A Critique of Myron Vent's Book

South Manitou Island — from Pioneer Settlement to National Park
(July 9, 2026)

South Manitou Island — from Pioneer Community to National Park, was the first book ever published about South Manitou Island. Although its structure varies between memoirist, historical, and poetic, it has long been considered as well-researched, and authoritative.

Such publications are made freely available on manitouislandsarchives.org in searchable text formats for descendants of former island settlers and residents, or anyone else who develops in interest in the history and erstwhile culture of North and South Manitou Islands. This book has just been reworked, since our original version consisted of paged scanned from a rather poor printed copy of the book. During this process, wishing to preserve the integrity of the book, editing was limited to correcting typographical errors that had resulting from scanning the old text, and correcting a few spelling errors, especially related to last names of persons quoted or referred to as sources. But several factual issues were also noted. These were left "as is" for the same reason ... care being exercised to avoid changing the author's work between the book's covers. They are documented here, as follows:

1. pg 7: Re: no evidence of Indians ever having inhabited either island. Subsequent studies sponsored by the National Park Service (see "Coming Though With Rye", pg 23) cite evidence that Native Americans did occupy both islands, albeit probably on a seasonal basis.
2. pg 33: William Burton vs. William N. Burton; various land patents were filed by William Burton, not William N Burton, who never filed any claims. Contrary to Leach, clearing "public property" was actually encouraged by the U.S. government at the time. There is no evidence of William Burton filing claims to anything other than the six parcels on record. William Burton came to South Manitou Island in 1836, as a principal of Burton, Lord & Co., of Ohio, not as a settler, but to launch a business venture involving the provision of fuel-wood for the emerging steamboat traffic. The first light keeper was William N. Burton, William Burton's eldest son.
3. pg 34: The draft notice was for William Burton's youngest son James Covel Burton. George Haas was probably paid the usual "Substitution" fee of $300 (worth almost $8,000 2026 dollars). This was a common practice at the time, and very likely came as a boon to the George Haas family.
4. pg 34: The Burtons did not 'sell out and leave for California'. William Burton passed away after having had to move back to Ohio City (Cleveland) in failing health. William N. Burton died in Milwaukee. Ellison Burton moved to Chicago, dying in Oakland, California under the care of his daughter Katherine. Covel Burton, who'd become a noted marine insurance underwriter in Detroit, died in Spokane, Washington under the care of his son Russel. Daughter Caroline married William Honnold of Camp Point, Illinois, the Honnolds eventually becoming very prominent in Los Angeles. Youngest daughter Eunice married ships captain Charles Marsden in Cleveland, eventually divorced, spending that lonely winter on the island with her parents, then remarrying James Carr of Batavia, Illinois.
5. pg 48: William N. Burton was indeed the first lighthouse keeper on South Manitou, and there were indeed complaints about the light. Its lack of effectiveness however was eventually more properly attributed to the facility itself, rather than to an incompetent keeper. The original light was a product of Winslow Lewis, who was later judged to be inappropriately favored by Stephen Pleasonton, the head of the Lighthouse Service, but criticized as being scandalously incompetent and duplicitous, even by his own nephew Isaiah William Penn Lewis, a totally competent, American lighthouse designer, builder, and engineer. Two years later, Burton resigned from the hopeless task of trying to make anything of the South Manitou light. After having a succession of keepers, none of whom lasted more than three or four years, the 1840 Lighthouse was demolished in 1858, and replaced with a much more effective facility.
6. pg 69: Three Coast Guard cutters responded to the distress call of the Francisco Morazan after it ran aground on November 29, 1960, off the coast of South Manitou Island during a blinding snowstorm: USCGC Mesquite (WLB-305): The Sturgeon Bay-based buoy tender was the first to arrive on the scene to assess the situation and stand by the stranded vessel. USCGC Mackinaw (WAGB-83): The heavy icebreaker from Cheboygan arrived the next morning. She coordinated the initial evacuation of the captain's pregnant wife via a Coast Guard helicopter from Traverse City. Days later, as the weather worsened and the ship began breaking apart, the Mackinaw used her ship's boats to evacuate the remaining 12-man crew and the owners' representatives, bringing them safely to the mainland. USCGC Sundew (WLB-404): The Charlevoix-based buoy tender arrived on December 1 alongside a civilian salvage tug to assist with the rescue and potential salvage evaluation before the weather deteriorated completely. Ultimately, the fierce gale-force winds and shallow shoals made salvaging the Francisco Morazan impossible. The 247-foot freighter was abandoned to the elements and remains one of the most visible and accessible shipwrecks in the Manitou Passage today.
7. pg71: Two-year old Stanley Hutzler died of infantile leukemia, not from injuries when he was supposedly "trampled by a bull". He died in Chicago, his death certificate specifying the cause of Hemorrhagic leukemia, a condition that leads to severe bleeding due to low platelet counts or clotting issues. This can result in symptoms like easy bruising, bleeding gums, or petechiae, which are tiny red spots on the skin caused by bleeding.
8. pg 83: To "the four species of reptiles" should be added the very timid and secretive Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus), occasionally discovered on the swampy north end of Lake Florence.
9. pg 83:The "Cranbrook Institute Study" encompassed the entire chain of island from Mackinac on the north end, to South Manitou on the south end. The plethora of birds listed are those found among all the islands, not just on South Manitou.

Vent's book was authored over a number of years preceding its publication, with him relying partly on archival documents, other publications, and partly on "oral tradition". The latter is not usually considered to be a very good source of factual information: memories grow dim, are merely repeated gossip, and are sometimes tainted by personal opinions which willfully color the facts. Then too, some are quite willing to talk about things they actually know nothing about.

That all being as it may, Myron Vent's work can be respected as anyone's first attempt to provide a wealth of information about South Manitou Island in print. It can be appreciated as generally informational and entertaining, if perhaps not as an unimpeachable source of factual information.