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Obituary: Benjamin H. Hanson
Manitowoc Herald Times
7 November 1961

                    Captain Hanson
             Retired Skipper Dies at Age 78

     CAPT. BENJAMIN H. HANSON, 78, who captained the Ann Arbor
   Railroad carferry Wabash and who had been sailing the Great
   Lakes since 17, died Monday evening at Manitowoc County Hospital.
   He had been ill two weeks.
     CAPTAIN HANSON, rapidly becoming a legend in Great Lakes marine
   circles, resided at 423 N. Fifth St.
     He retired as captain of the ferry line’s flagship in June
   of 1949 and even though he was on pension, CAPTAIN HANSON found
   opportunity to talk about the  “good old days.” He was named skipper
   of the ship late in September of 1940.  He previously had captained
   the AA No. 7 and this was the first time a Manitowoc man had been
   elevated to the post of commodore since the Ann Arbor ferry line
   started operations in the Great Lakes.

                          Born in Ohio
     CAPTAIN HANSON was born at Barnsville, Ohio, May 4, 1883, son
   of the late  BENJAMIN and LUCINDA BUNDY HANSON. He came to Wisconsin
   when 7 with his mother.  They lived at Fond du Lac where he acquired
   his formal education. When 17 he became a deck hand aboard AA No. 3,
   shipping out of Menominee, Mich.  For a number of years he worked the
   lower lakes during the summer months and  returned to ferry service
   in the winter, all the while working for his master’s  license.
     He married HATTIE HOLTZ at Milwaukee Dec. 14, 1912, and the couple
   established residence at Manitowoc.
     In 1913, he gained his rights as a master for the Ann Arbor Line
   and also received his unlimited master’s license. He assumed command
   of the Ann Arbor No. 3 three years later and for 24 years he served
   as its master as well as the Nos. 4, 6, and 7 at various periods.

                        Free of Accidents
     CAPTAIN HANSON estimated at the time of retirement he had traveled
   about 3,150,000 miles on water and in the 49 years he had never had a
   serious accident.
     Surviving are his wife, a brother, CALEB HANSON, of Milwaukee and
   a sister, Mrs. MARY ROUSE, of Silver Springs, Md.
     He was a member of Grand Haven, Mich., Lodge 139, F. and A. M.,
   Manistee, Mich., Commandery 32, Knights Templar, and Saladin Temple,
   Grand Rapids, Mich.
     Funeral services will be at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Urbanek and Schlei
   Funeral Home,  Manitowoc. The Rev. Paul Blaufuss will officiate and
   burial will be in Evergreen  Cemetery.
     Friends may call at the funeral home after 3 p.m. Wednesday.

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