The Eastland disaster memorial at Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago
This Great Lakes History Log is presented by Filer Credit Union, the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum and Sable Points Media.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
Over the weekend I ventured out on a whirlwind Great Lakes maritime history tour. The purpose of the trip was to gather information for my Masters of the PM Steamers project, which will tell the stories of the men who have commanded the railroad ships that operated out of Ludington between 1875 to 1990. It is my goal to put accumulate these stories into a book and also to develop an interactive digital exhibit at the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum.
The reason why I do not say “carferry” captains is because the railroad operated cross-lake service for 22 years before the first carferry arrived (“car” meaning railcar not automobile). Those “break bulk” vessels continued to operate in some capacity alongside the carferries up until the 1930s.
The mission of this quick two day trip was to gather information of select captains whose final resting places were along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Wisconsin. I also wanted to check out a collection of memorabilia from a captain that is in the possession of his son.
Ron Musynski, left, and Rob Alway at the Ackerman family gravesite in Kenosha, Wis.
For the past 38 years, my friend Ron Muszynski has served as travel companion on these many adventures. Ron, who calls Manistee home (with a name like Muszynski, you have to live in Manistee) met me at my house in Scottville at 7:30 a.m. Friday morning and we headed into Ludington to board the SS Badger, a fitting way to travel to Wisconsin to gather historical information on former carferry captains.
During our trip over to Manitowoc, we had the pleasure of having a great conversation with Capt. Ed Wiltse, one of the current captains of the Badger. Ed is a true Great Lakes sailor and has an appreciation for maritime history. He has over 40 years experience sailing the lakes and has been very encouraging on this project.
Capt. Ed Wiltse, in command of the Badger.
After arriving at Manitowoc, Wis. and lunch at the Wharf, Ron and I set out to explore some cemeteries.
The first stop was Evergreen Cemetery in Manitowoc in search of the grave of Captain Edward Aschenbrenner along with various family members. I explore a lot of cemeteries and finding a grave can often be like finding a needle in a haystack, even with gravesite information (as I will talk about more a little later). Many cemeteries have various degrees of information online, which is very helpful. Others sometimes require an email or phone call to get details. But, the City of Manitowoc is to be commended. Not only is the information online, but its online database gives exact location of a gravesite right down to interacting with Google Maps.
As I provide some information on each captain in this column, I want to preface that there will be much more detail coming out in the future.
Captain Edward Aschenbrenner (1918-2004) was born and raised in Manitowoc. Of the 73 Ludington rail captains I have been able to identify, he is, ironically, one I have been able to find who was born in Manitowoc and only one of two who are buried there. That information may change as my research continues, but I have been able to find birth and death information on about 70 percent of them.
Edward was the son of Henry and Dorothy Aschenbrenner, Russian immigrants who came to the U.S. in 1907. Henry was a carpenter in the Manitowoc shipyards.
Gravesite of Capt. Edward Aschenbrenner in Manitowoc, Wis.
During World War II he served a a chief quartermaster onboard the aircraft carrier USS Lexington in the Coral Sea in May 1942.
Following World War II, Edward worked for a year on the freighter W.E. Fitzgerald then came to work for the C&O Railroad. He was first mate on the Spartan from 1956 to 1962 and later served as captain of the Pere Marquette 22, Spartan and Badger. He retired in 1975.
Our second captain to find was Capt. Henry Gates (1902-1972). My research on Capt. Gates is currently limited, mostly because I haven’t gotten to him yet. He was born in 1902 in Chicago and moved to Manitowoc in 1952. He served as captain of the City of Flint 32 from 1958-1963 and then as captain of the City of Midland 41 from 1964 to his retirement in 1967. He is buried at Knollwood Memorial Gardens outside of Manitowoc. Unfortunately, I was unable to get information on his exact burial location and did not have luck finding his gravesite.
Following our Manitowoc cemetery visits, Ron and I went to the home of Tim Hinds. Tim was born and raised in the Fourth Ward of Ludington and has lived in Manitowoc following his discharge of the U.S. Army over 55 years ago. He is the son of Capt. James Hinds (1920-1994). Capt. Hinds served on multiple carferries beginning in 1939 until his retirement as captain of the Spartan in 1976. Tim has multiple items from his father including a wall dedicated to Capt. Hinds’ career along with one of his uniforms and his seaman’s discharge books.
Photo from Tim Hinds’ collection. Taken in the 1940s, from left: Unknown, Capt. James Hinds, Bernard “Bunny” Robertson, and Gerhard Williams (who was elected governor of Michigan).
I was able to make copies of several of the items in the collection, which will be invaluable for this project. Ron and Tim were able to talk about their military careers.
Following our Manitowoc visit, we headed south to Milwaukee. After spending the night, our first visit of the morning was Graceland Cemetery where Captain Frank Dority (1862-1953) is buried. This one was personal as Frank Dority was my second great-granduncle, he was married to my second great-grandmother’s sister.
Dority was a well-respected captain who commanded some of the most historically-significant Great Lakes vessels including the carferries SS Ann Arbor No. 2 and SS Pere Marquette car and the SS Eastland. Dority became captain of the Eastland from 1903 to 1906, beginning just months after the ship began sailing.
Gravesite of Capt. Frank Dority in Milwaukee.
On July 24, 1915, the Eastland tipped over while docked on the Chicago River. The incident resulted in 843 deaths, the worst maritime disaster ever to occur in the Great Lakes region. Dority later testified about the ship.
Our luck ran out at our second Milwaukee cemetery, Calvary Cemetery. We were in search of captains Joseph Russell (1853-1913) and John Doyle (1862-1913).
Capt. Russell was the first Ludington carferry captain. He commanded the SS Pere Marquette for four months when it debuted in 1897 and then relinquished command to Capt. Dority. He also commanded the Pere Marquette 17 when it rescued crew and passengers off the Pere Marquette 18 when it sank in 1910. He had also been the first mate of the SS Michigan freighter/passenger ship when it sank in 1885.
Capt. Doyle was the first master of the SS Pere Marquette 19. Unfortunately, his tenure on that ship was short after the ship ran aground in 1904 — for the second time — after only four months in service. He later commanded the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company’s SS Grand Haven.
Even though we had the block numbers for Russell and Doyle’s graves, we did not have specific locations. After a 90-minute search in 85-degree temperatures, we gave up. They will have to wait for another visit when I am equipped with better information.
Ackerman family plot in Kenosha, Wis.
Fate treated us much better at the next town, Kenosha, Wis. Our destination was Green Ridge Cemetery in search of the Ackerman brothers. Green Ridge Cemetery is held in a public trust and operated by the Kenosha Cemetery Association. General Manager Peter Shaw Johnson was great to work with and provided me with directions right up to the family plot.
Our primary subjects were Capt. John Ackerman (1862-1916) and Chief Engineer Albert Ackerman (1867-1936). Both served aboard the Pere Marquette Railway and Ann Arbor Railroad carferries.
John was captain of the Ann Arbor No. 1 and the first captain of the Pere Marquette 20, serving as its commander from 1903-1910. He also commanded the PM 17 and PM 18 (II). He died while on duty commanding the PM 18.
Albert served as the first chief engineer of the Ann Arbor No. 1, the first Lake Michigan carferry, from 1892 to 1901; serving as chief engineer while his brother was captain. He then served aboard five Pere Marquette carferries: PM 16, PM 17, PM 18 (II), PM 19, and PM 21.
Several other members of the Ackerman family served as mariners.
Our adventure then took us to Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago, home of a memorial to the victims of the Eastland disaster. This is a must for any Great Lakes maritime enthusiast. This memorial is rather unique because it is located in the cemetery, surrounded by the graves of 143 of the victims of the disaster. Many of those lost were members of Chicago’s Czech community, which is why so many are buried there. Walking among the graves in Section 16 is a sobering reminder of one of the deadliest maritime disasters in American history and the profound impact it had on countless families. A powerful and moving place to reflect on a tragedy that should never be forgotten.
Surprisingly, we were able to get through Chicago rather quickly and were making good time heading back home. Because of that, we had time for one more stop, Lakeview Cemetery in South Haven, Mich. were members of the Stufflebeam family are buried.
Gravesite of Capt. John Stufflebeam in South Haven.
This family, like the Ackermans, included multiple mariners. My primary subject was Capt. John A. Stufflebeam (1859-1943) who had served as captain the Pere Marquette Railway’s Pere Marquette 4, PM 17, PM 18 (II) and PM 20. He also served as captain of various Ann Arbor Railroad carferries and the SS Chief Wawatam along with the Northern Michigan Transportation Company’s Illinois.
John’s brother, William, was also a captain and John’s son, Gerald, was a captain. Gerald had served as a wheelsman on the PM 4 and first mate of the PM 19.
Some may ask why it’s necessary to visit the cemeteries. For me, as a historian, cemeteries can often provide valuable information. They include gravesites of family members who may not be mentioned in other research. On top of that, there’s just some sort of a connection to know that, after spending so much time studying a person, you have found his final resting place. I always pause and say a silent prayer and pay respects. Many of these men have long been forgotten. Their graves have been neglected, left unattended, their families are either gone or just have moved on. These mariners deserve to be remembered. For 115 years, the railroad and the carferries were a major part of the economy of Mason County and these men were part of that story. Through this book and museum project, I hope to keep their memories alive.
I have more cemeteries to visit and will report on those adventures as well.
The Masters of the PM Steamers project is a program of Sable Points Media, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to preserving local news and history. If you would like to contribute to this project, please send a check to Sable Points Media, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454.
For more information, email Rob Alway, editor@mediagroup31.com.
Read the Masters of the PM Steamers series here.
_________________________
Please Support Local News and Sports Coverage
Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. Your contribution will help us to continue to provide you with free local news.
The payment can be paid monthly through PayPal: Click this link.
To sign up for an annual subscription, email editor@mediagroup31.com. In the subject line write: Subscription. Please supply your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number (indicate cell phone). We will not share your information with any outside sources.
For more than one email address in a household, the cost is $15 per month per email address.
We can send you an invoice for a yearly payment of $120, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454 (please include your email address).
Payment must be made in advance prior to subscription activation.
We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.
_____
This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2026, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.
As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.
.png)
