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Person

Lawrence M. McDonough

Also Lawrence McDonough · Capt. Lawrence McDonough · Lawrence M. McDonough

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypePerson
Born1914-11-15
Died2015-12-29
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Person
Born
1914-11-15
Died
2015-12-29
Work
Logging-camp operator and sawmill owner · Captain, ferry Emerald Isle · Captain, ferry Beaver Islander · Cattle rancher (Jordan River Ranch/"Ponderosa of Beaver Island" partnership with Henry Allen and Bud McDonough) · Business manager, Beaver Island Boat Company (Charlevoix office)
Spouse
Wini McDonough
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
maritimeshippingcommunityeconomyconservation
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

Lawrence M. McDonough (1914-2015), son of Sylvester and Mary “Vesty” McDonough, worked on Beaver Island as a logging-camp operator and sawmill owner in the mid-1950s, captained the ferry Emerald Isle from 1957 and the new Beaver Islander from her August 1962 christening, and partnered with Henry Allen and Bud McDonough in a cattle-ranching venture, “Ponderosa of Beaver Island” (later the Jordan River Ranch). He piloted the Beaver Islander through poor visibility and heavy seas during her December 27, 1968 final crossing of the season, an event the Charlevoix Courier covered in detail. He married Winifred (“Winni”/“Wini”) McDonough circa 1939, and their children included Gary, Larry (Lawrence Wayne), Kevin, Joseph, Kathleen, and Pamela.

History

Logging, sawmilling, and ranching

Beacon items from 1955 name Lawrence McDonough, with Walt Wogan and James Gallagher Jr., as one of three island logging-camp operators, each running a winter crew of about a dozen men; a January 1958 item describes his camp’s season (7 January to 15 March) cutting logs later turned into croquet mallets on the island and finished in Grand Rapids.1 He also owned a sawmill on the island’s west road: an August 1958 Beacon item reports a fatal accident there when an employee was struck by a piece of wood thrown from the saw, and a September 1960 note reports a separate employee’s hand injury “at Lawrence McDonough’s saw mill.”2 In May 1960, Bud and Lawrence McDonough, with two Pontiac-area partners, began raising beef cattle on the island; by March 1961, a formal partnership of Henry Allen, Lawrence McDonough, and Bud McDonough, dubbed “Ponderosa of Beaver Island,” had purchased seventy head of Hereford cattle, invested over $20,000, and planned to grow the herd past 300 head.3 By October 1963, the operation was known as the Jordan River Ranch, and its cattle were ferried to the mainland aboard the Beaver Islander, “temporarily converted to a floating stock yard.”4

Ferry captain

Lawrence McDonough became captain of the ferry Emerald Isle in April 1957, continuing in the role through the ferry’s winter layups and spring resumptions each year.5 When the Beaver Island Boat Company’s new ferry, the Beaver Islander, was christened at St. James on August 5, 1962, his mother, Mrs. Mary McDonough, broke the champagne bottle over the bow as he stood by as her son and the vessel’s captain.6 He remained her captain through the ferry’s December 27, 1968 final crossing of the season, when the Charlevoix Courier reported he steered the boat through poor visibility and heavy seas with the radar and other navigation equipment out of service.7 He was hospitalized in April 1973 and expected release that week, per a brief Beacon notice.8 By December 1974 he had moved from the wheelhouse to the Beaver Island Boat Company’s shore office: a Beacon item on the Beaver Islander’s final 1974 winter trip identifies him as “business manager for the company,” and a second December 1974 item names him as business manager in reporting the company’s purchase of the former Erber Auto Company property on Clinton Street in Charlevoix for parking.9 By February 1976, company schedules printed in the Beacon list “Lawrence McDonough, Manager” at the Charlevoix business office, and by then his family was established in Charlevoix rather than on the island, as repeated 1976-1979 notices for his children give the family’s address there.10

Family

His mother, Mary “Vesty” McDonough, was born in 1879 at Sand Bay and married Sylvester McDonough in 1898; a Beacon item marking her 85th birthday in September 1964 names her children as Lloyd and Lawrence McDonough of St. James, Nellie O’Donnell, Marge Teter, and Robert McDonough.11 Lawrence and his wife, Winifred, celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on September 2, 1964, placing their marriage circa 1939.12 A January 1961 “Beaver Island Fairy Tale” item names Lawrence and Wini McDonough as the household that raised a 256-pound milk-fed pig for a holiday-season contest, using the same everyday form of his wife’s name; his 2015 obituary (Mortensen Funeral Homes) identifies him as Lawrence Matthew McDonough, born on Beaver Island, husband of Winifred LaFreniere, matching the Holy Cross Cemetery index’s Lawrence M. McDonough (1914-11-15–2015-12-29).13 Their son Larry (Lawrence Wayne) McDonough married Kay Ellen Taylor in May 1964; other Beacon items name sons Gary, Kevin, and Joseph and daughters Kathleen (“Kathie”) and Pamela, the last of whom announced her engagement to Craig Ruesch in February 1975.14 Daughter Kathleen was elected president of the North Central Michigan College chapter of the Michigan Student Nursing Association in April 1976, and by June 1977 had graduated with an Associate of Science degree in Nursing and was working, alongside her sister Pamela, at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor.15 Son Joseph H. McDonough married Margaret Amanda Works at Holy Cross Catholic Church on December 29, 1978, with brother Lawrence W. McDonough as best man and sisters Pam and Kathie as bridesmaids; a son, Kevin McDonough, served as a groomsman, and by September 1974 was himself captaining the Boat Company’s second vessel, the South Shore, in a mid-lake rescue of three people from an overturned sailboat near Harbor Springs.1617

Significance

Lawrence McDonough is documented across five decades of Beaver Island newspaper notices: as the captain of both ferries that served the island in succession — the Emerald Isle and the Beaver Islander — during the years the Boat Company transitioned equipment; as the company’s shoreside business manager in Charlevoix from at least December 1974; and separately as an operator in the island’s logging, sawmilling, and cattle-ranching economies. His transition from wheelhouse to business office, and his son Kevin’s own captaincy of the South Shore by 1974, place him at the center of a family maritime succession spanning the Boat Company’s mid-century operations.

Open questions

  • No source read here documents the exact date Lawrence McDonough’s captaincy of the Beaver Islander ended, only that he was reported as the company’s business manager by December 1974, roughly a year after his April 1973 hospitalization.
  • The relationship, if any, between “Ponderosa of Beaver Island” (1961) and the “Jordan River Ranch” name used for the same partnership by October 1963 is not explained in the sources read here.
  • No source read here gives Lawrence McDonough’s cause of death or burial detail beyond the Holy Cross Cemetery index’s bare 1914-2015 lifespan, nor documents how long he served as business manager or when he retired from the Boat Company.

See also

Sources

See the sources: block above for full citation and provenance detail.

Footnotes

  1. Beaver Beacon, March 1955 and January 1958, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1955-03_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  2. Beaver Beacon, August 1958, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1958-08_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  3. Beaver Beacon, May 1960 and March 1961, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1960-05_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  4. Beaver Beacon, October 1963, “It’s Round-Up Time on Beaver,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1963-10_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  5. Beaver Beacon, April 1957 and January 1958, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1957-04_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  6. Beaver Beacon, August 1962, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1962-08_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  7. Charlevoix Courier, January 1, 1969, “Friday’s storm fails to halt final run for boat” and “Beaver Islander’s last trip,” data/newspapers/charlevoix/ocr/markdown/charlevoixcourie1969unse.md. ↩

  8. Beaver Beacon, April 1973, “Hospital Notes,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1973-04_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  9. Beaver Beacon, September and December 1974, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1974-09_Beaver-Beacon.md and a December 1974 issue reporting the Beaver Islander’s last 1974 winter trip and the Erber Auto Company property purchase. ↩

  10. Beaver Beacon, February 1976 (Boat Company schedule) and April 1976, October 1977, and August 1978 (family notices), /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1976-02_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  11. Beaver Beacon, October 1964, “Happy Birthday to Our Oldest Islander,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1964-10_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  12. Beaver Beacon, September 1964, “Silver Anniversary,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1964-09_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  13. Beaver Beacon, January 1961, “Beaver Island Fairy Tale,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1961-01_Beaver-Beacon.md; Lawrence McDonough obituary, Mortensen Funeral Homes, 2015, https://www.mortensenfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/lawrence-mcdonough. ↩

  14. Beaver Beacon, May 1964, “Weddings,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1964-05_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  15. Beaver Beacon, April 1976 and October 1977, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1976-04_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  16. Beaver Beacon, January 1979, “Works-McDonough” wedding report, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1979-01_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  17. Beaver Beacon, September 1974, rescue report, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1974-09_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

Kin

This articleLawrence M.McDonough1914 – 2015Wini McDonough1920 – 2009
Only relations stated in the sources are drawn; absence means unrecorded, not childless or unmarried.

The dated record

7 dated events · 1914–2015These years on the timeline →

Read the document

6 pages, rendered from the held scan.

Lawrence M. McDonough — p. 1
Page 1 of 6Charlevoix Courier, January 1, 1969, “Friday’s storm fails to halt final run for boat” and “Beaver Islander’s last trip.”Open the page image · Download this page
All 6 pages
  1. Lawrence M. McDonough — p. 11
  2. Lawrence M. McDonough — p. 22
  3. Lawrence M. McDonough — p. 33
  4. Lawrence M. McDonough — p. 44
  5. Lawrence M. McDonough — p. 55
  6. Lawrence M. McDonough — p. 66

Sources

  1. Charlevoix Courier, January 1, 1969, “Friday’s storm fails to halt final run for boat” and “Beaver Islander’s last trip.”
    Names Capt. Lawrence McDonough at the wheel during the December 27, 1968 final crossing and describes his navigation decisions in the storm. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request. The page reader on this article shows pages 2-7 of the 482-page bound annual volume; it is an extract, renumbered from one, not the whole volume.
    charlevoix · charlevoixcourie1969unse
  2. Held raw issue OCR preserves the captain’s name and role independently.
    charlevoix · issues · charlevoixcourie1969unse · charlevoixcourie1969unse_djvu
  3. Names Captain Lawrence McDonough as part of the Beaver Islander fitting-out crew, supporting continuity of the captain name and vessel role without supplying a full civil biography.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1965-04_Beaver-Beacon
  4. The held seven-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1965-04_Beaver-Beacon
  5. Reports Lawrence McDonough as a patient in Charlevoix Hospital who expected release that week; it does not identify the condition, admission date, or medical record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-04_Beaver-Beacon
  6. The held eleven-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1973-04_Beaver-Beacon
  7. Lists Lawrence M. McDonough (1914–2015). The recurring captain’s name, the Beaver Islander role, and the same-community hospital notice provide the identity bridge.
  8. Identifies Pamela Anne McDonough as Lawrence McDonough’s daughter in an engagement notice. The family relationship is retained as reported and does not add a complete genealogy. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1975-02_Beaver-Beacon
  9. The scan confirms the parent relationship in the engagement notice.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-02_Beaver-Beacon
  10. Names Lawrence McDonough, with Walt Wogan and James Gallagher Jr., as one of three island logging-camp operators, each employing about a dozen men across both winters; the January 1958 issue reports his camp's 1958 season running 7 January to 15 March, cutting logs later turned into croquet mallets.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1955-03_Beaver-Beacon
  11. Reports a fatal accident at "the Lawrence McDonough Mill on the west road," identifying it as his sawmill; a September 1960 hospital note separately reports an employee's hand injury "at Lawrence McDonough's saw mill." The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1958-08_Beaver-Beacon
  12. Reports "New Captain for the 'Emerald Isle' is Lawrence McDonough"; the January 1958 issue names him "Skipper" reporting the ferry's winter layup and spring resumption date. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1957-04_Beaver-Beacon
  13. Reports Bud and Lawrence McDonough, with two Pontiac-area partners, beginning to raise beef cattle on the island; a March 1961 item names the formal Henry Allen/Lawrence McDonough/Bud McDonough cattle partnership, "Ponderosa of Beaver Island," with over $20,000 invested and plans to grow the herd past 300 head.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1960-05_Beaver-Beacon
  14. Describes the August 5, 1962 christening of the new ferry Beaver Islander, identifying Lawrence McDonough as her captain and his mother, Mrs. Mary McDonough, as the one who broke the champagne bottle over the bow.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1962-08_Beaver-Beacon
  15. Reports Mary "Vesty" McDonough's 85th birthday, September 22, 1964; born 1879 at Sand Bay, married Sylvester McDonough in 1898; names her children as Lloyd and Lawrence McDonough of St. James, Nellie O'Donnell, Marge Teter, and Robert McDonough, identifying Lawrence's parents.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1964-10_Beaver-Beacon
  16. Reports Winni (Wini) and Lawrence McDonough's 25th wedding anniversary, September 2, 1964, placing their marriage circa 1939.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1964-09_Beaver-Beacon
  17. Lists "Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence McDonough of Charlevoix" among guests at an August 1963 golden-wedding celebration, consistent with a June 1963 Beacon item reporting the family would reside in Charlevoix that summer.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1963-09_Beaver-Beacon
  18. Identifies Lawrence McDonough as "business manager for the company" reporting the Beaver Islander's last 1974 trip, and separately as business manager announcing the Boat Company's purchase of the former Erber Auto Company property on Clinton Street, Charlevoix, for parking. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1975-01_Beaver-Beacon
  19. Printed ferry schedule lists "Lawrence McDonough, Manager" at the Charlevoix Business Office, phone (616) 547-2311; also reports a grandson's birth naming "Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence McDonough, of Charlevoix" as grandparents. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1976-02_Beaver-Beacon
  20. Reports Pam McDonough, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence McDonough, elected president of the North Central Michigan College chapter of the Michigan Student Nursing Association. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1976-04_Beaver-Beacon
  21. Reports Pam McDonough graduated from North Central Michigan College with an Associate of Science in Nursing and was working at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, with sister Kathie also attending college there; identifies both as daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence McDonough. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1977-10_Beaver-Beacon
  22. Announces the engagement of Margaret Amanda Works to Joseph H. McDonough, "son of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence McDonough, of Charlevoix." The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1978-08_Beaver-Beacon
  23. Reports the December 29, 1978 wedding of Margaret "Meg" Works and Joseph McDonough at Holy Cross Church, naming parents "Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence M. McDonough of Charlevoix," best man Lawrence W. McDonough, bridesmaids Pam and Kathie McDonough, and groomsman Kevin McDonough. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1979-01_Beaver-Beacon
  24. Names Pamela McDonough of Charlevoix as a wedding attendant, and separately reports the South Shore, "captained by Kevin McDonough," rescuing three people from an overturned sailboat near Harbor Springs. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-09_Beaver-Beacon
  25. Names the Jordan River Ranch partnership (Bud McDonough, Lawrence McDonough, Henry Allen) loading cattle aboard the Beaver Islander, temporarily converted to a floating stock yard, alongside Russ Green's and Wm. Schmidt's herds.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1963-10_Beaver-Beacon
  26. Reports the May 2, 1964 marriage of Lawrence Wayne McDonough, son of Capt. and Mrs. Lawrence McDonough of St. James, to Kay Ellen Taylor of Grand Rapids, and names island attendees including Gary, Kevin, Joseph, Kathleen and Pamela McDonough.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1964-05_Beaver-Beacon
  27. Names Lawrence McDonough with Wini McDonough as the household that raised a 256-pound milk-fed pig.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-01_Beaver-Beacon
  28. The held five-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1961-01_Beaver-Beacon
  29. Identifies Lawrence Matthew McDonough (1914-11-15–2015-12-29), born on Beaver Island, as the husband of Winifred LaFreniere. The shared Wini/Winifred household in the 1961 notice supplies the identity bridge.

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 5 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Lawrence M. McDonough”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/lawrence-m-mcdonough/, accessed [date], citing Charlevoix Courier, January 1, 1969, “Friday’s storm fails to halt final run for boat” and “Beaver Islander’s last trip.” (and 28 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-05. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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