A century ago today, my maternal grandparents embarked on their journey to America. They are pictured above and I'm fascinated by the fastidiousness of their shiny shoes. Newly married, they left their families, friends and everything they had known for the chance at a new life in a new world. My grandmother's family had lived in relatively the same area for 300 years, so this was not an ordinary occurrence. These two were the last of my family to arrive; others on my paternal side had decided to make the move in 1860 and 1738. Oddly enough, all 3 families arrived before major wars.
My maternal grandparents took two ships to eventually reach the shores of the United States, the Marylebone from Hamburg to Liverpool and the Baltic II from Liverpool to New York. Like many before them, they traveled steerage. What I find remarkable is that this was only a year after the fated Titanic disaster and the Baltic II was from the same line: White Star. If it were me, that alone would scare me to death.
The Baltic II was launched almost 9 years earlier on June 29, 1904, making her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York with none other than the famous Titanic Captain Edward J. Smith at the helm...interesting, eh? The family I eventually married in to had a relative with the same name...ditto on the interesting. At her launch, she was the largest vessel in the world weighing in at 23,876 gross tons. She was 729 feet long with a beam of 75.6 feet and a depth of 49 feet and she could travel about 16 knots, top speed.
Just to put this kind of ship in perspective she had 48 furnaces for the engines that consumed 235 tons of coal, daily. The personnel alone needed for the engine and fire room included 14 engineers, 15 oilers, 36 firemen, 26 coal passers, 2 store keepers, 2 stewards and 1 winch man for each of 3 watches.
She could carry a total of 2,875 people...425 First Class passengers, 450 Second Class passengers and 2000 Third Class & crew. By the time my grandparents decided to come to America, the cost of ocean travel had risen by 50% within 15 years.
It only took my grandparents 9 days before they arrived on Ellis Island, but my paternal relatives that came over in 1860 had a journey on the ocean that lasted twice as long and it was in January! To say these people were stalwart is an underestimation.
The heritage spirit of these pioneers lives on in their progeny...cheers to them for the rich legacy they cared to bestow!
Baltic II postcard
Baltic II photo
Baltic II loading
Baltic II decks
Baltic II smoking room
Baltic II drawing room
Baltic II library
New York Times, July 9, 1904.
White Star Liner Baltic Completes Maiden Voyage.
Made Trip from Liverpool in 7 Days 13 Hours
and 37 Minutes — Brought 906 Passengers.
Amid the tooting of hundreds of whistles and the dipping of flags, the
new White Star Line steamship Baltic, the largest ever built, made her
way up the bay yesterday, completing her maiden voyage from Liverpool to
this port. Thousands of eyes along the shore watched the big vessel as
she steamed slowly up the harbor on the breast of the tide, and every
floating craft to be seen dwindled into insignificance beside the big
liner. When the Baltic appeared in the upper bay ferryboats, steamboats,
tugs, and sailing craft went out of their course to give those aboard
better views of the steamship, and those vessels which were going down
the channel as the Baltic came made way for her.
The lines on which the Baltic is built give her the characteristic look
of the Cedric and Celtic, the two other largest ships of the White Star
Line, but she exceeds both these by about 3,000 tons. To those who went
alongside her the Baltic's freeboard appeared tremendously high, the
longest ladders on the revenue cutters, which are long enough for all
other vessels, hardly reaching to the main deck. Her sides are painted
black, and her two big smokestacks are light brown, except where they
are circled near the top by board black bands. She has four pole masts.
The great size of the Baltic, however, is minimized by the gracefulness
of her lines. The steam yacht Corsair was waiting down the bay for J.
Pierpont Morgan, her owner, who was aboard the steamship, and as the
Baltic came up the bay the black yacht ran for a time alongside of her,
the yacht ran for a time alongside of her, the yacht looking like a
little toy beside the big liner.
The length of the Baltic is 726 feet. In this respect she exceeds the
length of the Kaiser Wilheim II of the North German Lloyd Line, which
formerly was the longest ship, by 18.2 feet. Her width is 75 feet. In
all she has eight decks, four of them being above the main deck. She is
of 24,000 tons gross register, while her capacity for cargo is 28,000
tons, and her load draught about 40,000. The new steamship has
accommodations for about 3,000 passengers besides her crew of 350.
The first-class smoking room and library are on the upper promenade
deck. The staterooms in the first-class cabin are so arranged that the
passengers occupying them will feel very little of the ship's motion.
Just abaft the first-class compartment is that for the second-class
passengers, consisting of a large dining room, a smoking room and a
library, besides the staterooms. With the exception of a limited space
forward, the third-class passengers are provided for abaft the
second-class.
The Baltic is fitted with engines of Harlan & Wolff's quadruple
expansion type, arranged on the balanced principle, which practically
does away with vibration. The liner can attain a speed of about 17 miles
an hour. The steamship was built at the yards of Harlan & Wolff at
Belfast, and she sailed from Liverpool for this side on June 29,
stopping on the next day at Queenstown to pick up mails and passengers.
She is in command of Lieut. E.J. Smith, R.N.R., who has become well
known to seagoers as Captain of the steamship Majestic, from which he
was transferred to take command of the new vessel. The Baltic is the
tenth command which Lieut. Smith has held in the service of the White
Star Line.
The first trip of the big liner was made in 7 days, 13 hours and 37
minutes, and both Chief Engineer H. Crawford Boyle, formerly of the
Celtic, and Consulting Engineer Andrews of Harlan & Wolff, who made
the trip for the purpose of watching the Baltic's behavior, declares
that there was not the slightest trouble with her machinery, and that
she has come up to all expectations. Her best day's run was 417 knots,
made on July 4.
She brought a total of 906 passengers, 209 in the first-class cabin, 142
in the second-class, and 555 in the steerage. Every one of the
passengers united in saying that the voyage could not have been more
pleasant. Capt. Smith was delighted with his ship. "I tried to see how
she would work coming around the tail of the Southwest Spit," he said,
"and, as the channel was clear, I sent her around at full speed. She
behaved admirably. Pilot Johnson, who has brought up almost every one of
the big vessels that come into this port, piloted us up."
The officers of the Baltic are Thomas Kidwell, formerly of the Celtic,
chief officer; W.E. Graham, surgeon; H. McElroy, purser, and H.
Wovenden, chief steward. The ship will be open for public inspection on
Monday and an admission fee of 25 cents will be asked from each visitor,
the proceeds to go to the seamen's charities.
Panorama of the Baltic II docked in New York in 1904. Click this link and you'll be able to see extreme detail in the image:
http://www.shorpy.com/White_Star_Line_piers_New_York_1904?size=_original#caption
©2013 Debbie Ballard
