Alexander T. Stewart

Probably the youngest engineer in the Northern Steamship line, and the only one unmarried, is Alexander T. Stewart, whose name opens this sketch. He was born in Kinleith, near Edinburgh, Scotland, July 26, 1865, and at that place he lived until he reached his ninth year, when his father, George Stewart, a papermaker, came to America and with his family settled in Thorold, Ontario.

Here Alexander attended the public schools, adding to what knowledge he had already acquired in Scotland, until his sixteenth year, when he was apprenticed to the machinist's trade in Thorold. He also served in Buffalo, making five years in all, and after one year of actual work he began marine life. He first went as oiler on the Syracuse, of the New York Central and Hudson River line. After a season on the Albany he went to the Pennsylvania Oil Company, at Corry, Penn., and remained there six months, finishing the year in the shops at Buffalo. At this time he came in the Northern line as second engineer, and served one and a half seasons. From there he went to the R.A. Packer, of the Lehigh Valley line, and the second year became chief, in 1893, when only 28 years of age. After serving as chief upon the E.P. Wilbur and Fred Mercur, he went back to the Northern line in 1894 as second engineer on the North Wind, and then first assistant on the North West. The following year, 1895, he was chief of the Northern Queen, and has held that position ever since. His good fortune and well-merited reputation as an engineer has gained for Mr. Stewart the greatest confidence of his employers.

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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.