Captain Thaddeus F. Burbank

Captain Thaddeus F. Burbank was born September 13, 1841, at Collins Center, Erie County, N.Y., and is the son of Daniel and Lucinda (Stuart) Burbank, natives of New York and Massachusetts, respectively. Daniel Burbank spent the greater part of his days as a dyer, and departed this life June 29, 1870, being survived by his wife, who died January 2, 1897.

At his native place Captain Burbank lived only two years, when his parents removed to Willoughby, Ohio, where he attended school until his twelfth year. At this time he began the marine work to which he has since devoted so much attention, and shipped on the Rover, sailing out of Cleveland. From this boat he came on the scow Helen, engaged in the stave and wood trade, and soon afterward sailed on the George Worthington, City of the Straits, and sailed the Louisa, Sunny Sides and several others. A part of the following season he spent on the Otsego as her master, and later in that year he acted in a minor position on the City of the Straits. After a time spent on the E.C. Roberts and Grace Murray, he sailed the Lula and Louise, and in the winter went into the forests of Michigan, when a falling tree so injured him that he has since been unable to engage in manual labor of any kind. On April 24, 1861, he enlisted in the Seventh Ohio Regiment, and was soon after transferred to Battalion U.S. Engineers, where he served until March 28, 1867.

On October 21, 1865, Captain Burbank was married to Miss Albertenia A. Sanford, daughter of Capt. George E. Sanford, of Portland, Maine, who was a salt-water sailor many years, and with whom Captain Burbank sailed considerably. On June 29, 1869 he was married to Miss Ada M. Manly, of Kirtland, Ohio, and on November 29, 1893, he wedded Mrs. Mary Ann Eslick, of Cleveland, Ohio. The Captain is the father of the following children: Albertenia, deceased; Thaddeus F., Jr.; Mabel, deceased; Gertrude A.; Rosie; Ethel, deceased; Mertie, deceased, and Pearl. He is a member of the Union Veteran Legion and the Union Veterans League.

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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.