SS Geiser
ToelitaMy grandfather and great grandparents, I just found out, were on the SS Geiser in 1888 when the Thingvalla collided with it. Is there any way to find out who the fatalities were? There was a 3 y/o named Margit Aslakson that I never knew anything about. Gunder and Kristi and Guro (Ole) Aslakson are here in the censuses but no Margit. My ggrandmother died the next year in Wisconsin. What an ordeal to go through. I read your article on it....scary! Toelita/Elaine
ToelitaOOps I goofed! They were on the March voyage. Scared myself there! I still have to wonder about the child of 3. My grandfather didn't marry till he came over here. Is Guro another name for Ole? What a mystery? Sorry for the mistake. Elaine
wadtronI would also like to see a list of those killed in the shipwreck of the Geiser. A Norwegian cousin told me that my great-grandfather, Edvardt Andreas Østerberg, was killed in a shipwreck while traveling abroad when my grandmother was about two years old. I suspect that Edvardt may have been on the ship, the Geiser, which sank about August 20, 1888. Edvardt Andreas Østerberg was born 21 October 1846 to Erik Österberg (a Swedish fisherman from Sundsvall, Sweden) and Marie Josephsdotter (Hovde). Siblings include Bergithe Elina, Peter August, and Mortin Edvard (from LDS records available on CD) Edvardt (Edevard and Edvard) is listed in the Norwegian census records of 1865 and 1875 as a bricklayer and is living with family at Askgrobakken 6. My grandmother, Anna Elisabet Österberg, was born 29 Nov 1886. Anna was the last of five children born to Edvardt Andreas Österberg and Pauline Hansine Hagen (married 19 Nov 1876) of Trondheim, Norway. Siblings included Eline Marie, Edvarda Johanne, Emelie Marie, and Peder August. With my grandmother’s birth in 1886 and my cousin’s reference to her being about two when her father died while traveling abroad, I believe the wreck of the Geiser might be a prime candidate. I may have found a source to find the people who perished in this wreck. The URL for the site mentions the archive in Norway where the Geiser shipwreck information is housed. The URL is: http://members.nbci.com/follesdal/na26.html and includes the text: Vol. 13, Journal of American Ethnic History, 09-01-1993, pp 48 by Odd S. Lovoll. The article mentions Erhvervsarkivet in Arhus. Help from Norway, from John Follesdal: Hi, Adresseavisen in Trondheim is Norway's oldest newspaper. Founded in 1767, it is on microfilm, and would have covered the tragedy you refer to. I don't know if it is possible to obtain the microfilm in the US, but if you have problems you could contact the newspaper: Web site: http://www.adressa.no/ E-mail: webred@adresseavisen.no Snailmail: Adresseavisen ASA 7003 Trondheim Thanks to Mr. Follesdal for both items. I have been reluctant to research or make contact with these archives to date because of my lack of knowledge regarding the Norwegian language. But I hope to know more of Edvardt Andreas Österberg's death on a shipwreck, said to be about 1888.