Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Sutherland, Captain James
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1085-1857
History
Captain James Sutherland (1805-1857), was born in Hoy, Orkney Islands, Scotland to a sea-faring family. He began his sailing career at the age of seventeen starting as a low-ranking mate and climbing the ladder to captain. He immigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1831 and sailed the steamboat Queenston, owned by John Hamilton. He married Margaret Robinson in 1833 and moved to a house on Hughson Street in Hamilton, Ontario. During his sailing career, Sutherland commanded some of the newest and most prestigious steamers to sail the Great Lakes such as the Traveller and the Niagara. By partnering with wealthy Hamilton investors, Sutherland who was of modest means, was able to co-own and command a fleet of steamships, including his most notable steamboat the Magnet. He retired from sailing in 1853 to work for the Great Western Railway Company. On March 12, 1857, Captain James Sutherland became the most notable Hamiltonian to lose his life in a train wreck on the Desjardins Canal Bridge.
Places
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
Steamship Captain