Stephen F. Langell

Stephen F. Langell, after an honorable and useful career in connection with marine interests, is now being retired at his home in Cleveland. He was born in Nova Scotia in 1829, and removed to the United States in 1835. His father was taken sick on the Erie canal, and, though they were bound for Ohio, were obliged to stop at Buffalo, where he died four days later. They remained in Buffalo four years, and then went to Cambridge, Ohio.

In 1847 Mr. Langell removed to Cleveland, where he became an apprentice in the shipyards of Washington and Buell Jones. The next year he went to Sheboygan, Mich., and built a small vessel which was used in carrying stone for the construction of a lighthouse near that point. On returning to Cleveland, he helped finish the steamer Buckeye State, then being built by the Jones Brothers. During the next eight years he was employed by Roderick Calkins, Quayle & Martin and Lafrinier & Stevenson. In 1857, he built in Fairport, for Solomon Snell, the top-sail schooner called Calvin Snell. In 1860 he went to work for Peck & Masters, and for fifteen years was employed in the responsible position of foreman and draftsman. The following are some of the vessels he aided in constructing: Pewabic, Winslow, Meteor, Atlantic, City of Chicago, City of Buffalo, City of Milwaukee, Golden Fleece, Sunshine, St. Louis, Arctic, Passaic, Nebraska, David Stewart, Manistee, Fremont and the revenue cutters Sherman and Fessenden.

In 1872 he went into business for himself, in partnership with the late William H. Radcliff, building the schooner Genoa, the steamers Havanna and John N. Glidden, and the tug Triad.

In 1853 was celebrated his marriage to Miss Catherine Perrin, of Cleveland. They have had nine children, only one of whom, Frederick W., has followed the marine business. He was head draughtsman in the engineering department of the Globe Iron Works Company from 1886 to 1897.

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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.