Captain R. W. Kerr

Captain R.W. Kerr, of Cleveland, was born in that city in 1857, a son of the late Capt. Robert Kerr, who was drowned in Detroit river in 1887, having been knocked overboard from the bark Constitution by the main boom. R. W. Kerr attended the public schools in Cleveland until 1874, when he commenced sailing in the schooner C. J. Magill. He remained with this vessel until 1881 rising from the position of boy to that of mate and commanding her occasionally during the absence of his father, who was her master. During the season of 1881; he was mate of the propeller Pacific in 1882 and 1883, holding a similar position on the bark Sunnyside, and in 1884 on the Constitution. During the next three years he sailed the schooner Delaware; then he commanded the Constitution for two years; remained one year ashore; sailed the propeller Business two years, and then assumed command of the steambarge J. S. Fay. Captain Kerr has been singularly fortunate during his nautical career, having never been on a vessel that went ashore while he was with her. There has been but one season since he was nine months old when he has not taken at least one trip on the lakes either as passenger or sailor.

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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.