James L. Chase
James L. Chase, general manager of the Chase Machine Company, was born in 1850, at Russell, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, and in 1853 came with the rest of his father's family to live in Cleveland, where he received his education in the public schools. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to the Cuyahoga Steam Furnace Company, J. F. Holloway being superintendent of the works at that time. They were established in 1835, and were situated on the river front, the location being the present site of the Cleveland Ship Building Company. Shortly after serving his time, he joined the Lady Franklin as second engineer, thus beginning his sailing experience in 1872.
From that time until 1880 Mr. Chase was second engineer on the following steamers during the seasons of navigation: City of Sandusky, Annie Smith, V. Swain, Cormorant, Selah Chamberlain and John M. Glidden, and working during the winter seasons in the machine shops of the city.
In 1880 he joined the Ohio as chief engineer with Capt. J.C. Estes, with whom he sailed as chief for a period of nine seasons. In 1887 Mr. Chase had patented an automatic fog whistle machine, which has become in general use on the lakes. In 1889 the Chase Machine Company was established on the site of their present works, as general machinists and manufacturers of the Chase Automatic Fog Whistle Machine, Mr. Chase's partners at the time being Messrs. Barnes and Ball.
In 1880 Mr. Chase was married to Miss Lizzie Pempin, of Cleveland, by who he has two children; Herbert, now (1898) aged eighteen, at present a student at Mount Union College, Alliance, Ohio; and James, aged twelve years, who is now receiving his education at the public schools of Cleveland.
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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.
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