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 | Tug | Betsy | 1892-03-10 | 3 | Hull of tug Betsy is being torn to pieces to be burned for fuel. Last relic of river tugs. Two Davids and Wm. I. Henry were two others. | |
| Door County Advocate | Tug | Betsy | 1879-07-03 | 3 | Going to Menominee | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Tug | Betsy | 1884-06-26 | 3 | Tug Betsy is at work near Menominee, Mich, engaged in lifting ties and post from the water by an apparatus recently devised for that purpose. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Tug | Betsy | 1884-04-03 | 3 | The machinery of the tug is to be overhauled and repaired. | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Tug | Betsy | 1879-07-24 | 4 | The tug, of Ahnapee, which was to tow wood from Chambers Island to the Menominee furnace, has thrown up the contract. | |
| Door County Advocate | Tug | Betsy | 1884-07-17 | 3 | Hoisting apparatus not a success | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Tug | Betsy | 1881-11-17 | 3 | She has been towing for the Sturgeon River Lumber Co. for the past two months. | |
| Door County Advocate | Tug | Betsy | 1881-08-18 | 3 | Brought in a scow load of brick | |
| Door County Advocate | Tug | Betsy | 1879-07-10 | 3 | Contract to tow 5000 cords of wood from Chambers Island to Menominie blast furnace | |
| Ahnapee (Algoma) Record | Tug | Betsy | 1887-08-18 | 3 | The boiler and engine of the old tug Betsy was sold to C. W. Baldwin. |
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.