Charles B. Calder (1853-1920) was born in Antwerp, New York, and died in Toledo, Ohio. Over his lifetime he built a career in the shipping industry. In 1872 he started as a cook on a schooner in Wellesley Island, New York, then worked his way from assistant engineer to chief engineer on various ships in Oswego, Utica, Ogdensburg, and Niagara, New York. From 1881 to 1886 he was chief engineer of a ship based in Chicago, Illinois, then moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he served as chief engineer of several ships working throughout the Great Lakes region, and he eventually became a shipbuilding superintendent and port engineer. In 1894 Calder moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he was general superintendent of two shipbuilding companies, and finally, in 1905, he moved to Toledo, Ohio, where he was one of the incorporators of the Toledo Shipbuilding Company and served as its vice president and general manager until his passing. He was a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. Calder married Gertrude Calder (b. Kent) in Clayton, New York, in 1881. She passed away in 1885, and he married Emma Calder (b. Pearson) in Chicago in 1891. In June 1886 Calder wrote to Mary Baker Eddy to order a copy of
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Based on the records available, we have found no further information concerning his involvement with Christian Science.
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