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Cape

Appleby's Point

Also Appleby Point

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypeCape
WithinBeaver Island
ErasIrish eraModern era
On this page
Cape
Eras
Irish eraModern era
Concepts
toponymymaritimelighthousesheritage
Within
Beaver Island
Media
Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision

Summary

Appleby’s Point is a locally used name for the southern tip of Beaver Island, west of Kelly Point. Later newspaper notices establish the name and associate the area with Section 21.12

The 1978 Historical Map says the point was named for Captain Gilbert Appleby, the third keeper at Beaver Island Light Station. Elizabeth Whitney Williams independently confirms a Captain Appleby of Buffalo in that position in the keeper succession. Biographical, land, and lighthouse research identifies the probable person as Gilman Appleby, with Gillman Appleby on his 1864 federal patent and Gilbert Apelby in a later census transcription. The map therefore appears to preserve a variant given name, not a separate keeper.

The keeper identity is stronger than the toponymic claim: no deed, chart, or contemporary naming account read here explicitly says the point was named for him.

Open questions

  • When does Appleby’s Point first appear on a chart, plat, deed, or newspaper?
  • Did Appleby’s 1864 Lot 5 adjoin the point, and can a cadastral reconstruction establish that relationship without assuming residence?
  • What source led the Historical Map to use “Gilbert” rather than Gilman?

See also

Footnotes

  1. Beaver Beacon, December 1988. ↩

  2. Beaver Beacon, April 2002. ↩

The page

Rendered from the held scan.

Appleby's Point — p. 1
Held scanElizabeth Whitney Williams, *A Child of the Sea; and Life among the Mormons* (1905), p. 187.Open the page image · Download this page

Sources

  1. Described in this archive: A Child of the Sea; and Life among the Mormons, 1905.
    Williams places Captain Appleby of Buffalo third in the head-of-island light keeper succession. She does not mention the point or give his first name.
    internet_archive · childofsealifeam00will
  2. Described in this archive: GLO land record MI2400__.039-37n-10w-21-5.
    The patent independently establishes the Gillman spelling and Lot 5, Section 21 conveyance; it does not name Appleby’s Point or prove residence. The holder's public portal is searchable but does not link this record directly; the archive holds a copy of the file and can provide it on request.
    federal · glo · patents · 17425753714195534295-patent-sta-mi2400-039
  3. Calls Appleby’s Point the island’s southern tip in reporting construction of a home there. This establishes later local use of the point name, not its origin or boundary. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1988-12_Beaver-Beacon
  4. Places Appleby’s Point at the south end between Kelly and Appleby points and associates it with Section 21. A real-estate notice is not a surveyed cape definition. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2002-04_Beaver-Beacon
  5. Described in this archive: Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision.
    Says the point was named for Captain “Gilbert” Appleby, third light keeper. Independent evidence favors Gilman/Gillman Appleby; Gilbert Apelby survives as a census-transcription variant.

Added 7 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Appleby's Point”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/places/applebys-point/, accessed [date], citing Elizabeth Whitney Williams, *A Child of the Sea; and Life among the Mormons* (1905), p. 187. (and 4 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-07. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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