Adam Haig

This veteran marine engineer has been in active service on the lakes for more than half a century. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1832, and came to the United States at the age of fourteen years, settling in Oswego, N.Y. He began work at once as fireman on the propeller J. M. Wood, running between Chicago and Oswego, and remained on that boat for two years. In 1850 Mr. Haig shipped on the propeller Vandalia, afterward sailed as oiler on the side-wheel steamer Lady of the Lake, on Lake Ontario, and then shipped as fireman on the Cleveland, remaining on her until she was burned at Port Maitland on Lake Ontario. In 1851 he again sailed on the Lady of the Lake as second engineer, also serving in this capacity for three years on the new line of boats, the Oswego, Kentucky, Cincinatti, Dayton and St. Nicholas. In 1855 he came to Buffalo, and engaged in the service of the American Transportation line, sailing as second engineer of the propeller Queen of the Lakes. In 1857 he shipped on the Esquimaux, of the Central line, as second engineer, sailing between Buffalo and Sandusky, and in 1858 sailed on the propeller Hunter, plying betweeen Chicago and Collingwood, Ont. In 1859 he accepted the position of second engineer on the propeller Susquehanna, of the Peoples line, and in 1862 became engineer on the propeller S. D. Caldwell, remaining in that berth until 1865. He then sailed as engineer on the new propeller Nebraska and the next season shipped in the same capacity on the Colorado. The following two years he remained ashore, but on the completion of the new propellers Scotia and Cuba he became engineer on those boats continuing thus until 1880, when he took out the John B. Lyon, on which he sailed for four years. After the close of this service he remained ashore for five years and then for five years served as engineer of the A. P. Wright, which he took out in 1886. In 1891 he went on the propeller Tacoma, of the Lehigh Valley line, the same year transferring to the C. H. Bradley, of the same line, on which he has since been engaged.

Mr. Haig was married in 1856 to Miss Jeanette Atchison, of Ogdensburg, and has four children living, two of whom are marine engineers on the lakes. The family reside at No. 229 Plymouth avenue, Buffalo.

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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.