WESLEY, JOHN (1872, Schooner)

The wreck of the John Wesley sits off the property my Great Grandfather, James Willis Gleed, a lawyer from Kansas, bought in 1900 south of the Harbor Beach Resort Assn., of which he was a member. Generations of Gleed descendants have been swimming out to, canoeing around, buoying, and in some years even seeing the top of the wreck above water. Pieces of her planking routinely wash ashore. I am looking for proof of the following understanding through passed down information within the family

When JW Gleed bought his 20 acre parcel south of the Harbor Beach resort Assn, of which he was a member, he built a cottage on it on the shore. Not long after, the John Wesley fetched up on the rocks in the shallower waters around our 'point' (sometimes known as Crane Point for the squatter who lived in a small house there, making counterfeit Mexican currency -- an no longer dry with the high water in 2020). Owing to the levelness of the underwater terrain and the fairly flat bottom of the schooner (here I'm assuming), the deck of the John Wesley settled at a fairly level angle. This made it the mecca for young people who boated out in droves, strung lanterns, and held dances and partied into the wee hours, creating a heck-of-a-racket for his wife and 3 young daughters to try to sleep through. Being a lawyer, JW understood he need to put teeth into his ignored requests that they cease and desist, so bought the boat. It now belongs to the underwater preserve, we understand, but at one point, before or after she was abandoned, my Great Grandfather bought her -- and was successful in regaining the family's sleep. This transaction would not be reported in standard channels -- if at all, if she'd already been abandoned. Anyone with knowledge or advice on where to look for corroboraiton, please contact moonhill57@gmail.com Thank you.