Captain Abner G. Gilbert

Captain Abner G. Gilbert is a son of George Gilbert, who was born in Buffalo in 1835. He was a fisherman and sailor all his life, and for the last three years was lighthouse-keeper on the Horse Shoe Reef, outside of Buffalo harbor on the Canadian side. He died in 1873.

Captain Gilbert was born in Buffalo in 1857. Leaving school at the age of fifteen, he began life as a fireman, which occupation he followed about three years. Previous to that, however, and during his school days he ferried on Buffalo creek at odd times, for about four years. At the age of eighteen, in the spring of 1876, he accepted employment on the lighthouse supply boat Haze, in which he was retained about twelve years, the last four holding mate's berth. In 1888 he was made master of the screw steamer Vision, and, for the three succeeding seasons, of the steamer Pilgrim, both of which plied to all the resorts in the vicinity of Buffalo, including those on Niagara river. In 1891 he was given charge of the overseeing of the building of the twin-screw steamer Puritan, and was her master for that and the two succeeding seasons. Following that employment he was engaged for three years as master of tugs for Carroll Brothers, hauling sand and limestone from Canada for the Buffalo Furnace Company. Captain Gilbert was a charter member of the local Harbor No. 41, of the American Association of Masters and Pilots of Steam Vessels. He is a single man, and resides with his mother, Mrs. Mary C. Gilbert, at No. 271 Front Avenue. His brother, Charles H. Gilbert, has for about eight years been on sail vessels and master of tugs in Buffalo harbor. Another brother, Thomas A. Gilbert, is a resident of Buffalo, and assistant engineer of the steamer Haze, above mentioned. Nellie, a sister, is the wife of Frederick Smith, a marble worker by trade. His youngest sister is unmarried, and resides at No. 271 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.