SUNKEN HISTORY — A Diver's Journal
The Search for the John Breden, Part II
by Capt. Deb Biniecki

I sat in the back of the St. Clair County Library, hunched over the microfilm machine for what seemed like an eternity. Blurry eyed from viewing yards of film from 1899, I was ready to call it a night. But something told me to keep going for a little whiale longer. Suddenly, there it was. Every ship wreck hunter's dream. An exact location! The August 19th, 1899, edition of the Port Huron Daily Times stated the wreck of the John Breden . . . 'lies in 40 feet of water, in the track of vessels, with stern ashore. About 10 feet of the foremast and all of the top mast is visible above water. The wreck lies about 4 ¼ miles off shore on the following approximate bearings: Fort Gratiot Light House south one degree east true (8 ¼ W mag.). Center of town of Lexington north 47 degrees west true (N. W. 1/8 N mag.).'

This was incredible. Except for the fact that the antiquated compass points did not make sense to me, as they were unlike the modern compass headings I was familiar with. I left with the printed page in hand and headed to the YMCA where my husband Garry was teaching a scuba class. Andy Donato, an electrical engineer from Marysville, was assisting with the class. After the class I shared the information with Garry and Andy. They, too, were stumped. Andy agreed to take a look at the numbers and work on converting them to a modern compass heading.

At 1:30 a.m. the phone rang. Andy had the numbers. Both Andy and I had to work the next day. However, Garry and dive buddy Nathan Butler had the day off. They left early the next morning to search for the Breden without us. Using the Biniecki's Klein side scanning sonar, and starting at the location of Andy's numbers, they expanded the pattern outward. Within a few hours the sonar printout revealed an unusual image. They were certain they located wreckage but waited for Andy and I to get out of work to dive the site.

That evening the team gathered at the Lexington Harbor and set out to the possible wreck location aboard the Huron Explorer. By the time Garry dropped anchor, Andy and I were suited up and ready to get in the water. We quickly descended beneath the surface and into the unknown with great anticipation. There was nothing immediately visible but the astonishingly clear water. Then, a silvery school of shad shimmered in the distance. This was a very good sign since they tend to hover around structures. Moments later, the dark hulk of some wreckage came into view. We appeared to be on some part of the mid section of the hull. It was broken up quite badly. The bow was nowhere in sight. We spotted a bell, glinting brightly in the waning evening light. We checked for a name, but found nothing. Even without the name, there was little question that this was the schooner John Breden. Given the location and the initial appearance of the wreckage, it fit with the story. After resting for nearly 100 years undisturbed on the bottom of Lake Huron, we had found the John Breden.

Over the next several months the group continued to gather information on the schooner from various sources such as The Institute for Great Lakes Research at Bowling Green State University, The Great Lakes Historical Society in Vermilion, Ohio, Canal Park Museum in Duluth, MN, various historical photograph collections, continued review of microfilm of old newspaper articles, and correspondence with the state historian, John Halsey. We made numerous dives and found that the wreck site was spread out over several hundred yards. It was all but impossible for four divers to properly search and document such a vast area. We decided to put together an underwater archeology class and enlist the help of other divers interested in an Underwater Archeology specialty. At the time, Garry was one of only two scuba instructors in Michigan certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors to teach underwater archeology.

The group enlisted the assistance of 31 underwater archeology students to explore and document the site. Using a grid pattern and surveyor's tape, the students measured the keel to confirm the numbers with museum records and the shipwright's log. They also located the bow, gunwales, a large crockery jug, the ship's wheel, a large anchor with a wooden stock, a pulley, a mast ring and the remains of two unknown sailors. The group took photos and documented as the class made progress. The group painstakingly pieced together the story of the wreck of the John Breden, while keeping the exact location a closely guarded secret. The state advised the group regarding disposition of the remains, which were buried in the sand away from the wreck. The location of the wreck was released only after all of the documentation was complete.

The schooner John Breden was a wooden merchant barkentine built by Donaldson & Andrews at Port Dalousie, Ontario. She measured 130 x 25 x 12 and had one deck and three masts. She was built for John Breden and others of Kingston, Ontario. The Breden was launched into service in 1862. A barkentine is a three masted ship with the foremast being square rigged and mizzenmast only for-and-aft rigged. After losing her head gear in a collision in 1875, her main mast and rigging were removed to provide more deck space for stacked lumber. She then served under several shipping companies as a humble barge for the remainder of her career in the lumber and coal trade.

By 1899 the 36-year-old Breden had changed ownership 15 times and had fallen into a state of disrepair. She was rated to carry only 319 tons. However, at the time of the sinking, she was carrying 600 tons of coal. On July 21, 1899, while under tow of the Winslow, seriously overloaded and in poor condition, she broke apart and foundered. She took two unknown sailors and the cook Jane Connors to the bottom with her. As was common at the time, transients were often taken aboard as crew and little was known about their lives.

The captain could not account for why the Breden was loaded with more than double her rated capacity. The coroner's inquest censured both the owners and the mate of the Breden and served as a warning to an industry, which routinely promoted their purposes over the safety of the crew. However, business continued as usual on the Great Lakes. The cook Jane Connors and the two unknown sailors became footnotes in maritime history, waiting silently for someone to tell their story.

If you would like to contact Capt. Deb with any ideas, feedback or information regarding shipwreck stories, contact her through Huron Explorations at 810-648-4638 or email at fathoms@greatlakes.net. SCUBA diving charters can also be arranged through the above contact information.