Captain F. A. Goodell

Captain F.A. Goodell, of Cleveland, is a native of the Buckeye State, having been born at Vermilion, February 18, 1854. Two months later the family removed to what was then the Territory of Washington, there living until he reached the age of twelve years, when they returned to Vermilion.

Captain Goodell attended school at Vermilion for five years, at the end of that time going on the Michael Groh as deckhand, becoming watchman and wheelsman the same year. He then went before the mast on the schooner Winona, with Captain Brown, and, leaving in October, escaped a wreck which befell the boat on its next trip. The following season he spent on its next trip. The following season he spent on the J. S. Fay as watchman, and the years closely succeeding in the S. L. Mather, Mary Jarecki, Samson, Annie Smith, V. Swain, F. A. Morse, S. B. Conklin and Henry Fitzhugh. For one season after this he was engaged in the fish business at Vermilion, but the following year he returned to the water and sailed as mate of the P. S. March. He now became master, and was given command of the Florida, which boat was lost at Marquette Harbor, one man also being lost. He has since sailed the P. S. Marsh, the W. S. Crosthwaite, Oregon, H. D. Alverson, and, in 1896 and 1897 the Columbia, and in 1898, steamer R. E. Schuck.

On November 30, 1880, Captain Goode[sic] was married to Miss Amelia Hinton, of Vermilion, Ohio. They have five children Marion P., William B., Fred C., Edna M. and Hattie B., all of who are in school but the youngest.

William B. Goodell, the father of Captain Goodell, was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He spent the greater part of his life on the water, being in the employ of Bradley and Minch, of Cleveland, in 1854. He had left the lakes, however, at the time of his death, which occurred December 16, 1864. He had been appointed deputy collector at Port Angelus, Wash., and served in that position only one week when he was drowned in a flood.

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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.