Search below for stories about ships, lighthouses, sailors and anything else about life on Lake Michigan. The database contains references to articles from the Ahnapee (Algoma) Record (June 12, 1873 to Jan. 7, 1927), the Door County Advocate (Nov. 8, 1861 to Dec. 22, 1949), and the Manitowoc Pilot (June 14, 1859 to Dec. 28, 1899). The results will direct you to the date and page in these newspapers where the article can be found.
Microfilm copies of the Ahnapee (Algoma) Record are available at the Wisconsin Historical Society Library in Madison, Algoma Public Library in Algoma. Microfilm copies of the Door County Advocate are available at the Wisconsin Historical Society Library in Madison, the Door County Public Library in Sturgeon Bay, and the Brown County Library in Green Bay. Microfilm of the Manitowoc Pilot are available at the Manitowoc County Historical Society, the Manitowoc Public Library, and the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison.
Check with your local library about obtaining the microfilm via interlibrary loan.
| Newspaper | Object | Name | Date | Page | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Scow | Lady Ellen | 1881-10-20 | 3 | The scow is loading with lumber, which she will take to Whitefish Bay, where it will be used in the erection of a boarding house. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Scow | Lady Ellen | 1881-12-29 | 3 | To have her overhauled this winter. They will put a new deck and cabin on her and lengthen her about 6 feet and raise deck beams 1' | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Scow | Lady Ellen | 1881-12-01 | 3 | Arrived with a cargo of furniture, from Two Rivers, for Kumbalek & Pies, H. Detjen and E. Suchanek. To go into winter quarters. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Scow | Lady Ellen | 1882-05-25 | 3 | With favorable weather she will be ready to launch within a few days. She will look like her former self no more. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Scow | Lady Ellen | 1882-06-15 | 3 | The Lady Ellen is being put in first class order, and her owners will soon be ready to "go to sea in a ship." | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Scow | Lady Ellen | 1882-07-27 | 3 | Arrived from Manistee with a mixed cargo consisting of lumber, lath and shingles, for Swaty & McDonald. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Scow | Lady Ellen | 1882-06-29 | 3 | Cleared on first trip since being rebuilt. She arrived with 45 M feet of lumber for Swaty & McDonald. She now hails from Milwaukee. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Scow | Lady Ellen | 1882-10-12 | 3 | Vessels arrived and cleared this port. Wood for F. Swaty & Son. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Scow | Lady Ellen | 1882-08-31 | 3 | The Lady Ellen went to Milwaukee with a cargo of wood for F. Swaty & Son the 19th, and has been delayed there by unfavorable winds. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Scow | Lady Ellen | 1882-09-14 | 3 | The scow Lady Ellen took a cargo of brick to Sturgeon Bay for F. Swaty & Son, Monday. |
This database is a cooperative effort of the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association (WUAA), the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS), and the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. The project is spearheaded by WUAA member Russel Leitz, who helped develop a framework for the database and painstakingly combed through 54 years of the Ahnapee (Algoma) Record, 87 years of the Door County Advocate and 40 years of the Manitowoc Pilot for maritime news. The more than 50,000 references are the fruit of his labor alone.