Captain Charles Jarrait

Captain Charles Jarrait, of Detroit, Mich., who has been employed for the last three seasons by Breyman Bros., tug owners and dredge contractors, of Toledo, Ohio, was born in Detroit in the year 1848, and has always resided there. His parents were French- Americans. Captain Jarrait has been on the lakes thirty-five years in all. He began as cook on the scow Lookout, and later sailed before the mast on different schooners for about seven years, when he became mate of the schooner Hattie. He also served in that capacity on the Clara, the Hibbard, the Dolphin, and the Richmond. In 1870, he became master, his first command being the schooner Watchfall, on which he remained two seasons, and he has held the position of master every season since but one, during which he was mate of the Mineral Rock. He sailed the schooners Mary Amelia, Home, and Newell Hubbard two seasons each, and then began tugging at which he has since continued. He has sailed at various times on most of the well-known tugs on the Detroit river and neighboring waters, having had command of the Oneida, Hercules, Baker, Washburn, J.W. Bennett, Park, Blazer, Dexter, Shelby, C.A. Lorman, and Minor.

Captain Jarrait is married and has two sons, both of whom are on the lakes, one as marine engineer and the other as captain of a Cleveland yacht.

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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.