawley M. Boyce. They’re placed under the photo and address of each one’s Bay View homes so it’s possible to know what sailing adventures they had while actually lived there. Enjoy!
The Sailing Adventures of Joseph A. Brownell (1867-1931)
His First Home in Bay View (1906)
832 East Homer Street
(lived here with also-captain brother Stephen)
His Ships and Sailing Adventures While Living Here
He is documented as being a lake captain from 1906-09, though the ship name is unknown and therefore also any sailing adventures he might have had while its captain. Google Maps
His Second Home in Bay View (1907)
2115 East Rusk Avenue
His Ships and Sailing Adventures While Living Here
He is documented as being a lake captain from 1906-09, though the ship name is unknown and therefore also any sailing adventures he might have had while its captain.
His Third Home in Bay View (1908)
2254 South Allis Street (since torn down)
His Ships and Sailing Adventures While Living Here
He is documented as being a lake captain from 1906-09, though the ship name is unknown and therefore also any sailing adventures he might have had while its captain.
His Fourth Home in Bay View (1908-09)
2255 South Mound Street
(lived here with also-captain brother Stephen)
His Ships and Sailing Adventures While Living Here
He is documented as being a lake captain from 1906-09, though the ship name is unknown and therefore also any sailing adventures he might have had while its captain.
His Fifth Home in Bay View (1909-11)
447 East Lincoln Avenue (since torn down)
(living with younger brothers David, Joseph, and all of their families)
His Ships and Sailing Adventures While Living Here
Above: the steamship Hennepin, 1910-24; Sailing adventures while captain and living at residence above, 1910-11: On 05 March 1910, crashed into the bridge over Huron Street (now Clybourn Street) 42 in Milwaukee. The bridge tender saved his life by jumping into the water before the crash came, which also demolished the bridge-tender’s house. 43 On 23 August 1910, departed Muskegon, Michigan, for Sheboygan, Wisconsin, amidst a huge storm that the ship battled all night. The steering gear broke in the heavy seas as the Hennepin approached Sheboygan, Captain Joseph Brownell ordering distress signals launched while shouting orders to the crew through a megaphone as they attempted to jury-rig a mock-steering system for the rudder so they could get into port. That failed, and the ship drifted five miles back out into Lake Michigan. Having seen the distress signals, the US Lifesaving Service launched its small rescue boat, its crew bravely rowing their oars through the huge waves to try to reach the Hennepin. The local tug Peter Reiss was also contacted by the US Lifesaving Service about the Hennepin’s distress flares and it promptly got underway to head out into the storm as well to try to rescue the Hennepin. The Reiss succeeded in getting a line out to the Hennepin in the raging gale and then was able to tow the ship back into port at Sheboygan, its crew and cargo safe. 44 On 17 September 1910, on Lake Michigan and twenty miles off the coast of Belgium, Wisconsin, five miles north of Port Washington, picked up debris from the sinking eight days earlier of the car ferry Pere Marquette No. 18 in the form of a life preserver, sections of the inside cabin, and pieces of moulding. 45 On 19 October 1911, the Hennepin hit and knocked out of commission the temporary Oneida Street footbridge spanning the Milwaukee River. 46 Photo courtesy the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
His Sixth Home in Bay View (1912-14)
2872 South Delaware Avenue
(brother and also-captain Stephen lived on the other side of this duplex at 2870, 1912-14)
His Ships and Sailing Adventures While Living at 343 S. Bay St.
The steamer Hennepin, 1910-24 (see photo above in first listing for this ship); Sailing adventures while captain and living at residence above, 1912-14: On 31 July 1914, his captain’s license was suspended – along with that of his engineer - for five days by local inspectors in Milwaukee for operating the Hennepin with a short crew. 47
His Seventh Home in Bay View (1915 through May 1920)
2225 South Allis Street
His Ships and Sailing Adventures While Living Here
The steamer Hennepin, 1910-24 (see photo above in first listing for this ship); Sailing adventures while captain and living at residence above, 1915 through May 1920: Near the end of June 1915, the Hennepin was completely rebuilt into a “double-decker” for an astonishing $40,000 ($1 million in 2017), spending three months in dry-dock in Milwaukee after failing an inspection and being refused a sailing certificate in the Spring at the start of the sailing season by local inspectors. Captain Brownell directed all the reconstruction work, except for mechanical which his engineer supervised. A big relaunching party for the almost-brand new ship was planned for the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee, but was cancelled at the last minute upon receipt of a rush order for stone so the ship instead immediately got underway. It was “the largest rebuilding job by local shipyards in many years,” and “more new timber has gone into (it) than any other ship in Milwaukee for the last 25 years.” 48 The 1916 sailing season showed Captain Brownell sailing the Hennepin (hauling stone) between Milwaukee and Muskegon, Michigan. 49 About June 1918, the newly rebuilt Hennepin, with Joseph Brownell as captain, hit the Grand Avenue Bridge in Milwaukee, putting it out of commission. 50 On 09 July 1918, rammed and destroyed half of a brick warehouse adjoining the Root River in Racine, Wisconsin, after the Hennepin had finished unloading its cargo on the adjoining pier. As the ship was maneuvering away from the dock, its stern rammed into the warehouse, tearing down a section 100 feet long by 20 feet high and doing major damage to the roof. The Hennepin’s rudder was also broken. The reported cause was a delay or mis-interpretation of signals from the bridge to the engineer on the ship. 51 On 05 September 1919, the ship had to pull into Sheboygan to get out of the high seas after loading a cargo of stone and sand at Stone Haven, Wisconsin, nine miles to the south. 52
His Eighth Home in Bay View (June 1920-24)
324 East Wilson Street
His Ships and Sailing Adventures While Living Here
The steamer Hennepin, 1910-24 (see photo above in first listing for this ship); Sailing adventures while captain and living at residence above, June 1920 - 24: On 28 August 1920, provided the stones for the inner and outer breakwaters at Racine harbor. 53 On 30 September 1920, at 4:30 in the morning, ran for the safe harbor of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, to get out of the heavy seas on Lake Michigan caused by a strong north wind (as did another ship the day before). 54 On 07 July 1922, the Hennepin was driven into Sheboygan port to seek safety due to heavy seas. 55 On 18 August 1922, brought in stone to Sheboygan to use in construction of the Eighth Street Bridge. 56
His Ships and Sailing Adventures Before Bay View
Above left: the steamship Arthur Orr, 1900-01; Sailing adventures as “first mate” (1900 – 09 May 1901): On 07 July 1900, the ship loaded 145,000 bushels of corn from a pier on a river in Chicago. It was so heavy it grounded several times in the mere 16 feet of water as it headed for the river mouth connecting to Lake Michigan. 57 On 06 August 1900, again heavily loaded, ran into the Wells Street Bridge in Chicago, causing major damage to the bridge and damaging the ship’s steering gear. 58 A later report of overloading drew comments that this technique only works in good weather, but the practice is unsafe and needed to stop. 59 On about 03 May 1901, the Orr struck an unmarked and uncharted rock with its port side while exiting Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, ripping open the hull plates for nearly 200 feet and breaking 100 hull frames, though the inner cargo compartments were not damaged. Upon return to Chicago, the ship got caught in a cross current while being towed to dry dock for repairs and smashed into the schooner Jessie Phillips which was just entering the Chicago River, tearing off both of the schooner’s masts. 60 Note the Orr had two major wrecks the previous two years (1898-99). While it is likely he was aboard for both, this is undocumented; Sailing adventures as captain (10 May 1901 – December 1901): On 18 October 1901, Captain Brownell’s mate came aboard in the evening just before the Hennepin was to sail from Chicago to Deport Harbor, Canada. Though the ship and its crew had been busy all day loading the cargo aboard, the mate had been off the ship drinking the whole time and was drunk as he walked up the gangplank to finally report aboard. Captain Brownell met him half-way and ordered him ashore. The mate objected and an altercation occurred whereby the mate fell off the gangplank and struck his head when he landed on the pier below. An ambulance came and took the mate to the hospital where he later died of a fractured skull. Later, the police went to the pier with the intent to go aboard the Hennepin to interview Captain Brownell and the crew about the incident, but Captain Brownell had since ordered the ship underway and it had sailed. The police then began steps to recall Captain Brownell back to Chicago in time for the inquest into the mate’s death. The Hennepin, and Captain Brownell, returned to Chicago seven days later on 25 October. The Chicago police apprehended Captain Brownell upon his arrival. The next day the coroner’s jury exonerated Captain Brownell of any responsibility for the death of the mate. 61 Photo courtesy the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
Above right: the steamship Gordon Campbell, 1902-05; Sailing adventures as captain: On 11 May 1903, the Campbell departed Chicago with a cargo of oats for Buffalo. Upon arrival, the oats were damaged from water leaking into the hull. A lawsuit ensued, the cargo owners suing the ship’s owner charging the Campbell was “not seaworthy, but rotten, leaky, and defective.” The courts ruled in favor of the cargo owners. Then, in November 1904, the Campbell caught fire, the insurance carrier apparently denying the claim but later overruled by the courts in favor of the ship’s owner. Captain Brownell then sued the Campbell’s owner for non-payment of wages (he was denied initially, not clear if he won later) in 1905, his last year as captain of the Campbell. Then, in November 1906, after Brownell had left, the ship – renamed Strathmore – caught fire and burned again, this time a total loss. Interestingly, the only insurance carried was for fire, and the fire occurred after the ship had run aground in Lake Superior, starting only after some of the crew – who had departed in the ship’s lifeboat after the grounding - returned to the vessel to get personal effects. 62 Photo courtesy the William MacDonald Collection, Dossin Great Lakes Museum, Detroit; the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
The Sailing Adventures of Captain Hawley M. Boyce (1852-1944)
His First Home in Bay View (1891-93)
2477 South Burrell Street
Above: The schooner John B. Merrill, 1885-93; Sailing adventures while captain and living in Bay View (1891-93) (see further below for adventures on the Merrill before coming to Bay View in 1885-90): On 12 October 1891, struck the row of piles protecting the pier in Milwaukee and broke her anchor stock, chains, and cathead. 48 On 01 December 1891, bound for Chicago with coal, had to return back to Milwaukee for safety and shelter due to heavy winds. 49 On 21 April 1892, sunk when hit by the steamer Fred Mercur while loaded with coal and being towed by the tug Swain up northward through the busy shipping channel into Detroit. The Merrill had its port bow crushed and completely sank in 16 feet of water off Bar Point near Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada. There were no injuries reported and the Merrill was raised, taken to dry dock in Port Huron, Michigan, repaired, and was back sailing again by August. 50 On 14 October 1893, wrecked on a reef off Drummond Island, Lake Huron, in a storm while in tow (to make better time after its sails torn in a storm) by the steamer F. E. Spinner. Captain Boyce and his wife Bertha, who was aboard with him, ran to the forecastle (front) just before the ship was torn in half, the majority aft already sinking. They huddled with the crew in the forecastle through the storm until morning, expecting the whole time for it, also, to sink as it was bashed relentlessly by the huge storm waves. Somehow, they made it through the night and the next day were rescued by fishermen who had seen the Merrill run aground but couldn’t get to it to help until the storm abated. 51 Drawing credit: Michigan Maritime Museum, Southaven, Michigan Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection. Map courtesy Daniel FR, Wikimedia Commons; Public Domain; annotations by author.
His Second (and final) Home in Bay View (1894-1944)
2901 South Superior Street
Ships he served aboard as crew or captained while living in Bay View at 2901 South Superior Street (1894-1944)
Above left: Whaleback 107, 1894 (believed to be on the left of this photo of two of them on the Detroit River in 1905). Sailing adventures while captain: none discovered. Photo: Dossin Great Lakes Museum, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
Above right: the steamship Omaha, 1895-97. Sailing adventures while captain: while attempting to enter the harbor at Port Colborne, Ontario, on 02 June 1895, the ship grounded between piers and had to remove part of its cargo to lighten the ship in order to get off the grounding. 52 On 20 June 1895, ran aground at Grosse Point (Detroit) but was able to release and continue north toward Lake Huron. 53 During the evening of 12 May 1896, “ran on a reef while seeking shelter about two miles off Devil’s Island,” (in Lake Superior between Ashland, Wisconsin and Duluth, Minnesota) several hull planks broken, but pumps were able to mitigate the flooding and allow the Omaha to continue on to Milwaukee for repairs. 54 On 06 November 1897, the Omaha was several hours late arriving in Milwaukee during a big storm with winds of 30 mph that caused its cargo of coal to shift and move about in the hold, a great potential danger but fortunately no damage occurred. 55 Photo courtesy the Smithsonian Institution, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
Above left: the steamer Katahdin (as mate), Spring through September 1898. Sailing adventures while mate: none discovered. Photo courtesy the Bentley Historical Library, the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
Above right: the steamer P. J. Ralph, October – December 1898 (as captain), and 1899 (as mate). Sailing adventures while captain: none discovered. Sailing adventures while mate: none discovered. Photo courtesy the William MacDonald Collection, Dossin Great Lakes Museum, Detroit; the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
Above left: the steamer Minnie E. Kelton, 1900. Sailing adventures while captain: none discovered. Photo courtesy the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
Above right: the steamer Adella Shores, position and date(s) aboard unknown. Sailing adventures while aboard: unknown. Photo courtesy the Steamship Historical Society of America, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
Above left: the steamer Marion, 1901-03. Sailing adventures while captain: brought in first cargo to Chicago of the 1901 sailing season (from Manistee, Michigan) in April. 56 On Wednesday 17 July 1901, the disabled yacht Detroit was rescued during a storm on Lake Michigan by the Marion and towed safely to Chicago. The Marion had been on a collision course for the stranded yacht but the yelling by the yacht’s crew caught the Marion’s attention which then altered course and effected the rescue. 57 On 18 August 1901, while in Chicago rounding a river into the Illinois Central Bridge with a load of salt from Manistee, Michigan, the Marion was caught in the current and jammed against the central pier of the bridge, thus blocking the river exit. Five thousand passengers on five different ships, including the famous whaleback Columbus, were prevented from exiting the river and into Lake Michigan while a tug took a half hour to pull the Marion free and get it to the salt cargo dock. 58 Photo courtesy the William MacDonald Collection, Dossin Great Lakes Museum, Detroit; the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
Above right: the steamer John Oades, 1904-23. Sailing adventures while captain: on 18 June 1915, the John Oades spotted and reported a sunken piledriver about one-quarter of a mile S.S.W of Green Island light, which was directly in the track of steamers coming from the Detroit River bound for Sandusky, Ohio. 59 On 17 April 1907, Captain Boyce on the Oades reported “a great mass” of wreckage (including lumber and cabin doors painted yellow) four miles off Little Point Sable, Michigan, and that it is floating on the direct course between Ludington and Chicago. 60 On 17 April 1911, a crew member of the Oades was arrested and charged with setting the Oades on fire after he had been discharged. 61 On 19 June 1911, the Oades ran aground in the “Flats” during heavy fog at of the lower end of the Detroit River. Two tugboats were able to pull off the Oades, but only after part of its cargo was removed to a “lighter” tender pulled alongside. 62 On 19 March 1915, the Oades is the first ship to depart Milwaukee to begin the sailing season. 63 On 03 February 1917, the Oades made it into port in Chicago after “battling against ice for two weeks” on Lake Michigan. 64 On about 23 June 1915, Captain Boyce on the Oades reported striking a derelict at the mouth of the Detroit River. 65 Photo courtesy the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
His Ships and Sailing Adventures Before Bay View
Ships he was a member of the crew aboard or captained (1869-90) before living in Bay View
1869 (April-December): the schooner Miami Belle, crew only (not captain), no photo discovered; Sailing adventures while aboard: none discovered.
1869 (April, two voyages): the schooner Volunteer, crew only (not captain), no photo discovered; Sailing adventures while aboard: none reported.
1870 (April, one voyage): the schooner Czar, crew only (not captain), no photo discovered. Sailing adventures while aboard: none discovered.
1870 (November-December): the schooner H. S. Wallridge, crew only (not captain), no photo discovered. Sailing adventures while aboard: none discovered.
Above left: the schooner Scud, 1870 (April-May), crew only (not captain). Sailing adventures while aboard: none discovered. Photo: Joint Archives of Holland, MI, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
Above right: the schooner Charger, 1870 (June-October), crew only (not captain). Sailing adventures while aboard: none discovered. Photo courtesy A.F. Sagon-King, the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
1871-74: the schooner Nellie Wilder, crew only (not captain), no photo discovered. Sailing adventures while aboard: none discovered.
1875: the schooner James Wade, crew only (not captain), no photo discovered. Sailing adventures while aboard: On about 27 October 1875, ran aground on Pelee Island (half-way between Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio, in the middle of Lake Erie) along with two other schooners and had to throw off 135 tons of coal into the lake in order to get light enough for a tugboat sent from Detroit to pull it off. 66
Note: two other ships may be included here during this timeframe: the Maria Martin, and Vandalia aka Milwaukee.
Above left (the larger, darker ship at back under construction): the schooner Itasca, crew only (not captain): 1876-79. Sailing adventures while aboard as crew only: On Saturday 03 June 1876, beat the schooner George G. Houghton in a race home on the return trip from Oswego to Milwaukee. These schooner races were part of the tradition, competition, and camaraderie of the early sailing crews. 67 On 04 November 1879, completely covered in ice and its foreboom broken by the time it reached Milwaukee at daybreak after sailing through the night from the southern end of Lake Michigan in heavy seas. 68 Sailing adventures while captain in 1884: On 16 November 1884, ran aground on a reef during heavy fog just outside Bailey’s Harbor, Wisconsin, on the northeast corner of Door County while coming around from Lake Huron into Lake Michigan and heading down to Milwaukee with coal from Buffalo. Was able to be pulled off with limited damage, cargo intact. Miraculously, only two hours after being pulled off the reef and temporarily into the safety of Bailey’s Harbor, a huge gale came in which would certainly have smashed the schooner to pieces on the reef had it not just gotten off. The Itasca sailed away the next day. Upon arrival in Milwaukee damage assessment required 15 feet of new keel and some new bottom planks, total cost $800. 69 Photo: Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
Above center: the schooner Angus Smith, crew only (not captain): 1880-83. Sailing adventures while aboard as an officer (mate in 1880, second mate in 1883): On Friday 16 April 1880, collided with the Merrill (type unknown) at Point St. Ignace in the Straits of Mackinaw, the Smith losing its mizzen boom and small boat. 70 On 12 June 1880, collided with the canalboat N. F. Wicker and the schooner E. C. Hutchinson, sinking the Wicker in Buffalo harbor. The Smith’s crew rescued the captain of the Wicker and his family before it went down. Damage to the Angus Smith was substantial. 71 14 May 1881, first sail vessel from Lake Michigan and first through the Mackinac Straits to arrive in Buffalo. 72 On 03 August 1882, struck by lightning and damaged at Milwaukee. 73 Photo courtesy Irv Schultz, the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
Above right: the schooner Moonlight: 1884 (estimated). Sailing adventures while captain: none discovered. Photo courtesy the William MacDonald Collection, Dossin Great Lakes Museum, Detroit; the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.
1885-91: the schooner John B. Merrill (as captain, before living in Bay View 1891-93, see above for those adventures for those years and for a drawing of this schooner). Sailing adventures while captain, 1885-91: On 25 October 1886, passed the wreckage of a yawl on Lake Erie between Buffalo and Long Point, Ontario, Canada. 74 On 25 April 1887, one of three vessels to first reach the Mackinaw Straights in the new sailing season (connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron), but blocked from passing into Lake Huron by ice. 75 On 19 October 1887, rammed by the schooner Reed Case near Beaver Island, Michigan, in Lake Michigan as the Case was attempting to cross the Merrill’s bow. The Merrill lost its jibboom, and both put into Cheboygan, Michigan for repairs. 76 On 22 August 1888, the steam barge Thomas Davidson that had the Merrill in tow ran aground at the St. Clair Flats while coming south past Detroit. 77 On 19 September 1889, lost main gaff and sustained other damage from a gale with 45 mile-per-hour winds in upper Lake Erie. 78 On Friday 08 November 1889, set a Great Lakes speed record for the Chicago-Buffalo route for ships of all kinds by making the trip in four days, nine hours. 79 On 17 April 1890, stuck in ice in Lake Michigan off the coast of Cheboygan, Michigan, with another schooner while both were being towed by the tug Gladiator, and were both freed several hours later. 80 On 24 July 1891, released by its towing steamer Weston off the coast of Dunkirk, New York on the southern coast of Lake Erie near Buffalo, due to heavy wind and sea. 81