Family: Captain John Madden

Son of James Madden and Anna Fitsimmons

( 1859  Albany NY - 10 Dec 1907 Tonawanda NY)

Like his brother, Thomas, John grew up working on the river in Albany.  He was still living with his father at the time of the 1880 census, and it is unknown when he settled in Tonawanda, NY or if he had lived anywhere else in the interim.

John married Theodora Strong on 8 Jan 1894 in Tonawanda, NY with his brother James Madden in attendance. Dora's sister Isabella had married Michael Madden of Saginaw some years before.  At this time no connection has been found between Michael and the family of James Madden of Albany.  We are looking for a direct male line descendant to provide a DNA sample.


While Thomas handled the ship logistics and James handled the lumber side, John was a respected Great Lakes Captain.  It appears that they worked together throughout their lives and owned some ships in partnership.  At least one reference was found to "Madden Bros."

North Tonawanda Evening News 31 Oct 1900

Newspapers and ship directories throughout the Great Lakes area give information on the ships he sailed and throw in a few hints about his personality.  For example, the Tonawanda Evening News on 26 May 1904 reported that "The genial Captain has a new supply of jokes."

It appears that John and Dora lived with her mother and brother in a house at 409 Niagara Street, which was just one street from the Niagara River waterfront.  The house is still standing today, although it is possible that changes have been made.  Eliza was a widow and William H. Strong, also a ships Captain, never married.  With eight months of the year spent on the lakes, shared accommodations made sense.

John has not been found as the Captain of any particular ships before 1901 and family references said he was a pilot.  It is unknown at this time when he first was in charge. In 1901 J Madden was Captian of OW Blodgett's Sophia Minch. In 1902 of SR McLaren's AA Carpenter.  It is possible these two listings are for a different J. Madden.  We do know for certain that from 1903 to 1905 he was Captain of the Mautenee, in which he held 1/3 interest.  He is also listed as the owner manager of the Tracy J. Bronson in 1901. (1)  

North Tonawanda News

The New York Red Book 1906 p162

Like his brother James in Ashland, John became involved in the politics of the town he lived in,  and beyond.  He served on the Health commission, was a member of the Hose Company and ran for Assemblyman in 1903 losing with 44% of the vote.

North Tonawanda Evening News
24 April 1905

John's wife Dora also became involved in the shipping business.  Like many of the shipping wives, she was listed as one of the owners of the vessels.  In fact they were both part of the Strong Transportation Co. of Long Island that was formed in 1900.  That year, John and William H. Strong were sued by William Misner (married to another sister, Clara Strong) over ownership of the N.K. Fairbank (which had been re-enrolled as the Eliza H. Strong).  In the appeal to the court case (NY Court of Appeal 1905 v24)  it was shown that John had transferred his rights, title, and interest to Dora prior to 27 May 1899, he was released from the suit.  William Strong who had similarly transferred his interests to his mother was not.  The suit which had been brought to recover a fair share of the 1899 seasons profits and William was not excluded because he was manager of the vessel that year.

This is not the only ship that John might have had an interest in. He may have had partial interest in the HJ Webb, ownership was sometimes stated as TF Madden and sometimes as John F Madden.  In addition to the Tracy Bronson there may have been others, including the Mautenee.

John began the fateful year of 1905 first in directing the rebuilding of the Fred Meyer and then as Captain of the Mautenee which along with the Noquebay was in tow of the Lizzie Madden.  They arrived in port in N. Tonawanda on June 4th with a load of ore, John stating that the lumber in the northern lake ports was still too green to ship [Buffalo Express 4 Jun 1905].  

North Tonawanda Evening News
13 Nov 1905

Mary N Bourke

The terrible hurricane blowing through the Great Lakes before dawn on 20 October 1905 sank the Mautenee along with many other vessels. John, fortunate enough to save his life and crew, but without a ship, was available to bring the Mary N. Bourke home after yet another brother-in-law Capt. Phillip Heppner  (husband of Emma Strong) was injured.

Shipping on the lakes was not an easy life.  The strain of lost ships, lost cargos, and family discord takes its toll.  John, like his brother Thomas, died too early.  He passed away unexpectedly on 12 Dec 1905 at the age of 46 in his home in Tonawanda.  He is buried in St. Francis Cemetery.

North Tonawanda Evening News 12 Dec 1905

Dora lived to the age of 69.  She died quietly in her home on 6 Feb 1940 and is buried next to John in St. Francis Cemetery.  They had no children.

(1) 1901 BlueBook of American Shipping, Marine and Naval Directory of the United States. p107  Although the entry states he lived in Tonawanda it is assumed he is the same John that is listed in Bay City as owning one schooner.

Thank you to the Historical Society of the Tonawandas and St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church for their help in researching John Madden. 

See Old Fulton NY Postcards.for newspapers.

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

Family: Thomas F. Madden

(22 Feb 1854 Albany, NY - 24 Feb 1903 Bay City, MI)

Shipping was important in the lives of my Madden ancestors.  It has also led to interesting ancestry questions. This is the first of many postings about Thomas F Madden, his siblings and descendants, and some undetermined connections involved in shipping and lumbering on the Great Lakes.

Growing up near the docks of Albany, NY the sons of James Madden worked in various jobs, eventually owning vessels that were involved in the lumber shipping business in the Great Lakes. My father knew little about his family beyond the names of his grandparents and that they had lived in Bay City. I was fortunate to find help from a few of  his cousins who knew a bit more.  They have been instrumental in gathering information on the vessels owned by Thomas F. Madden, my great-grandfather.   No one, however, had information on the brothers of Thomas, beyond where they were living at the time of his death in 1903.  I spent years searching for more.  Finally, as more and more records and newspapers have become available online, I discovered that not only did Thomas maintain contact with his brothers throughout his life,  but that he was often working in partnership with his brothers and his brother-in-law.

James, the youngest brother, lived in Ashland (WI), Duluth (MN) and finally in Chicago.  He was the land based partner in the lumber shipping business.  John, a pilot,  lived in Tonawanda, near Buffalo NY, for many years.  There he married Dora Strong.  Dora's sister, Isabella, married Michael Madden of Saginaw, Michigan.  He was also a pilot on the Lakes.  This is one of those "interesting ancestry questions."  Is Michael related?  But that's a posting of it's own best left for another day.

Thomas, the oldest son of James Madden and Anna Fitzsimmons,  was born in Albany (NY) in 1854.  He left Albany sometime in the 1870s and lived in Bay City (MI) from 1880 on.  The 1880 census states that he was born in Canada. The information was most likely given by his landlord, leaving the possibility that Thomas had lived in Canada for a period of time.

Thomas married Elizabeth Silbereisen in Bay City on the 12 Oct 1882.(1)
In 1886 his occupation was listed as lumber inspector and he was living at 223 Monroe Street.(2)

Thomas was involved in the lumber trade, shipping lumber throughout the Great Lakes.  Over the years he owned a number of vessels and these will each have its own posting.  In 1901 he owned or was the manager of a three vessels, the steamer the Lizzie Madden, and the two schooner-barges the Mautenee and the Noquebay.  He also belonged to a number organizations and associations that were involved in the trade, including the Elks Bay City Lodge #88 and the Lake Carriers Association (3) 

Thomas died at the age of 49 leaving three young sons.  Elizabeth died eight years later on 19 January 1911 at the age of 52.

They had three know children, Thomas James born in 1892, Francis Martin born in 1896 and Charles Lewis born in 1899.  According to Thomas' death certificate he had 4 children and three were living.

It seems probable that there was another child born in the ten years before Thomas James was born, but to date no information has been found.  The certificate also states he was first married at age 29, the age when he married Elizabeth so it is unlikely there was an earlier marriage.

Their three sons inherited their father's share of the shipping business.  Their Aunt Lena Schramm served as Adx. of the estate, and their Uncle Michael Lynn ran the company.  The estate was not settled for many years as Charles was only 11 when his mother died.  Starting with the purchase of the AW Wright for $1.00 from their parents estate, the brothers were in partnership for many years shipping fruit and later cars.  But again that is another story. 

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1. Copied by Kitty (Lynn) Schwall, from the Family Bible of Thomas and Elizabeth Madden which was in the possession of Aunt Lena Schramm, in letter to Carl Madden and family 8/6/1951. 
2.  Madden Thomas F, lumber inspector 8 Watson block, res 223 S Monroe: Bay City Directory 1886-7. R.L. Polk & Co
3. Marine Review 16 Jan 1896 p. 7 -  Thomas Madden attended the meeting of the Lake Carrier's Association.