Captain H. M. Fick

Captain H.M. Fick was born September 11, 1856, at Trenton, Mich., and spent the first fifteen years of his life at that place, removing thence to Battle Creek with his parents, E. and Caroline (Bronson) Fick, both of whom were also natives of the State of Michigan. At an early age Henry shipped on the scow William Parks as boy, with his father, who was captain. He also spent several seasons with his father in the scows Union Star and C. L. Fick, and then went with his uncle, Capt. Peter H. Fick, in the J. D. Morton, as seaman. Later he was in the schooner McDougall, and acted as wheelsman in the propeller Antelope, returning to the McDougall in the same capacity. After two years' service in the Little Jake as mate, he spent one season on the C. L. Fick, and the scow Louise, subsequently engaging as seaman upon the Criss Grover, of which he became mate the latter part of the year. He then shipped on the Belle Hanscomb, German and Louise, spent part of a season on the John Wesley, and afterward was employed for a time at the Union Depot dock. Following this he acted as mate of the Lyman Casey, Maize and Adventure, being then given command of the Gerritt Smith, and he commanded the Maize three seasons, and spent a year each on the Delta, Brooklyn and William Ogden, as master. During 1895 and 1896 he acted as mate on the Ogarita and the Abyssinia.

Captain Fick was married, May 11, 1884, to Miss Margaret Clifford, a sister of Captain Alexander Clifford of Detroit. They reside at No. 222 Townsend avenue, in that city.

Return to Home Port

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.