Captain Phillip Schied

Captain Phillip Schied, a former resident of Cleveland, now doing business at Ashtabula harbor as marine manager of the Ashtabula Towing Company, is, as Sir Walter Scott would say, "a tall man of genial disposition." Having adopted good business methods he is well liked by the officers of the tugs under his direction and also by the captains of the many vessels putting in at the port at Ashtabula. A son of Phillip and Christina (Miller) Schied, he was born in Cleveland on April 15, 1857, and after attending the public schools in his native city, entered the employ of John Thomson to learn the steamfitting trade.

In the spring of 1872 Captain Schied shipped as fireman on the steamer Levi Johnson, then managed by Pennington & Warner, remaining two seasons. He was employed the season of 1874 as fireman on the W. B. Scott and the next two years in the same capacity on the tug Peter Smith. In the spring of 1877 he began work for the Standard Oil Company as fireman on the tug Standard, and taking out his engineer's license that winter, he was in 1878 appointed chief engineer of the tug R. K. Hawley. His next berth was on the tug Mary Virginia, formerly the George W. Lorimer, as engineer. In the spring of 1880 he brought out the tug Effie L., as chief, engineering her eighteen months, and when she was sold he was appointed engineer of the tug Forest City, in which he remained another period of eighteen months. In 1883 he was appointed engineer of the tug Charles Castle, then owned by W. A. Collier and others, remaining on her four seasons. During the winter of 1886 he took out pilot's papers, and the following spring brought out the tug William Dean, as master, sailing her part of the season and then transferring to his old boat, the Charles Castle, continuing in her until the close of navigation in 1888. In the spring of 1889 Captain Schied was appointed master of the H. L. Chamberlin, of the Vessel Owners Towing line, and sailed her until June 15, 1893, when he went to Buffalo and brought out new the fire tug William Kennedy, which he sailed three years. In 1896 he was appointed marine superintendent of the Ashtabula Towing Company, stationed at Ashtabula harbor, where he has under his direction the tugs Sunol, William D., Kunkle Brothers, John Gordon, Red Cloud and Kittie Downs, holding himself in readiness to assume command of any of these as occasion may require. He has nineteen issues of marine engineer's license and fifteen issues of pilot's papers. Socially the Captain is a Master Mason, a member of Pearl Council No. 513, Royal Arcanum; and of Pearl Tent, No. 23, K. O. T. M.

In November, 1877, Captain Schied married Miss Celia, daughter of John and Catherine Merrick, of Toledo, Ohio, and to this union have been born two sons, Merrick M. and Austin P. The family residence is at No. & Spruce street, Ashtabula, Ohio.

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Volume I

This version of Volume II is based, with permission, on the work of the great volunteers at the Marine Captains Biographies site. To them goes the credit for reorganizing the content into some coherent order. The biographies in the original volume are in essentially random order.

Some of the transcription work was also done by Brendon Baillod, who maintains an excellent guide to Great Lakes Shipwreck Research.