Captain Dugald Buie

Captain Dugald Buie is a native of Renfrewshire, Scotland, and was born in 1838, the son of Archibald and Sarah (McDougall) Buie, who had eight children in all, the others being named, respectively, Duncan (now deceased, who was for about sixteen years a navigator on the Great Lakes), John, Archie, Angus, Hugh, Sarah and Flora. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, came to Canada in 1848. He died in 1885, and the mother passed away a year later.

Dugald Buie obtained a little schooling at his birthplace, and came to Canada with his father, locating near Collingwood, on Georgian Bay. His first experience on the lakes was as a boy before the mast of the Canadian schooner Mary, of Port Dover, on which he remained one season. During the succeeding seasons until 1860 he rose to second mate, and in that year shipped out of Quebec before the mast in an ocean vessel engaged in the trade between that port and the West Indies. In 1862 he returned to the lakes, and after wheeling a trip in the propeller Sun went before the mast in the schooner San Jacinto for the remainder of the season. In 1863 he went on salt water again, shipping in the East India and South American trade. In 1867 Captain Buie went to Buffalo and shipped as second mate on the schooner J.V. Taylor for the season; for that of 1868 he was second mate on the propeller Sun; in 1869 of the Montgomery, and in 1870 of the Annie Young. In the latter year he was also second mate of the Orient, and about October 20 left Grand Haven, Mich., for Chicago; experiencing a gale of wind, they ran back for the port of Grand Haven, but they struck a bar outside of the pier and were wrecked, the vessel breaking in two fifteen minutes after striking the bar. In 1871 the Captain shipped as second mate of the Sun, and in 1872 of the Empire State. For the seasons of 1873-74-75-76 he was mate respectively of the Chicago, Plymouth, Mohawk and Colorado; for those of 1877 to 1880, inclusive, held the same berth on the Montana, and in 1881 became master of the Plymouth. For the next four seasons he was mate respectively of the Oneida, Vanderbilt and Syracuse, and in 1886 he commanded the Huron City. The following season he was mate of the Merker for a couple of trips, and from the spring of 1888 to the close of navigation in 1892 he commanded the steamer Buffalo, of the Western Transport- ation Company's line. During the succeeding seasons up to and including 1896 Captain Buie had charge of the steamer Boston, of the same line. In all his long experience on the lakes he never was in serious trouble but once, in 1890, when he put out of Milwaukee harbor with the Buffalo and grounded about one hundred and fifty feet from the pier, losing his shoe, rudder and wheel. The steamer drifted ashore in the wind and sea, and she was scuttled to keep her from pounding. In thirty-six hours she was pulled off and inside of the harbor unloading her cargo of general merchandise, and was later towed to Chicago and laid up, as it was the last trip in December.

Captain Buie was married, in 1872, at Buffalo, to Miss Catherine Grant, and they reside at No. 262 Grant Street, in that city.

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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.