''Three Brothers'' was a small wooden

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

freighter built in 1888 by the Milwaukee Shipyard Company of

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, Wisconsin for the

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-based John Spry Lumber Company. Originally she was christened as the ''May Durr'' and bearing the official number 91998. The vessel was rated at 582 gross tons, 444 net tons, and measured in length, had a beam and a draught of . She could carry of lumber. The machinery was Steeple Compound steam engine built by the Frontier Engine Works of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

in 1888. The engine was rated at at 96 revolutions per minute. The fire box boiler was manufactured by R. Davis of Milwaukee and rated at . In 1892 ''May Durr'' was renamed to ''John Spry''. Between 1905 and 1910 the vessel was sold to the William H. White & Co. of

Boyne City, Michigan Boyne City () is a city in Charlevoix County, Michigan, Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,816 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the largest city in Charlevoix County. Boyne City is locat ...

, where she was renamed as ''Three Brothers'' after the White brothers William, James and Thomas of

Charlevoix, Michigan Charlevoix ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Charlevoix County, Michigan, Charlevoix County. Part of Northern Michigan, Charlevoix is located on an isthmus between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix, bisected by ...

. The vessel was then pressed in coarse lumber service between

Lake Charlevoix Lake Charlevoix ( ) is a lake in Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the third largest inland lake in the state with a surface area of over and of shoreline. The maximum depth in the main basin is and in the south arm, . T ...

and

Tonawanda, New York Tonawanda is a city in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,129 at the 2020 census. It is at the northern edge of Erie County, south across the Erie Canal ( Tonawanda Creek) from North Tonawanda, east of Grand Island, a ...

. On 27 September 1911, ''Three Brothers'' was carrying a load of

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

worth of $4,200 from Boyne City to Chicago. After leaving Boyne City the vessel was sailing in heavy weather, and the hull began to leak more than usual. Water soon overwhelmed the pumps, quickly rising more than above the keel. The water also flooded the hold and coal bunkers, forcing the firemen to use

kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...

instead of coal to maintain the steam pressure. In order to save the vessel, captain Sam Christopher elected to drive the vessel ashore on

South Manitou Island South Manitou Island ( ) is located in Lake Michigan, approximately west of Leland, Michigan. It is part of Leelanau County and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The uninhabited island is in land area and can be accessed by a fer ...

, where she landed just east of the lifesaving station. When the vessel hit the shore the bow split open and her pilot house was knocked loose. The bow was in approximately of water, with her stern in of water. The captain and all 13 members of crew were rescued by the life saving station staff. After the weather subsided, the tender ''Favourite'' made an unsuccessful attempt to loosen ''Three Brothers'', and the vessel was declared to be beyond salvage value. By 1912 the vessel had completely submerged under water.

References

* Herman G. Runge Collection, Milwaukee Public Library Marine Column, Milwaukee Sentinel, September – October, 1911 * Chicago Inter-Ocean, September – October, 1911 * Ports of Milwaukee & Chicago, Vessel Enrollment Master Index Wreck Report of the South Manitou US Lifesaving Station Michigan History Magazine, Nov/Dec 1996 * {{1911 shipwrecks Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan Maritime incidents in 1911 Ships built in Milwaukee Lumber ships 1888 ships September 1911