ROBERT J. MACDONALD GREAT LAKES MARITIME COLLECTION

BACKGROUND

This comprehensive Great Lakes maritime history collection was collected by Robert J. MacDonald (1930-1998) over a forty year period. Mr. MacDonald was inspired by stories of his grandfather, Donald Sutherland McDonald (1860-1905), a Sea Captain who lost his life at the age of 45. He died when his ship, the Sevona, ran aground on Sand Island Shoal and split in half during a gale on the return trip home from Duluth, Minn. on Sept. 2, 1905.

Bob MacDonald (1930-1998) began his career on the Great Lakes working on the lake freighters during summers while attending Gannon College (now Gannon University). After he graduated in 1956, he worked at Penn State Erie’s Behrend Campus Bookstore and as Adjunct Instructor in continuing education in Great Lakes history. He married Marjorie Card MacDonald in 1962. They had 3 children, a son and two daughters. Bob continued to actively collect and share information on the Great Lakes shipping industry throughout the rest of his life. Home Port Erie, Voices of Silent Images which he co-wrote with David Frew was his final project.

SIZE, SCOPE & CONTENTS

The Robert J. MacDonald Great Lakes Maritime Collection is a comprehensive collection of Great Lakes Maritime history, consisting of vertical files, archival material including charts, correspondence, newspapers and related material, published books, magazines, lithographs, photographs, postcards, slides and three-dimensional objects. Researchers will find information on individual vessels, boat builders, shipwrecks and ports of call. Although the collection has material on all of the Great Lakes, there is an emphasis on Erie-related activity.

The Collection includes over three hundred books, 6,000+ vertical files divided into four major segments: vessels, ports of call, shipwrecks, and Erie-related material. Clippings, photographs and other ephemera can be found there. Archival material including charts, correspondence, newspapers, 300+ books, over 10,000 photographs, 2,300 slides, 2,300+ post cards and 130 objects and framed items complete the collection. There is a draft finding aid for the vertical files and a list of the published volumes for researchers to use on site. The books are also catalogued and appear in the card catalogue and in the OCLC bibliographic database. Many researchers use the book Home Port Erie, Voices of Silent Images as an introduction to the collection. The Robert J. MacDonald Collection is a non-circulating, special collection. On-site access to this comprehensive collection is by appointment..

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