Obituary from The Marine Record July 19, 1900:

“After an illness extending over some weeks, Capt. John Donnelly, Sr, president of the Donnelly Salvage and Wrecking Co., Kingston, Ont, died last week (July 13, 1900) at his residence, surrounded by all his family, and deeply mourned by all classes of the community. Capt. Donnelly was born in Armagh, Ireland, on the 14th of February, 1835, and came to Kingston with his father and mother on the 3rd of August, 1846. The family moved in 1848 to Garden Island, where most of his life was spent in the employ of Calvin & Breck, Calvin & Son, and the Calvin Co. Capt. Donnelly served as a sailor up to 1858, engaged for most part in the timber trade from the upper lakes to Garden Island.

In 1858, Capt. Donnelly’s wrecking operations began, with the rescue of the steamer Hercules, a side wheel tug, owned by Calvin and Breck, the boilers of which exploded on the 8th of October, 1858, while the tug was endeavoring to tow a vessel up the Rapids De Plat. Capt. Donnelly just before the accident remained off the boat a trip, and his place was taken by Dexter Calvin, brother of Hiram A Calvin of Garden Island, who with six others met death when the boilers exploded. From that time until within the last few years, Capt. Donnelly has assisted, and has had charge of more wrecking operations than any other man on the inland waters, with such success, that his name is known on the inland waters for a quarter of a century past, as one who has never failed in wrecking operations he has undertaken. He raised the propeller Brooken, sunk in 14 fathoms, three miles from the docks on Lake Ontario, all the crew of this propeller were lost at the time of the accident. He raised the steamer Magnet and cargo, commanded by Capt. Frank Patterson, formerly of this city, from where she sank in 108 feet of water, abreast of Howe Island. This propeller was sunk by collision with the steamer Bay State. He has taken all of the boats of the Western Division of the Richelieu line out of critical positions in the rapids several times, and among others, the Corsican, Magnet, Algerian, Corinthian, Passport, and Bohemian, and his work has not been confined to the island vessels alone, as he raised the steamer Vicksburg of the Dominion line, sunk below Isle Verte, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the S S France of the National Line, sank in the river below Montreal.

When Capt. Donnelly first started in the wrecking business, there were no such wrecking appliances as are to be found in use today, a good deal of the work was done with the crudest sort of tools, but he had such a thorough knowledge of his business, combined with immense energy and ability to handle men, that his work was always successful, and many inland insurance companies owe their prosperity, in maritime business, to the results of his labor. For very many years, Capt. Donnelly has been a sufferer from a stricture of the stomach, caused originally by having become chilled in leaky dive dress, while working under water, and this was the cause of his death. He was twice married, and is survived by his widow and seven children, Thomas, Chief Inspector for Lloyds, John, of the Donnelly Salvage and Wrecking Co., Minnie wife of Capt. B A Booth, Jr, Sanford, engineer of the Collingwood dry-dock plant; Maggie, wife of C. McCormick of Toronto, and Foster and Luther of this city. The only other child Robert, a youth of 16 years, was drowned at Port Stanley, when the schooner Sweden was lost, of which Capt. Donnelly was part owner. He was a member of Elysian Lodge. No. 212, A F & A M, Garden Island, and of Ancient Frontenac and Cataraqui Chapter Royal Arch Masons, and also a member of the Royal Black Preceptory of the Orange Order. In politics, he was a life long conservative. The late Capt. Donnelly was a man who always made friends, no matter where he went.”