A. J. Kahle

A.J. Kahle is of German parentage but born in America, the only child of Wencil and Annie (Spitzner) Kahle, both of whom are now deceased. The father was a cabinet maker by trade.

The subject of this sketch was born at Erie, Penn., February 5, 1861, at which place he also attended school. He learned his trade at the Erie City Iron Works, where he worked about four years, after which he was fireman on the Pennsylvania railroad between Erie and Kean the same length of time. In 1880 Mr. Kahle went to Buffalo, from which port he shipped as oiler with William Erskine as chief engineer on the steamer Gordon Campbell of the Anchor line, for one season, following that employment as oiler on the steamer Winslow for another season. In 1882 he was second engineer of the old steamer Potomac for a couple of months, at the end of which period she sunk at the docks at Buffalo harbor. Mr. Kahle has been variously employed since he left the lakes. He was a year with the Watts Campbell Corliss Engine Works at Newark, N.J., and a year as guaranty engineer for Adams & Richards, builders of oil engines at New Brunswick, N.J. He next ran a stationary engine of five hundred horse power for the Meyers Rubber Company, at Milltown, N.J., for about two and a half years, and then worked for a short time at the Pennsylvania Iron Works, at Philadelphia, Penn. His next employment was with John T. Noyes three months at Buffalo, and from there he went as engineer of the steamer Conemaugh for part of the season, the remainder of which he was employed in the New York Central railroad shops. The following two years he was machinist for the Snow Pump Works, succeeding which he was in the shops of the Lehigh Valley R.R. Co., and during the winter of 1895-96 was employed in the Lake Erie Engine Works.

On April 23, 1896, he was made first assistant engineer of the Mooney building on Main street, Buffalo, which place he still retains. Mr. Kahle has been an interested member of the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association for seven years.

In 1883 he was married at Buffalo, to Miss Jennie Oliver, by whom he has had four children: Archibald, Anna, Rose and Samuel. They reside at No. 52 Schiller street, Buffalo, New York.

Return to Home Port

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.