Captain John R. Glover

Captain John R. Glover is a son of Daniel W. and Elizabeth (Jones) Glover. The father was an old-time sailor on the lakes and mate of the steamer Dictator previous to his death, which occurred in 1872. Mrs. Glover lives with her son on Fargo Avenue, Buffalo.

The Captain was born at Buffalo in 1861. At the age of twelve years and immediately succeeding his attendance at Public School No. 2, he began sailing the lakes as second cook on the propeller Toledo of the Union Steamboat Company's line; she was in the passenger service from Buffalo to Toledo, and later in the season running from Green Bay. He was next porter on the propeller Passaic (running between Buffalo and Green Bay) a season, which ended at Buffalo. The succeeding season he was porter of the steamer Canisteo, of the same company and in the same trade. In 1878 he shipped as porter of the steamer St. Louis, remaining with her the full season, and served in the same capacity in the propeller Pacific for the season of 1879. The first two months of the season of 1880 he was wheelsman of the steamer Grand Traverse under charter by the Wabash line and in the trade between Buffalo and Toledo. He then acted as watchman for a trip on the Waverly, and closed the season as wheelsman of the Dean Richmond of the Union Steamboat Company's line. The following season he was wheelsman of the steamer Japan, of the Lake Superior Transit Company, in the passenger service between Buffalo and Duluth. For the first month of the season of 1882 he was fireman of the Buffalo harbor tug Orient, of Maytham's line, from which employment he returned to the steamer Japan and acted as her wheelsman two trips and a half, leaving her at Duluth to become mate of the tug John R. Paige, which was owned by the Sexmith Lumber Company, of Duluth, and was used in rafting logs from Burlington bay and Stewart river to Duluth.

In the season of 1883 Captain Glover began as mate of the tug Alice M. Campbell, owned by the Oneonta Lumber Company, of Duluth. He was then master of the tug John McKay for a couple of months, towing logs in Stewart river and Burlington bay. For a short period he was master of the ferryboat Hattie Lloyd between Superior and Duluth, and closed the season as mate of the tug Henry F. Brower, engaged in the freight and passenger traffic between Duluth and Two Harbors. The following season he was master of the harbor tug Maggie Carroll, of Duluth, about two months, and from her went to the J.H. Upham, Jr., owned by William & Upham Co. He was also mate of the steamer Old Agnes, in the passenger and freight traffic on the north shore of Lake Superior, for part of that season. In 1885 Captain Glover continued in the master's berth of the J.H. Upham, Jr., and was engaged in tug work with her on the Sault Ste. Marie river. Following that work he returned to Buffalo and entered the employ of the Sherman S. Jewett & Co. foundry, where he operated a stationary engine for a period of sixteen months. For the season of 1887, beginning with the month of April, he was master of the tug H.L. Fairfield, of the White Star line, and continued on her during 1888. Until September, in 1889, he was master of the steamer Huntress, between West Ferry street and the McComb House, and finished that season as master of the tug Alpha of the Maytham line, remaining as master of her through the season of 1890 and until August 1891, when he was transferred to the tug O.W. Cheney, of the same line, in which he continued steadily until May 26, 1895. He then became master of the excursion steamer Columbia in the trade between Buffalo and Dunkirk, Erie, Port Dover, Port Colborne and all resorts on Niagara river, occupying that berth until August 10, when he returned to Cheney, of which he has since been master continuously until the close of the season of 1897.

On February 15, 1898, he was appointed master of the government steamer the Gen. John M. Wilson, built by the Craig Shipbuilding Company, at Toledo, Ohio, and later John R. Glover brought her out. The Gen. John M. Wilson is in the engineer service of the U.S. under the Department of War. Captain Glover has been very successful in his marine career.

During his employment in the Maytham Tug line, Captain Glover has on many occasions given abundant evidence of his courage in dangerous times, going to the assistance of vessels in distress when others in the same vocation have preferred to take their chances inside the harbor; and it will not be out of place here to mention a couple of instances by way of illustration. Late in the fall of 1895 the steamer S.C. Hall, with consorts Ida Keith and Nellie Mason, left Buffalo Harbor on a Saturday night bound for Chicago with coal. When off Port Colborne the wheel chains of the Hall parted, and she was at unusually great disadvantage on account of the heavy sea, but she reached the harbor in safety with the assistance of the O.W. Cheney. The Keith, left to her resources, also succeeded in reaching the harbor with the assistance of the tow tugs O.W. Cheney and Acme. The Mason was not so fortunate, as on account of the derangement of her steering gear, she could not be handled properly, and was finally compelled to let go her anchor about two miles off Port Colborne and set up a signal of distress. Captain Glover was sent to her assistance with the tug O.W. Cheney and succeeded with great difficulty in taking off the crew. Neither the Port Colborne nor the Buffalo harbor tugs would attempt the rescue. At another time he went to the rescue of the passengers and crew of the excursion steamer Eldorado, which was stranded on Horse Shoe Reef. The steamer had landed a portion of its passengers at Ferry street, and on its way to Main street run on the reef. Captain Glover with the Cheney not only took off most of the passengers, but with them aboard his tug pulled the steamer off also. Captain Glover was a charter member of the Buffalo Harbor Tug Pilots Association, in the organization of which he was very influential, holding the number "6." He is also a charter member of Local Harbor No. 41, of the American Association of Masters and Pilots, and is starboard quartermaster.

In 1882 Captain Glover was married in Buffalo to Miss Clara May Guillod, daughter of Edward C. Guillod, a citizen of Buffalo. Two children have blessed this union; Earle D., and Pearl M. The family residence is at No. 217 Potomac avenue, Buffalo, New York.

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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.