Dan Seavey, the Great Lakes Pirate

Trade, of course, attracts crime, and on the open water, pirates. In the early 1900s a man who looked little like a character from pirates of the Caribbean made a name for himself in that ancient profession.
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Script by JCG
#history #thehistoryguy #Pirates

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

As many viewers have noted, Escanaba is on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, not Wisconsin. I apologize for the error.

[@rabbi120348]

As you pointed out in another episode (kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipStdJuDlKmLhtk), Escanaba SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN WISCONSIN, but we was robbed!

[@joedunleavy7066]

It's all wilderness so it's hard to tell where one starts and one ends. Mich tried to give the UP to Wisconsin they replied we have enough wilderness

[@LTDunltd]

That's OK, We who grew up in the area understand. The best part is that you pronounced Peshtigo correctly this time.😁

[@aprylrittenhouse4562]

@@LTDunltd I love it. I had a big smile when he did

[@DaKnottyYooper]

You and your family (team, ahem) should take a trip up here and visit Escanaba. Well the whole Upper Peninsula really. Theres SO MUCH history for you to soak up from here in the U.P., I swear you could turn it into it's own little mini series at the very least. From Escanaba, make sure to visit the jam making Monks in Copper Harbor. Yes. I said that right. They make amazing jams. Especially Thimbleberry! Go see an old Iron smelting town Called Fayette. It's really something to be inside one of those looking up. Plus waterfalls galore. You can see it all in a week, make some unforgettable memories and meet some really incredible people. Hopefully, I'll get to see THAT show someday. I promise, up here, its truly history that deserves to be remembered.

[@williamwinter2638]

My grandmother lived in Garden Michigan. She had a story about Dan Seavey docking his boat near town and "There was all kinds of screaming and noise from the boat" her brothers went to investigate and when they saw it was "Old Dan Seavey " they new it was just better to leave them alone.

[@sciencenate]

That’s about as boring a story as you could have shared. “My mother lived next to Einstein - one day he slammed the door. Nobody complained though - bc it was Einstein.”

[@johnserrano9689]

@@sciencenate you're right Nate👍 Hey tell everyone here about the Time your Boy Scout Leader came into your tent/sleeping bag with you

[@00BillyTorontoBill]

So youre grandmother grabbed a flask f rum and tip toed late that night and voila Mr winter Dad was born?

[@erickrobertson7089]

Dunno. I liked his story. I've been to the Garden peninsula. Nice area. Fayette is a interesting (ghost/park) town. I bet he was a wicked bastard too. Would not have wanted to cross paths with the likes of him. Of all the regions of all 50 states the UP has breed the most interesting, dogged and questionable people I've meet. The history up there is amazing. Fun fact... The copper rush in Michigan was more valuable dollar wise than the California gold rush. Part of the area is thick with iron. Jump in a puddle and your socks will be forever rust stained.

[@MustangsTrainsMowers]

I like your story.

[@Michigander269]

I'm a native Michigander and I enjoy all things great lakes related so thank you for this wonderful story!

[@detroitredneckdetroitredne6674]

Me2 94/275 🤗🌊✋️

[@Zoofactory]

Indeed. Since the great resignation, I’ve considered piracy on Gitche Gume as an alternative lifestyle. 💪

[@kyle857]

Same

[@HM2SGT]

Da Yoopers! 😻

[@Michigander269]

She's a bit too vicious for me, and she never gives up her dead don't ya know? I only go out of sight of land when im crossing to Isle Royale lol

[@jimfromm3981]

When I was in high school, I had a history teacher who found colorful characters and brought history to life in this manner. As a result, I became a lifelong history buff. I was born on the shores of Lake Superior. As a teen, I often walked the shores in the morning mist, and attribute the seduction of mirror smooth ground swells rolling against agate shores, for the wanderlust which lead me to become an Arctic and Antarctic Merchant Marine captain. Thank you a wonderful snapshot of Great Lakes history.

[@yepiratesworkshop7997]

I LOVED THIS!!! I absolutely loved this story. But then, again, I do drive a schooner with cannon on the Chesapeake Bay and dress more than a bit like a pirate. As Mark Twain once put it: "Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates." (from Life on the Mississippi) And to think I'm a retired judge!

[@GordonWLearn]

I am also a pirate on lake Michigan. Your report on Seavey was delightful.

[@msski9905]

Actually?

[@philvanderlaan5942]

I like how one of the pictures included was of the dynamite cruiser USS Vesuvius one of the US navy’s strangest combat vessels of the Spanish American war fame , a quirky goofy ship .

[@marks1638]

I'm glad to see I'm not one of the only Naval geeks to notice the USS Vesuvius.

[@philvanderlaan5942]

@@marks1638 I spend way too much time watching Drachinifel’s channel

[@richardbenjamin8341]

Good eye!

[@johnking6252]

That's what she said. 👍

[@stevedietrich8936]

Escanaba is in MIchigan

[@justme_gb]

"His sister is small, but plump and pretty." Can anyone image a journalist penning those words today?

[@kyle857]

Honestly, I prefer it to the way most web articles are written now where the actual information starts at paragraph 6.

[@WriteInAaronBushnell]

Thicc

[@jangamaster8677]

Amazing insight, it’s almost as though people speak differently today or something

[@Pfsif]

Journalists=propagandist.

[@badgerattoadhall]

@@WriteInAaronBushnell damn it Lawrence!!! You replied before I could!!!!

[@ericskoglund7543]

You mentioned the storm of 1913. That would be a great tale to tell.

[@Pygar2]

Around 1969 I watched a WWII movie involving zillions of cans of beer floating in the ocean- I think maybe Pabst? Its title I'd love to know... that and another film in which a bus is run on coconut shells are my main two Mystery Movies of my life! At that age the big thrill was more Dad than the film... wish I could watch one more movie with him- he was partial to Don Knotts movies...

[@lizj5740]

Hi Pygar2. Thanks for reminding me that I have a Mystery Movie, too. I saw it in Germany, sometime in the mid-1950s. It involved a mystery, shetland ponies, and two boys. Because I saw it with my father's German secretary's niece, I'm sure the movie was either in German or had German subtitles. I've tried Google searches, but haven't found it yet.

[@erickrobertson7089]

Could 1968's The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell be one and The Longest Hundred Miles from 67' be the other?

[@Pygar2]

@@erickrobertson7089 YESSS!!! I'm sure of it! There can't be two coconut bus movies, and Dad would watch ANYTHING with Bob Hope!

[@erickrobertson7089]

@@lizj5740 Not that I'm trying to be Mr. Movie tonight but could that the film Misty, from 1961 and subtitled in German?

[@erickrobertson7089]

@@Pygar2 Yeah, it's hard to beat Hope. My Favorite Brunette is one I can watch again and again. Laurel and Hardy movies never get old either.

[@cntrlrb20]

Please do more stories about the Great Lakes!

[@erinmcdonald7781]

What a colorful character!!! Pirates definitely make for good stories. They tend to be such unique, charismatic non-conformists, captivating and fascinating generations.

[@thecreepynightshiftguy]

I spent a lot of time in Escanaba and even lived there for a few years. I've got to say, this Dan Seavey sounds like an upstanding fellow compared to most the folks you'd find there these days.

[@tanksouth]

Funny

[@ericstromberg9608]

1:43 USS Vesuvius, one of the strangest things the US Navy has ever done, and well worth a video of its own.

[@kdrapertrucker]

Nowhere as strange as the sidewheel steamboat aircraft carriers the navy used in WWII.

[@DirtiestPotato]

The Pirate story I didn't know that I needed today, Thanks History Guy!

[@PracticalKen]

I love the Lake Michigan history. Thanks for sharing.

[@corporalvideo26]

If his life and adventures were made into a movie, the required; based on a true story, would have to be repeated more then once throughout the film. Larger than life seems a rather tame description. I loved it. Thank you.

[@christopherpotts5681]

I’d watch that movie!

[@paulslevinsky580]

@@christopherpotts5681 They already did the sequel. It's called "Deliverance". The banjo player is the forgotten love-child of the Butt Pirate and his sister.

[@sideshowbob]

"Don't all good Wisconsin stories involve PBR?"

[@brucelytle1144]

And that's a good story! As a retired merchant seaman, and avid sailor, gotta say he's my kinda guy!

[@Paul_Ch52]

You really are a master teacher. Thank you.

[@tankacebo9128]

last time I was this early, my wife made me sleep on the couch.

[@pitsnipe5559]

You’re like my wife, just mention pirates and she gets all excited. Great story.

[@HemlockRidge]

Interesting that the US Navy ship, pictured around 1:45, is the one-off USS Vesuvius. On the bow are shown the three "Dynamite Guns", that make her so unusual.

[@otpyrcralphpierre1742]

Excellent observation! Thank you.

[@zackakai5173]

You have no idea how relieved I am that I'm not the only one here with that incredibly obscure bit of knowledge occupying space in their head for some reason 🤣

[@HemlockRidge]

@@zackakai5173 Oh I have SO much useless trivia up there. I am seriously into History, particularly Military History. As a US Navy vet, there's a lot of Navy stuff.

[@privatepilot4064]

Grew up in the Great Lakes State. It’s not much different than growing up in any coastal area.

[@piatpotatopeon8305]

The only thing better than a pirate is a Great Lake pirate!

[@kevinwiskus8874]

You had me at pirates

[@BlueEyedColonizer]

I hope to hear you say "don't all good stories involve pirates" when we are both in our 70s. 😁

[@micksanger6274]

Your stories are so enjoyable. Thank You.

[@tsmithkc]

What a tale! Great episode!

[@whtbobwntsbobget]

0:38 Wow that was one hell of a dramatic pause!

[@davemason6870]

Thanks History Guy. I love your channel.

[@danischeel4846]

Excellent presentation of a very colorful character!

[@niagaradrones]

I love that you took the pirates catchphrase and ran with it! Put it on a Tee!

[@michaelwalton3202]

Great pirate story! ARRRR!😁👍

[@WiliiamNoTell]

Another great story. Thank you for sharing!

[@brianstocks8049]

got to say, every episode is a gems and always makes me smile

[@njpaddler]

Oh, good...pirates !!!

[@PlanetEarth3141]

This type of relatively small history within the larger context of national or world history is my favorite kind of history. Being more individualistic and personal it has a way of making it more intimate, more flavorful. I like this episode very much. It's humorous, twisty, fortunes and failures is an intriguing tale. While stories of pirates are quite tasty, stories of historical legends like King Arthur, Robinhood and a lesser extent, Dan Seavey, tickle my mind.

[@loqutus8]

HE SAID THE THING! Thank you sir

[@ravensmill3927]

If anyone else titled a video like that, it would have been clickbait. But THG doesn't disappoint.

[@davidphillips7321]

Yes, Lance All Good Stories involve Pirates...Thank You, Stay Safe... God Bless...

[@johnr797]

"His sister is small, but plump and pretty." Hard-hitting journalism there

[@zackakai5173]

1:43 - you know you're a fucking nerd when you looked at this image and went "wait isn't that the Vesuvius?", and you were right 🤣

[@rafaelramos1486]

Where and when was the last person accused of piracy in US and Territories Was the last one.? Just curious

[@jamesthompson8008]

Thank you for making this one, I'd never heard of it. Another well done video sir!!

[@Foxbat131]

Fantastic story! Very well done 👍

[@ghostwriter2314]

The great lakes are and always will be an exciting frontier. Bless all that have serve and survived the lakes.

[@Jack-xo2zp]

Thank you for slowing your speaking style. I've noticed your more deliberate and clearer style lately.

[@urwholefamilydied]

0:12 those are some fun facts that most american's don't seem to appreciate. You would think the Great lakes would be one of the top features about being in America. But they're not really talked about or marveled at. They're like... just there. (I grew up in Michigan so to me they're so magical... They're little oceans. Completely massive.

[@markcantemail8018]

Charles J Gartner Yes Massive . Brought this Ol Gal from Little Rock to see Lake Ontario . She said "good Lawd its like an Ocean " . That was Her reaction , i said that is the Small One .

[@urwholefamilydied]

@@markcantemail8018 haha... true. Ya, Lake Superior is no joke. I think a top 3 lake in the entire world. Again, surprised that no one in america really seems to care about them or marvel at them. I guess it's just a fact they're there. Still, the great lakes are different, there's nothing like that in the rest of the world.

[@dehoedisc7247]

In high school, our History teacher was also the football head coach and he didn't give a damn about history or the students. He required us to memorize dates and facts and actually copy the textbook word for word by ink pen on paper. I simply refused to comply with that nonsense and was rewarded with a grade somewhere between a "D" and an "F". That guy was a hard man to please. I prefer your method, History Guy.

[@jimbandelean5802]

You didn't go to Anchor Bay High in New Baltimore ³?

[@matthewmoeller6766]

That's a real "rip-snorting" tale!

[@notthefbi7932]

Something I've never heard of the-Pirate's of the Great Lakes. And your right all good stories involve pirates 😁

[@johnking6252]

Having served on the lakes I always thought there had to have been a few pirates through history, there's just to much open areas , Thx. 👍

[@burntacres]

Classic Great, Great, Great Grandpa Seavey.

[@TheRiverPirate13]

I was born in Wisconsin, and I have spent many a day on the shores of Lake Michigan in childhood. Been to a few of the Maritime museums there and even toured the HMS Rose when she made a stop in Milwaukee. I never heard of this early 20th century Pirate of the Great Lakes until now! I've been in Florida most of my life and went on the account 5 years ago. Now I know why! Raise the Black and a swig of rum to Captain Seavey!

[@chrisa8799]

I clicked on this so I could hear THG say that usual motto about good stories and pirates

[@thezfunk]

Great Lakes Distillery in Milwaukee has a maple flavored rum named after him called Roaring Dan's Rum.

[@guyh.4553]

Very cool story! Never even thought about pirates being on the Great Lakes!

[@stevedietrich8936]

Peshtigo, scene of the big fire.

[@michaelwarren2391]

I thought Seavey was going to be accused for starting the fire. LOL

[@mtnvalley9298]

I always enjoy your content, thanks.

[@capnbill9827]

I love caricatures that are larger than life.

[@bigmonmagoomba9634]

I really enjoyed that. They could make a heckuva movie about this guy.

[@jpkalishek4586]

I lived outside Gladstone, just up the shore from Escanaba, a few miles. Until they put in the Locks in the Soo, the Iron ore was hauled by train to Esky and loaded there. and even in the 80's a large percentage went out via the rails to the ore docks there. I've not looked to see how much still is, but I see less trains when visiting there than when I was a kid, and at time it is a freight train, not ore. For a while some of the ore ships were too big to navigate the locks, so they could only go into Esky to be loaded. The trains ran past my childhood home just across the road, and I can still sleep though one going past the intersection back up there (Ma and Dad's camper is on family land there). I have heard of Seavy before, but about lower lake area and Chicago events, and didn't realize he was ever in Marinette (I work in the city) Peshtigo, or Esky.

[@papapaxton6560]

The title sequence made me happy!

[@indylovelace]

I so enjoy your story telling. Glad to see you’ve crossed 1 million subscribers. Congratulations on this milestone!

[@neileskew3454]

This was very fun story and and story with pirates makes it better

[@Genetherapy3232]

I’m from northern Michigan. Thank you for this. Love your channel. This is a favorite. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@larryoloane7579]

Having grown up on the shores of Lake Ontario, I always enjoy stories about the Great Lakes. Small quibble; Milwaukee WI to Dawson City YT is less than 15% of the way around the world. I also grew up to be a geography nerd 🙂

[@detroitredneckdetroitredne6674]

Spectacular job Brother thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise and for taking us on another great adventure hello from Detroit Michigan 👋 94/275

[@Shonuff42080]

Hey from 94/23 mile

[@detroitredneckdetroitredne6674]

@@Shonuff42080 hi neighbor 👋👋

[@nilo70]

Thank You for making this wonderful episode

[@brianburchart7592]

What a truly amazing yarn! Luv your work!!!

[@marie_h1104]

Well, all good stories involve pirates and this one is no exception. Thank you, sir!

[@adampackard3561]

As always grand 😀

[@1LSWilliam]

Delightful. I bet a few of my relatives in western Michigan knew him, not merely of him.

[@justme8184]

thank you for a tale from the area where I grew up...more stories from the area would be greatly appreciated

[@billlorimer4065]

Escanaba is a town in Michigan’s UP and is yet to be claimed by Wisconsin. ;-)

[@lightbox617]

Lake Oneida, just North f Syracuse, NY is now part of the St. Lawrence Seaway. In the late 18 and early 1900's was the source of a thriving fresh water fishing industry (mostly what we called Walleye pike). There was also a thriving piracy industry focused on stealing nets with catches. This was the only criminal activity that my Irish antecedents' did not cash in on.

[@thomasbernecky2078]

Hey Walleye!

[@lizj5740]

@@thomasbernecky2078 Now you've reminded me of a joke, the last two lines of of which are "Would I!" "Peg leg!"

[@ScottMyersOfTheEarth]

YESSSS!!! LOVE THIS!!! That guy sounds terrific. Definitely all great stories involve pirates!! w00t!!! I mean, okay, maybe he was a shifty jerk who didn't do much good. Pirates are, generally, dirty criminals. But like whatever, his is a terrific story that deserves to be remembered!

[@seanremington1735]

When you gave the physical discription of Seavey I pictured a "Popeye" type figure and expected that in some weird twist that the cartoon was based on this "Pirate of the Great Lakes".

[@cdjhyoung]

Though I have no evidence to the contrary, That Dan Seavey would be the only Great Lakes Pirate strikes me as odd. Considering the size of the Great Lakes chain, and the fact that four of the five lakes share a shore line with Canada, it is not hard to imagine other pirates existing on these lakes. Considering the boot legging that prospered in the 1920's, and the extremely open Canadian border of those times, it would not be hard for a man and a ship to commit a significant robbery and escape to a friendly foreign shore.

[@joedunleavy7066]

I grew up in Buffalo NY there are still some scuttled boats in the Niagara river filled with prohibition whiskey

[@tygrkhat4087]

@@joedunleavy7066 Probably in Erie and Ontario as well.

[@joedunleavy7066]

@@tygrkhat4087 I knew the grandson of a rum runner who sank a sailing barge off Angola NY it's still there

[@rodchallis8031]

I think there's a difference between a smuggler and a pirate-- though there's probably a blurry line between the two. Smuggling goes on today all across the Great Lakes, and as smugglers can't really report being the victims of theft and violence, we can imagine there's bound to be a "pirate" or two we don't hear about.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

I think most maritime crime on the great lakes takes the form of on shore robbery, which would likely make it more of a case of buccaneering.

[@ValerieprimcessAmanda]

I read about this guy at the death's door maratime museum last summer.

[@josephpicogna6348]

Thank you , another wonderful program, and , there weee pirates.

[@goldgeologist5320]

About darn time we hard a ripping good yarn about pirates!

[@kimfleury]

I looked through your uploads for a video on the King of Beaver Island. That's an interesting tidbit in Great Lakes history.

[@JTA1961]

reminds me of several owner operator cab~over truckers I knew in the late 1970s. gass grass or ass... nobody rides for free...era

[@captainamerica6525]

Imagine that!! Pirates on the Great Lakes. Been a Michigan resident all my life and never heard of it. Thanks!

[@redshirt1917]

Great story. Thanks.

[@addiewilson1979]

Love your channel,btw!

[@henrysmith7276]

This guy rules!

[@JanisFever]

Hey good to see The History Guy nailing the Peshtigo pronunciation after the Peshtigo Fire video

[@theunspoke815]

OH MY!! DOLLARS TO DOUGHNUTS!!! YOU NEED TO DO AN EPISODE ON "OLD TIME SAYINGS"!!! 19 OT 6!!! Old men calling women BIRDS!! There's a million of them & some of us like to still use them so we don't FORGET!!! I used to LOVE hearing my older family members use the terms!! And what I wouldn't give to hear that again!!! 👍👍😉😉

[@cathycrandall5264]

As per usual enjoyed your episode for today and as a lifelong Michiganian maybe even a little bit more so. Nice sweater by the way, great color and happy Spring!

[@skpjoecoursegold366]

another good story.......................thank a pirate.

[@bigsarge2085]

Don't all good stories involve a telling by THG?!

[@mattw785]

Great story!!

[@StDavidpipes]

Fascinating!

[@muttonchopsgayever]

Counterfeit $1 bill? Whoa! Funny thing is that the $5 bill he gave to the clerk was counterfeit too. It had Daniel Day-Lewis’ picture on it.

[@tygrkhat4087]

Actually a counterfeit silver dollar.

[@BasicDrumming]

I Love History!

[@thomasbernecky2078]

I am from Buffalo and have heard the best stories are Pirate stories? Well done, and a nice looking ship too?