Captain Thomas Meikleham

Captain Thomas Meikleham, of the B. W. Blanchard, chartered by the Clover Leaf line for the season of 1897, is a native of Canada, having been born at Brampton, Ont., November 10, 1859. He was one of the three sons of James and Mary Meikleham, another, William, also being connected with steamboating as an engineer.

Captain Meikleham began sailing when seventeen years old, serving as watchman on the propeller Ouebec[sic] for one season, and the four seasons following was wheelsman on the river tugs Oswego and Swain, being on each two seasons. His next season was spent before the mast on the schooner Venus, and the succeeding two as second mate on the Manistique, and then on the Schoolcraft in the same office for one season; the Atlantic one season as second, and the three following as first mate, after which he served as master of the Flora, a side-wheel passenger steamer, for three seasons; and transfer- ring to the Depere, was her master one season, and for the past five seasons, including 1897, has sailed the B. W. Blanchard. Captain Meikleham has been out in some very heavy seas, but has never, during his career of over twenty years on the lakes, been in a wreck of any kind, which must be attributed as much to his efficiency as a master sailor, as to his good luck. He is a member of Harbor No. 43, American Association of Masters and Pilots, and of Detroit Lodge No. 2, Monroe Chapter, and Monroe Council, F. & A. M.

The Captain was united in marriage to Miss Mary Burns, of Detroit, and they reside at No. 641 West Washington street, Toledo, 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.