Hello again
This comment is just to tell you what I've found out but I'm afraid
it's not a full answer and my list of possibilities has even grown
since my last message to you.
It seems pretty clear that Capt. Smith was working for the White Star
Line from 1880 on. His first job with them was on the 'Celtic' and in
1887 he got his first position as full captain on the same ship. I
haven't been able to find out if it's likely he would have worked his
way up on that one ship for seven years, or if he would have been
moved from ship to ship to gain experience.
If he was not on the 'Celtic' when your grandparents traveled, he was
probably on one of these other White Star ships which ran the North
Atlantic route in those years:
Adriatic, Baltic, Belgic, Britannic, Gaelic, Germanic, Oceanic or
Republic
These ships mostly went from Liverpool to New York. This was before
the Ellis Island reception center was operating and immigrants would
have gone through Castle Garden.
People buying tickets in England for New York could book right through
to Canada. "Passengers are booked to all parts of the States, Canada,
and Newfoundland, Nova Scotia,...... at moderate through rates." See:
http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/whitestar.html
Further information on transatlantic travel with White Star, showing
that you had to choose between 'saloon' (first class) and 'steerage'
(third class):
http://www.mayoff.com/whitestarbrochure.html
A picture of the 'bedrooms' for steerage (3rd class) passengers around
1890:
http://www.oceanliner.com/wscard.htm
This site has a huge amount of well-organised information though not
the crucial detail you want:
http://www.theshipslist.com
The best suggestions I have for you to pursue this question are:
1. Email people who run good websites and share this interesting piece
from your family history with them - hopefully they will want to help
if they have any relevant information.
2. Try your library or bookstore for books on the White Star Line,
e.g.
"The White Star Line", by Paul Louden-Brown, published by Hyperion
(1990)
"History of the White Star Line", by Robin Gardiner, to be published
by Ian Allan later this year.
One note of warning about ship names. Often a company would rename a
ship as it got older and possibly sell it on. They might then order a
new one to carry the old name. This happened with the 'Celtic'. On
some websites you'll see it says this ship was built in 1901, but this
was a second 'Celtic'. Capt. Smith definitely served on the previous
'Celtic' in at least 1880 and 1887.
Good luck. I wish I could have got the answer for you. I hope you
manage to find out more.
Regards - Leli |
