Captain Isaac Guilbert Bain

Captain Isaac Guilbert Bain, son of William and Mary Ann (Guilbert) Bain, was born in County Wicklow, Vale of Avoca, Ireland, November 20, 1850, and like the majority of boys of those times received very little education, in fact only as much as he could pick up while at work.

Captain Bain began sailing at the age of thirteen, as boy on the steamer Windsor, from Dublin to Liverpool, serving on her a period of about three months. He subsequently went on the steamer Denmark, of the National line, as boy, and afterward as ordinary seaman, leaving her in New York, in 1866, and going to Buffalo; taking to the lakes he shipped as second cook on the Ella Bradbury, and then on the Philadelphia, in 1868, with Capt. Lyman Hunt, where he remained three years, as lookout, then as watchman and wheelsman. After leaving the Philadelphia he went on the propeller Sun with Le Hunt as master, and then on the Idaho, as wheelsman. In 1873 he sailed as wheelsman on the Dean Richmond, which had just been rebuilt, and after two trips was made second mate of her. Afterward he was mate on the Araxes two seasons, and second mate of the Commodore about four months, or until the Chicago was brought out, when he was transferred, and finished that season, as well as the next, on her. He then went into the Commercial line of steamers, and was mate on the Scotia and Russia for seven years, until the line went into the hands of a receiver, when he was appointed custodian, at their old docks in Buffalo, retaining that position a year. At that time he went in the Lackawanna line, with which he has been engaged the past twelve or thirteen years, as mate on the Colorado, Grand Traverse, Journeyman, Elmira, Miami, Scranton, Russia, Lackawanna, Arthur Orr and master of the Newburg, Russia, Barnum and others for several trips. Captain Bain has been rather lucky, never during his career having been in any wreck of any consequence, and through his determined, although jovial, ways made many friends since sailing.

In May, 1872, Captain Bain was married to Miss Margaret Stoddart, of Kingston, Ont., and six children have blessed their union, two of whom, Sadie, aged seventeen, and Isaac D., thirteen, are (1898) living. Socially, Captain Bain is a member of Erie Lodge, F. & A.M., and of the Shipmasters and Pilots Association, Local Harbor No. 41. He was also a charter member of the Lake Pilots Aid Association, remaining with same until it was disbanded. The family residence is at No. 186 Miami street, Buffalo, New York.

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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.