- Died
- 1919-12-10
- Eras
- Irish eraModern era
- Concepts
- fishingmaritimeagricultureirish-arranmoretoponymy
- Within
- Beaver Island
- Media
- Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision
Summary
Owen F. McCauley was an Irish-born Beaver Island fisherman and farmer for whom Helen Collar’s research notes say McCauley Point was named. The same notes say he fished off the point with pound nets, married Catherine Gallagher in 1867, and died in Peaine Township on December 10, 1919.
The source compilation does not support a single exact birth year: its heading gives 1841 but notes 1837 in census and death records. This article therefore leaves the start date unresolved pending inspection of those underlying records.
“Big Owen” distinction
The 1978 Historical Map says the point was named for “Big Owen” McCauley. Collar’s biographical entry instead identifies Owen F. McCauley’s wife Catherine as a sister of “Big Owen,” while the library’s separate Gallagher entry identifies that man as Owen “Big Owen” Gallagher. The map note appears to conflate two related men. It should not be used to merge Owen F. McCauley with the Coast Guard/Life-Saving Station keeper—or with the later Owen J. McCauley.
Evidence and limits
Collar’s online file is a research compilation that transcribes or summarizes parish, land, census, family, and death records. It is valuable identification evidence but is not a substitute for checking the underlying record images. Claims in the file describing McCauley as abusive or a “pirate” are oral-history or character assertions without a cited proceeding and are not repeated here as fact.
Open questions
- Can the cited census, parish marriage, land, and death records be imaged and cited directly?
- When did the geographic name McCauley Point first appear in writing?
- What fishing-license, vessel, or commercial records document McCauley’s pound-net operation?
See also
Sources
- Compiles parish, land, birth, and death-record notes. It identifies Owen F. McCauley as one of five brothers; records his 1867 marriage to Catherine Gallagher, sister of “Big Owen”; says McCauley Point was named for him and that he fished there with pound nets; and transcribes his death as 10 December 1919 in Peaine Township, a retired farmer born in Ireland. The heading gives 1841 while parenthetically noting 1837 in a census and death record, so no exact birth year is asserted here.web · collar_biographical_biographical-papers-h-m
- The place-name card independently repeats that Owen McCauley fished at McCauley Point with pond nets.web · collar_subject_cards_q-z
- Described in this archive: Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision.Calls the point’s namesake “Big Owen” McCauley. Collar’s files instead place that nickname on Owen Gallagher, Catherine Gallagher McCauley’s brother; the map is evidence of the later tradition but likely conflates the two men.
Added 7 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Owen F. McCauley”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/owen-f-mccauley/, accessed [date], citing Helen Collar Papers, “Owen F. McCauley,” Biographical Papers H–M, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, retrieved 2026. (and 2 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-07. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.