Ted Fuger navigates the SS Pere Marquette 22 simulator as his brothers look on.
This Great Lakes History Log is presented by Filer Credit Union and the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
LUDINGTON — One of the most rewarding parts of serving as a director of the Mason County Historical Society is sharing Mason County’s history with people who have a personal connection to it. A couple weeks ago, I had the privilege of giving a private tour of the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum to three men whose great-grandfather helped shape the history of the Pere Marquette Railway’s fleet of railroad carferries. John Fuger of East Grand Rapids, Jim Fuger of Pennington, New Jersey, and Ted Fuger of Elmhurst, Illinois, came to Ludington to learn more about their great-grandfather, Capt. John Doyle, the first master of the Pere Marquette 19. Their visit reminded me that history is more than names and dates — it is about families seeking to reconnect with those who came before them.
The Fuger brothers pose inside the recreated captain’s quarters from the PM 19. From left: John, Jim and Ted.
One reason I was especially excited about this tour was because it had been months in the making. For the past year I have been researching the lives of the captains who commanded the Ludington railroad carferry fleet, piecing together their stories through newspaper accounts, census records, obituaries and other historical documents. Whenever possible, I have also tried to connect with their descendants, believing family members often possess photographs, documents and stories that never made it into the historical record.
While researching Capt. Doyle earlier this year, I came across the obituary of his daughter. That led me to her grandson, John Fuger, and we soon began corresponding. I quickly discovered that John shares my passion for Great Lakes maritime history. In addition to being a serious shipwreck diver who has explored numerous wrecks over the years, he has a deep interest in the history of Great Lakes shipping because of his family’s deep roots in the industry. Before long, what began as a research inquiry turned into a conversation between two people fascinated by the same history.
SS Pere Marquette 19, built in 1903.
When John told me he and his brothers were planning a trip to Ludington to learn more about their great-grandfather, I knew I wanted to help make their visit as meaningful as possible.
Capt. Doyle was one of the best-known Great Lakes captains of his era and was selected to take command of the brand-new Pere Marquette 19 when it entered service in 1903. The vessel was among the largest and most advanced railroad carferries on the Great Lakes and represented the continuing growth of Ludington as a rail and maritime hub. Doyle’s career was marked by decades on the lakes before his command of the PM 19 came to an abrupt end following the vessel’s grounding near Milwaukee in 1904. Although he lost command of the ship, his place in the history of the Pere Marquette fleet remains significant, and researching his life earlier this year led me to uncover details that even his own descendants had never known.
The Port of Ludington Maritime Museum proved to be the perfect place to begin the Fuger brothers’ journey. Operated by the Mason County Historical Society, the museum tells the story of Ludington’s maritime heritage through interactive exhibits that explore the area’s commercial fishing industry, lifesaving stations, passenger steamers, railroad carferries and the men and women whose lives were tied to Lake Michigan. The museum also highlights the continuing legacy of the SS Badger, the last coal-fired passenger steamship operating on the Great Lakes.
Rebecca Berringer gives a tour of the Rose Hawley Archives
As we toured the museum, we talked not only about Capt. Doyle’s career but also about the railroad carferry era and the men who built Ludington into one of the busiest ports on the Great Lakes. Sharing those stories with members of Doyle’s own family made the experience especially rewarding.
Following our time at the museum, I brought the brothers to the Mason County Historical Society’s Rose Hawley Archives in downtown Ludington. There, Executive Director Rebecca Berringer provided a tour of the archives, explaining how the society preserves thousands of photographs, documents, newspapers and artifacts that tell the story of Mason County. The archives often become the missing link for families searching to better understand their own history.
The Fuger brothers’ journey didn’t end in Ludington. The following morning, they boarded the SS Badger and crossed Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, Wis., retracing a route their great-grandfather would have known well during his career on the lakes. From there they traveled south to Milwaukee in search of Capt. Doyle’s grave at Calvary Cemetery. A few weeks earlier, I had made the same trip with the same goal and came away empty-handed. Unfortunately, they were unable to locate his burial site as well. Unlike me, however, they managed to salvage the day by attending a Milwaukee Brewers game at American Family Field, located only about a mile from the cemetery.
A few days after returning home, John sent me a note that perfectly captured why preserving local history matters.
“My two brothers and I spent time together at the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum last week,” he wrote. “Being a total ‘boat nerd,’ I found the museum to be beyond anything I have seen. The layout and attention to detail were off the charts.
“Rob Alway gave us a personal tour because our great-grandfather was a PM captain. Rob knew more about him than we did — his skill for uncovering history by his detective work helps bring the past to the present.
“We also had a tour of the Mason County Historical Society’s downtown facility, the Rose Hawley Archives, and Rebecca Berringer was an absolute wonderful host. She brings her excitement with her as she describes the wonderful history of Mason County to life.
“The Fuger brothers want to say thank you. It was the highlight of our trip.”
The research that brought the Fuger brothers to Ludington is part of a larger project I began about a year ago documenting the lives of the more than 70 captains who commanded the Ludington railroad carferry fleet. Their biographies are being published on Mason County Press, in the “Masters of the PM Steamers” series. My long-term goal is to compile the research into a book while also making it part of an interactive digital exhibit at the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum, allowing visitors to explore the lives and careers of the men who helped make Ludington one of the Great Lakes’ premier shipping ports.
As a historian, those words meant a great deal to me. Every article I research, every photograph I identify and every tour I give has the same purpose: to preserve the stories of Mason County and help people discover the lives of those who came before them. Last weekend, three brothers came to Ludington looking for a connection to their great-grandfather. I hope they left with something even more valuable — a deeper appreciation for the community and the history that helped shape his remarkable life.
For me, the visit was another reminder that history isn’t confined to museum displays or archival boxes. It lives on through families, conversations and shared experiences. Sometimes all it takes is following the trail of an old obituary to connect descendants with an ancestor they never had the chance to know. In this case, that trail led three brothers to Ludington, where they were able to walk in the footsteps of their great-grandfather and, I hope, leave with a stronger connection to both their family’s story and the maritime heritage of Mason County.
Read Captain Doyle’s story 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)
