Charles Dovey

Charles Dovey, engineer of the tug E.E. Frost, of the Owens line, for the season of 1897, has been tugging around the Buffalo harbor for the past twenty years. He was born in that city January 12, 1863, attended Public Schools No. 2, and during the summer, when just old enough to handle an oar, used to run a ferry on Evans slip, and afterwards from Williams coal docks, during which time many interesting things were continually witnessed by him, such as the blowing up of the old tug Compound, and various other similar occurrences.

When about fourteen years old he began his first practical work of his life, decking and firing, which he continued at until the year 1891, among the various lines and tugs, among them being the old Post Boy, Holloway, Robert Bruce, Griffin, Orient, T.M. Moore, Goodman, S.W. Gee, James Beyers, E.C. Maytham, James Adams, Alpha, Annie P. Door and others. While on the Door, she and the Adams started to run up to Dunkirk, but before reaching there such a terrific storm arose that they were unable to enter the harbor when reaching there, being compelled to lay out in the lake all night. During that time the Door sprung a leak, and all their efforts to save her were of no avail, as the continued rolling caused the coal bunkers to fall down and plug up both her siphons. The master then blew four whistles as a signal to the Adams, asking her to stand by, and shortly after blew again asking her to run alongside and take off the crew, which she did, when the Door almost immediately sunk from sight.

In 1891 Mr. Dovey received his first issue of license, as engineer, and bought an interest in the tug Grace, running her engines all the season until sold. The following season he was engineer of the Ingram, Lone Star, Alpha and Kelderhouse, and, in 1893, of the Trenton, which he brought out new, and was on until the close of 1896. For the season of 1897 he was on the E.E. Frost, mentioned heretofore, until July, when he went onto the Francis A. Bird for balance of season and for season of 1898. Mr. Dovey during the winters devotes his time to fishing and working in machine shops, and spent one winter as engineer of the German insurance building. He was married to Miss Annie Henry, of England, in January, 1887, and they have had five children, two of whom, Mamie and Charles, Jr., are now living. Mr. Dovey is a member of the Buffalo Harbor Tug Pilots 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.