Captain Ed. J. Kendall

Captain Ed. J. Kendall is one of the busy citizens of Port Huron, Mich., and a widely-known marine reporter. He was born in Algonac, Mich., August 13, 1858, the son of John B. and Alida (Stewart) Kendall, and grandson of Jacob Kendall, who was a marine engineer. Jacob Kendall took an active and honorable part in the Black Hawk war, and had the contract for the construction of Fort Howard, to protect the settlers against the eruption of the Indians during the period of danger. Capt. Kendall's maternal grandfather, John Stewart, sailed the steamer Michigan in the '40s for Oliver Newberry, of Detroit, a prominent vessel owner of that time, and he was also in the steamer Traveler when she was destroyed by fire at Eagle Harbor. A photograph of this fascinating scene is now in the possession of Miss Sarah Stewart, a resident of Algonac. Both the Kendalls and Stewarts were pioneers of Huron and St. Clair counties and Harsons Island. John B. Kendall served as sheriff of St. Clair county for four years.

In 1870 Ed. Kendall removed with his parents to Port Huron, where he continued to attend school for a short time. The following spring he shipped in the tug Kate Moffat, as deckhand, transferring during the season to the steamyacht St. Clair and the tug Prindiville. He passed the seasons of 1872-73 as wheelsman or watchman on as many as twenty different tugs. In the spring of 1874 he shipped as watchman on the steamer D. M. Wilson, remaining two seasons. The next season he joined the Robert Holland as wheelsman, and following this service was watchman on the steamer St. Paul until July, 1878, when he took out pilot's papers and was appointed mate in the lake tug William A. Moore. The next season he sailed as mate of the steamer River Queen, and in 1880 he shipped with Capt. T. Allen in the steamer R. Prindiville as mate. The next two seasons he sailed the barge Shiawassee as master, transferring to the barge Lyman Casey in the spring of 1883, and following with a season as second mate in the steamer Arctic. In the spring of 1885 he joined the steamer Alcona as second mate. His next berth was in the barge M. R. Goff, which he commanded, and part of the season of 1887 he sailed the schooner Genesee Chief. In July he stopped ashore and engaged in business as marine reporter - announcing the vessel passages at Port Huron - of which he has made a success. He established a bureau under the title of the Kendall Marine Reporting Company, at Thompson dock, at the foot of Sarnia street, Port Huron, and since that time he has reported the vessel passages at the port and disseminated marine news of all kinds through the Associated Press. He is also agent for the Lake Marine News Association. In addition he writes marine and fire insurance and deals in real estate, having acquired considerable acreage property which he has divided into lots and put on the market after erecting houses upon same. In 1888 Captain Kendall was appointed deputy collector of customs at Port Huron by Harrison Geer, and held that office four years.

On December 21, 1880, Captain Kendall was united in marriage to Miss Hattie H. Webster, daughter of Lucius and Harriet (Thompson) Webster, of Port Huron, formerly of Romeo, Mich. Two children have been born to this union. The family homestead is at No. 1504 Water street, Port Huron, Mich. Socially the Captain is a Master Mason, a member of the Royal Arcanum and of the Knights of Pythias.

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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.