The Voyage Main Page >>

2 accounts of the crossing on the Marie in 1864


1999 - by Hazel Evans

In January 1999 Bob Anderson was contacted by Hazel Evans of Faribault, MN, who had read the account contributed by Bob, see link below. She had new pieces of information about this very dramatic voyage on the Marie in 1864. Through this information we were able to add 12 more passengers to the list of passengers. Hazel's g-g-grandparents emigrated from Tysnes. They were Ivar Olson Opdahl and Ingeborg Haakenstr. with their children Ole and Anna and Ingeborg' two daughters from her first marriage, Kari Olsdtr. Dalen and Ragnhild Olsdatter Dalen. Ole who was then twelve later wrote about the voyage:


"Ole when yet a boy immigrated with his parents and three sisters from Bergen on the 9th day of May, 1864 on the Sail ship 'Mary' under Captain Christensen. Was ship wrecked under Scotland the 21st of the same month, drifted one week and was pulled in with a British Steamship to Sheals, England without losing a man. Was rigged up in a week and went out again; a week later ran on a floating wreck the ship sprung a leak and the passengers had to pump all the time. Ran short of provisions, laid 11 days in calm seas, set out boats and got provisions from other ships that passed by. Finally reached Quebec with as many passengers as when left Bergen. On board the ship one child died and one was born."


Ole's younger sister recalled the experience in a newspaper interview (South Dakota State Forum, May 22, 1942):

". . . but it was in 1864 when she was a child of 10 that she came with her parents and two sisters and brother to this county. They sailed in a brand new boat, in fact, they were delayed in starting for several weeks while the boat was being finished. There were 365 passengers on the boat. After being on the way one week a severe storm broke the main mast, about the height of a man from the deck. They stopped in England to have a new mast installed. The storm was so severe and with the loss of the mast the boat rocked dangerously from side to side. A day after the worst of the storm was over, a baby was born. It was still so rough that it was necessary for a man to stay on each side of the berth to keep the mother from falling out. The captain baptized the baby and she was named Atlanta Maria, Maria being the name of the ship. A month later the ship sprung a leak and four pumps were kept running day and night. They ran out of fresh water and had to use rain water that was caught in barrels and sails, then boiled and skimmed. The emigrants left with a 10-weeks' supply of food but the two catastrophes caused so much delay that the trip took 14 weeks. They ran out of food and the captain sold what he could spare as he had brought double rations for his crews. They met a ship from Holland and hoped to get additional food from them but this ship had already sold all it could spare to a boat that had sailed from Germany and had been out 15 weeks, so the passengers of the Maria arrived in the St. Lawrence river in a pretty desperate condition. They hoisted a flag that told those on shore they were out of food and a boat brought out three barrels of flour and two barrels of meat. A few of the emigrants went to shore but found on returning to the ship that the current was so strong they had to go up the river one mile, then only could they contact the ship. With the aid of life belts they were hauled back on shipboard.

Other Related Articles :





Print This Article
Get a printable version of the article.
Search Articles :
Search the Norway Heritage articles
emigrant trunk
The Norway Heritage web site is a culmination of hard work and commitment to providing FREE access to material concerning our heritage. Maintaining a non-profit project requires some kind of financial support. By making a donation you will help keep this site the great resource that it is! It will also ensure your visits remain popup and banner ad free. Help us add more stuff to the emigrant trunk. Please support this free resource!

Articles
A selection of articles dedicated to help you in your genealogy search for your Norwegian ancestors. Transcripts and pictures of historic documents in connection with the ships and emigration. Also including articles about Pioneers & Norwegian Settlements Around the World
Articles about selected ships ships and special events in their history. Descriptions of some of the great maritime disasters involving emigrant ships, like the wrecking of the steamer Atlantic of the White Star Line, sinking of the ocean liner Empress of Ireland and the Thingvalla line steamer Norge disaster. Check this section if you have an interest in shipwrecks.
This section contains articles describing the transatlantic voyage, the condition of the steerage accommodations and the experience of an ocean travel on an emigrant ship. You will find in-depth studies concerning the emigration process, statistics and facts, and information about the immigration processing centers line Castle Garden and Ellis Island.
Passenger lists
Norwegian Emigrants 1825-1875 Pre 1875 Norwegian emigrants, passenger lists
Emigrant Ship databases

Agents & Shipping lines
Shipping lines, Norwegian agents, authorizations, routes and fleets.

Emigrant ship Arrivals
Trond Austhem's database of emigrant ship arrivals around the world, 1870-1894.

Norwegian departures
100 Years of Emigrant Ships from Norway - indexed by year 1825-1925
Images
Categories:
  >> Steamships
       arranged by shipping line
  >> Sailing ships
  >> Historic Documents
       & passenger lists
  >> The Voyage
  >> Ports - harbors
  >> Yards & Construction
  >> Miscellaneous
  >> Pioneers & Settlements
 
Images added during the last 14 days
You can add images of ships and other related motives by using the "Upload Image" link within the appropriate category.
Forum
10 last postings: