Reference Material

Bibliographies and recommended reading for interpreters and visitors who often want good books for their children's school reports. Also, see Erie Maritime Museum Library (join Flagship Niagara League for use) and Blasco Memorial Library Heritage Room for much, much more!

Battle of Lake Erie/ War of 1812

Altoff, Gerard. Amongst My Best Men: African American Sailors and the War of 1812.
The best resource on this topic, also good on the war overall.
--Best for High School

Deep Water Sailors-Shallow Water Soldiers: Manning Perry’s Fleet on Lake Erie, 1813.
--excellent for high school.

Oliver Hazard Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie.
--Concise, good for Middle and High School

Altoff, Gerard and David Skaggs. A Signal Victory.
Naval Institute Press, 1997

Berton, Pierre. The Battle of Lake Erie.
M&S Paperback from McClelland & Stewart, 1994.
–Thin paperback, with illustrations, excellent for students, especially middle school.

The Invasion of Canada, 1812-1813, vol. 1

Flames Across the Border, 1813-1814, vol. 2

Dillon, Richard. We Have Met the Enemy: Oliver Hazard Perry, Wilderness Commodore.
New York: McGraw Hill, 1978.

Dobbins, Daniel. Battle of Lake Erie and reminiscences of the Flagships "Lawrence" and "Niagara."

Goldowsky, Seebert J. Yankee Surgeon: The Life and Times of Usher Parsons, 1788-1868.
Boston: The Francis A. County Library of Medicine, In cooperation with the Rhode Island Publications Society, 1988.

Hickey, Donald. War of 1812: The Forgotten Conflict.

The War of 1812: A Short History (digest of above)

Robert Ilisevich, Daniel Dobbins, Frontier Mariner.

Livesey, Bob. 1812: The Forgotten War.
Oakville, Ontario: Little Brick Schoolhouse, 1996, 90 minute videotape. Teacher’s Guide/Student packets available also.
--Absolutely wonderful for all students (and adults), particularly with the supporting educational packet. Composed entirely of reenactment scenes and interviews with living history characters.

Malcomson, Robert and Malcomson, Thomas HMS DETROIT and the Battle of Lake Erie.

Sailors of 1812: Memoirs and Letters of Naval Officers on Lake Ontario During the War of 1812.
Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1990.

Lords of the Lake: The Naval War on Lake Ontario, 1812-1814.
Just published, 1998, Naval Institute Press (in the United States).

McLaughlin, Russ and McLaughlin, Jan Smith. Sail Ho! A Story About Erie and the Building of the Flagship
Erie, 1990.
--Elementary and middle school

Merry Hearts Make Light Days: A War of 1812 Journal.

Rybka, McCamy and Moreland. U.S. Brig Niagara Crew Handbook,
Flagship Niagara League, 3d. ed., 1994. Also the best primer on the ship itself.

U.S. Brig Niagara,
glossy color brochure.

History and Culture of Sailing Ships

Avi, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.
New York: Avon, 1990. This is award-winning juvenile maritime fiction, situated in 1832.
--paperback, excellent for middle school students, quick read for high school.

Beavis, Bill and McCloskey, Richard G. Salty Dog Talk: Nautical Origins of Everyday Expressions,
New York: Granada Publishing, 1984.

Copeland, P.F. American Sailing Ships.
Dover Publications, outstanding coloring book, suitable for grown-ups, too.

MacGregor, David R. Square Rigged Sailing Ships.
London: Argus Books, 1977.

Wilbur, C. Keith. Tall Ships of the World: An Illustrated Encyclopedia.
Chester, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, 1986.
--Heavily and accurately illustrated, excellent for all students

Pirates and Patriots of the Revolution.

Revolutionary Medicine, 1700-1800.

Native Americans/Women in the 19th Cenutry America

Berton, Pierre. The Death of Tecumseh.
Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1994. --excellent thin paperback, illustrated, middle school

Connell, Kate. These Lands Are Ours: Tecumseh’s Fight for the Old Northwest.
New York: Steck-Vaughn, 1993. --nice thin paperback, illustrated, excellent for middle school, high school

Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812.
--Pulitzer Prize winner, provides a rare window on life for women in early America. Adult, but high school students could enjoy this.

Erie Bayfront and Maritime History in the Nineteenth (Post-1813) and Tenetieth Century: A Bibliography

NOTE: JES denotes Journal of Erie Studies, available at Erie County Historical Society or Blasco Memorial Erie County Public Library

General History

"The Economic Development of the Port of Erie and Related Avenues of Trade: 1825-1845," JES (vol. IV, no. 1): 52-71.

Frew, David and Dave Stone, Waters of Repose: The Lake Erie Quadrangle (Erie County Historical Society, 1996).

The Great Lakes Region in Children’s Books: A Selected Annotated Bibliography (Green Oaks Press Publishers, 1990).

MacDonald, Robert J.,and David Frew, Home Port Erie: Voices of Silent Images (Erie County Historical Society, 1996).

Nelson, Jeffrey. Erie, Pennsylvania Images of America Series, (Arcadia Publishing, 1998)

Various writers, "The Waterfront," 48-page supplement, Erie Times-News Sunday, (May 30, 1982).

Vasey, Paul. The Inland Seas: A Journey Through the Great Lakes (Chartwell Books, 1987).

Industry and Labor

Breena, I., and D. Rigby. Caution: Working Waterfront. The Impact of Change on Marine Enterprises (Waterfront Press, 1985).

"The Commercial Development of Erie County, 1810-1825," JES (vol. IV, no. 1): 20-51.

"The Day the Crew of the Revenue Cutter Perry went on Strike," (vol. X, no. 2): 1-10.

"The Economic Development of the Port of Erie and Related Avenues of Trade: 1825-1845," JES (vol. IV, no. 1): 52-71.

"Erie’s Population in 1850: A Demographic Analysis," JES (vol. XIII, no. 1): 19-42.

"Following History Through the Erie Extension Canal," JES (vol. XII, no. 2): 1-17.

Great Lakes Commission, The Great Lakes Economy: A Resource and Industry Profile of the Great Lakes States (Harbor House Publishers, 1985).

"The Impact of the Second World War on Selected Erie Industrial Producers," (vol. XIV, no. 1): 17-30.

Lechner, C. Erie: Link to the Great Lakes (Erie County Historical Society)

Lloyd, T., and P. Mullen. Lake Erie Fishermen: Work, Identity and Tradition (University of Illinois Press, 1990).

"Ralph Waldo Tillotson, Erie Labor Leader" JES (vol. III, no. 2): 27-41.

James Young, "Trial By Fire: The Repression of UE Leadership at Erie’s General Electric Works, 1948-1954," JES (vol. IX, no. 1): 1-15.

Recreation/Tourism/Entertainment

Callahane, Thomas P. Fishes of Erie County (Allegheny Press, 1993).

"A Study of the Erie Yact Club, 1894-1919" JES (vol. V, no. 1): 7-23.

Brandon, Loretta A. Lightkeeper’s Legacy: A Personal History of Presque Isle (Erie County Historical Society, 1997).

Merrill, J., "Becoming a Surfman," JES (vol. 22, no. 1): 80-90.

"Recreation in Erie from 1860 to 1910," JES (vol. XIII, no. 2): 30-47.

Stephens, W.P., American Yachting (NY: McMillan, 1904).

Waterfront Development

"The Erie Bayfront, 1913 to 1992: The John Nolen Plan versus the Burgess-Niple Limited Plan," JES (vol. 22, no. 2): 37-62.

Hammer, Siler, George Associates/GAI Consultants Dr. Joseph Carroll and Walter D’Alessio, for the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority, Final Report: Port and Bayfront Development Potentials for Erie, Pennsylvania (August 1982).

Land Design/Research and Morton Hoffman and Company, for the City of Erie, Waterfront Comprehensive Plan (1986).

"Nitroglycerin and the Improvement of Erie Harbor, 1868-1870," JES (vol. I, no. 2): 85-87.

John Nolen and Co. (Urban Planners/Landscape Architects, Boston), Plans and Recommendations for the Expansion and Improvement for the City of Erie (Erie Chamber Of Commerce and Board of Trade, 1913).

"Urban Waterfronts ’83: Balancing Public and Private Interests," Conference Summary, George Washington University, (September-October 1983).

Waterworks: A Survey of Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Waterfront Development (Harbor House, 1991).

Environmental/Landscape History

Ashworth, William. The Late, Great Lakes: An Environmental History (Random House, 1986).

Burns, Noel M. Erie: The Lake That Survived (Rowman & Allanheld, 1985).

Caldwell, Lynton K. Perspectives on Ecosystem Management for the Great Lakes (State University of New York Press, 1988).

"The Changing Configuration of Presque Isle Peninsula," JES (vol. XI, no. 1): 13-33.

Freshwater Seas (Between the Lines publisher, 1990).

Lake Erie Promise (Produced by CFPL-TV, London, Ontario, 1989; videotape, 47 minutes)—overview of environmental changes in Lake Erie from late 1960 through the 1980s.

Hartig, John and Mike Zarull. Under RAPS: Toward Grassroots Ecological Democracy in the Great Lakes Basin (University of Michigan Press, 1992).

Too Much Mussel (Ohio Sea Grant Program, 5-minute video tape)

Zebra Mussel Mania (Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program): Traveling Educational Program, 1996-1997, available through Sea Grant Great Lakes Network Phone: 614/292-9826 (OH Sea Grant program).

Ethnicity and Gender

Carter, A.R. Can I Get a Witness (Erie County Historical Society, 1991).

Freeman, S., and M. Tenpas, Erie History: The Women’s Story (American Association of University Women, 1989).

Garvey, William, "Ethnic Politics in Erie," JES (vol. I, no. 1): 1-18.

Hood, D., "Erie’s Old Believer Community," JES (vol. VII, no. 1): 7-39.

Hood, D., "Erie’s Italian People: The Genesis and Development of Little Italy," JES (vol. XII, no. 2): 28-60.

Kauerman, M. "The Effect of World War One on German-Americans in Erie, Pennsylvania," JES (vol. 26, no. 1): 68-95.

Lenese, M., "The Plight of Spanish Speaking Migrants in Erie County," JES, (vol. IV, no. 2): 1-12.

"Sava (Sam Lee) and Anna Legenzoff, Pioneer Russian Settlers," JES (vol. XX, no. 2): 36-68.

St. Benedict Oral History Project, "Growing Up Polish: An Oral History of Life in an Ethnic Community," JES (vol. VII, no. 1): 40-79.

Skarupski, K., "Solidarity on the East Side: Erie’s Polish Americans," JES (vol. XI, no. 2): 1-31.

Thompson, Sara and Karen James. Journey From Jerusalem: African Americans in Erie, Pennsylvania (Erie County Historical Society, 1996).

"Three Early Erie Jewish Families," JES (vol. XVIII, no. 1): 3-18).

Archival Collections

Undoubtedly the finest collection of nineteenth and twentieth-century Erie maritime documents and photographs is the Robert J. MacDonald Collection located at the Erie County Historical Society. Photographs and archival documents related to the fishing industry, shipwrecks and general maritime lore fill the collection.

Also of importance are the Ken Pfirman Archives at the Erie Historical Museum and Planetarium.

The Presque Isle Interpretive Center is in the process of making its archival files accessible to the public.

The Erie Maritime Museum has a modest but growing collection of the secondary sources noted above.

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