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THE GRUMMOND FLEETS 1855-1897 - Part I By Fr. Pete Vander Linden Through a fortunate series of events last April, I received a lithograph of the tug CHAMPION and tows, the familiar picture by Seth Arca Whipple, but with a difference. The tug is painted in the coldrs of the Grummond tug line with the logo of the line painted on her bows, her stack (black bottom, white top) in Grummond colors and the flag of the fleet (blue background with a white "G") on the tug and the first schooner in the line. This lithograph was severly damaged but Fr. Dowling was able to restore it. He noticed that an artist had painted in the Grummond colors probably for the tug office because an 1894 Beeson directory, which I possess, has this same lithograph in an ad for Grummond. This set me off in quest of more information on Stephen B. Grummond and the ships he owned and operated. After a few trips to the Research Center at Bowling Green State University where two of our members, Rick Wright and Dave Glick, are ensconced, I dug up the following list of vessels that were owned by the prominent Detroiter of the 1800's. A short biography of Steven B. Grummond appeared in HISTORY OF THE GREAT LAKES (Beers) in 1899. "Captain Stephen B. Grummond, in his lifetime one of Detroit's foremost business men and vessel owners, was born September 18, 1834, near what is now Marine City, on the St. Clair river, Mich., a son of Stephen and Mary (Harrow) Grummond. The mother, who died in 1877, was of Scotch descent, and was a daughter of Alexander Harrow, who came to Michigan while it was under English rule, and for many years was connected with the British n as commander of sloops of war. The father of our subject was born in the western part of New York State, whence, in 1807, he came to Michigan and settled on the right bank of the St. Clair river, where he kept a general store, and accumulated a competency, dying in 1856. Fr. Dowling Collection a ea