Frank Hausbeck

Frank Hausbeck did not turn his attention to steamboating early in life, remaining on the farm until he reached the age of twenty-six years. He was born in Dansville, Livingston Co. N.Y., August 5, 1858, and is the son of Joseph and Rosalia (Coopler) Hausbeck. He removed with his parents from New York State about the year 1873, locating on a farm in Buena Vista township, Saginaw county, equi-distant between Bay City and Saginaw City, Mich. The farm which his father purchased is still the family homestead.

It was not until the spring of 1884 that Mr. Hausbeck began sailing, but he has come forward rapidly. He first shipped on the tug C.C. McDonald, as fireman, followed by a season in the tug Maud S., in the same capacity. In 1886 he secured his license as engineer, and was appointed to the tug Handy Boy. The next spring he went to Duluth in charge of machinery of a sand boat. In 1888 he engineered the fireboat Geyser at Bay City, and the three following seasons he was engineer of the tug Mundy. After one season as chief of the steamer Mary Groh, out of Port Huron, he again took charge of the machinery of the steamer Mundy. In the spring of 1894 Mr. Hausbeck was appointed chief engineer of the tug Witch of the West, and ran her three successive seasons, or until the fall of 1896, when he transferred to the steamer A.A. Turner, closing the season in her as second engineer. In the spring of 1897 he was appointed chief engineer of the steamer A.A. Turner, and held that berth again for the season of 1898. Mr. Hausbeck is an engineer with more than the ordinary ability and is highly esteemed by his employer, Mr. Bridges, of Bay City. Fraternally he is a Master Mason and a member of the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association.

Mr. Hausbeck is not a married man. He has a farm, managed by his sister, in Buena Vista township, Saginaw county, to which he retires during the winter months.

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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.