Kinsman Transport

The decade of the 1890's was unkind to one of the oldest fleets on the Great Lakes, and the family that started it under Captain Philip Minch about 50 years earlier. Ships were sunk, and the family and the crews felt the pain of lost of lives in this decade. The daughter of Captain Philip Minch, Sophia, had married a young lawyer and businessman named Henry Steinbrenner, who was reluctant at first to become involved in Great Lakes shipping. However he did, and in 1901, with the older Minch fleet, he formed the Kinsman Marine Transit Company. The need for a modern fleet was apparent, and the first vessel for this new enterprise was built in 1901, and took the name, Henry Steinbrenner. This ship was built by Jenks Shipbuilding at Port Huron, Michigan, at 440 feet long, which put it among the larger boats on the Lakes. Kinsman would become a company that would haul iron ore, coal, and stone, but grain would become its main business. This first Kinsman boat would soon be joined by other newly built vessels for the fleet, but this steamer would begin a career of accidents over the years. After 52 years of service this first Henry Steinbrenner would end in one more major accident when she foundered in Lake Superior in a storm on May 11, 1953. Seventeen died, and 14 survived of the crew. Three subsequent vessels would carry this name, but the sinking of the first one is still remembered.

(Photo - Dowling collection)