Dan Seavey
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Dan Seavey, also known as "Roaring" Dan Seavey, (March 23, 1865 – February 14, 1949) was a sailor, fisherman, farmer, saloon keeper, prospector,
U.S. marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...
, thief, poacher, smuggler, hijacker, human trafficker, and timber pirate in
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
and
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
and on the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
in the late 19th to early 20th century.


Early life

Seavey was born in
Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
, on March 23, 1865. He left home at age 13 and became a sailor, serving for a short time in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
.Sandusky, link below He moved near
Marinette, Wisconsin Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River, at its mouth at Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephenson Island, part of th ...
in the late 1880s, where he married Mary Plumley and had two daughters. The family later moved to
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
, where Seavey fished, farmed and owned a local saloon. In 1898, Seavey left his family in Milwaukee to participate in the Klondike Gold Rush. He was unsuccessful, and returned to the Great Lakes region around 1900.


Pirate

In poverty, Seavey moved to
Escanaba, Michigan Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city in Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula. The population was 12,616 at the 2010 census, making it the third-largest city ...
and acquired a schooner, which he named the ''Wanderer'', and began a career as a pirate. Seavey sailed the ''Wanderer'' as a legitimate shipping operation, but also sailed into ports at night to steal cargo from other vessels and warehouses. Seavey also kidnapped or transported women in the illegal prostitution trade, an early form of human trafficking and sex trafficking. Seavey was notorious for altering sea lights, either by extinguishing existing lights or placing false lights. The trick, known as "moon cussing", would cause ships to sail into rocks, where Seavey's crew could easily capture the cargo from the wounded vessel. A significant amount of Seavey's profit was made from
venison Venison originally meant the meat of a game animal but now refers primarily to the meat of antlered ungulates such as elk or deer (or antelope in South Africa). Venison can be used to refer to any part of the animal, so long as it is edible, ...
poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
. When a company called Booth Fisheries attempted to compete with Seavey's illegal venison trade, Seavey attacked one of its ships with a cannon, killing everyone on board. Seavey's most infamous exploit was the hijacking of the schooner ''Nellie Johnson''. On 11 June 1908, Seavey came aboard in Grand Haven, Michigan with a large amount of alcohol, which he offered to share with the crew. Once they became intoxicated, Seavey tossed them overboard and sailed the ''Nellie Johnson'' to
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, where he sold the cargo. The
United States Revenue Cutter Service ) , colors= , colors_label= , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , anniversaries=4 August , decorations= , battle_honours= , battle_honours_label= , disbanded=28 January 1915 , flying_hours= , website= , commander1= , co ...
soon gave chase in the ''Tuscarora''. Seavey, meanwhile, had moored the ''Nellie Johnson'' and was again sailing in the ''Wanderer''. After several days, he was captured on June 29, 1908. and taken to Chicago in irons.


Arrest

Seavey was arrested on the charge of piracy,Seavey was the only man to ever be arrested for piracy on the Lake Michigan
Criminal Justice Resources :Michigan's Only Pirate
but was officially charged with "unauthorized removal of a vessel on which he had once been a seaman". He was released on bond and the charges were later dropped when the owner of the ''Nellie Johnson'' failed to appear. For the rest of his life, Seavey maintained that he won the ''Nellie Johnson'' in a poker game.


Later life and death

At the end of his career, Seavey accepted a position with the
United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforc ...
, where he worked to curb poaching, smuggling, and piracy on Lake Michigan. Seavey retired in the late 1920s and settled in
Peshtigo, Wisconsin Peshtigo ( ) is a city in Marinette County, Wisconsin, Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,420 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census The city is surrounded by the Peshtigo (town), Wisconsin, Town of Peshtigo ...
. He died at the Eklund nursing home in Peshtigo on February 14, 1949, at the age of 84. Seavey is buried next to his daughter in Forest Home Cemetery, Marinette,
Marinette County, Wisconsin Marinette County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,872. Its county seat is Marinette. Marinette County is part of the Marinette, WI– MI Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Acco ...
.


In popular culture

Seavey is commemorated in the name of "Roaring Dan's Rum", a maple-flavored
rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...
produced by a Wisconsin distillery.


References


External links


Dan Seavey - Michigan's Only Pirate?
at Michigan State Libraries
Great Lakes Pirate Dan Seavey and the Schooner Wanderer
from the ''Washington Island Observer'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Seavey, Dan 1865 births 1949 deaths People from Portland, Maine American pirates People from Escanaba, Michigan People from Marinette, Wisconsin People from Milwaukee United States Marshals People from Peshtigo, Wisconsin 20th-century pirates River and lake piracy