This Great Lakes History Log is presented by Filer Credit Union and the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
Call it a miracle, good luck, or skill. But, on July 23, 1915, Frederick G. Snow, 33, of Ludington survived the worst maritime disaster on the Great Lakes. Had the event happened three days earlier, he never even would have experienced it.
On the morning of Saturday, July 24, 1915, the SS Eastland was docked on the south bank of the Chicago River between Clark and LaSalle streets. The ship and four other steamers — Theodore Roosevelt, Petoskey, Racine, and Rochester — were chartered to take employees of Western Electric Company’s Hawthorne Works of Cicero, Ill., to a picnic in Michigan City, Ind.
Passengers began boarding the ship at 6:30 a.m. and by 7:30 a.m. the ship had reached its capacity of 2,572 passengers. Many of the passengers were standing on the open upper decks when the ship began to list slightly to the port side away from the wharf. The crew attempted to stabilize the boat by admitting water into its ballast tanks, but that didn’t seem to work. At 7:28 a.m., Eastland lurched sharply to port and then rolled completely onto its port side, coming to rest on the bottom of the river, only 20 feet below the surface. About half of the vessel was submerged.
The weather that morning was cool and damp and many of the passengers had already moved below decks to warm themselves up before departure. As a result, hundreds were trapped inside by the water and the sudden rollover while some were crushed by heavy furniture including pianos, bookcases and tables. The ship was only 20 feet from the wharf.
The SS Eastland
However, 841 passengers and two crew members died.
Just two days prior, Fred Snow boarded the Eastland to relieve Charles Silbernagel of Manistee as second engineer. Snow and Silbernagel were just two of the connections the ship had to Manistee and Ludington. Most notable was that it was owned by a company whose major shareholders were Manistee lumbermen. Those lumbermen were initial investors in the ship along with a well-known Ludington lumber baron.
The Eastland was built in 1903 by the Jenks Shipbuilding Company of Port Huron for the Michigan Steamship Company of Michigan City. The principal stockholders of the MSC included Robert R. Blacker and Patrick Noud of Manistee and A.E. Cartier of Ludington.
Lumber baron Noud served as president of the company. His son, John, owned a mill in South Haven.
The ship was 265 feet long, 38 feet wide with a draft of 19 feet. It was operated by two triple expansion steam engines powered by four coal-burning Scotch marine boilers.
The ship’s original name was going to be City of South Haven. However, the Dunkley-Williams Company had also ordered a ship to be built, by Craig Ship Building Co. of Toledo, with the same name. The companies agreed that the first ship built would keep the name. Since the Dunkley-Williams vessel was completed first, Michigan Steamship needed to chose a new name so it held a contest and the winning name was Eastland.
Postcard of the Easland
Destined for disaster
The company had intended the Eastland to perform two round trips per day between Chicago and South Haven but the ship, which had been built under incentive contract, failed to meet specifications and to speed her up, but also to reduce her draft, she was returned to Jenks for alterations. It had manifested difficulty passing over the bar off South Haven. It also apparently had a stuffy interior, for the revisions included an air-conditioning system based on evaporation from cascading water. The results produced a ship with chronic problems of being top heavy. When the ship was being loaded, the motion of it listing would give passengers the impression that it was a disaster waiting to happen.
Capt. Frank Dority
Mutiny on the Eastland
On Aug. 14, 1903, during a voyage from Chicago to South Haven, six of the ship’s eight firemen refused to stoke the fires of the ship’s boilers, claiming they were unsatisfied with the food they were being served while onboard. As a result, Capt. John Pereue arrested the men at gunpoint. Two firemen, George Lippen and Benjamin Myers, did not participate in the mutiny and kept working. Upon arriving in South Haven, the captain had the six firemen taken to the town jail and charged with mutiny. Shortly afterward, Pereau was replaced by Capt. Frank Dority (1862-1953), a former Pere Marquette Railway skipper.
Near capsizing
The Eastland, while under the command of Dority, narrowly missed capsizing when leaving South Haven on July 17, 1904 with about 3,000 passengers onboard. As a result, its capacity was lowered to 2,800 passengers and its cabins were removed and more lifeboats were added. Dority commanded the ship until 1906 but continued to work for its owners, commanding the City of South Haven in 1915.
Multiple owners
On paper, the Eastland went through several owners in its first 12 years of service on the Great Lakes. However, three of those companies (Michigan Steamship, Michigan Transportation, and St. Joseph-Chicago) were affiliated with Noud and Blacker of Manistee. Sales included: Michigan Transportation Company, 1905, South Haven to Chicago route; Lake Shore Navigation Company of Cleveland, 1906, Cleveland to Cedar Point route; Eastland Navigation Company of Cleveland, 1909, Cleveland to Cedar Point route; St. Joseph-Chicago Steamship Company of St. Joseph, 1914, St. Joseph to Chicago route.
Manistee/Ludington connections
Manistee lumber barons Noud and Blacker were among the owners of the Eastland when it capsized, giving the ship a direct connection to Manistee.
Fred Snow is shown, standing at right, with his family in 1911.
Fred Snow
Frederick G. Snow as born in Montague on Feb. 11, 1882, the son of Herman (1849-1945) and Mary Ellen (White) Snow (1857-1917).
“He had always loved the lakes and when a mere lad took a berth on the steamer Cayuga, a ferry boat on White lake, and worked for two or three summers on that and other boats, going to school in the winter,” his obituary, published Dec. 17, 1929 in the Ludington Daily News, stated.
“Though he had took land jobs from time to time as circumstances seemed to demand, he invariably returned to the boats as soon as possible.”
While sailing on White Lake in 1902, Snow met Ida Belle Hackert (1881-1964) of Amber Township, who was riding on an excursion. The next year, on Nov. 25, 1903, they were married in Pentwater and moved to Ludington where they made their home at 405 N. Gaylord Ave.
Ida and Fred had four daughters, Marguerite (1905-1947), Ruth (1909-1974), Maxine (born in 1912) and Donna (1917-2007).
Snow’s career fatefully took him to the Eastland on July 21, 1915, two days later he would be part of history as one of the people who survived the deadly affair.
“Various communications have been received from Fred G. Snow assistant engineer on the steamer Eastland which turned over on its side in the Chicago river Saturday morning, assuring Mr. Snow’s family and friends in this city of his safety and that he is none the worse for his harrowing experience,” an article in the July 29, 1915 edition of the Ludington Chronicle stated. “Mr. Snow is being detained for the investigation which is being conducted by federal and state authorities. He will return to Ludington as soon as the investigation is completed, so that the time of his return is rather indefinite as yet. He only sailed the Eastland for a few days, having left Ludington only the Tuesday before the accident occurred.”
The Eastland disaster occurred at 7:28 Saturday morning. By 9 a.m., Snow had been able to send a a telegram to Ida, his wife, back in Ludington stating that he was safe.
“Though it contained good news, its coming was a great shock to Mrs. Snow and her husband’s mother,” the newspaper reported.
Since the incident, Snow had written a letter to his wife giving more details. Snow stated that he had been at his post in the engine room when the ship began to turn over.
“He felt the steamer list to port and sent danger signals above but they were unnoticed,” the newspaper article stated. “As he reached the deck, the boat went over on her side. He saw a woman standing alone by the rail just as he was about to dive overboard, and seizing her, he dived into the river and swam with her until both were picked up by some men with a rope.
Sometime during the next 10 years, Snow began working for the Pere Marquette Railway carferry fleet in Ludington. Records show that he had served as a second engineer on the Pere Marquette 19, year unknown, and then as chief engineer of the Pere Marquette 20 from 1925-1927 and as chief engineer of the Pere Marquette 18 (II) from 1928-1929. At the time of his death, on Dec. 17, 1929, he was serving as second engineer on the brand new City of Saginaw 31. The City of Saginaw had just begun service on Nov. 22.
Snow’s death was explained in detail in the newspaper the very day it occurred, which was common for newspapers in those days.
“Crashing into Christmas plans and activities came the word this morning of the sudden death of Fred G. Snow who, when on his way home from Pere Marquette carferry, City of Saginaw, was seized with an attack of acute edema of the lungs and died near his home, before he could be taken into his house.
“The City of Saginaw, on which Mr. Snow was assistant engineer, docked at Ludington at 3:15 and Mr. Snow started for his home, 405 N. Gaylord avenue.
“Finding himself unable to reach the house he called for help when in front of the W.H. Buck storage house and the family hearing him rushed to his aid. He had fallen when they reached him and when unable to carry him into the house, they would have gone for help, he said, ‘Don’t leave me, I am dying.’
“Clark Norton was summoned at once and assisted in carrying the stricken man into the house but he succumbed before they could place him at rest and summon Dr. E. George Gray, their physician.
“The sudden seizure and its tragic result was not so great a surprise to Dr. Gray, as he had known that Mr. Snow suffered with an ailment that might possibly result in this manner, but to the family and friends it comes as an unbelievable shock.”
Fred Snow was 47 years old. His death was remembered for several years as family would run a classified ad in the newspaper remembering the date of his death. His death also made the Associated Press news wire and was printed in other newspapers including the Muskegon Chronicle.
Patrick Noud
Patrick Noud
Patrick Noud (1845-1925) was born in Arnprior, Ontario, Canada, the son of Thomas Noud (1819-1857) and Mary (Ryan) Noud (1818-1853), Irish immigrants. He arrived in Traverse City in 1865, and started working at a logging camp on the Big Manistee River. He eventually started working for William Magoon cutting timber. After Magoon and R.G. Peters formed a partnership, they named Noud as company foreman and later as a superintendent.
Noud would form partnerships with various lumbermen and businessmen such as Thomas Kenny, Robert Blacker and Peters.
On Sept. 24, 1870 he married Susan Agnes McCurdy (1850-1921) in Manistee.
In 1887, Noud, Blacker and Michael Fay Jr. formed the State Lumber Co, which discontinued operation in 1905. In 1909, Noud formed the Noud Lumber Co.
Robert Blacker
Robert R. Blacker
Robert Blacker (1845-1931) was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada and moved to Buchanan, Mich. in 1864 at the age of 19. In 1866, he moved to Manistee and began working in lumber mills. In 1874, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
In 1875, Blacker formed a shingle mill business, R.R. Blacker & Co. with partner R.G. Peters. In 1879, he formed a partnership with E.T. Davies and Patrick Noud known as Davies, Blacker & Co. The company built and operated a saw mill and shingle plant until 1887 when it merged into the State Lumber Company with Blacker serving as secretary and treasurer.
Blacker was also involved with several other businesses including the Manistee Water Company, the Eureka Lumber Company and the Manistee Filer City and Eastlake Electric Railway Company. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Manistee. By 1900, he was a millionaire operating in the lumber and salt industries.
Blacker, a Democrat, was elected as an alderman for the City of Manistee’s ninth ward in 1880. In 1882, he was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives. In 1888, he was elected as mayor of Manistee.
In 1891, he was appointed Michigan secretary of state following the resignation of Daniel E. Soper.
In 1873, he married Harriet L. Williams, who died in a carriage accident in 1896. In 1900, he married Nellie C. Canfield. In 1900, Blacker moved to Chicago and then, in 1907, he moved to Pasadena, Calif.
In modern times, many know his name because Manistee County Blacker Airport is named after him.
Antoine E Cartier
Antoine E. Cartier
A.E. Cartier (1836-1910) was the son of John Baptist (1790-1846) and Rosalie (Courchesne) Cartier (1795-1878), born in Maskinonge, Mauricie Region, Quebec, Canada. He came to the U.S. in 1857. After a stint in Chicago, he moved to Manistee where he was “first engaged at driving and assorting logs both at Manistee and Ludington,” according to the “History of Manistee, Mason, and Oceana.”
In 1860, he married Eliza Ann Ayers (1842-1920) in Manistee. They had nine children, Rosalia Cartier (1861-1933), Louis Albert Cartier (1863-1924), Warren Antoine Cartier (1866-1934), Ida Jane Cartier (1867-1962), George Robinson Cartier (1869-1944), Dezera Ephraim Cartier (1871-1949), William E. Cartier (1873-1918), Charles Earnest Cartier (1875-1959), and Eliza Cartier (1891-1891).
In 1877, Cartier moved to Ludington and the following year purchased an interest in the business that eventually became Cartier & Filer, which included a sawmill and store. He additionally was a partner in the shingle business of Danaher & Cartier and was a member of Dempsey, Cartier & Co. in Manistee. Cartier was Ludington mayor from 1880-1881. The name Cartier is still prominent in Mason County, particularly Ludington, and the family still has local ties. Antoine Cartier’s house still exists as the Ludington House Bed and Breakfast, 501 E. Ludington Ave. His son Warren’s house was located across the street and today operates as the Cartier Mansion Bed and Breakfast.
Cartier died on March 1, 1910 in Ludington.
Capt. Frank Dority, shown center right, testifies at the hearings.
Court hearings
Almost immediately after the accident, the Eastland’s captain, Harry Pedersen, chief engineer Joseph M. Erickson, and first mate George Goyette were arrested and jailed. A grand jury indicted the three along with the company president for manslaughter. The captain and chief engineer were also charged for criminal carelessness. Also charged was George T. Arnold, president of the St. Joseph-Chicago Steamship Company, and with other company officers.
The grand jury found that they disaster was caused by “conditions of instability” caused by overloading of passengers, mishandling of water ballast and the ship’s faulty construction.
Capt. Harry Pedersen
The court refused extradition, holding that the evidence was too weak, with “barely a scintilla of proof” to establish probable cause to find the six guilty. The court reasoned that the four company officers were not aboard the ship, and that every act charged against the captain and engineer was performed in the ordinary course of business, “more consistent with innocence than with guilt.” The court also reasoned that Eastland “was operated for years and carried thousands safely,” and therefore the accused were justified in believing the ship to be seaworthy.
By late August of 1915, the exact cause of the capsizing of the Eastland was never determined. Some contributed the addition of extra lifeboats, required following the sinking of the RMS Titanic three years previous. In August of 1935, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld a district court ruling that the Eastland was a seaworthy vessel, that the operators had taken the proper precautions and that the St. Joseph-Chicago Steamship Company was not liable for the 835 deaths that resulted in the disaster. The court traced the problem to the failure to properly fill the ship’s ballast tanks with water.
In 1933, Chief Engineer Erickson was found guilty of improper ballast tank operation in a civil case but died before the legal process concluded. Erickson died in 1919.
USS Wilmette
USS Wilmette
In October 1915, the Eastland was salvaged from the Chicago River and was sold at auction on Dec. 20, 1915 to Capt. Edward A. Evers, who then sold it to the U.S. Navy on Nov. 21, 1917. On Feb. 20, 1918 the Navy renamed the ship the USS Wilmette and reclassified it as a gunboat. It served as a training ship at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, serving during both World War I and World War II. In 1946, the Wilmette was sold for scrap, being cut up at Chicago in 1948.
Sources: Mason County Historical Society Rose Hawley Archives, Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com
Filer Credit Union with offices in Manistee, Ludington, East Lake, and Bear Lake; filercu.com; 800.595.6630
The Mason County Historical Society is a non-profit charitable organization that was founded in 1937 that does not receive any governmental funding. It owns and operates the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum in Ludington, Historic White Pine Village in Pere Marquette Township, and The Rose Hawley Archives and the Mason County Emporium and Sweet Shop in downtown Ludington.
For more information about donating to and/or joining the Mason County Historical Society, visit masoncountymihistory.org.
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