Captain Edward W. Sutton

Captain Edward W. Sutton is a son of Peter and Margaret (Singer) Sutton. The former, now deceased, was a member of the old firm of Sutton Brothers, composed of himself and Francis Sutton, each owning half-interest in a machine shop originally located on Lock street, Buffalo, but in 1858 removed to its present location on Le Couteulx street. The shop was established in 1856, and since that time has turned out machinery for use on the lakes, being known widely among lakefaring men. Francis Sutton is now sole owner.

Captain Sutton was born in 1861 at Buffalo, and attended St. Joseph's College. He learned his trade with Sutton Brothers, and afterward worked in the shops of the Buffalo Steam Engine Works, David Bell and Kerrand Duffy. Since abandoning shop work he has built and owned the steamyachts Lewis Miller and E. C. Shafer, Echo and Nettie Baker, and for other people he has built over five hundred steamyachts, tugs and excursion boats. In July, 1882, Captain Sutton shipped as oiler on the steamer Algonac, owned by the Canadian Pacific railroad, and plying between Owen Sound and Port Arthur; he left her in November, at the end of the trip, just before she became disabled and went to pieces on the rocks in Thunder Bay. The Captain has eleven issues of license papers for harbor tugs and steamyachts. For the three seasons ending with 1896 he was master of the steamyacht Hettie Baker, in which he has a half-interest with David Sutton.

Captain Sutton was married in 1887 to Miss Melissa Johnson, by whom he has two children, Ella and Edward. They reside at No. 53 Bird avenue, Buffalo.

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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.