Captain Charles A. Potter

Captain Charles A. Potter is a son of William Potter, a stock raiser of Morristown, Minn., at which place he was born in 1867. His education was obtained for the most part in Cheboygan, Mich., from which harbor he began sailing in 1883 as wheelsman for one season on the propeller Van Raalte, in the passenger service between there and Sault Ste. Marie. He remained in the same service during the two succeeding seasons, and in the same capacity on the propellers Messenger and Minnie M., respectively.

During the seasons of 1886-1887, Captain Potter was in the employ of the Chicago Lumber Company, upon the tug River Queen, rafting logs from St. Joe and Presque Isle to Drummond's Island, Lake Huron. The following two seasons he was mate and master respectively of the schooner yacht Julia, out of Cheboygan, which was wrecked in a fog at Cathead Point, Lake Michigan, during the latter part of 1889. Captain Potter closed that season by wheeling a couple of months on the steamer Dean Richmond. He began the season of 1890 as wheelman of the steamer, but became second mate later on, and continued in that berth until the close of the season of 1891. For the entire season of 1892 he was mate of the Dean Richmond; in 1893 he entered the service of the steamer Juniata as second mate, which berth he held that season, following in 1894 as mate. For the season of 1895 he was mate of the John Pridgeon, and for that of 1896, 1897 and 1898 of the Oceanica. He is a member of the American Association of Masters and Pilots of Steam Vessels, Local Harbor No. 41.

Captain Potter was married at Buffalo, in 1894, to Miss Mary Ann Cary Coleman. They reside at No. 944 Front avenue, Buffalo, New York.

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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.