Captain C. W. Lockwood

Captain C. W. Lockwood, a noted ocean and lake navigator, and a master of wide experience, is a descendant of a family of shipbuilders doing business at Ashtabula, Ohio. He was born in that city on March 13, 1836, and is the son of Edmund and Elizabeth (Wilkins) Lockwood, who had four children -- Charles W., Edward W., Eugene, and Ellen, now Mrs. Felix Perew, of Ashtabula. The father was born in Onondaga county, N. Y., son of James Lockwood, who removed with his family to Ashtabula in 1808, transporting the household effects by ox-team. The great-grandfather emigrated to the United States from England with two brothers, Erastus and Garrett, in the year 1668. After the arrival of the family at their new home in Ohio, Edmund Lockwood and his brother, who had learned the shipbuilding trade, opened a shipyard and took contracts for the construction of vessels, the first one launched by them being the schooner Whittlesey, in 1834. Then followed the Windom and Convoy, which they built near Conneaut; the steamer Julia Palmer, at Monroe, Mich.; the brig Joshua R. Giddings, at Ashtabula; the R. R. Johnson and Snell, at Fairport; the Ontonagon and Falena Mills, at Madison, Ohio; the schooner Dahlia, full-rigged brig Oleander, brigs Constellation and Chicago, at Ashtabula. The father then purchased the tug Lady Franklin, which he rebuilt and sailed, and later built the tug George B. McClellan, for Captain Lunday, of Cleveland, which was his last boat; he made the model, however, for the Edwin Harmon in 1866.

Charles W. Lockwood attended the schools of his native place and studied for one term at the Kingsville Academy, after which he worked one year in the shipyard with his father. In the spring of 1853 it was his pleasure to adopt the career of a sailor, and he shipped on the brig Powhattan, remaining the entire season. The next spring he went before the mast on the schooner Puritan, was made second mate in July, changed to the schooner J. G. King as mate, and then to the brig Monteith, which was soon after wrecked near Fairport. He closed the season on the schooner Petrel, which he left in Grand Traverse Bay, December 9, and walked about one hundred miles through the forest to Croton, Mich., thence to Kalamazoo, where he secured transportation for Buffalo. In the spring of 1855 he shipped on the brig Empire State, as seaman, and was promoted to second mate, holding that berth until September and finishing the season on the brig Boston.

In 1856 Captain Lockwood went to San Francisco, Cal., and thence to Forbestown, where he worked in the gold mines some months. Not striking it very rich, he returned to San Francisco and shipped on the bark Ivanona, in the coasting trade, after the first trip receiving promotion to the office of mate and holding that berth eighteen months, until he joined the schooner Isabelle Ebbitts, also as mate. He was then appointed master of the Far West, sailing her until 1859, when he was given the J. K. F. Mansfield to sail, continuing on her nine months, and subsequently for six months on the James E. Murdock; he also sailed the schooner Sovereign, all for the same owner, and the brig Coricoa. He then took the schooner Augusta as master on speculation to Frazier river, during the trouble in that region, and brought down a load of passengers. In 1861 he came out as master of the brig Wolcott, sailing her the entire year.

In 1862 the Captain left the coasting trade and joined, as second mate, the full-rigged ship Hemisphere, San Francisco to Hong Kong, China, during this voyage of eight months finishing his studies in navigation. He then shipped on the schooner Mary, on a voyage to the Armour river with a cargo of provisions for a government station. In 1863 he was appointed master of the schooner Brilliant, and afterward of the James E. Murdock. In April, while riding out a gale at anchor, the Murdock parted her mooring chains and went ashore near Noyo river, above Mendocino. When the sea went down he tightened her up and recaulked her, got her on ways, launched her and took her to San Francisco. On June 12, after accounting to the owner, he took passage on the steamer Moses Taylor and returned to New York, thence to the lakes, and shipped on the bark Golden Fleece. In the spring of 1864 he engaged as mate of the schooner Gen. Franz Sigel, but before the season was far advanced he went to New York and shipped as mate of the brig Neponsite, bound for Mediterranean ports, the voyage lasting about eleven months. On his return to the lakes the next year he sailed as mate on the schooner Dauntless, closing the season as master of the bark Fame. In the winter of 1866 Captain Lockwood took out steamboat papers and came out in the steamer Mendota and the G.L. Newman. On leaving this berth he went to Boston and made voyages in the coasting trade between that port, Philadelphia and New Orleans in the bark Mechanic. He passed the next year in the marine insurance business in New York, and in 1868 engaged in the roofing business until September, when he sold out and shipped on the Ward J. Parks, of Boston, bound for Mediterranean ports. During this voyage the ship had all kinds of weather, and smallpox having broken out, the crew was short handed; during the prevalence of a hurricane the Captain stood a trick of fourteen hours at the wheel, and he was on duty for six weeks without turning in. The vessel had a cargo of raisins valued at $250,000. On returning to the lakes the next spring he joined the schooner Vanderbilt in 1870, at the end of the season proceeding to New York and joining the schooner Annie Bliss, in the West India trade, with which he remained two years. In 1873 he was mate of the Mocking Bird on the lakes; 1874, mate of the schooner J.D. Sawyer, 1875, mate of the schooner A.W. Smith, in the coasting trade on the Atlantic; 1876, master of the schooner R. E. White, in the wood trade between ports in Virginia; 1877, mate of the steamer City of Dallas, of the Mallory line, out of New York. In the spring of 1878 he was appointed master of the schooner John Schuette, of Green Bay, Wis., and took her down to the Atlantic on a voyage to Gloucester, England, with deals, returning to Wilmington, N.C. His next voyage was to Hamburg (with naval stores) and return to New York (with phosphate), and was followed by a voyage to London and return to Wilmington, N.C., then to Riga, Russia, on the Baltic Sea, thence to Portsmouth, England, engaging in the coasting trade to Sunderland, where he loaded coal at $2.50 per ton, gold, for the West Indies. He then took sugar for Montreal, loading salt for Chicago, and arriving there in September, 1880, by way of the St. Lawrence river. This was the last of the Captain's voyaging on the ocean.

In 1881 he became mate and then master of the schooner Maria Martin; he sailed the Colonel Cook the next three seasons; in 1884 the J.S. Richards; the H.P. Baldwin four seasons; in 1887 the M.E. Tremble; in 1888 the George W. Adams; in 1889 the J.G. Masten, Thomas Quayle and Frank Perew; the B.L. Pennington four seasons; in 1895 was mate of the steamer Bulgaria; in 1896 mate of the steamer Nahant, and in 1897 master of the schooner Columbia for part of the season. He has thirteen issues of lake licenses and a number of salt-water papers, which give him an enviable record as a seaman and navigator who is never at a loss to define his position on the water, a fact which will be acknowledged when it is asserted that he has never been ashore but the one time noted above during the forty-four years he sailed on lake and ocean. He carries Pennant No. 85, of the Ship Masters Association. Socially he is a member of the Order of the Knights of Honor.

On January 11, 1883, Captain Lockwood wedded Miss Jennie Henderson, daughter of John Henderson, Esq., of Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland. The Captain first met his wife in Buffalo, but the marriage ceremony was performed in Cleveland. Three children have been born to them, Nettie Estelle, Leslie Brown and Ann Besant, who died young and was laid to rest in Riverside cemetery, Cleveland. In 1890 the family removed to Ashtabula, where they now reside, at No. 38 Main street. Mrs. Lockwood keeps her home surrounded with choice flowers, and Miss Nettie fills it with music. D. LONG

D. Long, second mate of the Milwaukee, was born in 1858, in Hamilton, Ontario. He grew up in the city of Milwaukee, and at the age of eighteen years shipped as watchman on the steamer Saginaw, plying between Milwaukee and Grand Haven, and remained with her in that capacity two years. He then served as lookout on the same steamer, a season, and for another season as wheelsman. During four winters when the boat was laid up, he was her watchman. About the year 1880, he shipped as second mate on the Flora, which ran between Milwaukee, Wis., and Ludington, Mich. From the Flora he went in the same capacity on the steamer John A. Dix for one season, travelling[sic] the same route, and the next season was first mate of the same steamer. The following season he shipped as second mate on the steamer Minneapolis, which ran between Chicago and Buffalo. About eight years ago Mr. Long entered the service of the Graham & Morton Transportation Co., with the exception of one season, when he was second mate of the steamer Wisconsin, has since been with that company and in the capacity of second mate. Mr. Long has served his employers faithfully, and is a capable officer. Socially he is a member of the Maccabees Lodge No. 203, of Milwaukee, in which city he makes his home.

The parents of Mr. Long were Daniel and Agnes (Brady) Long, natives of Ireland. His father was a farmer by occupation and left Canada, removing to Milwaukee when our subject was about ten years of age. His death occurred in that city in 1888, and the mother passed away in 1896, and she now rests beside her husband in the cemetery at Milwaukee.

Return to Home Port

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.