Great Lakes History Log is presented by Filer Credit Union and the Mason County Historical Society, which operates the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum, Historic White Pine Village and the Rose Hawley Archives in downtown Ludington.
The Captains of the PM Steamers
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
On the night of Saturday, Nov. 10, 1888, Capt. James B. Muir was in command of the Flint & Pere Marquette No. 1 when he informed his first mate that he was feeling ill. Capt. Muir continued at his post. The ship, one of the two original break-bulk freighters owned by the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway, hauled mostly salt from Ludington and Manistee to Milwaukee and Chicago.
The term break-bulk was used because of the method of unloading rail cars, placing the freight on the ship, then repeating on the other shore. The service dominated the F&PM service until it received its first ferry, capable of transporting train cars, in 1897.
“Nothing serious was anticipated, however, and the veteran seaman stood manfully by his post of duty, although each day he became worse,” a Nov. 29, 1888 article in the Saginaw Weekly Courier read.
On Monday, Nov. 18, the 181-foot-long ship was returning to Ludington from Chicago and the captain was too ill to serve his watch, staying instead in his quarters. Upon arriving in Ludington, Capt. Muir was taken to the Filer House. After being examined by doctors, the decision was made to return him to his home in East Saginaw.
On Thursday, Nov. 22, a special F&PM train transported the captain. The train arrived around noon and Muir was brought back home. By 3 p.m. he was dead, at the age of 61.
James Brown Muir was born on May 11, 1827 in Irongray, Scotland (though the Saginaw Weekly Courier article stated he was born in 1825).
“When seven years old he was enrolled in a ship’s company, and ever since he has been on ocean or lake, filling various positions with credit and honor,” the article announcing his death stated.
Muir immigrated to the United States, initially settling in Buffalo, NY. He served in the U.S. Navy as a non-commissioned officer during the Mexican War (1846-1848), participating in blockades along the Mexican coast in both the Gulf and the Pacific Ocean.
On Aug. 11, 1853, James Muir married Jane Holland Vickery (1828-1914) in Buffalo.
Jane was born on Oct. 15, 1828 in Barnstaple, England, the daughter of William Rowe Vickery (1797-1883) and Mary (Holland) Vickery (1800-1869).
The Muirs had nine children. Tragically, only three of those children would survive to adulthood and only two lived into a mature age. His daughter Jane “Jennie” would be the only child to marry.
Their children included: James William (1854-1857); Jane “Jennie” (1857-1916); Mary Elizabeth (1858-1924); Ellen Ann (1859-1864); Agnes Brown (1862-1883); Jessie Brown (1867-1883); Julia (1869-1870); Sara W. (1871-1883); Charles Edgar (1874-1886).
Muir began his Great Lakes maritime career sailing and commanding schooners around 1855 when he commanded the Oleander, a hermaphrodite brig, a two-masted sailing ship that has square sails on the foremast combined with a schooner rig on the mainmast.
A letter to the editor in the Wednesday, Nov. 3, 1875 edition of the Buffalo Commercial, described the Oct. 31, 1875 wreck of Muir’s schooner Gibson near Port Burwell, Ontario and also his previous experience of commanding the schooner Oleander.
“He has commanded for years some of our best vessels,” the writer, using the pseudonym “Sinbad,” wrote. “There must have been good cause for his vessel going ashore at Port Burwell, as he is a first-class sailor, full of original resource and has great decision of character in emergencies.”
The writer then discussed an incident when Muir was in charge of the Oleander.
“On her passage from Chicago she was caught, near the White Shoals in the Straits of Mackinac, in a violent gale, splitting and losing her sails, and compelling the captain to anchor in close proximity to the dangerous rocky shoals. He picked up and got together remnants of his sails, taking part to mend the rest, working all hands unceasingly to do so; got a few body-sails repaired sufficient to handle the vessel with both anchors down, and all chains out, and when her stern was within a few feet of destruction on the rocks, made sail, slipping her chains, fetched out clear, and ran back to Manitou Islands, running her bows on to the gravelly beach alongside the dock and making her fast; repaired up his sails by the crew and navigated her to Detroit without anchors or chains safely, and without costing the underwriters a dollar.
“The tact, good judgement and seamanship shown on that occasion caused him to be taken into the employ of the late J.R. Bently of this city, and Jesse Hoyt of New York, where he remained several years in command of fine vessels.
“Recently he has had news of a large legacy left him in Scotland, and was on what was to be his last trip previous to going there to get it, that he was overtaken by shipwreck, as above stated, resulting in the total destruction of the vessel, though no lives were lost.”
A newspaper article in the Tuesday, Nov. 2, 1875 edition of the Gazette of Buffalo, described the incident involving the Gibson.
“The most sweeping gale of the season was experienced here on Saturday and Sunday causing a very heavy sea. The schooner Gibson laden with 15,000 bushels of wheat came ashore about five o’clock Sunday evening. The crew were rescued with some difficulty. The vessel sank in about fourteen feet of water, and it is feared will be a total loss. No insurance on the hull. The cargo is insured.”
Muir’s relationship with New York businessman Jesse Hoyt, referenced in the letter to the editor, appears to have lasted several years. Ultimately, that relationship would bring Muir to Ludington.
Jesse Hoyt (1815-1882) is considered one of Saginaw’s greatest benefactors. He was born on March 12, 1815, the son of James Moody Hoyt (1789-1854) and Mary (Nesbitt) Hoyt (1792-1867). James Hoyt was a wealthy merchant who educated his four sons to pursue careers in business and finance.
James Hoyt financially backed Norman Little who attempted to develop Saginaw City. Little ran into problems after the Panic of 1837 and therefore, with James Hoyt’s assistance, moved up the Saginaw River and established East Saginaw.
Jesse Hoyt took over responsibility for the Saginaw property. His first major project was to build a plank road from East Saginaw to Flint. After James Hoyt’s death, in 1854, Jesse formed Jesse Hoyt and Company, which built the Bancroft House hotel. Among the many developments, he built the Mayflower Mill, producer of flour. In 1859, he established the East Saginaw Salt Works; by 1870 there were 42 salt works in the area.
Jesse Hoyt had a direct impact on the growth and legacy of the city of Ludington. He was one of the early investors in the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway, which was incorporated on Jan. 21, 1857 and reached Ludington on Dec. 1, 1874. Hoyt became president of the railroad in January 1875 following the sudden death of the F&PM’s president Eber Brock Ward. As president of the F&PM he would oversee the early growth of cross-lake freighter service out of Ludington.
A year after the wreck of the Gibson, Jesse Hoyt invested in another vessel for Muir to command. On May 4, 1876, the duo were listed as purchasing the boat.
The Helen Pratt was built in 1870 by George H. Notter at Buffalo for Pratt & Company of Buffalo. It was a two-masted vessel, 113 feet long, 26 feet wide with a depth of 9 feet and gross tonnage of 212. The ship ran coal on Lake Erie between Erie, Penn. and Buffalo.
The vessel, registered at that time as being out of East Saginaw, was one of the first to sail out of the Saginaw River.
In 1879, the Helen Pratt is listed as being owned solely by Muir and registered at Buffalo. By 1882, Muir no longer owned the ship and it was registered at Chicago.
In 1878, Muir moved his family from Buffalo to East Saginaw, Mich. and he was hired by the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway, likely because of his existing business relationship with Hoyt. That same year Muir was involved in an accident in Ludington which resulted in one of his legs being amputated below the knee.
Three years prior to Muir being hired by the F&PM, the railroad had begun shipping freight out of Ludington across Lake Michigan. It officially began that service on May 31, 1875, about seven months after the arrival of the first train in Ludington.
The F&PM chartered the 175-foot-long side wheeler steamer John Sherman, under the command of Capt. John Stewart, to shuttle grain, packaged freight and passengers between Ludington and Sheboygan, Wis. to connect with the Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railway. The railroad was apparently interested mainly in eastbound grain movements, but the steamer also handled passengers and general cargo.
The boat was too small for the needs of the F&PM and served only for a single season.
In 1876, Jesse Hoyt contracted with the Goodrich Transportation Company to provide cross-lake service between Ludington and Milwaukee. That contract lasted until 1883.
In 1882, the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway ordered the construction of two of its own vessels, the Flint & Pere Marquette No. 1 and Flint & Pere Marquette No. 2.
The wooden ships were built by Detroit Dry Dock Company (hull nos. 59 and 60, respectively). They were each 144.1 feet long, 30.2 feet wide with a depth of 12.1 feet. The vessels were operated with fore-and-aft compound steam engines, each equipped with one firebox boiler built by Desotell & Hutton, Detroit. The No. 1 operated at 562 hp while the No. 2 operated at 600 hp.
Both were typical Great Lakes propellers at the time, with their engines aft and a single tier of cabins for 25 passengers on the spar deck. A spar deck is the upper deck of a ship that extends from stem to stern.
The Ludington break-bulk freighter fleet was known locally as the “black boats” because of their color scheme.
The F&PM No. 1 arrived in Ludington in September of 1882 under Muir’s command. Capt. John Duddleston was first commander of the F&PM No. 2 until 1886 when he was then assigned as the first captain of the F&PM No. 3, which he commanded for one year. In 1888, Duddleston would be the first captain of the F&PM No. 4.
F&PM Nos. 1 and 2 operated a route that included Ludington, Manistee, Milwaukee and Chicago.
In 1883, the ships were lengthened to 181 feet. That same year, the railroad ended its contract with Goodrich Transportation Company.
Capt. James Brown Muir would command the F&PM No. 1 until his death on Nov. 22, 1888.
“He was a genial companionable man and will be missed, not only by relatives and intimate friends, but also by the great number of travelers who learned to respect and esteem him for kindly traits of character and good deeds,” his obituary, published Nov. 29, 1888 in the Saginaw Weekly Courier, stated.
“An old weather-beaten mariner who has known Capt. Muir intimately a long time, wiped a salt tear from his cheek yesterday when speaking of the death of his friend. ‘Cap. Muir was one of the best sailors on these waters,’ he said, ‘and a kindlier heart never beat up against the wind. In days gone by he built one of the first schooners put together on Saginaw River, the Starlight, of which Jesse Hoyt was owner. The vessel was subsequently commanded by Capt. Muir, who brought goods and supplies from Buffalo to the Saginaws. His task was not an easy one, for there were no tugs in those days, and sailing the entire distance, through rivers and lakes and into harbors, was tedious work.'”
The newspaper article also pointed out that Muir’s life was insured for $9,000 and that efforts were being made for his wife to receive a pension since Muir had been a veteran.
“Efforts have recently been made to secure a pension for him, but as his 62nd birthday would not come until May, 1889, it is doubtful whether the Government will grant a pension to Mrs. Muir.”
Jane Muir died on Feb. 3, 1914 at the age of 85. Her cause of death was listed as senility.
James and Jane, along with most of their children, are buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo.
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