Warren G. Tilton

Warren G. Tilton was born near London, Canada, in 1854, his father being John Tilton, a railroad man. He gained his first sailing experience in 1875 as fireman of a little St. Lawrence river steamer called the Midge. His next season was spent on the steamer Utica, and the following one on the passenger steamer D. C. West, and in 1878 became second engineer of the steamer T. S. Faxon. After this he filled the position of chief engineer on the Island Belle, and assistant of the propeller Maine and the E. B. Hale, in turn, spending the next four years in the works of the Arctic Machine Company, of Cleveland. He then sailed as second engineer of the John N. Glidden, after which he was chief of the Republic one season, second of the Continental two seasons, and chief of the Oscar Townsend, likewise the Cormorant and the Charles J. Sheffield, remaining on the last named vessel until she was lost June 14, 1888, in a collision with the steamer North Star on Lake Superior. Mr. Tilton, in order to save himself, climbed up the anchor chain of the North Star as the vessels were separating. After this event he joined the ill-fated steamer Philip D. Armour, which was sunk September 7, of that same year, in a collision with the steamer Marion at North East Bend, St. Clair Flats. The next season he went on the Samuel Mather as chief, and for a short time served as second on the Western Reserve. In 1891 he became chief of the steamer LaSalle, and the season of 1898 he was on the steamer Katahdin, running from New York to Montreal.

Mr. Tilton belongs to a family of marine engineers, three of his brothers being connected with steam vessels on the lakes. His brother George is chief of the City of Bangor; Harry is second engineer of the Elfin Mere; and Will is filling the position of oiler on the steamer Thomas Davidson.

In 1885 Mr. Tilton was married to Miss Emma Sedaker, of Spring Mills, near Mansfield, Ohio. They have two children, May and Maynard.

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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.