The Ships - Mautenee

The Mautenee, Montagnais for dirty river, was a schooner-barge built in 1873 by Alvin A. Turner of Trenton, MI.(1) It was 200.58' long, 34.25' wide and had a hold depth of 12.33' and a gross tonnage of 647.88'.  The Mautenee (US50962) was first enrolled at Chicago on 11 Jun 1873.

Mautenee

"Marquette, Sep 18 - The barge Mautenee in tow of the Lizzie Madden, reached here late last night, a pretty complete wreck.  The masts are gone, the deck had been carried away and the vessel was full of water."  (Buffalo Daily Courier - 19 Sep 1901 p2c4)

In 1902 the Captain of the Mautenee was Andrew Bigger.  Capt. Bigger moved to the Noquebay in 1903 and John Madden assumed the captaincy of the Mautenee.  He was still Captain when it was blown aground at Ripley NY on Lake Erie, one of the many casualties of the predawn hurricane of 20 Oct 1905. Unsalvageable, it was left in place to break apart over the next two months.

In 1907 Dora, the widow of John Madden, filed suit against Elizabeth Madden the widow of Thomas with the Lizzie Madden as collateral, claiming that she had not received compensation for John's one third interest in the Mautenee.  A bond was filed and the boat was allowed to sail.

I have not found the conclusion to this suit.  Did the insurance settlement get shared with Dora?  Did the attorneys go to court?  Which court?  Elizabeth was a resident of Bay City, MI and the Mautenee was registered there.  Dora was a resident of North Tonawanda, NY, which is where she filed the libel against the Lizzie Madden.

Great Lakes Vessels Online


Pictures of the Mautenee can be found in the University of Michigan's Collection - Great Lakes Maritime Database.

1. J. B. Mansfield, ed., History of the Great Lakes. Volume I, Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1899