It’s always distressing when my research uncovers a drowning in the family. Water is so “ordinary” that we forget how quickly it can turn unforgiving and that “ordinary” activities—work, travel, training, recreation—can carry unexpected risks.
ELIZABETH & CHARLES BROODER
Michael Brooder and Eliza Moran were married on August 21, 1890 in Leland, Michigan. He was a lumberman, aged 33; she was a school teacher, aged 28. Three sons--Ben, William and Charlie were born in the 1890s.
In July 1911, tragedy struck the Brooder family with devastating force. On July 4, young Charles, only eighteen years old, drowned while swimming in Lake Michigan. He had ventured into deeper water than his companions, and when he turned back toward shore he was seen to be in distress. The waves were high, and before help could reach him he disappeared beneath the surface. His body was recovered too late for resuscitation. What began as a summer outing ended in sudden and irreversible loss.
For his mother, Mrs. Eliza Brooder, the shock proved overwhelming. Newspapers later reported that she was inconsolable in the days that followed. The loss of her son weighed heavily upon her, and her grief deepened into despair. Within two weeks of Charles’s death, on July 15, Mrs. Brooder herself walked into the waters of Lake Michigan and drowned. Family members, alarmed when she failed to return home, began searching and found her body near the south dock.
Eliza and Charles are buried in the family plot in Empire, Michigan.
Saint Philip Neri Catholic Church Cemetery Empire. Leelanau Co., Michigan
ELIZA JANE MORAN b. Mar. 3, 1862 in New York m. Michael H. Brooder (1856-1931) on Aug 25, 1890 in Leland, Michigan d. July 11, 1911 in Empire, Leelanau Co, Michigan
Steve's 1st cousin, 2x removed (Moran line)
CHARLES F. BROODER b. Aug 29, 1895 in Michigan
d. July 1, 1911 in Empire, Leelanau Co., Michigan
Steve's 2md cousin 2x removed (Moran line)
JOHN JOSEPH O'DONNELL
John O'Donnell and Eliza Brooder were first cousins, but although both were living in the US at the time of their deaths, it's unlikely they ever met.
John O'Donnell was born in Arthur Township, Wellington County in 1871. In 1894, he immigrated to Akron, Ohio where he was employed as a machinist. In November 1898, he married Catherine "Kate" Stark.
John was aged 29 when he drowned in a freak accident.
St. Bernard's Cemetery, Akron, Ohio
JOHN JOSEPH O'DONNELL b. Feb 22, 1871 in Arthur Twp., Wellington Co., Ont m. Catherine "Kate" Stark (1868-1944) on Nov 24, 1898 in Summett Co., Ohio
d. July 18, 1900 in New Castle, Pennsylvania
Steve's 1st cousin 2x removed (Moran line)
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