J. J. Conway

J.J. Conway has passed part of his life afloat and has always taken a deep interest in affairs maritime, he is an ardent member of the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, and has for the last five years been financial secretary of Milwaukee Lodge No. 9. Mr. Conway is a finished mechanic and has held many positions of honor and trust. He was born in San Francisco, Cal., July 12, 1865, the son of James M. and Anna (Burke) Conway, natives of Great Britain, who came to the United States early in life, locating in Milwaukee, where they were married. Later they removed to San Francisco, returning, however to Milwaukee, where the father died in 1880. It was in that city that J. J. Conway acquired his public- school education. In 1880, the year that his father died, he became an apprentice of a bridgebuilding firm in whose machine and blacksmith shop he worked for nearly three years. In the spring of 1883 he engaged with the Milwaukee Tugboat line as fireman in the tug J. B. Merrill, transferring to the Starkey, Dexter, and J. J. Hagerman, during the three years he continued in their employ. In 1886 he went to work in the machine shop of W. Cross, of Milwaukee, and the next spring became fireman in the tug R. J. Gordon, owned by the Ellsworth Brothers. In the spring of 1888 Mr. Conway applied for and received engineer's license, shipping in the steamer Marshall F. Butters as second engineer, and following with a season in the passenger steamer F. & P. M. No 2, in the same capacity. The succeeding winter he was placed in charge of the machinery for the construction of the Milwaukee dam. In 1890 he was appointed assistant engineer of the Milwaukee fire steamer No. 1, after sixty days assuming charge of the engine. The next year he became chief engineer of the steamyacht Adele, a fine pleasure boat with triple-expansion engine, owned by Frank Boyd, at the close of the pleasure season taking the position of engineer and electrician of the Becker power house. In 1892 Mr. Conway was transferred to the railroad department of the Edison power house. The next year he entered the employ of the executors of the Martin estate and at once became chief engineer of all machinery attached to their buildings, the new Iron block, the Drake block, the Martin flats and the fine family residence. He has held this position five years, giving universal satisfaction. Mr. Conway has ten issues of engineer's license.

On April 2, 1892, Mr. Conway was married to Miss Johanna Patamythes, daughter of Joseph and Anna (Barnes) Patamythes, of Athens, Greece, and three children have been born to this union; George, Lorain and Marion. Mrs. Conway's father was at one time a salt-water sailor, visiting many climes, and he was mate of lake vessels for many years. The family make their home in the Martin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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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.