William Ramey

William Ramey, who is at present employed as assistant engineer of the Niagara Bakery, at Buffalo, was born in that city June 18, 1857, and obtained his education at her public schools. His first employment in connection with the lake service was in the capacity of fireman and oiler upon the steamer China for two seasons; also served on various other steamers, such as the Japan, and was for a time in some sailing vessels, for three seasons, beginning with that of 1871.

During the season of 1874 Mr. Ramey was part of the time an apprentice upon the schooner Emma L. Coin, owned in Toledo, and the remainder before the mast on the schooner Rutherford B. Hayes. In 1875 he went in the same capacity on the schooner Our Son, and subsequently spent about four seasons steadily as engineer of Buffalo harbor tugs, being in the Kelderhouse and Alpena. From that time he was employed as stationary engineer and as machinist until about 1895, when he accepted a position in the D. E. Morgan building as chief engineer, which position he held until July, 1897, when he went as assistant in Dolds Packing House until March, 1898, at which time he was appointed to the position of second engineer of the Niagara Bakery Company.

Mr. Ramey was married, in 1885, at Dunville, Ont., Canada, to Elizabeth Gilson, and they reside with their four children at No. 895 Genesee street, 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.