Captain Hermann Myers
Captain Hermann Myers, one of five children - two sons and three daughters - of John and Mariah Myers, was born at Plau, Germany, in June, 1838. He attended school at his native place until about thirteen years of age, when he emigrated with his parents and other members of the family to this country, going direct to Buffalo, N. Y., where they settled, and where they and numerous descendants have ever since resided.
On their arrival here Hermann attended school, public and private, until seventeen years old, when he started work, decking on the steamboat Belle, on which he served one season, and then went on the steamer Michigan, plying between Buffalo and Green Bay, the following season. He was next cook on the schooners Agate, Ithaca, Columbia, Sophia Smith, Pebble, and various others, for fifteen years. This was followed with over twenty years' service in all branches, as cook, master, etc., on various craft, tugs, schooners and steamers, and for the years 1892-93-94-95-96 was master of the tug Halstead. He was on the Independent when wrecked on Lake Superior; on the Berlin when wrecked at Fairport, and on the Cataract when wrecked off Long Point; also on the Anna C. Rayner when wrecked on Middle island, Lake Huron. Captain Myers has quite a record as a fisherman, in which business he has been engaged for over thirty years being one of the oldest established fishermen on the east end of the lake, making that his occupation, especially during the winter, but for the past few years he has been engaged in wholesale fishing, buying for Meisner & Brown, of New York City.
In 1858 Captain Myers was married in Buffalo to Miss Rosiana Hoy, of Cobourg, Canada, by whom he has had thirteen children, nine of whom are now (1898) living, namely: Hermann, Jr., thirty-six years of age, a fisherman, who is married and has four children; Alice, aged thirty-two, married to Paul Lavrey (who is employed at Sizer's forge), and has three children; John, aged twenty-eight, who is married and has one child (he is a ferryman); George, aged twenty-six, who is an engineer at Lewis & Getzes, is married and has one child; Rosiana, aged twenty-three; Edward, aged twenty-two, foreman in Sturges' Elevator; Thomas, aged twenty-one; Joseph, aged nineteen, and William, aged seventeen. The family residence is at No. 128 Hamburg street, Buffalo. Captain Myers has had the ordinary luck of sailors, having been on the Independent, Berlin, Cataract and Anna C. Rayner when they went ashore or were sunk, as already related. He is a member of the American Association of Lake Pilots No. 41, and also of the Tug Pilots Protective Association.
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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.
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