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Frank D. FredericksFrank D. Fredericks is one of nine children born to David F. and Katharine (Deavendorf) Fredericks, both of whom were natives of New York State. The father was a farmer and large cattle dealer at both Watertown and Alexandria, New York. Frank D., the subject of this sketch, was born at Watertown, N.Y., January 10, 1860, and received his education in the schools of that town and Alexandria. He assisted his father at farming until about seventeen years of age, at which time he began steamboating, firing, etc., on the pleasure steamer Island Rambler, on the St. Lawrence River. In the following year he went to Iowa and engaged as engineer in a sawmill, remaining there six months, at the end of that time going to Milwaukee, where he spent three years learning his trade in the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad machine shops. Coming east, he shipped as oiler on the Commodore for three seasons, leaving her to go as second engineer in the Lackawanna's steel steamer Scranton, in which berth he has continued ever since, serving nine consecutive seasons. Mr. Fredericks is also a boilermaker, and during the winters is engaged in some such shop, having been in Riter's shop at Buffalo, N. Y., during the past seven years. Mr. Fredericks was married, in 1878, to Miss Minnie Johnson, of Alexandria, N. Y., by whom he has three children. The family home is at Buffalo, N. Y. Mr. Fredericks is a steady and temperate mechanic, and has eight issues of license, three of them being chief's papers. Socially, he is a member of Local Harbor No. 4, Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, of Chicago.
Previous Next Return to Home Port 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. |