Background
Wolvin"s father was a ships" captain on the Great Lakes, and started serving on his father"s vessels when he was ten years old.
Wolvin"s father was a ships" captain on the Great Lakes, and started serving on his father"s vessels when he was ten years old.
He founded several Great Lakes shipping firms. Wolvin became a ships" captain himself, when he was 21 years old. One of the vessels he commanded was the Dean Richmond.
Wolvin"s parents died in 1883, when he was 26.
In 1995 Wolvin was encouraged by James Henry Hoyt a representative of American Steel and Wire Company encouraged Wolvin to use his experience in shipping to assemble and manage a fleet of vessels to serve the mining industry. Wolvin was the founding President of the Empire Transportation Company, and Hoyt was the founding Secretary.
Its first vessel was the West.H. Gilbert. Wolvin founded the Zenith Transit Company.
His firm built the Zenith City, Victory, Empire City, Crescent City and Superior City.
In 1896 Wolvin and other Duluth business men acquired the financially troubled Inman Towing Company.