Samuel R. Gill

Samuel R. Gill, who was steward of the North Land, of the Northern Steamship line, during the season of 1896, was born at Pembroke, Ont., in 1868, and attended school there, finishing his literary education when about fifteen years of age. His first experience in connection with the lake commerce was as newsboy on the steamer Athabaska in 1886. Previous to that time he was in the employ of the Canadian Pacific railway, and was changed to the Athabaska when that railroad established the route from Owen Sound to Port Arthur. The following season Mr. Gill was a waiter on the Alverta of the same line, and in 1888 was head waiter on the steamer United Empire, belonging to the Beatty line that ran between Sarnia and Duluth.

In 1889 Mr. Gill removed to Buffalo, and that fall became a waiter in the Swan street café, where he engaged for a year. During the two seasons of 1890-91 he was head waiter on the Empire State, of the Western Transportation Company's line, in 1892 was employed as barkeeper at the White Elephant saloon, and in 1893 held the same position at the old Arcade. For the season of 1894 he was steward on the Badger State, of the Western Transit line; for that of 1895 barkeeper of the passenger steamer North West, and for the season of 1896 steward of the North Land. Mr. Gill is a very competent man in his chosen line, and will doubtless follow the lakes for many seasons.

Our subject was married in 1894 to Emma Gregory, of St. Catharine's, daughter of Captain Gregory, who died in February, 1895. They have one child, Irene. They make their home at No. 78 West Chippewa street, Buffalo.

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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.