Captain George Francis Freitas

When Captain George Francis Freitas was born on 12 February 1870, in Buffalo, Erie, New York, his father, John, was 24 years old and his mother, Mary Ann, was 16. He is the second oldest of twelve children.

George, along with his siblings, grew up on what was known as the seawall strip ~ the land of the 'squatters' or 'beachers.' George's maternal grandfather built his homestead on this seawall strip in 1844. Eventually the city of Buffalo 'acquired' that piece of land in order to give it to the railroad.

George followed in his father's footsteps in making his career on the waters. In 1886 he started his career as a deck hand at the age of 16. George later advanced to fireman then engineer and then on to Captain.

George married Emma Elizabeth Knight at the Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Buffalo, Erie, New York. Emma was the house maid at the Freitas homestead. They had six children together.

In 1903, George moved his family to Sandusky, Erie, Ohio as the Captain of the tugboat Croidy (Great Lakes Towing Co.) and then on to captain the tugboat General. He was later placed as Captain to the big tug Anson M Bangs (Hughes Bros and Bangs).  The Anson M Bangs was an ocean-going tug and was the first one on the Great Lakes.

One of the worse gales on the Lake Erie occurred in April 1907. A stone scow owned by the Lime & Transport Company (Kelleys Island) broke from its mooring and drifted into the center of the storm carrying five crew men. A determined Captain George along with fourteen equally determined crew men faced the storm and saved the barge with his tug, towed the scow back to the Sandusky port saving the lives of the crew.

What isn't shared about the above mentioned rescue is that Captain George at the age of 30 years old had just recovered from being gravely ill with typhoid fever from January through March 1907.

Captain George always rooted for the common working man which led him in becoming the Grand President of the Licensed Tugman's Association of the Great Lakes in 1914.  With at least 2,000 members, Capt. George immediately began fighting for a boost in pay for the tug men. With a charismatic personality, George was able to negotiate several strikes and employee disputes throughout his years in this role.

Never having held a political office before, Capt. George ran for city commissioner in 1919 and received the largest vote ever cast for any one candidate for a municipal office during this era. In just five short months of serving, a couple city commissioners challenged Captain George's loyalty to the city versus the tugman's association. They claimed he traveled too much which caused him to be absent from too many counsel meetings. His seat was declared 'vacant' which forfeit his rite to vote on decisions.  "The fight has only begun." emphasized Captain George as he declared the actions illegal. Captain George explained that he notified the counsel in advance; however the secretary was told to not mention the fact; therefore, declaring his seat vacant and actions wrongfully taken to remove him from the seat that the people appointed him to. There was such an uproar from the people of Sandusky that the commission reverted their initial decision bringing him back to complete his commission.  The 1921 and 1925 elections gave Captain George additional four-year terms in office.

Captain George's wife, Emma (Knight) Freitas, died in 1924.  Captain George retired and settled in Cleveland,Cuyahoga, Ohio.  He died on 28 March 1948 at the age of 78 years old. He was buried in Sandusky, Erie, Ohio.