Edgar Hull

Edgar Hull was born at Kalamazoo, Mich., July 26, 1856. His father, Ephraim Hull, was a farmer in that vicinity, but subsequently removed to Oswego, N.Y., where he conducted a hotel for a time, also dealt in fish and kept an oyster house. He died there many years ago. His wife's name was Elmira Roat.

Our subject received his education at Buffalo, leaving school when about thirteen years of age, at which time he began learning the trade, he followed it as journeyman during the winter seasons for the five years he was on the China, of the Anchor line, so commencing on her in 1873. He was greaser on that steamer for the season of that year, and for two trips of the season of 1874, serving as second engineer the balance of the time. On September 10, 1877, he was appointed chief engineer of the Buffalo Sugar Company's works, and was in this employ three years, transferring to the American Glucose Company's works in the same capacity and as assistant machine superintendent. Here he remained until November 10, 1892, when he accepted the position of chief engineer of the steamer Newburgh, of the D. & L. line. In this boat he remained a short time, finishing that season as chief of the William H. Barnum, and in the spring of 1893 he went as chief of the E.P. Wilbur, of the Lehigh Valley line, continuing on her until September 1. On that date he was transferred to the Seneca, on which he served until October 30, 1895, at that time becoming chief engineer of the M.H. Birge & Son's plant of the National Wall Paper Company, where he has remained up to the present time.

Mr. Hull was married to Anna Bryan, of Erie, Penn., July 13, 1876, and they have the following named children: Charles, now (1898) aged twenty years; Luella E., seventeen; Earl Bryan, fifteen, and Joseph Howard Edgar, thirteen. Charles Hull, the eldest son, has been on the lakes for several seasons. In the spring of 1893 he was greaser on the E.P. Wilbur all of the season of 1894 and part of 1895, and during the balance of that season and the entire seasons of 1896-97 was on the China as oiler (he being the third generation of his family upon that boat), and for the season of 1898 he was greaser on the Schuylkill.

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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.