"Irish Had a Big Time on Island Back in Year 1866" from the September 20, 1940 Door County Advocate
By G. Ruby Cornell
Irish Had a Big Time on Island Back in Year 1866
Many Took to "Rock" to Tell of Their Experiences
(NOTE—This is the second of a series of two articles about the Washington Island Irish and pioneer days as written for The Advocate by special correspondent).
By G. Ruby Cornell
————
Washington Is. — In the early spring of 1866 there was a "sugaring off" or "sap party" on Washington Island. Trees were tapped and sap flowed freely. Everyone who wanted syrup or maple sugar could have all he wanted. Fun ran as freely as the sap, and out of the bounty of their hearts two of the men, Lieut. Rohen and Mr. Nolan, suggested having a semi-centennial celebration in July. Everyone in the Town of Washington was to be notified so that they all would be in on the fun.
July 16th was to be the day, but as that fell on Sunday, Friday was suggested. However, Friday was not a good day for the Catholic group who wanted to enjoy the prospective feast too, so finally the motion was made that it be held on Saturday, which suited everyone to a "T", and the motion was carried.
But a few short years ago, Pat Flannigan, Capt. John and Pat O'Neill with their wives and the sisters, Mary and Sarah Weaver, sat on the porch of the Hiram Wellman's house with his wife who was Etta Cornell, and told the story of that celebration with as many laughs and smiles as though it had been but yesterday, instead of 75 years ago, and that they were lads and lassies instead of men and women who had reached the dignified age of nearly a century.
Sent News by Pony
It seems that some one on Washington Island owned a pony, and as the committee, made up of Godfry Kalmbach, Capt. John and Robert O'Neill and Jim Love, was determined that everyone was to be notified, the pony was pressed into service. Trails were blazed to the different harbors and a regular "Paul Revere" ride made while Jim Love carried the news to Little Lake folks, as he lived there at that time, as well as the Crawfords, Angus McBride, the Stinsons, E. Weaver and others.
The place to have it was finally decided by the fact that several men on Washington Island were lame and not able to make the trip either to Rock Island or to Washington Harbor. They owned a cabin with the usual clearing around it and a few paths, one of which led to a spring called "Deer Lick" because the deer could use it all winter by pawing the snow. This later became known as the Shellswick Spring.
Weathering hardships together brought out a spirit of co-operation among these pioneers, for this party was carried out at the cabin of these men in an atmosphere of genuine friendliness regardless of creed or social standing.
Barbecued Deer
Charley Broadner had the best rifle on the Island, as well as being the best marksman, so he was appointed to go out and shoot a deer, which he did, and brought it in to be barbecued. A deer was no weight for Charley to carry, as his specialty was tossing barrels onto his shoulder. Besides the deer, there was sturgeon cooked in every imaginable way, as well as smoked and several kinds of meat and hot biscuits with maple syrup made at Deer Lick Spring the previous March.
The boys and girls turned in an peeled potatoes while the women folks made ready for cooking two sacks of vegetables donated by their good friends Captain Lake of the Buffalo Boat line who regretted that he could not attend. "Never was there such a feast," said the men. "Even the dogs enjoyed it, and the birds put on weight too."
While all these preparations were going on the men built a platform out of rocks and logs and Mr. Ranney, who was the chairman of the day said, "Mount this my friends, and make this rock your pulpit."
Many Good Orators
Some of the men said they were not very good orators and simply voiced the sentiments of the previous speakers, but many of them gave interesting testimonies of their pioneering experiences, as for one, John Cornell, who aroused the curiosity of the laughing settlers by telling the story of "The Sunken Island."
"When I came to the Island in 1851, Robert Graham gave me these facts about Little Gull Island. Graham was living then on the east side of Rock Island and used to set his nets about ten miles southeast of there. Little Gull Island, white and gull-like in form, lay about five miles to the southeast or half way to his nets. The Island was about 50 feet wide and 100 feet long without a shrub or a spear of grass on it, just white pebbles. Well, in 1847 Graham said that he built himself a fishing shanty on Little Gull and Mrs. Graham cooked for him out there all summer, returning to Rock Island in the winter. But during the winter of '48, the shanty was washed away and in '49 the Island itself was being washed over and over by lashing waves until in 1850 it was gone and now men are sailing over Graham's shanty."
"I'll bet that's true," said an old sailor near the pulpit, "for when them waves get to boiling, they sure do scoop out places here and shovel up banks there. I'll bet the land made lately on our beach is grist from Little Gull Island that is making its way straight thru to China."
Hardships Related
Another to mount the rock was Thomas Coffee, who's wife's maiden name was Kate Williams and came from Detroit. He came from County Clare, Ireland, in 1860. He told of the tremendous hardships the pioneers went through, of the long, cold winters and tremendous lake storms.
"The clearings around the cabins were small," he said, "right in the midst of immense forests." He spoke of the saw mill Craw Brothers had built on the west side of Washington Harbor, how people were beginning to take up claims, and mentioned the magnificent line of evergreen trees so tall and erect, outlining the shore from the schoolhouse over to H. D. Miner's. He spoke of several fine families on the Island and of the important part they had played in the development of things, mentioned the Nolans especially as being so generous, and always ready to give help where needed."
Teacher Boxed the Boys
They came from Chicago, and he being a bachelor, his three nieces gave up school teaching in order to keep house for him, but finally the monotony bored the girls, so they sent to England to get their friend, Miss Spence, to come over. She did, and it was she who was the "athletic English school teacher" who boxed the big boys' ears and fought them like a man at their invitation. She taught school at Washington Harbor for several years and lived in the Nolan family for 49 years, finally passing away at the Augustana hospital in Chicago at the age of ninety. She always maintained a devotion to her own religion. She was an Episcopalian, but when she realized it was time to choose a last resting place for herself, she said she had lived so many years with the Nolan family that she wished it could be arranged for her last earthly haven to be among old friends, the Nolans, who were Catholics.
So a very dear friend was asked to attend to this and see what could be done. When she came back to the bedside of Miss Spence, she was pleased to tell her that the ministers of both denominations had said that she could have everything just as she wished. "Did you get it in writing, Mary Ellen?” she asked, and when it was suggested that a Reverend Father's word should be enough, the answer was, "Yes, but should he die before I do, who is going to let me into that cemetery."
So back went the faithful friend and, with many a laughing explanation, the promise was recorded with the proper seal and returned to the little lady with much solemnity. So now she rests among her old friends of long standing.
Millions of Cats and Dogs
Mr. Goddletson who lived on the east side of Washington Harbor was asked to mount the rock and tell some of his experiences.
"Eighteen fifty-seven was a bitter winter," he said, "when we had not only the cold to fight but terrific storms and also a financial panic. As far as possible, we dressed the children in buckskin and finally made mittens of cat and dog skins. The women wove as fast as they could but never catch up with what was needed. The snow was so deep we were imprisoned for days and we had to use dog sleds on the paths to get to the stock sheds. We took many reefs in our belts, for provisions got pretty low and we lived weeks on scant rations. It was frightful to see the wild ducks flying around bewildered looking for food and falling dead on the spotless sheets of snow."
Capt. Goodletson was a great friend of the Robert Grahams and named his boat the "Lucy Graham" after one of the Graham girls. He also owned the first team of oxen and loaned it around to people so they could do a little ploughing and hauling. Later Craw got a team along with some logging apparatus.
Soldiers Get Honors
At the meeting were several soldiers and their families and Chairman Ranney said they were to have first honors in every way as well as the best cuts of the deer. Lieut. Rohen said that most of his friends had said just hat he would have said when he was asked to mount the rock, and "besides I'm getting hungry and feel that I should get back to the cabin and watch the eats before my Irish friends from Washington Harbor devour them all. It's a day of jollification, and we don't want to bring up anything about the war."
Dennis McDonald, one of the two Irish names left on the Island, mounted the rock. He came to the Island in 1852 and in '54 married a Mary Mason.
"When talking of hard luck in the early says, I always think of the boat “Merchant", part sail and part steam, which in the autumn of '57 tried to plough her way through the reefs at Sturgeon Bay and failing to do so, backed out and finally landed her cargo of provisions at Egg Harbor. The people in the village of Sturgeon Bay, being short of food, had to turn out en masse, cut a road through to Egg Harbor and pack, carry, and haul provisions back to Sturgeon Bay.
"That was what I call hard luck," he said.
Many Other Irish
Among others at the celebration were the Richters, Wm. Nolan, owner of the wonderful berry patch in "Nolan's Field," and four of the five families of Cornells, the Garetts, Miners, Broadners, Ranneys, R. Severs, Tom Coffee and Tim Coffee, whose wife was a sister of Capt. James Sanford of Washington Harbor. Capt. Sanford's grandson is now supreme judge of Michigan, living in Muskegon. There were the Crawfords, Dr. Wm. Neill, the Kenwoods, who later married into the Koyen family, the Wellmans, the Dowlings, whose daughter Mary Ellen is now living in Chicago, the O'Neills, (Pat O'Neill's grandson is a Harvard graduate and teaches at Columbia, New York City), the Gilgers who have descendants in Green Bay, the Trinkers, Joseph Manosso and the Oliver brothers. The only Scandinavians were Mr. Goodletson and a Mr. Jenson, a great friend of the O'Neills with whom he lived his last years in Charlevoix, Mich. Jensen and O'Neill owned the first first tug to operate out of Washington Harbor.
Kalmbach Reviews History
The last to mount the rock was Godfrey Kalmbach who married the school teacher, Miss Larson who taught at West Harbor in 1853. He was from Pittsburg, of Pennsylvania Dutch extraction, and father of Mrs. Jack Richter, and of the late Albert Kalmbach of Sturgeon Bay who also married a school teacher, Dora Higgins. He came to Washington Island in 1858, lived at Detroit Harbor and owned the Kalmbach docks there.
"Fellow Settlers," he said, "half a century has gone since the first vessel landed at our harbor and the exploring United States troops put foot on our shores and gave the name of Washington to our beautiful Island formerly called Potawatomi after that friendly Indian tribe. The Island, to which I came in 1858, is six miles wide and six miles long. It stands a primitive forest of magnificent pines, maples, beech, birch, bass wood, cedar, hemlock and other valuable timber. Cities are springing up on the rivers and these lakes, the Civil war is over, thank the Lord, and soldiers are returning to take up public lands. Large boats and ships tie up at Kalmbach and Washington Harbor docks, load with wood and sail off to market ports. Steamers buy our fish, and we think better times are coming for us Islanders. This island is still in a wild state, but a road has been cut from Washington Harbor to Detroit Harbor where a few cabins and garden patches and boats at anchor show signs of civilization. Last year, Bethel church was built, homesteads are now being taken and clearings seen one and two miles back from the shore line.
"It is reported that within the next six years the Gudmundsons, Gislasons, and others will come from Iceland, and the Luckys, Petersons, Olesons, Hanson and others are coming from Norway and Denmark. I hear the Joseph Cornells are coming back and the Shellswicks, Bowmans and others from Illinois."
So here ends our story of the early Irish on Washington Island. They came, they saw, they conquered and left, taking with them not only memories but their very names, to be replaced by Scandinavians whose longer residence here almost made the Irish forgotten in the history of this picturesque island township.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
[An equivalent to the idiom "took many reefs in our belts” is "tightened our belts". Belts can be fastened with a reef knot.
“Mary Ellen” is spelled “Mary Ellan” both times in the original article, but her brother’s obituary gives the spelling as “Mary Ellen”: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/59542607/john-joseph-dowling#view-photo=205401239 ]
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