- The position of some illustrations has been changed to facilitate
reading flow.
- The frontispiece featuring a picture of Elizabeth Whitney Williams
(noted in the table of illustrations at the beginning of the text) is
missing from the original scanned book.
- In general, geographical references, spelling, hyphenation, and
capitalization have been retained as in the original publication.
- Minor typographical errors--usually periods, commas and hyphens--have
been corrected without note.
- Significant typographical errors have been corrected. A full list of
these corrections is available in the Transcriber's Corrections section
at the end of the book.
* * * * *
A CHILD
OF THE
SEA
_This edition of "A Child of the Sea" is being printed under the
auspices of the Beaver Island Historical Society, to give our friends
some of the history and legend of the Island. The story begins in the
early 1800's, discussing particularly the occupancy by the Mormons, over
a century ago, and continuing through the resettlement of the Island by
the Irish, whose descendants still live there._
A CHILD
OF THE
SEA; AND
LIFE AMONG
THE MORMONS
BY
ELIZABETH WHITNEY WILLIAMS.
===========================
COPYRIGHTED 1905.
ELIZABETH WHITNEY WILLIAMS.
===========================
Having lived all my life beside the water, with my brothers and many
dear friends sailing on the lakes, and with the loss of many of my
people by drowning, connected with the many years of my life as a Light
Keeper, I affectionately dedicate this little book, with fragments of my
life history, to the sailor men in whose welfare I have always felt a
deep interest.
Elizabeth Whitney Williams.
Introductory.
At the earnest request of many friends I have written this book with
some incidents of my early life before coming to Beaver Island.
What I have written about the Mormons are my own personal experiences
and what I knew about them by living constantly near them for four years
of my life; our leaving the island and settling at Charlevoix for safety
then our being driven from there. After the fight then my life in
Traverse City and finally returning to Beaver Island again. After the
Mormons were expelled my twenty-seven years' residence at that time with
the four first years gives thirty-one years of Beaver Island life with
as much knowledge of Mormon life as any one outside of their teachings
could possibly have. In this little history I have only touched lightly
upon the reality, writing what my memory contained that might be
interesting, telling the stories as near as possible as they were told
to me by the people themselves that had lived and suffered by the Mormon
doctrine; some things my parents told me when I was too young to
remember, during the first part of my residence on "Beaver Island."
Biography.
My father, Walter Whitney, was born in Genesee County, New York State.
At the breaking out of the Blackhawk and Florida war, enlisted, served
his time, was honorably discharged, came to Fort Brady, Sault Ste.
Marie, from there to Mackinac Island, there married my mother, who was a
widow with three sons, myself being the only child born of that
marriage.
My mother was born on Mackinac Island of British parents, left an orphan
young, was adopted by Captain Michael Dousman and wife, residing in
their family almost thirty years. She married Mr. Lewis Gebeau of
Montreal, Canada. Four sons were born Mr. Gebeau and one son dying. My
mother married Walter Whitney, my father, residing part of the time at
Mackinac Island, going to Grand Haven with the ferrys returning again to
Mackinac Island until my father took the contract to build the Newton
Brothers' vessel "Eliza Caroline," on the little island St. Helena, then
our winter in Manistique, then our coming to Beaver Island. I was born
at Mackinac Island. My mother lived to the grand age of one hundred
years, passing away since my residence at Little Traverse Light House on
Harbor Point, Michigan, U. S. A.
Illustrations.