Charles W. Brown

Charles W. Brown, chief engineer of the Armour & Co., Glue, Soap, Felt and Curled Hair Works, Chicago, has full control of the management of the construction of these various plants. He also serves the firm as consulting engineer for their elevators, which position he has filled during the past seven years.

Mr. Brown was born in Essex, Clinton Co., Mich., April 16, 1859, and at the age of thirteen years he went to work in the machine shops of the Detroit Dry Dock Company. Later he went into the machine shops of the Chicago & West Michigan Railway Co., at Muskegon, Mich., and in 1879 he commenced on the lakes, serving in the capacity of engineer, following continuously until 1889. In that year he entered the employ of the Muskegon Street Railway Company, installing their electric equipment, and operating the same until May, 1892, when he resigned this position to go back on the lakes, where he remained until September, at which time he accepted the position of chief engineer and master mechanic with Armour & Co., Chicago, which he still holds. The following letter speaks for itself:

Messrs. J.H. Beers & Co., Publishers, Chicago.

GENTLEMEN: Your valued favor of the 13th inst. duly received, and it affords us much gratification to supplement the very commendable record of the services of our Mr. Charles W. Brown as a marine engineer, alluded to by you, by our own unqualified endorsement of him as a mechanical engineer.

Mr. Brown has given conclusive evidence of his eminent professional ability during the past six years, in which period he has been continuously connected with this firm in the capacity of chief engineer. He has had exclusive charge in this capacity of our Glue, Soap, Curled Hair, Felt, Glycerine, Ammonia and Fertilizer establishments, and has recently shown conspicuous ability in the construction of our new Felt Works, the modern mechanical equipment of which, under his superintendence, excels anything of its kind in this country or, indeed, in the world.

Very truly yours,
September 15, 1898
ARMOUR & CO.

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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.