Philip C. Mayer
Philip C. Mayer, one of the most prominent engineers sailing out of the port of Sandusky, is a son of Charles and Charlotte (Olemacher) Mayer, and was born March 10, 1860, in Richersander, Province of Nassau, Germany. He came to the United States with his parents, who located at Monroeville, Ohio, and remained there about ten years, finally settling on a farm near that town. Philip C. Mayer attended the district school during the seven years he remained at home on the farm. In the fall of the year 1877 he went to Sandusky and found a berth as deckhand on the steamer Germania, that boat plying between Sandusky and Port Clinton in the wood trade. In the spring of 1878 he shipped on the steambarge Red Jacket, as fireman, finishing the season on the tug Myrtle. The next year he shipped with Captain Estes, a well- known master and vessel owner of Sandusky, as fireman on the steamer Ohio, retaining that berth three seasons. In 1883 he fired the tug Myrtle, out of Sandusky, until October, when he took out his engineer's license and ran her until the close of the season. The next year he was appointed chief engineer of the steamer Philip Walters, plying between Sandusky and Portage river, and he held that position two seasons, in the spring of 1886 taking charge of the machinery of the tug Mystic. The season following he went as chief of the steambarge Norma, until October, finishing on the tug Myrtle. The season of 1888 and part of 1889 he was chief engineer of the steambarge Roland, and he was then appointed to this present position, chief engineer on the passenger steamer American Eagle, which berth he has now held for eight successive years. During the greater part of this time the Eagle has run all winter, and as the ice is very heavy at certain points, the engineer carries a complement of tools and material to replace plates that may be torn off or rolled up during the passage. On many occasions Mr. Mayer has been compelled to stop his boat and renew the plates so that the unguarded hull may not be subjected to the jagged corners of the heavy ice. He is an ardent member of the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association and the Order of the Red Cross.
Mr. Mayer wedded Miss Bertha Wiedenhafer, of Sandusky, in 1885, and two sons, Charles P., who died young, and George W., have been born to this union. The family residence is at No. 820 Monroe street, Sandusky, Ohio.
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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.
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