Captain William S. Hoag

Captain William S. Hoag, master of the steam whaleback Thompson, was born in 1858, in Buffalo, son of William F. Hoag, a prosperous merchant. After leaving school he began sailing in 1872 as second cook on the steamer Forest City. During the early part of the following season he was with the steamer Manistee and the schooner Dreadnaught, after which he went to New York and joined the steamer Rehola, for a voyage to Cardiff, Wales. He spent the following two years on the ship G.E. Wood, largely on the Mediterranean and Black seas, and next shipped on the bark Gemini, for Yokohama. While near the Cape of Good Hope, this vessel sprang a leak and they were obliged to throw the cargo overboard and run in at Angie Point, Straits of Sunda, for repairs. Thence the vessel proceeded to Singapore, where Mr. Hoag left her to join the bark Beaufort, in which he went to London. From London he made a voyage around the coast of England in a coasting vessel, and then joined the bark Eastern Star, bound for Quebec. At Quebec he had the misfortune to break his shoulder while hoisting ballast, and he was in [a] hospital eight weeks, after his recovery joining the full-rigged ship Bosphorus, bound for Plymouth, England. Proceeding overland to Bristol he shipped in the Brooklyn City, returning to the United States. In the spring of 1884 he became wheelsman on the steamer D.W. Powers, on the lakes, finishing the season on the steamer Alcona. That winter he went to New York and shipped in the steamer Somerset, making a voyage to Bristol and return. Coming back to the lakes he went as wheelsman on the steamer Oregon, with which he served two years, was mate on the steamer Nevada one season, mate of the Queen of the West two seasons, of the Henry J. Johnson one season, of the Kaliyuga one season, and again of the Johnson, after which he became master of barge No. 107. He has since commanded barge No. 130 two seasons, the steamer Colgate Hoyt one season, and the Thompson one season, closing the year 1896 in the last-named craft.

Captain Hoag was married, March 9, 1887, to Miss Minnie Cookler, of Buffalo. Their children are William Charles and Chester C. Hoag.

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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.