- Born
- 1806-08-29
- Died
- 1867-02
- Work
- Keeper, Beaver Island Light Station
- Eras
- Irish era
- Concepts
- maritimelighthousesheritage
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
Gilman Appleby (1806–1867) is the identity of “Captain Appleby, of Buffalo, N.Y.,” whom Elizabeth Whitney Williams places in the Beaver Island Light Station keeper succession between Patrick Loaney and Harrison Miller. A published keeper sequence lists Gilman Appleby from 1861 to 1863, while Helen Collar’s later research card transcribes the 1860 census as “Gilbert Apelby.”1
Evidence and limits
The captain, Buffalo connection, Great Lakes command career, 1860 keeper census
entry, and 1861–63 keeper sequence converge on one person. A nineteenth-century
county history gives his exact birth date; a separate nineteenth-century
regional history gives only his death month and year, which this record
preserves. The held GLO patent independently connects the profile to Lot 5,
Section 21, T37N R10W under its source spelling Gillman Appleby. It
establishes a named federal conveyance, not residence, later title, or a
complete property history. The record does not yet include an original
appointment document or a civil death record.
See also
Footnotes
-
Lighthousefriends.com, “Beaver Island Lighthouse,” keeper list; accessed August 2, 2026. ↩
The page
Rendered from the held scan.
Sources
- Described in this archive: A Child of the Sea; and Life among the Mormons, 1905.Williams says “Captain Appleby, of Buffalo, N.Y.” succeeded Patrick Loaney as keeper at the head-of-island light and that Harrison Miller later succeeded Appleby. She does not supply Appleby’s given name, dates, or a service appointment record.
- Described in this archive: Helen Collar Papers web transcriptions.The card identifies Captain Gilman Appleby as the third keeper, quotes Williams, and gives a separate 1860-census transcription as “Gilbert Apelby,” age 50, lightkeeper. Its “1810–1867 or 1868” notation conflicts with other historical sources; the 1860 age itself is consistent with the separately sourced 1806 birth.web · collar_biographical_biographical-papers-a-g
- Described in this archive: GLO land record MI2400__.039-37n-10w-21-5.The held patent identifies “Gillman Appleby” as grantee for Lot 5. Collar’s separately held card records Gilman Appleby’s purchase from the United States of the exact same lot, furnishing the specific spelling and legal-description bridge. The 1864 patent issuance does not establish residence, later conveyances, or a complete title chain. The holder's public portal is searchable but does not link this record directly; the archive holds a copy of the file and can provide it on request.federal · glo · patents · 17425753714195534295-patent-sta-mi2400-039
- Nineteenth-century county history identifies Captain Gilman Appleby as a Bethlehem, New Hampshire native born August 29, 1806, and describes his Great Lakes command career.
- Nineteenth-century regional history records that Captain Gilman Appleby, an old Great Lakes commander, died in Buffalo in February 1867. It does not provide a day, so the death date remains month-level.
Added 2 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Gilman Appleby”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/gilman-appleby/, accessed [date], citing Elizabeth Whitney Williams, *A Child of the Sea; and Life among the Mormons* (1905), p. 187. (and 4 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.