George Haig

George Haig, the subject of this sketch, was born September 23, 1860, in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was educated and lived until ten years of age. From this city the family moved to Monroe township, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, and there the parents reside.

In 1881 Mr. Haigh began his marine life, having spent all time previous at home. Five years later, in 1886, he came to Buffalo. His first occupation on board ship was as oiler on the New York, and he remained in that capacity for three years, then serving for the same length of time as her second engineer. He next went into the Tioga as second engineer, there remaining four years, transferring thence to the Portage, upon which he remained eight years, including the season of 1898. Mr. Haig has never been shipwrecked, but was on the Tioga at the time of the fatal explosion of naptha at Chicago. He was in his room at the time, was thrown into the river, and was picked up by the bridge tender; for several days he was unconscious from the shock. He sustained serious injuries from which he has never fully recovered, being injured from the shock, also suffering from paralysis of the left limb and side, not regaining its use for three months.

Mr. Haig was married December 31, 1886, to Miss Georgia Wills, and they have one child, Ethel M., now (1898) eight years of age, who is attending school.

Thomas Haig, father of our subject, was born in Scotland, whence he came to America in his youth. He spent thirty-eight years in active service on the lakes, and now lives in Monroe, Ashtabula Co., Ohio. Andrew G. Haig, a brother, is chief engineer of the Corsica. Adam Haig, an uncle, has been chief engineer on the lakes for forty years.

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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.