Captain William Chamberlain

Captain William Chamberlain, the well known master of the Adella Shores, plying between Chicago and all lake ports, has spent almost his entire life upon the water, becoming a sailor at the early age of six years. He was born in Suffolk, England in 1832, a son of Joseph and Mary {Roberts} Chamberlain, natives of the same shire. The father, who was also a seafaring man, engaged mostly in fishing and whaling, lived and died in England.

The Captain began sailing with his father in 1837 off the east coast of England, and on leaving home at the age of sixteen, went to Blyth and served two years as a sailor on the brig Darling. He finished his time on the Darling, and wintered on the Danube river. For some years he sailed on salt water, during which time he visited all of the important ports of the world, and in the English merchant marine went up the Baltic, and later to Jamaica, West Indies, and the Dry Tortugas. In 1849 he returned to England, where he shipped in the bark Cecil, of Greenwich, for San Francisco, being six months and twenty days in making the passage. There he left the boat and shipped on the Fulbert, of Bath, Maine, for Hong Kong, China. Leaving that vessel on the Chinese coast, he shipped on the Sheridan for London, England, thence proceeded to Newport, Wales; on arriving at this port he joined the Francis, of Portland, Maine, bound for New York City, where he arrived after the stormy voyage of six months and twenty days. After stopping for a short time in Buffalo, he proceeded to Chicago in September, 1852, and there he has since made his home, honored and respected by all who know him.

Captain Chamberlain commenced sailing out of Chicago on the schooner Alert, was later on the brig Clarion, of Erie, sailing her from Chicago to Buffalo, and the next year was made second mate of the schooner Lansing. In 1854 he was on the ill-fated schooner Porter, when she capsized off North Point, near Milwaukee. In 1858 he was appointed master of the Commodore Preble and held this command for four years; and then was mate of the Juniata Patten during the season of 1862; followed by a like berth on the brig Pidgeon and the William H. Stephens, serving previous to this as captain of the S. F. Gale; and for five or six seasons was master of the Cherubusco, and he further was in command of the following vessels: The schooner Gertrude, of which he was master two years; later was captain of the bark Simms for four years; the schooner Florence Golden five years; the schooner Owasco one year; the schooner Kate Winslow for part of a season, which he finished on the bark Wells. Then on the James Couch for two or three years; of the steamer Bessemer two years, owned by the firm of Wolf & Davison, who also owned Jim Sheriffs, of which he had command for one year. He was next master of the Burmah, belonging to Leopold & Austrian; followed by two years on the steamer Argonaut, from which he transferred to the Escanaba, owned by Owens, in whose employ he remained for some time, when he took charge of the Adella Shores. With the exception of the year 1871, which he spent on shore, Captain Chamberlain has been an active participant in marine affairs since coming to Chicago, of which city he has been a resident for the past forty-five years, and is widely and favorably known among lakefaring men. He is an honored member of the Masters & Pilots Association.

In 1853, at Buffalo, N. Y., Captain Chamberlain was married to Miss Mary J. Chestall, and to them were born seven children: Mary J., deceased; Samuel, now master of the Escanaba; Anna; William, who is also a sailor; Adaline; Joseph, deceased; and Emma.

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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.