Sailing Adventures of Captain James Leisk

Captain Leisks’ first and only home in Bay View (1886-1891)

2451 South Burrell Street

His Ships and Sailing Adventures While Living Here

Ships he captained while living in Bay View at 316 E. Clarence St. (1889-1906)

Above left: the schooner Arthur (formerly the G. C. Trompff, renamed Arthur in 1885) 1886-87; center photo credit, Archives of Canada, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection; Sailing adventures while captain: none reported; carried wheat, coal, and ore across all the Lakes (various reporting)

Above right: the steamship Helena, 1888-91; Sailing adventures while captain: On its maiden voyage on Sunday 12 August 1888, carried the largest grain cargo ever on a wooden-hulled ship in the Great Lakes from Milwaukee to Buffalo. 34 On its return trip back to Milwaukee, it carried the largest cargo of coal ever carried on the Lakes by a wooden-hulled ship. 35 On 06 November 1890, lost the top of its mainmast (due to a probable storm) enroute to Buffalo. 36 On 29 June 1891, ran aground on the Canadian side of the approaches to Detroit from Lake Erie and had to have its cargo partly removed before tugboats could pull it off. Initial attempts by two tugs to pull the ship off resulted in a tow line snapping. 37 On 14 October 1891, Capt. James Leisk became sick in Detroit and had to be temporarily relieved by fellow Bay View Lake Captain William Wright (who was captain of the steamship Veronica at the time. 38 Photo courtesy the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University.

His Ships and Sailing Adventures Before Bay View (living in Scotland and Northern England, 1867-70)

Above left: the clipper ship Eveline, 39 1867-23 March 1868, crewman; Sailing adventures while aboard as crew: “On March 23rd, 1868, on his discharge papers from the ship Eveline, of Sunderland, James Leisk's character, ability and conduct
were rated 'V.G' for very good, he had "very sober habits". This same rating was given in 1867. Both voyages were to Algiers.” 40 Sunderland is on the northeast coast of England adjoining the North Sea, 150 south of Dundee, Scotland. Algiers is on the north coast of Africa in the western Mediterranean Sea, 250 miles east of Gibraltar. Painting by Richard Ball Spencer, 1860, Wikimedia Commons; Public Domain.
No photo discovered: the brigantine Spring Flower, 1868, crewman; Sailing adventures while aboard as crew: unknown

Above center and right: the clipper ship Belted Will, 1869-prob.70, crewman; Sailing adventures while aboard as crew: two trips to bring back tea to England. The Belted Will was called a “tea clipper” for that reason. Tea Clippers were and are one of the most beautiful and admired sailing ship designs in maritime history, and Bay View’s James Leisk served on one! They were built to carry cargo at high speed. James Leisk made two trips to the far east and back on the Belted Will: 1869: London to Macao and back (the year before carried nearly 1 million pounds of tea, so this was likely the same); 1870: London to Hong Kong and back; its captain noted the ship made good speed while sailing through a monsoon. The cargo and amount was likely the same as in the 1869 voyage. 41 As crew, James Leisk would have certainly climbed the masts out onto the yardarms to both release and pull in the heavy canvas sails by hand, even during storms. Painting credit: artist unknown; photo credit: State Library of South Australia, taken in 1865; Public Domain

His Ships and Sailing Adventures Before Bay View

(living in the Third Ward, Milwaukee, 1871-85)

No photo available: the brigantine C. G. Breed, 1871-72, second mate; Sailing adventures while second mate: none discovered

No photo available: the scow Christie (first half of 1873), mate; Sailing adventures while mate: none discovered

Above left: the schooner J. O. Thayer (second half of 1873), capacity unknown; Sailing adventures aboard: none discovered. Photo courtesy John Dunkin, the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.

Ships and capacity aboard unknown, 1874-76

Above center: the schooner George G. Houghton, 1877, capacity aboard unknown; Sailing adventures aboard: none discovered. Photo courtesy the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.

No photo available: the schooner George W. Davis, 1880, mate and captain; Sailing adventures while mate and captain: none discovered

No photo available: the schooner W. H. Rounds, prob. 2nd half of 1880, captain (his first command); Sailing adventures while mate and captain: none discovered

Above left: the schooner Narragansett, 1881-83, captain; Sailing adventures while captain: On 23 November 1882, enroute to Grand Haven, Michigan, with a cargo of lumber ties, was caught in gale that washed all the ties off the deck where they had been stored for transport and part of the schooner’s canvas sails. Captain James Leisk told newspaper reporters about it as follows: “When off Milwaukee, the deck load of ties commence to go overboard. About dusk, a sailor was knocked overboard and we concluded we would never see him again as there was a tremendous sea running. Suddenly we discovered the man on some ties and we jibed the vessel and tried to recover him. In jibing, the first mate was struck and so badly injured that he had to be carried into the cabin and is now in a precarious condition. We jibed the vessel a second time but were unable to recover him (the man in the water). The third time we jibed we succeeded in getting a rope to him, and hauled him aboard.” 45 On 08 July 1883, Capt. Leisk reported to port authorities that he had spotted a schooner run aground and wrecked on North Manitou Island (Michigan), though the ship’s name couldn’t be seen through his spyglass. 46 In probable 1883, brought down cobblestones from Lake Superior to Milwaukee to put in between the tracks of Milwaukee’s streetcar system. 47

Photo: Ralph K. Roberts, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.

Above right: the schooner G. C. Trompff (renamed Arthur in 1885), 1884-85; captain; Sailing adventures while captain: On 11 June 1884, brought into Milwaukee a cargo of cobblestones from Lake Superior for use between the tracks of Milwaukee’s streetcar system. 48 On 03 August 1885, had its boom destroyed by a barge in Chicago. 49 Photo: Archives of Canada, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.

His Ships and Sailing Adventures After Bay View (living on the west side of Milwaukee, 1892-1909)

Above left: the steamship Helena, 1892-99, captain; Sailing adventures while captain: On 14 October 1893, during a storm on Lake Erie, lost the barge it was towing (loaded with oats from Detroit) which was then blown ashore and smashed against the breakwater. 50 On 01 September 1894, ran aground in the St. Clair River north of Detroit. 51 On 11 June 1895, while under tow by a tugboat exiting Milwaukee harbor, hit the Broadway Street Bridge. The Helena had just set a new record for unloading coal. 52 On 20 September 1895, inbound at night during a huge gale from Lake Huron and headed towards Lake Erie, ran aground on Hansen’s Island in the St. Clair River. It suffered damage to its hull and was towed to Buffalo for repairs. On 30 September and 01 October 1895, ran aground twice during a gale. The first grounding was a Lime Kilns Crossing in Lake Erie in the approaches to Detroit, and the second at Bois Blanc Island (in northern Lake Huron near the Mackinaw Straits). 54 On 04 May 1896, broke its rudder in ice near Buffalo. 55 On 09 June 1896, ran aground at the southern end of Lake St. Clair (that connects Lake Huron with Lake Erie). 56 On 30 October 1898, set a speed record for the port of Chicago when in 40 hours it unloaded 3,100 tons of coal and reloaded with 102,000 bushels of wheat. 57 During the month of January 1899, grounded in the Milwaukee River five different times attempting to cross through bridges at Michigan, Oneida, Martin, and East Water Streets and also at Grand Avenue. 58 Photo courtesy the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University.

Above center: the steamship Empire City, 1900-04; captain; 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.

Above right: the steamship Superior City, 1905; captain; Sailing adventures while captain: none discovered. Photo courtesy the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.

Above left: the steamship Simon J. Murphy, 1905; captain; Sailing adventures while captain: none discovered. Photo courtesy Kenneth Thro, the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.

Above right: the steamship Henry H. Rogers, 1906-08, captain; Sailing adventures while captain: in September 1906 carried the largest cargo of any kind to date in Great Lakes history at 13,333 gross tons). 59 Photo courtesy the Great Lakes Maritime Institute, the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.

The Sailing Adventures of Captain Thomas Leisk

His First and Only Home in Bay View (1888-1910)

337 East Wilson Street

His Ships and Sailing Adventures While Living Here

Note: all three photos above are schooner-barges. Note the wide, bulky hull (like a barge because it was) with the masts strictly for steering ability behind the steamship towing it and also for emergency maneuvering should the tow line break.

Above Left: The schooner-barge Allegheny, 1888-89; Sailing adventures while captain: On 30 June 1888, ran aground at Duluth, Minnesota, during fog but was pulled off without incident. 38 Photo courtesy the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.

No photo discovered: the British steamship Ranmoor, prob. 1890-poss. 1894, departed Bay View to send money home to family still living at 337 E. Wilson St.; Sailing adventures while captain: none discovered

No photo discovered: the British steamship Wooler, prob. 1895-98, departed Bay View to send money home to family still living at 337 E. Wilson St.; Sailing adventures while captain: In late October 1895, while enroute from New York to New Orleans, encountered storm that “Capt. Leisk does not care to repeat, as the ship was tumbled about at a lively rate.” 39

Above center: The schooner-barge Harold, 1899-1901; Sailing adventures while captain: On 02 May 1900, “A collision occurred in the Buffalo River at the entrance to the harbor at 7:30 pm but fortunately the vessels in the mix-up were going at such a slow speed that no damage to amount to anything resulted. The steamers Huron and Tom Adams were coming in abreast and, as they reached the far end of the Lackawanna coal trestle, a tug, towing the schooner Harold, bound out, made an effort to pass the two incoming steamers, and as a result became wedged in between the Tom Adams, which was on the outside, and the government pier, which is directly opposite the Lackawanna coal trestle. The tug, although in a tight position, continued to pull the Harold through the narrow passage and forced the two steamers over against the Lackawanna dock. The efforts the captains of the steamers made to prevent their boats from striking hard against the dock proved successful, the boats barely touching the dock. It was a close call from being a serious collision…” 40 On 15 August 1901, “While the tug Danford was towing the barge Harold in from the breakwater at Buffalo Friday, the line became jammed in the tug’s wheel and the services of a diver were required before it could be released. 41 Photo courtesy the Edward J. Dowling Collection, University of Detroit-Mercy; the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.

Above right: The schooner-barge Aberdeen, 1902-prob. 1906 and 1908-1910; Sailing adventures while captain: On 06 September 1903, was let go in a storm by the steamship John Duncan that was towing the Aberdeen because the John Duncan had started to take on water. “The Duncan did not abandon the Aberdeen until both boats were rolling so hard that it was dangerous to attempt to stay together. They were then in the South Passage, where the Aberdeen rode out the storm in safety. On leaving the Aberdeen, the Duncan ran for the shelter of Kelley’s Island, where she stayed until early yesterday morning.” 42 The Aberdeen was then towed back to Cleveland by a tugboat, but enroute the tow line failed and the Aberdeen broke away. The tug secured a new line and the tow back to Cleveland was accomplished successfully. 43 Photo courtesy F. E. Hamilton, the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.

Above: The schooner-barge Mary E. McLaughlin, 1907; Sailing adventures while captain: On 27 May 1907, while in tow of the steamer Bielman, the Mary E. McLaughlin ran aground along with the Bielman at Port Austin, Michigan, at 2 am in dense fog and heavy seas. They were sailing from Escanaba, Michigan, in Lake Superior, to Lake Erie with a cargo of ore. The lifesaving station at nearby Harbor Beach, Michigan, was alerted and went to the two ships where the crews were successfully taken off by the lifesavers in the heavy seas, possibly by breeches buoy though that is now known. 44

Photo courtesy the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University.

His Ships and Sailing Adventures Before Bay View (1880-87, Third Ward)

Unknown. He was living in Cleveland, Ohio, and a “sailor” since 1875. He became a “lake captain” in 1880, then a “mate” in 1882, then a “captain” again in 1884. His ship(s) for all of these years is unknown, thus any sailing adventures aboard are unknown.

Unknown: his ships and position aboard from 1880-86 while living in Third Ward
Above: The schooner-barge *F. M. Knapp*, 1887; Sailing adventures while captain: none discovered. Photo courtesy Alan Mann, the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Thunder Bay Research Collection.

His Ships and Sailing Adventures Before Arriving in USA

The whaling ship Lady Franklin, crewman, in the Arctic Ocean, duration unknown. May have participated in the greatest maritime rescue attempt in history in 1850-51 when possibly part of an expedition to find the missing Royal Navy ships HMS Terror and HMS Erebus and their crews that were searching for the elusive Northwest Passage across northern Canada as a short-cut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. However it is not confirmed if he was aboard the Lady Franklin which did participate in this rescue at this time. See the book “Bay View: Town of Lake CAPTAINS!” for sources and more details. The YouTube episode about him on the channel of the same name also discusses this search and Thomas Leisk’s possible involvement in it in great detail.

Sailing Adventures of Captain James Leisk & Thomas Leisk