S.S. State of Florida, State Line

Picture of the State Line steamship State of Florida sinking in 1884, from an old engraving
Support Norway Heritage: Purchase a copy

The State of Florida left New York for Glasgow on the 12th of April, 1884. On the night of Friday, April 18th she collided with the bark Pomona in mid-ocean, or about 1,200 miles off the Irish coast. Both vessels sank immediately. The State of Florida carried down with her 123 out of 165 persons on board, while only three of the bark's crew of fifteen were saved. Two days after the collision, the forty-three survivors of the two ships were picked up by the Norwegian bark Theresa. Twenty-four of these survivors were transferred to the bark Louisa, and thence to the S/S Titania, which brought them to Quebec.

On April 23d the steamer City of Rome was spoken by a sailing vessel, probably the Theresa, which signalled that she had on board the crew of the shipwrecked State of ...... The remainder of the signalled message was lost in the mist, and the great steamship racer went straight on her course. The survivors brought to Quebec by the S/S Titania reported that those on duty saw the red light of the bark flash upon them for a moment, followed by an instantaneous crash, after which the steamship immediately began to sink, and preparations were made to launch the boats. The bark had sunk soon afterwards. As the passengers, many of them in their night-clothes, rushed upon the deck a scene of indescribable confusion prevailed. The women went into hysterics, while the male passengers were too much astonished to fully comprehend the situation or to take any steps towards saving themselves. Only one woman, the stewardess Jane Macfarlane of Glasgow, was saved.