Captain Daniel Elliott    

CAPTAIN DANIEL ELLIOTT, a patriotic and public-spirited citizen of Erie, was born in Canada, in 1864, and is the son of William and Annie Elliott, both natives of Canada, and both now deceased. Their children were: Trasco, Fred, Mollie (now Mrs. Mume), and Daniel. William Elliott was cousin to Thomas Edison, the great electrical inventor; George Elliott, brother of William, served as private in an Ohio Regiment, in the Civil war. The great-grandfather of Daniel Elliott served as a member of General Washington’s bodyguard, in the Revolution. Thus, though a native of Canada, Captain Elliott is of a family who have served the United States in her times of need.
Captain Elliott received his education in Canada, and there began his career on the lake; in 1883 he removed to Erie, and has since made his home in that city. He has been employed on the lake for thirty years, and for fourteen years has held a certificate as master mariner; he is now (1909) owner and master of the fishing tug “Elma.” For the first few years Captain Boyd was on board a sailing vessel, engaged in freight trade, but for the last twenty-five years has followed fishing business exclusively, and has been very successful.

The noble and sterling qualities of heart and mind of Captain Elliott have often been severely tried in his vocation, and he has always shown himself to be a man of bravery and determination. In the fall of 1888, at the close of the fishing season, a belated vessel, with a crew of seven on board, was wrecked on the Canadian side; four of the crew succeeded in reaching shore safely, while the others clung to the wrecked vessel. Captain Elliott, with others, took a yawl on wheels, overland, a distance of several miles, hastily launched it, and rescued the captain and mate, while the cook (a woman) was found frozen in the rigging. In the present time this act of bravery would probably receive a medal from the Carnegie Association, but those taking part in it had no thought other than to be of the quickest possible assistance to their fellows, and did not stop to consider the danger they necessarily passed through themselves.

Captain Elliott is a member of the Licensed Tugmen’s Association, and is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
In 1902 Captain Elliott visited his early home, and there met his future wife, Edmire Laramie, also a native of Canada. They were married soon after, but have not been blessed with children.  Mrs. Elliott is of French descent, born in 1878, and is an amiable and estimable lady; her maternal grandfather, whose surname was Knapp, served in the war of 1812, thus showing that her family have been of service, also to the United States.

A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1909, page 444.  More Erie County History Books   Search Hundreds of 1880s-1890s Pennsylvania County History Books for biographies and historical information on your ancestors.  View the book page images on line and print them out for your genealogy file!  Free Access to the old history books - plus birth & death records, census images and ALL other records at ancestry.com.