Captain Martin Kerwin

Captain Martin Kerwin is the son of Martin and Mary (Hogan) Kerwin, natives of Wexford, Ireland, and was born at Hamilton, Ontario, on May 20, 1860. Martin Kerwin, Sr., followed the occupations of miller and gardener all his life. He died July 18, 1884, and his widow still resides at Sarnia, Ontario. Capts. Patrick, James and Peter Kerwin, and John and Joseph Kerwin, who also follow marine work, are brothers of Capt. Martin Kerwin.

When a small lad Martin Kerwin moved to Sarnia with his parents and there lived about twenty years, but as he began sailing at the age of fourteen he was only at home the winter season. He first shipped on the Minot Mitchell as boy and afterward served on the Annie Vaught in the same capacity. He acted as able seaman upon the I.L. Quimby four months and then finished the season on the bark Mary Jane, going the following year on the same boat as seaman, and later as second mate. Upon the Theman (which schooner was lost at Au Sable, Mich.), Shandon, Azov, Maggie, Otonobee, and Sweepstakes he acted as able seaman, and later was mate on the Pandora, Trade Wind, J.C. Woodruff, Morwood, M.L. Breck, Hercules and China. After taking command he served as master on the Slago, Mary, Carrie Sand, Montcalm, Stanley, Fanny Campbell and Arctic, and subsequently acted as pilot on the G.W. Johnson, running to Georgian Bay. For one season he sailed the Kewaunee, and in 1896 he came to the O.J. Hale as master.

Captain Kerwin was married June 26, 1884, to Mrs. Christina Thompson, of Sarnia, and they have one child, Martin, who was born September 7, 1885, and died April 7, 1895.

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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.