Captain John Tyrney

Captain John Tyrney, of Detroit, Mich., a prominent and successful lake captain, was born October 9, 1853, at Sandusky, Ohio. At the age of three years he removed to Clyde, Ohio, with the family, and at that place he attended the public schools until 1866, when the family again changed their place of residence, this time removing to Branch county, Mich. From this place young Tyrney began his career on the lakes, in 1869, serving during his first two seasons as deckhand on the Evening Star. The next year he went on the Sarah Van Epps as wheelsman, and in 1884 he became mate of the Pacific. The following season he came out as mate of the Badger State, and served also in the same capacity in the Osceola and the J. V. Moran. In 1888 he was given the command of the Gazelle, which he retained one season, going the next year on the W. H. Stevens, on which vessel he remained four years. On the North West he served as second officer, and in 1896 he came out on the George Farwell as master. Captain Tyrney has been on the lakes every season since 1869. He has never suffered shipwreck nor any accident of a serious nature. Dennis Flynn and wife, his grandparents, are old settlers of Clyde, Ohio, to which place they removed in their early married life from Vermont, and with them Mr. Tyrney made his home in his youth. His brother-in- law, Gilbert Wild, is second mate at the present time on the Specular.

On November 20, 1882, Captain Tyrney was married to Miss Cora Wild, and they have two children: Ethel, born April 6, 1883, and Leonora, born February 6, 1890. Both these children are at present in school.

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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.