Our families on
the great lakes
by Jim Nugent
Some of our families—Currie, Menten,
Nugent, Durrant, Chartier, and Geer—have
lived and worked on and around the great
lakes for two-hundred years.
My 3rd great grandfather, Joseph W. Geer
(emigrated to Plymouth, Michigan in 1833
and then moved on to Clay township in St.
Clair County in 1835. Joseph cleared forty-
acres of woodland in the Pointe DuChene
area for farming. He also worked as a
millwright, carpenter, and joiner. Joseph
married a local French Canadian girl,
Elizabeth Chartier
Thomas Currie (1814-1893), a 2nd great
grandfather, was born in Dalhousie, New
Brunswick, Canada. He married Jane Kollock
in Dalhousie in 1837 and then moved to
Saint Clair County, Michigan before 1840.
We don’t know as much about my great
grandfather James Nugent (1834-1891).
According to Ellen “Nellie” Nugent
Townsend, one of his eleven children, he
was born in New York state and left home at
an early age to live in St. Catherines,
Ontario. He married my great grandmother,
Elizabeth Menten (1832-1909) in Lambton,
Ontario in 1858. In 1876 they moved across
the St. Clair River to Algonac, Michigan.
Second great grandfather Patrick Menten
(1790-1865) was born in Ireland. He joined
the 66th British Regiment, served on St.
Helena, and then in Canada. Discharged in
Kingston, Ontario he was granted 200 acres
of land in Moore Township (east of Corunna,
Ontario) in 1838 for his service.
OSCAR T. FLINT
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight - built in 1889, S. Langell, St. Clair, MI Specs : 218x37x14 824g 701n Date of loss : 1909, Nov 25 - near mouth of Thunder Bay, Michigan - Lake Huron Detail : Caught fire just after leaving Alpena, MI. Run into shoal water in a successful attempt to save her crew. The vessel burned to the waterline, a total loss. Carrying limestone, salt Detail : Caught fire just after leaving Alpena, MI. Run into shoal water in a successful attempt to save her crew. The vessel burned to the waterline, a total loss. BGSU historical collections of the great lakes
The Currie family
Thomas Currie (1814-1893)
my 2nd great grandfather
Thomas Currie was born on March 26, 1814 in Dalhousie, Restigouche, New Brunswick, Canada. I’m not sure where his parents came from; it could be Ireland, Northern Ireland, or maybe even the American Colonies if his parents had been British loyalists. Many fled north to Canada during and after the Revolutionary War. Thomas Currie’s wife, Jane Kollock (1837-1893) was born in Bathurst, Gloucester, New Brunswick, Canada. Her family was exiled to New Brunswick in 1782 following the Revolutionary War. Currie and Kollock married in 1837 and were living in St. Clair County, Michigan by 1840. Thomas Currie was an innkeeper in Algonac, St. Clair County, Michigan but many of his sons and grandsons worked on or around boats.
1840 U.S. Census
Shows Thomas Currie living next to Shepard Currie, his father in law.
The Currie farm was probably near Pointe DuChene, south of
Algonac, Michigan. The same Nook Road farm that was in the Currie
family until the 1970s.
Shepard Kollock (Colick on census) and his children lived nearby for
four years and then emigrated farther west to Buena Vista, Portage,
Wisconsin.
Marriage
Acadia, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1670- 1946 for Thomas Currie Accessed on Ancestry.com1870 U.S. Census
Thomas Currie had nine children, Nelson, Shepard Harrison, David, William St. Clair, Sarah Jane, Calvin T., Thomas, Mary E. and Florence. William St. Clair Currie (1844-1923). Thomas Currie was a hotel keeper, son David was a farmer, William a clerk in the hotel, Calvin was a butcher, and Thomas Jr. was a sailor. Caroline Brown was the family or hotel domestic servant. This census says Thomas Currie was born in Ireland.William St. Clair Currie, the hotel clerk was
my great grandfather.
Currie family sailors
Bowling Green State University (BGSU) has historical collections about the great lakes. The great lakes maritime personnel index lists Shepard and a number of his sons: Thomas Currie Jr. Port Huron • 1896 Captain • 1899 Captain vessel= City of New YorkS. H. Currie
•
1899 Captain
vessel=Gettysburg
• 1900 Captain vessel=GettysburgShepard A. Currie [Middle initial should be H?]
• 1896 Captain • 1899 Captain 279 Hancock Ave. Detroit • 1900 Captain • 1901 Captain • 1902 Captain • 1903 Captain • 1904 Captain • 1905 Captain 1592 Fort St. W. Detroit • 1906 Captain 729 Brooklyn Ave. Detroit • 1907 CaptainCarlos C. Currie
[Shepard’s son]
• 1917 Captain 208 N. Weadock Ave., Saginaw • 1918 Captain • 1919 Captain • 1920 Captain 420 Raspberry Erie PA (Port Huron ISMA) • 1921 Captain • 1922 Captain • 1923 Captain 934 W. 4th Erie PA • 1924 Captain • 1925 Captain 1028 W. 6th Erie PA • 1926 Captain • 1927 Captain • 1928 Captain • 1929 Captain • 1931 Captain • 1932 Captain 1009 W 4th Erie PA • 1933 CaptainAlfred L. Currie
[Shepard’s son]
• 1917 Captain 208 N. Weadock Ave. Saginaw, MI • 1918 Captain • 1919 Captain • 1920 Captain 420 Raspberry Erie PA • 1921 Captain • 1922 Captain • 1923 Captain 934 4th Erie PA • 1924 Captain • 1925 Captain 1028 W 6th Erie PA • 1926 Captain • 1927 Captain • 1928 Captain • 1929 Captain • 1931 Captain • 1932 Captain 1023 Chestnut Erie PA • 1933 Captain
Currie and Geer
properties are
underlined in red
click for a bigger
map image
Shepard Currie
Shepard Currie (1840-1908), my great grand uncle was born on Walpole Island, Canada according to his death certificate. He was a lake captain on steam propeller tugs that towed vessels up and down the Detroit and St. Clair rivers.S. H. Currie
• 1899 Captain vessel=Gettysburg • 1900 Captain vessel=GettysburgShepard H. Currie
•
1896 Captain
• 1899 Captain 279 Hancock Ave. Detroit • 1900 Captain • 1901 Captain • 1902 Captain • 1903 Captain • 1904 Captain • 1905 Captain 1592 Fort St. W. Detroit • 1906 Captain 729 Brooklyn Ave. Detroit • 1907 CaptainCaptain Shephard H. Currie,
of Detroit, Mich., and the efficient commander of the propeller Gettysburg, was born near Algonac, St. Clair Co., Mich., on New Year's Day, 1840. His father, Thomas Currie, a harnessmaker by trade, was proprietor of a hotel at Algonac for many years, and the Captain received his education in the schools of that town. He began his life on the lakes at the age of seventeen, when he took the position of cook on the Traffic, the first steamer up the Saginaw river. During the Captain's forty years on the lakes, which have been spent entirely on steamboats, he has never missed a season since he began to sail, and never had to lay off on account of sickness. Beginning his lake career as cook, he was promoted to fireman, then to wheelsman, and finally became a master, his first command being the side-wheeler Dart, on which he remained but a short time. The Captain was in the employ of Alger, Smith & Co. for fifteen years, eleven years of which time he commanded the tug Torrent, and for seven years acted as master of the tug Brockway, in which he owned an interest; he also owned a third-interest in the tug Ballentine. Captain Currie has invented and secured a patent for a sounding lead, which is considered a great improvement over the old one, and those
who have used it say it is the only lead to use, and its probable
recognition by the United States Navy will probably cause it to come
into general use. The chief feature of this instrument is the brass top or
nose piece which protects the end, and sinks quickly and naturally.
In August, 1866, Captain Currie was married to Miss Catherine M.
Russell, of Algonac, Mich., and to this marriage eight children were born
to them, six of whom are still living: Samuel Harrison, a member of the
police force of Detroit; Alfred Latta, mate with his father; Calvin Carlos;
Maggie Crane; Arthur Miles, a wheelsman, and Stephen B. Grummond,
also a wheelsman. William Russell died at the age of nineteen, and
Thomas Franklin when but two weeks old. Socially, the Captain is a
Mason, and belongs to the Ship Masters Association.
Page 383-384 - History of the Great Lakes: Volume 1 by John Brandt Mansfield.
Published by J. H. Beers & Co. in Chicago, 1899.
Menten family
Patrick and Anne Menten
Patrick Menten (1790-1865), my 2nd great grandfather, was born in Dunanaughta or Donanaughta. Eyrecourt, in the south east corner of County Galway incorporates the ancient ecclesiastical centres of Dunanaughta, Clonfert, and Meelick and is bounded by the rivers Shannon and Suck for 16 miles. Patrick enlisted in the 66th British Regiment in 1816. The next year he departed for St. Helena with his wife Anne Kelly. The 66th Regiment was guarding Napoleon. Their oldest son, my great grand uncle James Menten (1818-1870) was born on ship or at St Helena Island off the African coast. When Patrick was reassigned to Canada, the family went along. He was discharged in Kingston, Ontario in 1835 and awarded 200 acres of land in Moore township in 1838; lot #24 in the 10th concession, east of Corruna, Ontario. The family cleared the land selling the wood to steamboats on the St. Clair river. Their eldest son James E Menten ended up owning 900 acres of land along with docks near Baby’s Point just south of Port Lambton, Ontario. Father and son were collectors of customs and postmasters. Their oldest daughter Elizabeth Menten (1832-1909) was my great grandmother. She married James Nugent (1834-1891) in 1858 and had 11 children. The oldest son was also named James Nugent (1866-1951) and he was my grandfather. Great grand uncle James Menten (1818-1870) who was born on St Helena Island off the African coast had seven children. His son William “Captain” Menten (1844-1903) worked on the St. Clair river boats and was a captain of boats on the Bruce Peninsula before he moved to Harrison Mills, British Columbia in 1889. William Menton was the postmaster at Harrison River in May 1890 when a mining boom reopened interest in the Harrison to Port Douglas-Lillooet route to the Fire Lakes Mines. His wife Emma Menton bought a lot and built a Hotel-Store in Harrison Mills, running both. William “Captain” Menton captained a series of boats that plied the trade on Harrison River. The first was "Gypsy" a 50ft. screw tug. Next was the "Willie," and later the "Welcome." James and Emma Menton’s daughter Maud Leonora Menten (1879-1960) went to college and became a doctor. She co- developed the Michaelis–Menten equation in biochemistry. Maud was born in Port Lambton, Ontario and studied medicine at the University of Toronto (B.A. 1904, M.B. 1907, M.D. 1911). She was among the first women in Canada to earn a medical doctorate. She completed her thesis work at University of Chicago. At that time women were not allowed to do research in Canada, so she decided to do research in other countries such as the United States and Germany.
Harrison Mills, British Columbia, Canada
The Menten place facing the St. Clair River just south of Lambton, Ontario
Emma Menten
Patrick Menten’s grave
near the back entrance
to St. Joseph’s Church in
Corunna, Ontario.
James Menten and his
wife Anne Kelly are
buried nearby.
A wood model of a propeller tug similar to the boats that Shepard Harrison
Currie captained on the Lake Huron to Lake Erie route. The tug would pull a
string of sail powered boats through the St. Clair and Detroit rivers where the
current could run 5 knots or better.
Baby’s Point, north of Walpole Island and the Snye Carte (Chenail Ecarté) where James Menten had docks, sold
firewood, collected customs, and was postmaster. It was just up river from Algonac, Michigan and Walpole Island.
Marine City was across the river from Sombra, Ontario. Babys Point is in the lower left corner of the map. James
Menten’s land parcel is labeled just above Babys Point.
James Nugent, sailor
Postcard with the date November 16, 1908 written on the back in pencil. The narrow gauge railroad passenger
car behind the crew indicates that this is the steamer Frank H. Goodyear. James Nugent is first on the left in
the fron row.
James Nugent (1866-1951)
my grandfather was on the
Goodyear at the end of the
1908 season, November
16, 1908.
James Nugent is fourth from the right in the back row, wearing a vest. There is no information on this
photograph to indicate the name of the ship or the date the photograph was taken.
This is the Frank H. Goodyear underway.
Frank H. Goodyear
The steamer Frank H. Goodyear at dock. This high resolution image is
marred by being double exposed which left a ghost image. The narrow
gauge railroad passenger car mid-deck appears to have a curved or humped
frame. Early wood-frame RR cars often had trussrod supports and when the
turnbuckles were over tightened the car would become hump-backed. It
appears to be at a lake Superior ore-dumping dock.
Postcard with the date November 16, 1908 written on the back in pencil.
This is probably and end of year crew photograph. My grandfather, James
Nugent (1866-1951) is the first person on the left in the front row.
Six months later, on July 9, 1909, the Frank H. Goodyear was headed
northbound for Duluth following another bulk steamer, the Isaac M. Scott
when the Scott collided with the south bound steamer the John B. Cowle.
The Cowle sank.
The following year on May 23, 1910, the Frank H. Goodyear sank off Pointe
Aux Barques when it was rammed by the steamer James B. Wood. The
Goodyear sank in two minutes. Pointe Aux Barques is the tip of the Michigan
thumb where Saganaw Bay meets Lake Huron.
F. R. Hemenger was still the captain of the Goodyear but Jim Nugent wasn't
among the crew who were rescued or lost. He must have left the crew of the
Goodyear in 1909 or 1910 before the collision. Captain Hemenger, mates
Gus Zaetsch and Archie Fuller, and the cook Frank H. Bassett were all from
Algonac. Cook Bassett also had his wife Lillian and son John on board.
James Nugent (1866-1951) my
grandfather might have been on
board the Goodyear for the 1909
Cowle-Scott collision in Lake
Superior but he was not on the
Goodyear in 1910 when it was
rammed by the James B. Wood.
1908
On July 12, 1909, the 420-foot long John B. Cowle was headed down the lakes for Cleveland, Ohio. The Cowle had been loaded with iron ore at
Two Harbors, Minnesota and was crossing Lake Superior, headed for the Soo when she collided with the upbound Isaac M. Scott.
The 504-foot long Scott, a new steel steamer was running light on her maiden voyage upbound for Duluth, Minnesota. The Scott passed through the Soo Locks followed by the Goodyear, also upbound for Duluth. Because of the dense fog, Captain Hemenger of the Goodyear was following the Scott using sound as his main navigation tool. About a mile and a half after the Scott cleared Whitefish Point it hit the Scott broadside. Crew members of the sinking boat the John B. Cowle jumped to the deck of the Isaac M. Scott or into the water. The Frank H. Goodyear which was following the Scott closely picked up Captain Rogers of the Cowle and some of its crew but fourteen went down with the boat.The Story
from the Bessemer Herald Newspaper, July 24, 1909
The boat that survived
Steamer Isaac M. Scott on a previous voyage. The Scott picked up survivors
and returned to the Soo.
The boat that sank
Steamer John B. Cowle at an unloading dock on a previous voyage. Hit broadside the Cowle sank off Whitefish Point.The rescue boat
Steamer Frank H. Goodyear on a previous voyage. The Goodyear was following
the Scott. After the collision it picked survivors from the water.
1909
Steamer Moses Taylor
Chef on the boat
Chef Charles Daniels
In the Soo Locks Chef
O. Stewart, engineer
Ore boat
Steamer D. Leuty of Bay City, Michigan
John Keyser Smith (1785-1855)
first settler in Algonac, Michigan
Reliance III at Algonac, Michigan, July 4, 1911? • Pesha Photo
more info at Speedboat Kings
Jim and Frankie Nugent with Jay & Jerry Smith
Florence “Flossy” Nugent
Steamer Willis L King, Union Dock, Ashtabula Harbor, Ohio
Steamer Sir Thomas Shawnessee encrusted
with ice.
Harbor in Duluth, Minnesota
Unknown boat, crew, & location
Sault Ste Marie rapids
Charles Otis Currie
(1879-1952) My grand uncle.
Uncle “Otie” and his brother Jasper were mechanics, machinists, tool makers, pattern makers, and entrepreneurs during Detroit’s mechanical heyday. Otis Currie was the Superintendant of Machinist's for De Palma Mfg. Co., an automobile related firm. De Palma was associated with C. Harold Wills and John Lee (former Ford Motor Co. employees) as they put together a new factory in Marysville, Michigan to produce the Wills Sainte Claire automobile featuring molybdenum steel parts. In 1914 he was in business with his brother Jasper to market the Gadabout automobile, a vehicle with a light weight wicker body. In the 30s and 40s he worked at Reynolds Spring Company in Jackson, Michigan. At Reynolds he developed a number of items that recieved U. S. patents.
Coin Controlled Machine - April 16, 1907
U.S. Patent 850,817
Assigned to Caille Company of Detroit, Michigan
View-Dissolver for Magic Lanterns - May 17, 1910
U.S. Patent 958,370
Assigned to the Campbell-Kingsley Manufacturing Company of Detroit,
Michigan
Multiple Type-Writer Press - Apr. 23, 1912
U.S. Patent 1,024,461
Assigned to John Stafford
Sanitary Toilet - Jan 14, 1919
U.S. Patent 1291428
Assigned to Cornelius D. Stomler, Marine City, Michigan
Demountable Wheel - May 4, 1920
Canadian Patent 199889
Feeding Device for Sheets, Envelopes, And The Like
U.S. Patent 1,373,869 - April 5, 1921
Assigned to William O. Albig of Adrian, Michigan
Practice Golf Game - Nov. 6, 1928
U.S. Patent 1,690,158
Assigned 49/100 to Frank V. Carney of St. Clair, Michigan
Seat Frame for Automobiles and The Like - Nov. 24, 1936
U.S. Patent 2,061,923
Assigned to Reynolds Spring Company, Jackson, Michigan
Composite Structural Member - Aug. 3, 1937
U.S. Patent 2089005
Assigned to Reynolds Spring Company, Jackson, Michigan
Reinforced Fibrous Tacking Strip - April 4, 1939
U.S. Patent 2,153,514
Assigned to Reynolds Spring Company, Jackson, Michigan
Conveyer Slat - Apr. 2, 1940
U.S. Patent 2,195,796
Assigned to Reynolds Spring Company, Jackson, Michigan
Conveyer Element - Aug. 13, 1940
U.S. Patent 2,211,648
Assigned to Reynolds Spring Company, Jackson, Michigan
Tube Extractor - Oct. 25, 1949
U.S. Design Patent 155685
Assigned to K&M Products Company, Jackson, Michigan
