James S. Felt

James S. Felt was born December 13, 1847, a son of James Madison and Rhody (Hubbard) Felt. The other children of the family were Samuel and Harriet. The father was an extensive stock dealer and trader in furs, and formerly resided in Watertown, N.Y., from which place he removed to Monroe, Mich., and thence to Maumee, Ohio.

James S. Felt, to whom this article is dedicated, received a public-school education, and is a graduate from high school of his native town. At the tender age of sixteen years he enlisted in the Fourteenth Ohio Infantry in November, 1863 and was immediately sent to the front. He joined his regiment at Bridgeport, Tenn., just after the battle of Stone River, General Steadman being at that time colonel of the regiment. After reaching his command Mr. Felt participated with his regiment in all of the battles of the Atlanta campaign, the last of which was the hot engagement at Jonesboro, Ga. He was then, with others, detailed for guard duty at Gen. Steadman's headquarters, Chattanooga, but on the arrival of Gen. Sherman's army in Savannah, and after the opening of communications with the fleet, he again joined his regiment, and marched with it through the Carolinas until he reached Smithsville, where they had an engagement with Johnson, which is known in history as the battle of Buck Horn Creek. After the declaration of peace he marched with his regiment to Richmond, thence to Washington, stopping at Alexandria, Va., on the way. The regiment entered Washington the next day in time to take its place in the grand review. The Fourteenth Ohio then went by rail to Louisville, Ky., where the men were mustered out, and sent to Cleveland, Ohio, for discharge, which was completed July 29, 1865. He then entered the employ of Dewey & Co., of Maumee, to learn the baker's trade, spending three years with that firm.

In 1872 he opened a retail meat market in Maumee, in which trade he continued three years, and after that he went into the wholesale butcher business. In the spring of 1874 he shipped as fireman on the tug Dexter, but finished the season on the tug Rose. During the spring of 1875 he took out marine engineer's papers, and was appointed engineer of the tug Rose, which he took to Vermilion, Ohio, where she was put in the fishing business. The next season he fitted out the tug McCormick, which had been purchased by Nagle & Hadley, of Toledo, and on which he remained for some years.

In 1867 Mr. Felt was united in marriage to Miss Mary Sharples, of Lancaster county, England. The children born to this union are Charles, Aleta B., Mamie and Grace. The family homestead is at No. 1718 Ontario street, Toledo, Ohio, which property is owned by him.

Mr. Felt is a member of the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, and is an ardent member of the Grand Army of the Republic.

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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.