Edward F. Kemmet

Edward F. Kemmet, pilot of the tug W. D. Cushing for the season of 1896, was born in Birmingham, England, November 8, 1864, of Irish parentage. In 1865 he removed to the United States with his parents, and settled in Mansfield, Ohio. In 1869 the family removed to Cleveland, where the subject of our sketch was educated, going to the parish school until twelve years of age, when he commenced to work in a nut and bolt shop in that city, remaining there three years.

At the age of fifteen Mr. Kemmet commenced firing on the harbor tugs Shoo Fly and Starkweather. In 1880, he shipped on the tug Charles Henry, followed by service on the Maggie Sanborn, Fannie Tuttle and N. B. Gates, of the L. P. & J. A. Smith line. He took out his first papers as pilot in 1883. In 1884 he went with Robert Greenhalgh on the tugs Doan, and Warswick, next sailing the tug Starkweather, now the Dennis Crowley, and for four years sailed for Capt. Robert Greenhalgh on the tugs C. E. Bolton, Doan, and Warswick. He remained on the Warswick two years after Captain Greenhalgh went out of business. In 1889 he came out on the tug W. D. Cushing, and at the close of the season shipped in the fireboat J. H. Weatherly, as pilot. There he remained until August 1, 1890, when he sailed the tug T. M. Moore for Gen. Jack Casement, towing supplies for tunnel and crib work until the tunnel was completed, in 1892. The following season he proceeded to Duluth, and shipped on the tug Stanwood, of the Inman line, until October, 1893, when he returned to Cleveland and took charge of the tug Dreadnaught, on which he remained until November 5, 1895. He then returned to Duluth and sailed the tugs A.C. Adams and J.L. Williams. In the following July he returned to Cleveland and shipped as pilot of the W.D. Cushing, which he laid up December 5, 1896.

Mr. Kemmet was united in marriage to Miss Maggie Springer, of Cleveland, who is of German parentage. Socially, he is a charter member of Pearl Tent, Knights of the Maccabees, and a charter member of Pearl Division, U.R.

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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.