William H. Dalton

William H. Dalton is night engineer of the C.W. Miller building, and was on the Conestoga, of the Anchor line, for sixteen years and five months. He had been with that line and on that boat since the beginning of his sailing career, working his way up from the humble position of greaser to his present one.

Mr. Dalton is a son of John and Ann (Horan) Dalton, natives of Ireland, who emigrated to this country some time previous to the Civil war, locating in Susquehanna county, Penn., where the mother is still living. William H. was born (some time after his parents' arrival) February 28, 1863, and was educated in the schools of his native county, where he also assisted his father at farming, until he became seventeen years of age. He then secured work in railroad shops at Hornellsville, where he remained for two years, and for one year following worked as fireman on the Erie railroad. He then, in the year 1883, began his sailing career, as greaser, continuing in that capacity the first three seasons, 1883-84-85; the five seasons of 1886-87-88-89-90 he was second engineer, and the succeeding seven, up to September 6, 1897, he was chief engineer of the Conestoga. During his experience on the water he has never met with any mishaps, which he attributes to his good luck, but which, as a matter of course, is much better accounted for by referring to his skill and carefulness.

Mr. Dalton was married February 4, 1885, to Miss Margaret Farrell of Susquehanna county, Penn., and they have had six children, of whom four are now (1898) living, namely: Ann, aged eleven years; Margaret, aged six; John, aged three, and Mary, three months. The family residence is at No. 321 Fulton street, Buffalo, N. Y. Socially Mr. Dalton is a member of Local Harbor No. 1, Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, and for the past four years of Branch 8, C. M. B. A.

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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.