Beaver Island History - Helen Collar Papers
Travelers Accounts
[Frederick] Marryat -
July 1837 - Boarded the Michigan in Detroit for Mackinac.
Aug. 1 - Arrived Mackinac - met Schoolcraft ([who] called Marryat "perfect sea-urchin,
ugly, rough, ill-mannered, & conceited beyond bounds" -Schoolcraft's
memoirs). Went by canoe to the Sault.
Aug. 9 - Again boarded the Michigan & returned to Detroit.
May 10 [or 1, unclear] - arrived Detroit; stayed a week & left for Green Bay.
Harriet Martineau in 1836 - "During the bright morning of this day (early in July) we passed the Fox & Beaver Islands" (- His. Mack.).
W. P. Strickland, "Old Mackinac," 1860 - "In the northern part of Lake Michigan are located the Beaver Islands. There are 5 or 6 of this group bearing different names. Big Beaver is the most considerable & contains perhaps 40 sq. miles. These islands all lie in the vicinity of each other. The Big Beaver was, up to July 1856, in possession of the Mormons, who claimed it as a gift from the Lord" (- His. Mack.).