Albert H. Walker

Albert H. Walker is the eldest of three sons of Captain Kingsbury and Elizabeth (Brown) Walker. He was born at Buffalo June 6, 1856, and attended Public Schools Nos. 2 and 8 of that city. He began his marine life at the age of sixteen in 1872, firing and decking on the tug Syracuse, which was owned by his father. In that capacity he served for two seasons, and the following one remained ashore; in 1876 he fitted and brought out the Ed. R. Vanburen, also owned by his father, which he ran during that season and the next one until she was sold. He then fitted and brought out the new Troy, of which he was a third-owner, and on which he was engineer for the seasons of 1878-79 and early part of 1880, at which time she was also sold and taken by him to Albany. Returning to Buffalo he began building the C.N. Armstrong, which he fitted and brought out, was a third owner of, and ran for about a month of that season, also the following five seasons, retaining his third-interest in her during that time. At the end of that period he sold it and bought a third interest in the Sam N. Sloan, which he still retains, and has run ever since. Mr. Walker has never suffered any serious mishaps, but while on the Armstrong, coming down Lake Erie, near Sturgeon Point, with a raft in tow, he was caught in a storm which laid them over as if the boats were mere feathers, everything being cleared off the deck, they finally reaching port minus their skiff, tow lines and other things that were on deck.

Mr. Walker was married, in 1878, to Ida Thorn, of Buffalo, and they have five children: Elburta H., now (1898) aged sixteen; Kingsbury, Jr., fourteen; Arthur C., nine; Martha, six; and Hazel H., three. Mr. Walker and his family reside in their own commodious dwelling at No. 50 Myrtle 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.