Historical Vignette: on the "Monarch of the Sea"
A Long 36 Days:
Source: Kate B. Carter, "Scandinavian Immigration-1864", from Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 8, pp.23-31; as found cited online.
Note:
The complete chapter is not cited here. Only
those sections that relate to the history of the Hintze family's immigration are included. Although the Hintze family is not mentioned the
account of those named herein help paint the picture of their travails.
...
On Tuesday, April 26th, the ship Monarch of the Sea cleared for sailing, and on Thursday, April 28th, sailed from Liverpool, England, with 973 souls on board. Patriarch John Smith was chosen president of the company with Elders John D. Chase, Johan P. R. Johansen and Parley P. Pratt, Jun., as his counselors. Elders were also appointed to take charge of the different divisions of the company. During the voyage there was considerable sickness and some deaths, mostly children. In the morning of June 3rd the Monarch of the Sea arrived at New York where the landing of the emigrants at Castle Garden at once took place. In the evening they boarded a steamer for Albany, N.Y., and from there they traveled by train to St. Joseph, Missouri; thence by steamer up the Missouri River to Wyoming, Nebraska, from which place most of the Scandinavian Saints were taken to the Valley by Church teams, of which 170 were sent out by the Church that season. Thus about four hundred emigrating Scandinavian Saints crossed the plains in Captain William P. Preston's company of about fifty Church teams, that left Wyoming, Nebraska, in the beginning of June, and arrived in Salt Lake City, September 15, 1864.
….
… the Monarch of the Sea. Of the 974 passengers aboard two were children who had the measles, and this was not discovered for some time. In the close quarters, and with the poor facilities for handling such a crowd, the disease spread until it became a catastrophe, many children being buried at sea. Then, in the latter part of the epidemic, came a big storm, tearing the ocean into mountainous waves. The hatches were battened down and no passengers allowed on deck for three days. This added to the misery of the passengers, especially the sick. The Schades and Christiane1 did all they could for those who needed their help.
In spite of the fierceness of the storm and the fear that the ship would never land, they finally arrived at Castle Garden, New York. Because of the terrible epidemic and loss of life, they were afraid they would be held in quarantine, but the Civil War had drawn nearly every available man into the army or elsewhere, so they were allowed to land. One English woman lost her five children and it was a continuous routine of heart-breaking incidents, whether by rail or boat, until they reached the town of Wyoming, near Omaha, Nebraska. There they camped for a short time and prepared for the trek to Utah.
Note: 1The Christiane mentioned here is Christiane Magdaline Thurston Aldous. Born at Logstor, Aalborg, Denmark, January 13, 1848. Her father was Evan c. Thurston; her mother, Magdaline Christensen.
