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Major Great Lakes Vessels

(Vessels measuring 1000 or more gross registered tons)

I have studied the history of Great Lakes vessels off and on for more than seventy years (my first grade-school-era notebook dates from the middle 1930s) and until now most of my records have been in pencil on home grown data sheets, in notebooks and on miscellaneous sheets and scraps of paper. This is an attempt to summarize my information in formal individual vessel histories. The sheets do not include vessels which have joined the fleet since the 1980s because detailed information on these vessels is easily available online from a variety of reliable sources.

The notes in my files are from many many sources, some not fully documented by me, and accordingly some are good and unfortunately some others not so good, and therefore undoubtedly contain errors. And for many of the vessels I don’t have as much information as I’d like but have presented what I have. I will correct errors as I find them or as they are sent to me. I therefore earnestly solicit corrections where they are in order, and suggested additions to the information I should be including to make the record of the individual vessel more complete. Please make use of any of this information, with or without attribution, but I would hope that in return you will feel morally obligated to notify me of any errors or omissions you find (by mail, phone or email below) so that future users will be getting the best information possible.

Why publish this now, in an unfinished state and knowing there are errors in the text? In the foreword to his 1967 study The Lakers of World War I Father Edward Dowling, the late dean of Great Lakes historians, said, “The author is convinced that the best way to learn more about ships is to write and publish what he already knows, be that complete or not. If what he has published is complete and correct, other competent ship historians will confirm his findings. If incomplete, they will invariably supply additional data.” He goes on to describe the development of his Lakers study. He published an early draft “and asked readers for more information. The response was prompt, generous and encouraging.” He did it again a few years later in another publication with the same request and got the same responses. The study as published in 1967 he felt was finally complete and correct. I am only humbly following the lead of Father Dowling.

Before accessing the individual sheets, please read the definitions I have used in recording the information.

My deepest gratitude is due Connie Nassios of Burbank, California for designing and setting up this website.  Without her enthusiastic and committed efforts this project would still be long in the future.  In addition, it is my good fortune that she married my nephew Ken Berry and gave me my beautiful grandniece in their daughter Abbi.

– Sterling Berry

October 2020

Sterling Berry passed away from COVID-19 October 24, 2020.  His obituary, with details about his wonderful life, can be found here. Sterling’s life’s work, represented in this website, will be tended by his chosen successor, Roger LeLievre, a long time steamboat historian and good friend of Sterling’s.  Roger will monitor and respond to all future comments on this site.

101 thoughts on “Home

  1. looking for informatio on the ship norman j. foy i think it was a browning company owed. i sail on it in 1963 and i think its captain was dudcan gilles

  2. This is an incredible collection! I am very impressed and happy to see it up and running after talking about it with you and Connie at New Year’s. Nice work!

    Leah

  3. Grandpa,
    This looks amazing! i already spent an hour looking at different vessels! I think you two have done an amazing job and hopefully your collection of information can keep growing!
    -Ale

  4. The Onodaga is shown for a few seconds at the Rouge River plant in the Henry Ford American Experience.

    It was interesting to learn her fate on your web site , sunk by a U- boat of Cuba in 1943.

    Thank you

  5. I sailed on the Alastair Gutherie the last few years that it was in commision.I would like to know if there are any pictures of Her anywhere to be found ? Mr. Chris M. Armano Thank You for any consideration?

  6. Hope you are well. I attempted to access your narratives but need a password.
    Its been a number of years since I last saw you at one of our basf luncheons.
    I look forward to reviewing you work.

    Doug

    P.S. I didn’t realize we live so close. I’m also in St. Clair Shores.

  7. I sailed on the Elba, a Great Lakes ore freighter during the summer of 1965 from Lackawanna on Lake Erie to Duluth, MN hauling finished steel from the Bethlehem Steel plant to Toledo, Cleveland and Detroit and then on up to Duluth to pick up taconite, then back down to Lackawanna. I am writing a novel about it. If you have any information regarding the Elba it would be most helpful.

    Thanks

    Pete

  8. Dear Sir
    I am in the demolishing business and am presently looking at buying the freighter with the names of wolf river, new york news, beam beginner, stella desgagnes,presently the gravel river ,situated in thunder bay Ontario
    the question that i am searching for is the dry weight of the vessel,and any info
    concerning the asbestos or vehicle scematics in order to under stand the project
    every where I look your name appears .
    My name is Jim Boutilier
    a former resident of Chatham Ontario
    1 807 707 3532 cell
    1 807 622 0775 home

  9. My grandfather was ceptain William Francis Light of this boat he was licesed Feb. 1884. When my mother was born he gave up sailing. He named her Erie for his favorite lake..His first boat was a scooner 5 sails. sailed from Cleveland to by Chatam Canada carying coal. His brother was also a Captain, had a heart attack and died putting up the boat in Toledo for the winter he was in his early fities.I have a oicture of my grandfather on the boat..Thank You Mary Chandler

  10. My grandfather (George Wilbur Andrew, Sr.) worked on the Charles Hubbard. He was killed aboard ship December 14, 1921 while in port in Buffalo. I have been trying to gather information for my ancestry project. How can I locate a picture that I can print to place with his information?

    Thank you for the work you are doing. I will keep checking other sources until I hear from you.

  11. I recently ran across a picture that I took in 1954 at the Soo Locks of the iron ore carrier “Fairmount Montreal.” What can you tell me about this ship or where I can access any data.

    • I think you are talking about the str. Fairmount, which had a home port of Montreal. We’re probably looking at a stern view because that view gives the name and home port of the vessel on the fantail.

      To find out more about this vessel, look up Metcalfe (her first name) on my website.

    • Just barely sent the earlier reply when I thought of another comment on your inquiry. Fairmount was most likely not an ore carrier although I guess she could carry a cargo of most anything. She was called a canaller because she was built to the maximum dimensions for a vessel trading between the Great Lakes and tidewater St. Lawrence River before the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959. Most of these vessels carried grain down from Lake Superior or from elevators in the eastern Lake Erie area if the material had been taken that far down in some other, probably larger, vessel. Lots of other cargoes going both ways but not often iron ore.

  12. I had a great uncle that was a registered great lakes captain and from some information from the ancestors he was on the W.A. Hanna. Do you know if there was a ship with that name as we can’t find any record of it or where it was docked. We think he died sometime about the 1890-1899 area and can’t find any record of his death in Michigan where he lived. Don’t know if he died on the ship or where the ship was docked. My great uncles name was Anthony Antoine Mayville. You can email me and any help would be appreciated. Thank You. MA Hubbard, Mt. Clemens, MI

  13. I worked on the ss Alva C. Dinkey in 1965 as a cooks helper where I would help the cook prepare the foods that he would cook for that meal. as a cook’s mate, I would as well walk the 600′ plus deck to the forward captains cabin and clean his and execs room and make their bed. I really wish I had stayed working there, I loved it. maybe if I had remained, I would not have gotten drafted into the army.

    • A fellow named Russ who responds to questions on the Information Search section of boatnerd.com apparently has a very large database of crew lists of Great Lakes vessels. It’s possible he could answer your question.

  14. Sterling, you have the Aquarama entering service between Detroit and Cleveland in October, 1956. I’m certain that this is inaccurate. It had been intended to operate her Detroit-Cleveland in 1956, but there was a problem finding a dock in Detroit that could handle the loading and unloading of automobiles. She spent the summer of 1956 “barnstorming” various Great Lakes ports, starting, I believe, on Lake Michigan where she was completed. She took excursions out of Detroit in August, 1956; this is confirmed by advertisements in the Detroit Free Press. I don’t believe she ever operated as late as October while she was on the lakes.

    She did enter Detroit-Cleveland service at the opening of the 1957 season, using Riverside Park as her dock; there had been talk of her docking close to the center, but that apparently didn’t work out.

  15. I have been looking for information on a Great Lakes cargo ship from 1890 to 1914 with the first letters being Olym… This was my grandfather’s ship. It seems to be the Gilchrist co.’s Olympia. My grandfather was a first mate, but I don’t know if it was aboard or or another. I am unable to find a source for ships’ roles or logs as yet. Maritime museum does not. His name was Robert Thompson Mowatt and may have served on Canadian boats as well. Do you have any suggestions on where I could look for his ship assignments? Living in Cleveland I thought a source would have Gilchrist line information. So far, no
    Regards,
    Dennis

    • My suggestion is to post your request on the Information Source page of boatnerd.com. There is a fellow (don’t know anything about him) who apparently has a huge data base of seamen who answers this kind of question. It’s possible he could help you.

  16. My husband sailed on the Henry Rogers and I am looking for any items from that ship that I could possibly purchase…

    • Why don’t you try asking your question on boatnerd.com? Might be someone out there who is willing to provide something.

  17. My Father was chief engineer on the Ralph Misener. He died in 1980 at 43 due to injuries he sustained after an explosion and subsequent fire. Although it’s been 37 years I still miss him dearly and would love to talk to anyone who was aboard the ship when the accident happened. His name – Peter Allan.

    • I would suggest you pose your question in the Information Search part of boatnerd.com (instructions for how to do it on the site).They have lots of readers and someone out there might respond.

    • Hello Hazel. I live in California and I’m up visiting my family in Toronto staying with my best friend, Charlene Waters. She knew your father (from working in the Misener office in St. Catharines) and today we got talking about old times and she mentioned your father. We could not remember the year of the terrible accident so I went online to find out, thus this response to you. I also worked for Misener, but onboard their ships. Eventually, when I had my first child, I came ashore to work in the Misener office for Peter Misener, who headed their, Misener Properties. I just wanted to give you a background of who we are. We have been best friends ever since we worked together in Misener office. My father knew Peter Misener well and it was Peter that paid for me to go back to school for accounting in order to have me work for him. I took a year long accounting diploma course in St. Catharines and then went directly to work for Misener Properties in their office. I continued on sailing (not just on the Lakes) and actually became a ship’s Captain and currently, at the age of 64, I live/work shoreside in California for a few different cruise lines. I don’t believe Charlene knew your father personally, but she always remembered having to deal with business aspects with the Misener ships and had met and spoke with him at the annual Captains & Chiefs dinners. Let me say that I am so sorry for the loss of your father at such a young age of yourself and your father only being 43. Anyway Hazel, I just wanted to touch base with you and tell you that your father continues to be in people’s thoughts. All the best to you Hazel and I’m 100% sure your father is not forgotten.

      • Hi Bridgette and Hazel, My dad, Morrey Armstrong, was captain on board the Ralph when that terrible accident happened. My Mom (Jessie) and Dad both recently passed away, they were friends with Peter Allan and your mom. I remember meeting him as well, so full of laughter! I remember the small stick figures he used to weld together out of nuts and bolts, complete with kilt!

        Best Regards,
        Ross Armstrong

    • Hello Hazel, I am one daughter of the late Captain Morrey Armstrong. I recall the tragic event and your father’s untimely passing. I can tell you that my parents were so very upset, as was I. I had met your father as well. My father has passed away 5 years ago yesterday, and my mother just last April due to COVID. Your father’s name definitely remembered.

  18. My uncle Buck Griffith retired as Chief Engineer on the Hatfiled. He gave me a tour when she was in Cleveland , OH. The ship has been sold for scrap.

  19. Information on my great great Uncle Gilbert Kempe, who served on the ship the Calcite as first mate, circa late 20’s-30’s

  20. I have a bill of lading for iron ore on a schooner called the “Jura or Juna” shipping from Marquette. Mi. August 22, 1862 with 419 and 1/2 tons at $3 aa ton, Would you have any information on the schooner or rarity of such an article?

  21. Is there any information including pics of the Str. Finland-Wilmington? I know there was such a boat. My father was on it with the name in the picture! Can’t find it anywhere!

    • My suggestion is that you post your question on the Information Search section of boatnerd.com. That page has a large continuous daily following and it is the best place I can think of where you might find someone who can answer your question.

  22. Hello Mr. Berry
    I am looking for the ship specifications (length, beam, draft, engine, capacity, etc.) for the FONTANA belonging to the Boland-cornelius fleet that regularly picked up coal in Sodus Point (there is a well known picture of her in1955 loading) as well as any of her sisters that made port here. There were certain sounds that let us kids know that all was well with the world as I grew up: first the light house at Sodus point was sweeping, it’s fog horn was deep and regular, and the rumble of coal being loaded from the Penn. Rail Coal Trestle.

    Any help or direction you might be able to lend will be appreciated.

    Thank you

    • You can find much of what you want by looking at my page for R. W. England, which was the vessel’s original name. The page also references an article in the Historian if you have access to its series.

  23. My Great grandfather’s name is Frank J. Peterson. He was a ship Captain from Cleveland.. How/where can I find information about him?

  24. Thank you for your informative and easy to use research. My father went on the Great Lakes in 1940. I have his seaman log book which listed him on the Stm. Shenago in 1942. the Dates were not lining up with info I was finding online as it was not Shenango II.
    I have a picture of him with a lifesaver from the ship

  25. Have pics of the Majestic and the William S Mack. Suspect my grandfather, Malcolm Alexander CAMPBELL was the engineer on those freighters in the early 20th century. When I entered the # for the Majestic, W582, nothing appeared on your system

    There is no number for the William S Mack.

    He left the Lakes in 1920 to serve as the engineer on a ferry between Windsor and Detroit . Wife feared he would drown in the middle of Superior. Here, he was never more than 1/2 mile from shore

  26. I can’t seem to find the steam barge “Alice Richards” in this Great Lakes database. I ran across a nice photo which I edited: The steam barge “Alice Richards” loading with coal, Conneaut, Ohio, circa 1905, from Detroit Publishing Co., via Library of Congress.

    I would appreciate any further information.

    • My database only covers vessels which measured 1000 gross tons or more.

      The Richards was much smaller. I’m sure you can find her on other Great Lakes websites.

  27. My great uncle was in the engine room Oh the William D Crawford an iron ore freighter . I actually have a test gauge with his name engraved on it. Where could I get information showing his name on this vessel? his name was William C McDougall

    • I would recommend posing your question on the information search section on boatnerd.com. Mr. Berry has passed away recently, so I’m afraid that if he had anything we’ll never know.

  28. PS: You mention occasional errors in information… this may or may not be one. Your page with information on the William C. Atwater mentions that it was renamed from the Ben Moreell to the Thomas E. Millsop in 1955. A man responded to a forum post I made on BoatNerd.com requesting information on my grandfather, saying that he sailed with him in 1972 on the “Str Ben Morell” of the Steinbrenner fleet. Could he be mistaken, could there be a second Ben Moreell, or could the record be mistaken? Figured I’d at least let you know of the claim, for whatever it’s worth. Again, thanks.

    • There was a second Ben Moreell. The second Moreell was the William C. Atwater’s sister-ship, the James MacNaughton built in 1922. After the first Moreell was traded to National Steel in 1955, the MacNaughton was selected by her owners, the Wilson Transit Co., to carry on the name of Ben Moreell, who was the chairman for Jones and Laughlin, who was a major client of Wilson Transit. When Wilson Marine Transit was dissolved by it’s new parent company, Litton Industries in 1972, the second Ben Moreell, along with the rest of the Wilson fleet, was sold to American Shipbuilding, which was owned by Kinsman Marine Transit, which was owned by the Steinbrenner family. The purchase made Kinsman Marine so large that an anti-trust suit was brought against them and they would later agree to minimize their fleet in 1974. At this point the Ben Moreell was transferred to S&E Shipping, yet another subsidiary of Kinsman Marine. In 1977, she was renamed the Alastair Guthrie in honor of one of Kinsman’s shipping agents out of Duluth. In 1983, a fire broke out in her cargo hold while carrying barley and she was damaged so much that she was only able to be towed as a barge for the 1984 shipping season. The following year, the Alastair Guthrie was scrapped in Port Maitland.

  29. Hi,
    I am a model railroader doing a port scene of the Great Lakes grain operation. I have a model of a boat, which was a canaller, I saw a picture of The New York Times vessel but, I can not find any information about it. Can you lead me in the right direction of colors of the boat and what corporation owned it in the 1950’s. Thank you for your help.
    John

    • What color is the smokestack? And does it say the name? There were almost 500 freighters on the lakes at that time, so I would need more information on the ship in order to identify it.

  30. My Dad was cheif Engineer on the US Steel ship William A Irvin which is now a museum in Duluth..I think he retired that ship and went to the Voorhees….do you have any crew members listing for the Irvin

    • You might want to go ask on the information search section of boatnerd.com. I’m afraid that Mr. Berry has passed away, thus if he had anything on the Irvin we’ll never know.

  31. I am trying to find out about an American Steamship Co. Boat that sank in lake Erie or Ontario in the early part of the 1900s.

  32. I sent one summer on the Peerless in 1958 or so. Nothing like getting up at 4am to hook up the hoses then going to bed and getting up at 6 to put in a full day,
    One trip to Halifax the cook bought a package of lobster, on the way home they died. The next day he prepared a lobster salad using canned lobster, the crew wouldn’t eat it thinking it was the dead ones. Bob”hugger” Hughes a friend, worked the galley and knew the origin of the lobster, we gorged on the salad.
    Lastly, we were anchored off St John’s, I went swimming off an attachment at the side of the ship, dived into the water, suddenly was swept along the attachment. We were in the Bay of Fundy and the tide was on the way out, fortunately I was a good swimmer or the Atlantic was my next stop.
    One stop off Gaspe the cook was jigging for Cod, nothing like eating cod 30 minutes after being caught.
    It was a great summer with a great crew.

  33. i have a compass in a partial box. on two sides of the box it has HENRY C FRICK. on the bottom of the compass it has made in USA with a date 4 45. how can i find out if this compass was actually used on this ship?

  34. Hello!

    I saw the entry for the Frank Peavey launching – the correct date should be May 17, not May 22.

    Thanks

  35. Hello,

    I am an Erie/NYS Barge Canal buff and would like more info about NYS Barge Canal lock-sized vessels. (For example Fords’ Edgewater or Norfolk
    ) These ships were built to just fit the locks (roughly 300 feet by 43 feet.

    Where might I find a list of these ships, and any guess if I might be able to find a living catain or crew member to talk about work aboard these “tight-fit” vessels?

    Thank you for a great site.

  36. seeking photo’s of ship’s built by Great Lakes Engineering Works at the Saint Clair Michigan Yard … and photo’s of the yard itself … thanks

  37. I am looking for a higher resolution picture of the Detroit Edison. My elderly father worked aboard her in college and enjoys puzzles. I am hoping to get a picture that can be used to create a puzzle of the ship. A high resolution photograph of an existing photo would probably be sufficient.
    Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Thank you,
    Chris Cromley
    941-375-1369

  38. My name is David Swarbrick.

    Vagrant Studios, myself, and a few others are putting together in full pre-production at this slated moment, a Sizzle Reel, Trailer, and Feature – which is going to bring the famous story of The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald to the big screen. In knowing there is high interest here in the famous fable: I’m curious to know if anyone here may possibly know of any such person or persons whom would be interested in climbing aboard with financial assistance for this production, and, or some joint production, or, maybe both? I will gladly attach a file of the scripted Trailer/Reel, the screenplay, and my WGA registration for anyone that may want to read it. If you would please call Producer: Shawn Gallagher at 1-530-429-2876 or respond to this email to further discuss the subject in question, it would be greatly appreciated. In the mean time: take a look at our simple showreel at Vagrant’s website!

    Kind regards,

    David Swarbrick.

    http://www.davidswarbrick.webs.com

    Vagrant Studios L.L.C.

    http://www.vagrantstudios.org/

    “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” – Gordon Lightfoot (HD w/ Lyrics)

  39. I worked as a porter on the callaway in 1957, Is there a picture of the ladder on the outside of the ship that we had to clime on to get on the ship.

  40. Looking for information on my late father, Edgar Holder. He was the pilot for Inland Steel on L.E. Block or E.J.Block, or both, in the late 40s til late 50s early 60s. We lived in Superior on 3rd St and could walk to the dock when the ship came in. My uncle Steve Katzmark worked on the railway that brought the ore to be loaded on the ships and my Uncle Bud Katzmark was a riveter in the shipyard. Any help finding information on my father would be appreciated. I was also able to catch sight of “The Fitz” as she rounded a bend, she was a sight to behold!

  41. My grandfather saild on this ship for many years I remember as a kid my grandmother chasing it from port to port for we could see our grandfather. I also remember being up on the Detroit River getting on a tugboat they called the mail boat and watch my grandfather climb up and down the side of the ship to come home.. His name was John fuiilk(Grizz). I believe he was an Oiler down in the engine room . Because that’s where he spent most of his time . He sailed with that boat to its final resting days then he was transferred to a ferry boat farther north into Michigan and then from the ferry boat it was sent to be on a warehouse ship during Desert Storm he came home and passed away of cancer do the asbestos off the warehouse ship back in 2005. I have lots of oil paintings of this ship you mean the world to me. I am glad that I have got the chance to be up on that ship and eat on that ship.

  42. my uncle William Eric Guy was captain on a miserner line ship. I forget which one. would love to find out . thanks

    Gord Marsden

    • My great-Uncle Arvid Sikkila worked his way up to captain of an Ore boat on the great lakes from 1945-1960s. Im looking for the name of the ship he ran. Thanks!

  43. I sailed on the Shiras, Minch, C.S. Robinson, A.B. Homer and the Sparrows Point in the late 50s and early 60s I got out of the service November 66 and was to report to the Danial Morell” it was lost on lake Huron later that month

  44. Any information on the Morton Salt ships? My great uncle Frank Johnson of Ludington , I Belive was captain of the Colbalt.

  45. Greetings!

    Your friend Mr Perry left a wonderful legacy in this site. Thanks for taking on responsibility for it!

    As I read his obituary I was reminded of Roger Puta. Mr Puta was also an amateur historian, of sorts, who took thousands of wonderful historic photos – mainly of trains. I googled him after noticing his name on so many train pictures. It turns out he had a couple of friends who took on the responsibility of preserving his legacy, when he passed away. His hier put all those wonderful photos into the public domain.

    I mention him because I worked with them to create an article about him, here.
    https://en.wikialpha.org/wiki/Roger_Puta

    This looks kind of like a wikipedia article – but it is not. It is on a much smaller wiki, that uses the same underlying software. Mr Puta’s life wasn’t well documented enough for a wikipedia article.

    Maybe your friend should have a similar article? Do you know if any Detroit papers ever wrote about him? If so, do you or his daughters have a photocopies of those articles. If you can email them to me I will use them to write an article about him.

    Cheers!

    Thanks again for taking on the responsibility for his site!

  46. I have pictures from my father’s days working on ships around the Great Lakes. Not sure of dates but guessing it’s late 40’s or early 50’s. One ship was George W. Perkins as the name is displayed in one of the pics. Would you be interested in the pics to preserve for historical purposes?

  47. There appears to be a duplicate entry for the tanker Cyclo-Chief, one of which is in error. That entry shows it as being named the Cyclo-Warrier, a vessel which I cannot find in any other Great Lakes vessel database. Hope I’m mistaken, but just wanted you to know.

  48. I was going through some old pictures of my grandfathers and ran across an old picture (almost looks like silver oxide) from possibly the mid 1920’s of the John S. Manuel. I wish I had found the picture soon to share

  49. I have a pelorus compass with the company names W.E. Clark, Buffalo New York, and L.J. Wohnlich, Detroit. It was apparently used on the Great Lakes, maybe c. 1920. Does anyone know anything about either of those two businesses?

  50. Also, if anyone knows anything regarding ships’ captains Jerry Bissette and his father, John Arthur Bissette, I’d appreciate any information.

  51. The database seems to be having some issues. The search engine works but the pages are background blue instead of white and the details are not shown when link is clicked on.

  52. I am a nephew of one of the 2 sailors that were never found. His name George Stathis. Im looking for all information that is available. On the Early morning of April 27,1944, Canadian ship ( Ashcroft ) T-Boned the Reed and the Reed sunk in Lake Erie killing 12 and 2 never found. If any articles and or stories had been written about this tragic collision, please inform me as such. THANK YOU MUCH!!

  53. I inherited a ships clock given to my grandfather when he retired as Captain of Valley Camp. The clock was stolen from me by a family member. I would like to get a copy if anyone knows where I can look.

  54. I’m looking for any info on a ship captain that went down with his ship in lake superior.
    Robert Larson or Larsen

    any info would help

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