Once again, as I was working on next week’s The Year Was . . ., I ran across a neat site to share. Maritime History of the Great Lakes (www.halinet.on.ca/GreatLakes/HomePort.asp) includes images, newspaper transciptions, ships lists, shipwrecks, historical documents, and articles, as well as a great collection of links to other related sites.
Be sure to check out the What’s New section that contains links to online versions of a number of historical books. One that caught my eye was an online version of History of the Great Lakes, Volume I, by J. B. Mansfield, ed. (J. H. Beers & Co., 1899). Topics covered include “Beginnings of Lake Commerce,” “War of 1812,” “Lake Canals,” “Harbors,” “Lighthouses,” and chapters of the traffic of lumber, grain, coal, iron ore and industries. It also includes a decade by decade chronology covering the years 1821-98 that feature wrecks, storms, explosions, and other events, as well as a list of lake vessels. It can be found online at:
www.halinet.on.ca/GreatLakes/Documents/HGL/default.asp
For those with links to, or any interest in the Great Lakes, this site contains a wealth of information.
Juliana
Thanks to your suggestion on the Maritime History of the Great Lakes, I was able to associate a Great Lakes ferry boat in Toronto to my great grandfather. This will take further verification but it is a close fit. My webpage on g-gdad Smedley B. now has this information, thanks to you:
http://www.genealowiki.com/bin/view.cgi/Benedict/JohnSmedleyBenedict1859Captain