George Vogt

George Vogt is one of the eight children - fours son and four daughters - born to Michael and Lanie (Briner) Vogt, who were natives of Alsace, France, now a German possession. He was born at that place January 14, 1837, and is one of the five survivors of the family, the other four, three sisters and one brother, being residents of their natal country, never having left it. Our subject attended the schools of his birthplace up to the age of fifteen, when he entered the barber shop of his father, and there continued to work about five years. At this time, in the year 1857, when about twenty years of age, he emigrated to this country, coming direct to Buffalo, N.Y., where he succeeded in obtaining a situation as deckhand on the Euphrates. He has ever since followed the lakes, and has been more successful than the ordinary man, being at this writing over sixty years of age and comfortably situated as regards this world's goods. After serving two and one-half seasons as above mentioned he served as fireman the balance of one and five succeeding seasons on the Orundus, and the two seasons following as second engineer of the same boat. The season of 1871 he started on the Oneida as her second engineer, acting in that capacity until the memorable Chicago fire, which destroyed the Oneida. On the completion of the Vanderbilt, which was owned by the same parties, he went on her and finished that season as second, serving also the greater part of 1872. He next made four trips on the Russia as her second, until, on December 6, she sunk off Bar Point, Detroit river. He then went on the Scotia as second, continuing on her three seasons, and in 1876-77 he was second on the Cuba; in 1878-79-80-81 he held the same position on the Fountain City. Beginning with the season of 1882 he entered the employ of the Western Transportation Company, as second to Henry Hess, with which company and engineer he remained up to August 9, 1898, making sixteen consecutive seasons to the present writing - quite an enviable record. During those sixteen seasons he was on the Commodore two and one-half seasons, leaving her with Hess to bring out the new Albany, on which they were three and one-half seasons, and were thence transferred to the Hudson, which they brought out new, running her engines for four seasons. They were again transferred, this time to the Harlem, which they also brought out new and ran during the seasons of 1893-94-95-96-97 and '98 to August 9th. It will be noticed that Mr. Vogt has never advanced to the berth of chief, which is explained when it is mentioned that he has never been able to read or write English. Our subject was married in February, 1875, to Barbara Knauber, of Buffalo, by whom he has had four children, only one of whom, Rosa, now (1898) aged fourteen years survives. The family is comfortably installed in their residence at N. 232 Goodell street, Buffalo, N.Y. Mr. Vogt is a member of Local Harbor No. 1, Marine Engineers Beneficial Association.

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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.