Capt. Alex. Ure and Mrs. Ure

Augusta, lost at Port Credit in 1901

Capt. Alexander Ure, commander and owner of the schooner Augusta, is one of the seasoned mariners of the great lakes. Nor is his experience confined to the inland waters. His feet have trod the deck-planks on the ocean brine. Sailing since 1869. he is but in his prime. His fiftieth birthday he reached last August. He was born in Limekilns, Fifeshire, Scotland, in August of the year 1847, and in that cosy parish he received a good education. At Limekilns, also, he served a long apprenticeship to the ship-carpentering business, and beside being a first-class navigator he is efficient in ship-building. When Capt. Ure was 24 years of age he was married and conceived the idea that his prospects in life might be even better than they were in Scotland if he came to Canada, so, after having sailed for eight years, he made a voyage across the Atlantic, and finally settled in Dunbarton, near the Port of Frenchman's Bay, on Lake Ontario. At that place he lived until the year 1883, when he moved to Toronto. During his career on the great lakes Capt. Ure has owned and sailed a number of vessels, all of which are we!l-known at Toronto port. Among these were the schooners Rapid City,John Wesley,Isabella,Ariadne,Undine,W. T. Greenwood,W. Y. Emory, the scow John Wesley, and a controlling interest in the schooners Speedwell,Antelope, and Augusta, the latter of which he is at present sailing. The photogravure of the Augusta here given is from a photo taken by Miss Christina Ure whilst the vessel lay at the coal chutes in Oswego.

Capt. Ure is a man of strong physique. He has stood the vicissitudes of a mariner's life well, for today he is, at 50 years of age, able to successfully tackle many a younger man, and is as active in his duties as ever he was. He has been married twice. The Captain's first wife was Miss Margaret Herd, of Kirkaldy, Scotland, names which have been poet's themes. Five children were born to Captain and Mrs. Ure, four daughters and one son. One daughter and his son died, and after a married life of ten years, Mrs. Ure also passed away. Two years later Capt. Ure married Miss Amelia Leslie of Highland Creek, Ontario, a most estimable young lady. Three children blessed the second union, but only one, a son, has been spared. Captain Ure's family, therefore, consists of three daughters: Miss Margaret Ure,Miss Christina Ure,Miss Lily Ure, and Master Graydon Ure. The two elder young ladies occupy responsible positions with city firms, whilst Miss Lily and Master Graydon are yet attending school. Mrs. Ure and Miss Ure have always taken much interest in church work. Mrs. Ure until prevented recently by her poor health, was a leading member of the Ladies' Association of Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Toronto, and Miss Ure was Secretary of the Women's Foreign Missions Society. Capt. Ure is a thorough Presbyterian and is an elder in Chalmers Church.

When Capt. Ure left Dunbarton he came to Toronto and has lived here for fourteen years, his handsome residence, which he owns, being at No. 21 Rolyat street. On that street he has built several houses, the one he occupies having been put up by him ten years ago. It is a comfortable house and is a pleasant home for the gallant Captain and his delightful family. Being an unflinching Liberal. Capt. Ure has always voted and worked hard in the Reform cause. Not only that, but he takes especial interest in municipal politics, where he invariably supports the man whom he considers best fitted for the post to be filled, irrespective of party. As a ballot scrutineer and canvasser, Capt. Ure has done some excellent service for the Ontario and the Dominion Governments.

Several thrilling experiences have fallen to Capt. Ure, the more interesting in the telling when it is remembered that never a man of his has lost his life. About fifteen years ago he was bound for Oswego in the schooner Ariadne, when a fierce gale from the west struck her and dismasted her, and he was forced to run down the lake to Kingston for shelter. That was a terrible night. Everyone on board considered that it was his last on earth. Again, seven years ago, he was cast away in the schooner Undine, during a terrific hurricane, between the Nose and Broderick's Point, on Lake Ontario, about twenty miles west of Charlotte, N.Y.. Everyone was finally saved, but the vessel was lost. Another experience was six years ago, in the schooner Isabella. Whilst coming up the lake late in the fall she had the mainmast blown out of her by a furious gale that overtook her at midnight, and early next morning she struck on a rock. There she remained all day and all the next night, Capt. Ure and his crew being almost perished. They got ashore the following day. but the schooner became a complete wreck. About five years ago another gale blew all the sails and rigging off the schooner W. Y. Emory, and had it not been for Capt. Ure's bravery and readiness of action she would have foundered. Beside these there were plenty of minor casualties, such as the blowing away of sail or the carrying off of a topmast, which all mariners can tell about, and in these gales he has had several members of his family aboard.

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