John Lingane (pronounced Lee-Ann) was a Chelsea-area
farmer who died at sea when the RMS Titanic struck an
iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912 during its maiden voyage. John
Lingane (his surname has been spelled variously as Linnane, Lingan,
and Lingane) was born in 1851 in Kildorrery, County Cork, Ireland.
On May 16, 1876, he married Ellen Savage. They had five sons during
their 34 years of marriage.
He purchased and settled on some land northwest of Chelsea on
the west side of what is now Lingane Road in Sylvan and Lyndon
townships. Part of what was the Lingane farm is now located within
the Waterloo State Recreation Area. You can see the fence for the
western edge of the former Lingane farm approximately 100 feet east
of the geocache location.
John Lingane had planned to return to Ireland with his wife.
Tragically, Ellen Lingane died on March 12, 1911. The trip to
Ireland in the Fall of 1911 was taken alone. When it was time to
return to the United States, John Lingane booked passage on the
RMS Celtic. He was persuaded by relatives and friends to
change his passage to the newer, more luxurious, and practically
unsinkable RMS Titanic. On April 11, 1912, he boarded as a
second-class passenger from Queenstown (now Cobh), County Cork,
Ireland.
Departure from Queenstown by Colin
Verity R.M.S.A.
 |
John Lingane had earlier wrote to friends back in Chelsea that
he expected to leave on his return journey from Ireland about April
1, 1912. Several weeks later and about one week after the news of
the sinking of the Titanic, his friends in Chelsea became
concerned that he may have perished on the Titanic. An
inquiry to the White Star Line office in New York resulted in a
reply that no such person named John Lingane was on the
Titanic's passenger manifest.
Further investigation showed the name of John Legame was listed
as a second-class passenger. His relatives and friends feared that
his name was misspelled on the list of passengers. His death was
not confirmed for over one month when on May 23, 1912 one of his
sons received a letter from the White Star Line that expressed
regret and deepest sympathy that John Lingane's name was not on the
survivors' list.
This geocache is located in the
Waterloo State Recreation Area under Michigan Department of
Natural Resources (MDNR) Permit No. PRD-083-2008-025 pursuant to a
blanket permit with the Michigan Geocaching Organization. A vehicle
permit is required to enter the Waterloo State Recreation Area.
WINTER ADVISORY: The road to the parking
area is not plowed. After a heavy snowfall, you may have difficulty
on the road unless you have a four-wheel drive vehicle. You might
consider parking up the road at the Gerald E. Eddy Discovery Center
and hiking over. Snow depths may make getting to the cache location
a bit of a challenge. You may want to consider using snowshoes or
cross-country skis. Alternatively, you may be able to hike in the
snowmobile tracks. You will take a circuitous route to the cache
but the snowmobile tracks will get you close.
