Captain Henry Warwick

Captain Henry Warwick is a son of Thomas and Mary (Granger) Warwick, and was born in New Baltimore, Mich., February 14, 1848. Thomas Warwick was a millwright by trade, but also worked a farm and kept a hotel at Lakeport, Mich. He had five children, two of whom only are living - the subject of this sketch, and another son, Burt, who was master of the schooner W. K. Moore for the season of 1896; she was owned by A.W. Comstock and hailed from Alpena.

Captain Warwick had very little school education until he was grown up, and at the age of twelve he began sailing the lakes. He shipped first out of New Baltimore as boy with Capt. Thomas Donohue, on the schooner C. Reeves, and was in several vessels in the same capacity immediately succeeding that employment. He was employed on sail vessels about fifteen years, three years of that time as master. In March, 1863, he entered the army, and during his service was confined seven months in Libby prison, being released at the close of the war in 1865. From 1865 to 1883 he was before the mast, and as mate upon various sailing vessels. In the season of 1883 he first sailed steamboats. That season he was mate of the steamer Robert Holland, a passenger and freight boat, out of Cleveland to Mackinaw, in which he remained three seasons in the above position. In 1886 he was mate of the side-wheel steamer W.R. Clinton, in the trade between Sandusky and Mackinaw, and in 1887 he was given master's berth on the tug Ballentine, towing rafts in Lake Superior. The following season he held mate's berth on the steamer Steven C. Hall in the general trade, and in 1889 master's berth in the steambarge Westford. For the seasons of 1890-91-92 he was master of the propellers Araxes, Porter, Chamberlain and Artic, at the conclusion of which period he was compelled to retire from the lakes because of illness. In July, 1895, he was made master of the Buffalo harbor police tug Gov. Morton, and vacated that position in May, 1896, since which time he has remained on shore, and is with Howard H. Baker as solicitor in the boat trade. However, he has no intention of continuing on shore, but will resume the lake service when a favorable opportunity offers. He is a member of the Local Harbor No. 41, American Association of Master and Pilots.

In 1872 Captain Warwick was married at Port Huron to Miss Dora Mitchell, by whom he has two children, Earle, a clerk in New York City, and Sadie, living at home. The family residence is at No. 419 Glenwood avenue, Buffalo, New York.

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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.