Herman E. Schmidt

Herman E. Schmidt, a young marine engineer of much skill and promise, and who spends a great part of his leisure time in the study of standard works on engineering, was born in Detroit, Mich., June 30, 1873. He is a son of Gustavus A. and Mary H. (Blank) Schmidt. His father was born in Germany, and came to the United States when but thirteen years of age, previous to which time he had been employed in a tanyard, and on arriving in this country became an apprentice to that trade and learned the business. He is now a traveling salesman for the firms of Trauget, Schmidt & Co. and Austin, Ladue & Co., both prominent Detroit firms. He met his wife in Detroit, where their marriage ceremony was performed.

Herman Schmidt acquired his education in the schools of Detroit, afterward going to the schools in Port Huron, Mich. In the spring of 1890 he shipped as a deckhand on the tug Summer, out of Port Huron, but closed the season as fireman. That winter, after an attack of typhoid fever, he went to Los Angeles, Cal., remaining there until the next spring, when he returned to Port Huron and became fireman on the steamer W.H. Sawyer, holding that berth two and a half years, when he transferred to the Gogebic for a like berth. In the spring of 1894 he became fireman on the steamer Merida, taking out an engineer's license the next year, when he was appointed first assistant on the steamer Business, holding that berth two seasons. In the spring of 1897 Mr. Schmidt was appointed second engineer of the steamer Germania, then transferred to the Alaska, of the Anchor line, as oiler, after which he again joined the steamer Business as second, and closed the season on the Minnie Kelton. In the spring of 1898 he was appointed first assistant on the steamer Chili, of the Lackawanna Transportation Company, a position he held for some time. He has four issues of license. His brother, Gustavus, was second mate on the steamer Pridgeon, and has sailed on the Tioga and other good boats, and is now employed by the Union Steamship Company, of the Erie Railroad line, at Milwaukee, Wis. Another brother, Albert J., is oiler on the steamer Victory.

Mr. Schmidt is a member of the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association No. 43, of Port Huron, and of the Knights of the Maccabees, He makes his home at Adair, Michigan.

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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.