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Vessel

Frank C. Leighton

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypeVessel
RigSchooner
Datesto 1887
ErasIrish era
On this page
Vessel
Rig
Schooner
Dates
to 1887
Eras
Irish era
Concepts
shippingmaritimeshipwrecks
Media
Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision

Summary

The Frank C. Leighton was a schooner carrying iron ore when it became stranded on the west side of Beaver Island in 1887. The held account says the station keeper and volunteer crew saved it.1

Evidence and limits

The vessel is based on a December 1961 local retrospective. It is not merged with other vessels of the same name without a contemporary record establishing identity, and no registry, owner, master, or exact shore location is asserted.

The 1978 History Map adds a French Bay placement, twenty men, and 100 tons of ore jettisoned to refloat the vessel. A direct search of the federal 1887–88 Life-Saving Service casualty table did not find the vessel, although the table does record other Beaver Island incidents. Those map details remain unverified; the surviving 1887 Beaver Island station log is the next primary record to test.

Open questions

  • What were the vessel’s registry, owner, master, dimensions, and home port?
  • Can a contemporary report document the stranding and rescue?
  • Does the 1887 Beaver Island Life-Saving Station log name the vessel or record the alleged cargo-lightening operation?

See also

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Beaver Beacon, December 1961, “The Changing Face of Beaver Island.” ↩

Sources

  1. Retrospective identifies the Frank C. Leighton as a schooner carrying iron ore that became stranded on the west side of Beaver Island in 1887 and was saved by the station keeper and volunteer crew.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-12_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held six-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1961-12_Beaver-Beacon
  3. Described in this archive: Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision.
    Places the incident near French Bay and says twenty men floated the vessel after throwing 100 tons of ore overboard. These details remain map-only.
    websites · www.beaverisland.net · raw · History · Historical_Map · history_map_1800
  4. United States Life-Saving Service, Annual Report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1888, casualty table, pp. 311–352.
    Direct search found other Beaver Island casualties but no Frank C. Leighton entry; absence from this table does not prove the retrospective false. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    research · beaver_island_history_map_1978 · primary_sources · uslss-annual-report-fy1888
  5. Lists Beaver Island station logs for 1883–1941, including the incident year; the relevant log has not yet been inspected.

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 7 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Frank C. Leighton”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/vessels/frank-c-leighton-1887/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, December 1961, “The Changing Face of Beaver Island.” (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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