Charles S. Shriver

Charles S. Shriver is a son of Capt. Seymour and Emma (Brown) Shriver, both natives of Buffalo, N.Y., the former having been born on Spring street. Captain Shriver is one of the oldest tug men in Buffalo harbor.

Our subject was born in Buffalo, January 19, 1863, and is one of a family of thirteen children, eight of whom are now living. He obtained his education in the public schools of that city, leaving school when about sixteen years of age, began life in Buffalo harbor as fireman of the tug Ascension, and by degrees worked himself to his present position by his own efforts. Subsequently he acted as fireman on the tugs Harley, Oneida, J.C. Adams, Annie P. Dorr, Alpha, Goodman and James Ash, and as engineer of the tugs H.B. Abbott, Annie P. Dorr, Alpha, P.M. Moore, James C. Adams and Thomas Wilson, which he took to Ogdensburg. He was also in the H.A. Dickey, which he took to Taunton, Mass. While on the tug Annie P. Dorr Mr. Shriver was shipwrecked off Dunkirk, and the entire crew, consisting of Capt. William Hazen, Charles Dovey, fireman, two deckhands and our subject, were picked up by the tug James P. Adams, Capts. Herbert Vrooman and Ed. Maytham, who ran great risks in the rescue, inasmuch as there was a heavy sea. The Adams tore her rail and fender-rail off of her starboard side, and succeeded in taking the crew off one at a time, Captain Hazen being the last man to be rescued.

In 1892 Mr. Shriver was engineer of the tug J.B. Gardiner, at Chicago, and of the tug Percy Campbell, at Duluth. It was during his service on the former tug that the Halsted street bridge, in Chicago, was knocked down by the Tioga, which vessel at the time was in tow of the Gardiner. During the season of 1895 he was in charge of the tugs Erastus Day and Conneaut, as engineer, at Conneaut harbor, Lake Erie. He was also at one time second engineer of the steamer Otego and chief of the Mentor, being on the latter about four months. For the seasons of 1896, '97 and '98 he was engineer of the tug Conneaut, at Buffalo harbor. Mr. Shriver has been a member of the Buffalo Harbor Tug Pilots Association five years.

On March 4, 1894, Mr. Shriver was married to Miss Ella A. Cooper, by whom he has one son, Charles Williams. The family reside at No. 130 Jefferson street, Buffalo, New York.

Return to Home Port

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.