Ironton [Ohio] Daily Republican, Feb. 7, 1916 

Capt. George Bay Died at Home Sunday Morn.

Captain George Bay, one of the most widely known river men in the Ohio Valley and brother of Capt. William Bay of Ironton, died at his home in Huntington, Sunday morning at 11:30 o'clock after an illness of only two days due to la grippe and pneumonia. Though his last illness was very brief Capt. Bay had been in feeble health for some time. He was 80 years of age last May.

Capt. Bay was a native of Lawrence county and though he was never a resident of Ironton he was almost as well known here as in his home city of Huntington, where he has lived for a number of years. He was born at Proctorville and lived in that village for many years.

In 1864 he and his brother, Captain Wm. Bay entered into the steamboat business in which they were very successful. And since that time the name of the Bays has been synonymous with the river trade of the Ohio valley. In the halcyon days of the rivermen immediately following the war the partnership grew strong and the Bay line boats were among the foremost lines of the packets.

Though it has been a number of years since Capt. Bay was able to command his boats in person, his interest in the river never fagged and it was always his first thought. His long life as a riverman had associated him with every riverman in this section and he knew them all.

Capt. Bay is survived by his brother Capt. Wm. Bay of Ironton and the following daughters, Mrs. Minnie Eaton, Mrs. May Mauck, Mrs. Georgia Blake, Mrs. Stella Dabney, Mrs. Lizzie Brown, Mrs. Willie Comstock, Mrs. Ricketts, and Mrs. Kate Wakefield; two sons died in infancy and Mrs. Bay has been dead several years. He was a member of the Johnson Memorial church in Huntington for the past 18 years. The funeral has not been arranged but the interment will be in Woodland cemetery.
 

Morning Irontonian, Feb. 8, 1916

LIFE OF ONE OF OHIO RIVER'S OLDEST CAPTAINS CAME TO CLOSE SUNDAY.

The remains of Captain George Bay, who died Sunday morning at his home in Huntington, will be brought here for interment Wednesday morning. The steamer Greyhound will leave Huntington Wednesday morning, with the relatives and other members of the funeral party from Huntington and vicinity, aboard and will arrive here at 11 a.m. Interment will be in Woodland.

Concerning the death of Capt. Bay, the Huntington Advertiser of Monday evening had the following:

"Captain George W. Bay, 81, [reiterates the following from IDR 8 Feb. 1916 - smk]

IDR 8 Feb. 1916 - Tuesday

VETERAN RIVERMAN HAD EXCITING EXPERIENCES

Relative to the death of Capt. George Bay the Huntington Advertiser says:

Captain George W. Bay, 81, pioneer riverman and one of the best known steamboat men on the Ohio river from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, died Sunday afternoon at 12:00 o'clock at his home, 610 Fifth avenue, following an attack of heart failure.

Capt. Bay had been in failing health for about six weeks, having been affected by a slight stroke of paralysis shortly after Christmas day. He had seemed to be gradually recovering when seized with the fatal heart attack. On Friday afternoon Capt. Bay felt so much better that he walked down town and spent over an hour transacting business in connection with his steamer, the Greyhound.

He returned home and after eating a hearty supper was talking with his family when seized with a sinking spell. A physician was hurriedly summoned and succeeded in reviving him. However, he failed to rally permanently and sank gradually to his death.

BORN IN GALLIA COUNTY.

Capt. Bay was born in Gallia county, Ohio, near Crown City, on May 6, 1835. He was the son of Thomas Bay, of Cambridge, O., and like his father before him, Captain Bay adopted the river as his life's vocation. The story of his moderate beginning as the operator of a store trade boat and his subsequent rise to the presidency of a wealthy and powerful steamboat line, is one full of interest.

His first knowledge of the river was gained during his early life when he assisted his father in operating a wood yard. The Bay trade boat was a boat fitted up as a store and was moved along the river to different points where trading was carried on. After the death of his father, young George assisted his mother and brother in the operation of the business. Their chief source of income was derived from the sale of wood with which the early steamers stoked their boilers. This proved a profitable business until the coming of coal as a fuel and the wood boats were forced out of business.

ERECT NEW STORE.

At the age of twenty-eight George and his brother, William Bay, now a well known river Captain of Ironton, O., moved their trade boat to a point on the Ohio shore opposite the mouth of the Guyan river. On the bank directly north from their trade boat they erected a combined residence and store room and when this building was completed they moved their stock of goods into the store and began the operation of a general merchandise.

Shortly after establishing the business, he was married to Miss Mary M. Suiter, of Bradrick, Ohio. Their marriage was solemnized on June 9, 1863.

He continued in his store business for about eight years, gradually branching out and increasing his stock until the store was one of the largest and most complete in the section of the river valley.

BESET BY GUERRILLAS

After the outbreak of the Civil war the brothers were continually beset by hands of roving soldiers and guerrillas who several times attempted to rob the store. Captain Bay often related a night attack on his tore in which he was badly wounded.

Captain Bay's room was on the lower floor of the building, adjoining the store. His brother, William Bay, slept in a room directly over his. One night during July, 1864, a band of rough looking guerrillas knocked at the door and demanded entrance. When they were refused, they battered in the door with their gun stocks and were robbing and looting the store when Captain Bay started to resist. They opened fire on him, firing about thirty times at him. Two of the bullets struck him and he was left lying for dead.

William Bay, then only a young man, appeared at the top of the stairs during the shooting and opened fire on the men in the room below with a shotgun. One of the soldiers was killed and another was so badly wounded that he was unable to escape. He was captured and served five years in the penitentiary for his part in the raid. Two others were wounded but managed to make their escape.

The first steamboat that Captain Bay ever owned was a narrow little side wheel boat, "The Ranger," which Captain Bay bought for $600 in Ironton, O. He did not own the boat over three hours, selling it to a man for $1,000 while en route home with the boat. The next boat that he owned was built here, her timbers being laid by carpenters on the Ohio shore opposite Guyandotte. This boat, the "Minnie" was placed in operation as a packet boat between Proctorville and Ironton. The boat proved a success and Captain Bay sold the store and abandoned everything for the river. The brothers then bought the "Henry Logan" and sold the "Minnie." The Logan was lost when she sank on a snag at Coal Grove. In 1865 the brothers built the J. C. Crossley which they operated until she was crushed in an ice floe at the mouth of the Guyan river in 1878. The "Scioto," "Lizzie Jones," "Fannie Dugan," "Minnie Bay," "City of Ironton," "Louisa," "Ruth No. 1" and "Ruth No. 2" were among some of the other boats that the brothers built and operated during their early river partnership.

In 1877 the Bay brothers consolidated their boats and trade with the "Fanny Dugan Company," owned by Capt. Bates into the "Portsmouth-Huntington Transportation company." this was the first big river packet combine. It endured for about seven years during which Captain Bay was president of the corporation. The company was dissolved in 1884 and the brothers organized the "Portsmouth-Pomeroy Packet Company." Captain Bay was president of this company. In 1895 the Bay brothers sold their rights in the company to the White Collar Line, of Cincinnati. After disposing of their interests in the company Captain George Bay and his brother, William Bay, organized the Bay Packet Line and continued to operate boats until the present time. The Greyhound, the fastest river packet plying this section of the river, is the only boat operated by the Bay line at the present time. It will be continued in her trade. It was announced today, Captain William Bay continuing its operation.

The steamer Kanawha, built at a cost of nearly $30,000, was the largest boat ever built by Captain Bay. She was constructed in 1895 but was sold a few years later. She continued to run and was known as one of the most successful boats on the river until the time of her sinking several weeks ago at Parkersburg when she struck a pier head. Several lives were lost when she went down.

It was the pride of Captain Bay to be able to say that during his half century of continuous service as the owner of packet boats on the Ohio to have carried his passengers safely to their destinations with the loss of only one life.

A passenger, walking in his sleep, one night walked off the edge of a small steamer operated by Captain Bay and was never seen again. Captain Bay always deplored this unavoidable accident and took extra precautions against the loss of life or injury to his passengers.

OPERATED FORTY PACKETS

During his career as a riverman, Captain Bay and his brother jointly constructed thirty steamers and in addition to themselves, bought ten, making a total of forty packet boats owned and operated by the veteran steamboatmen.

Besides the business on the river, captain Bay invested heavily in real estate and was reckoned as one of the most wealthy men in the business. His life on the river bred to him a love for the life which he was unable to forget even when he had passed the age when other men retire from active life and move for the association than anything else. Captain Bay continued the operation of the steamer Greyhound when he had disposed of all his other boats. The graceful packet was one of the veteran steamboat captain's indulgences, and he often piloted the speedy boat on her trips between this city and Portsmouth.

Captain Bay is survived by his aged wife, Mrs. Mary Bay; by one brother, William Bay, and by eight daughters, Mrs. L. O. Eaton, Mrs. H. B. Mauck, Mrs. Katherine Wakefield, Miss Georgia Bay, Mrs. E. G. Dabney, Mrs. Elizabeth Buchannon, Mrs. John Rickets and Mrs. Walter Comstock.

Funeral arrangements had not been concluded today but it was stated that the funeral would probably be held Wednesday.

[Morning Irontonian of same date includes the same except for: "Loved through life with the strong love of the riverman for a thing of grace and beauty, the Steamer Greyhound, the last boat of the Bay Packet line which was always the especial favorite of Captain George W. Bay who died Sunday morning, will convey the body of its owner and captain to its last resting place Wednesday at Ironton.

"The funeral of Capt. Bay will be conducted from the residence, 610 Fifth Avenue, Wednesday morning at ten o'clock by Rev. S. W. Walker, pastor of Johnson Memorial church. Following the funeral services, the remains will be placed on board the steamer and taken to Ironton where interment will be made in Woodland cemetery.
"Capt. Bay retained the Greyhound after all his other boats had been disposed of and his last trip to the cemetery on board the favorite old packet is a fitting tribute to the love that the veteran pilot held for the boat."

Ironton [Ohio] Dailey Register,  Feb. 8, 1916 Tuesday 

Bay Steamer To Be Used to Convey Body of Capt. Bay Here.

Huntington, Feb. 8. - Loved thru life with the strong love of the riverman for a thing of grace and beauty, the Steamer Greyhound, the last boat of the Bay Packet line which was always the especial favorite of Captain George W. Bay who died Sunday morning, will convey the body of its owner and captain to its last resting place Wednesday at Ironton.

The funeral of Captain Bay will be conducted from the residence, 610 Fifth avenue, Wednesday morning at ten o'clock by Rev. S. W. Walker, pastor of Johnson Memorial church. Following the funeral services, the remains will be placed on board the steamer and taken to Ironton where interment will be made in Woodland cemetery.

Captain Bay retained the Greyhound after all his other boats had been disposed of and his last trip to the cemetery on board the favorite old packet is a fitting tribute to the love that the veteran pilot held for the boat.