SS Friesland Archival Collection
American Line Steamer SS Friesland 7,100 Tons (Chartered from the Red Star Line). Liverpool to Philadelphia, 1907. GGA Image ID # 1146ee6f60
Friesland (1889) Red Star Line
Built by J. & G. Thomson, Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland. Tonnage: 6,409. Dimensions: 437'x 51'(450'o.l.). Single-screw, 15 knots. Triple expansion engines. Four masts and one funnel. Passengers: 226 first, 102 second, 600 third. Launched: August 15, 1889. Service: Antwerp-New York. Ownership Transfer: Vessel was transferred to American Line in 1905. Renamed: La Plata (1910) Italian. Fate: This clipper bow liner built of steel was scrapped in 1912.
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Passenger Lists
1892-05-07 SS Friesland Passenger List
Cabin Passenger List from the SS Friesland of the Red Star Line, Departing Saturday, 7 May 1892 from Antwerp to New York, Commanded by Captain Wm. G. Randle.
1895-07-20 SS Friesland Passenger List
Cabin Passenger List for the SS Friesland of the Red Star Line, Departing Saturday, 20 July 1895 from Antwerp to New York, Commanded by Captain H. E. Nickels. Notable Passengers include: William C. Arnold and Christian Gauss.
1905-08-16 SS Friesland Passenger List
Cabin Passenger List for the SS Friesland of the American Line. The Ship Departed Wednesday, 16 August 1905 from Liverpool to Philadelphia, Commanded by Captain C. J. Rogers. The Friesland Arrived in Philadelphia on 27 August 1905. Notable Passengers included: Charles Henry Bartlett, Leslie Kenyon, Walter D. Meals
1907-07-06 SS Friesland Passenger List
Cabin Passenger List from the SS Friesland of the American Line, Departing 6 July 1907 from Philadelphia to Liverpool, Commanded by Captain C. J. Rogers.
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Brochures
1907 - American Line Philadelphia - Queenstown - Liverpool Service
American Line has specially arranged to accommodate those passengers who want good food and service, moderate speed and to have the best accommodation the steamers afford at a reasonable cost. Ships Covered: Friesland, Haverford, Merion, Noordland, and Westernland.
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Photographs
First Class Dining Room on the SS Friesland. Facts for Travelers, 1908. GGA Image ID # 1f062105d3
The Steamship Friesland Shown at Sea. Facts for Travelers, 1897. GGA Image ID # 1f062f4d47
The Steerage on the SS Friesland, 1902. A Good Picture of a Subject Presenting Many Difficulties. By C. Fred Galigher. Size of Original 4.5 x 3.5 Inches. Paine's Phtographic Magazine, March 1902. GGA Image ID # 1f0633d1dc
Red Star Line Steamship SS Friesland (1889). King's Handbook of New York City, 1893. GGA Image ID # 1f0660643b
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Illustrations and Paintings
Busy Americans Seeking Rest and Recreation Abroad, 1902. Crowds at a New York Pier in the Rush of Travel for England's Coronation and European Tours. Image Pertains to the Onboarding of Passengers on the SS Friesland per the Signage in the Upper Right. Leslie's Weekly, 29 May 1902. GGA Image ID # 1f065ab596
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Back Cover Images
Back Cover, Red Star Line SS Friesland Cabin Class Passenger List - 7 May 1892. GGA Image ID # 13fe6d6fd6
Back Cover, Red Star Line SS Friesland Cabin Class Passenger List - 20 July 1895. GGA Image ID # 13fe9bb28b
Back Cover of a American Line SS Friesland Cabin Passenger List from 6 July 1907. GGA Image ID # 1f61d24821
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Excerpts from Information for Passengers
Information for Passengers - August 1905
Meals:
- BREAKFAST at 8 am.
- LUNCH at 12:30 pm.
- DINNER at 6 pm.
- SUPPER at 9 pm.
The Bar closes at 11 pm LIGHTS are extinguished in the Saloon at 11 pm and in the Smoking Room at 11-30 pm.
Please apply to the Second Steward for Seats at Table
Inquiries regarding Baggage will be attended to by the Second Steward, to whom all Baggage that Passengers wish to leave in the Company's care should be handed, properly labeled, and with full instructions as to disposal.
Steamer Chairs can be obtained on the voyage at a charge of 4s each upon application to the Second Steward.
Valuables: Passengers may deposit with the Chief Steward any money, jewelry, &c., for safekeeping during the voyage. Still, no responsibility can be accepted for the same.
Persons holding Return Certificates should give as early notice as possible of the dale upon which they desire to sail from Philadelphia to the American Line, Land Title Building, Broad and Sansom Streets, Philadelphia.
Letters may be addressed to the care of any of the Offices named below, and they will l>e retained until called for or forwarded according to instructions. All such letters should hear the address they should be sent if not called for.
Travelers' Checks, payable in all parts of Europe, can be purchased at all the principal offices of the American Line.
Source: SS Friesland Passenger List - 16 August 1905
Passenger Information - 6 July 1907
Passengers embark two hours before sailing.
An Experienced Physician is attached to the steamer. For medical attendance in case of sickness on board no charge is made; medicines are also provided free of charge. But the ship's Physician is allowed to charge the usual fees to travelers who submit themselves to treatment for maladies not contracted during the voyage.
Source: SS Friesland Passenger List - 6 July 1907
S. S. Friesland - 1897
THE SS Friesland was built in Glasgow by Messrs. James and George Thoinson and was nearly upon the same lines as those steamers.
She is constructed of Siemens-Martin steel and accorded with the highest class at Lloyds and Bureau Veritas. With a double bottom, on the cellular principle, she is free from harm if she grounds, and the space between is available for water ballast to the extent of one thousand tons.
Internally she is divided transversely by numerous bulkheads, the distance between the bulkheads being comparatively small.
The passenger accommodation is arranged on the same principle as in the SS New York and SS Paris case. The First-Class rooms are in the vessel's center, with the Second Class rooms just abaft.
In the arrangement of boilers and machinery, the convenience and comfort of the passengers have been studied, with no openings on the Promenade Deck.
The cuisine is relegated to the lower deck, and communication is established with the pantry utilizing lifts.
There are three passenger decks — the Upper, Saloon, and Promenade, the last of which extends two-thirds the ship's length.
The Dining Saloon is forward of the machinery. It is large and airy, being lighted by a dome-shaped skylight framed with chastely decorated stained glass on the top. At the same time, the sides are filled in with wooden panels with appropriate hand-painted sea views on them.
The Saloon is finished in carved oak, while the ceiling is in white, the relief work being in old gold. At the entrance to the Saloon is a hall, from which stairways lead to the Staterooms below and to the Drawing Room on the Promenade Deck above.
This Drawing Room is an artistically furnished apartment, the walls adorned with cedar and satinwood combined with silk panels. The roof is similar to that of the Dining Saloon. The First Class Smoking Room is on the Promenade Deck and is internally constructed of dark mahogany framework, with painted tile panels, and has a tiled floor.
On the Saloon Deck, amidships are seventeen Staterooms, and the remainder of the apartments for the First Class passengers are on the Upper Deck.
The Second Cabin Dining Saloon is finished in hardwood and is on the Saloon Deck abaft the machinery; the Staterooms are on the Upper Deck. The Smoking Room is fitted internally, similar to the First Cabin Smoking Room, and is also on the Promenade Deck.
An attractive feature of this class is the number of rooms to accommodate two people only. Throughout the ship are many Broadfoot ventilators, the unique part of which is that they may be left open in all weather.
The propelling machinery is of the triple expansion type and has been designed to take up the least possible room. The number of electric lights is 500. Two special turbine dynamos are fitted on board, and each can maintain all the lights on the ship.
The lifeboats are all carried above the Promenade Deck, increasing passenger deck space.
"S. S. Friesland," in Facts for Travelers, American Line, Red Star Line, International Navigation Company, New York: International Navigation Company, 1897, pp. 49-50.
The Steamship Friesland - 1908
The Friesland is a four-masted, single-funnel steamship of immense proportions, built of the best steel at the famous Glasgow yards of Messrs. James and George Thomson and constructed on the same lines as the famous clipper-model steamships Philadelphia and New York.
She has a double cellular bottom and nine water-tight bulkheads, making her practically unsinkable. She is accorded the highest class in Lloyds and Bureau Veritas.
The SS Friesland's principal dimensions are Length, 470 feet; breadth, 51 feet; gross tonnage, 6,409. This yacht-like ship has three decks, the rooms for cabin passengers being amidships on the saloon and upper decks.
In contrast, the promenade deck extends two-thirds of the vessel's entire length. The most attractive feature of the SS Friesland is the dining saloon, located well away from the machinery.
It is an airy, spacious, beautifully lighted room with a vast dome-shaped skylight. The cabinet work is finished in elaborately carved oak. In contrast, the relief work of the pure white ceiling is delicately picked out in gold leaf.
With its richly carved balustrade, the primary companionway is worthy of a fanciful yacht. Many especially desirable staterooms are located on the saloon deck. They are unusually well-lighted and have perfect outside ventilation, so they are always in demand.
The smoking room on the promenade deck is finished in dark mahogany with decorated tile panels, and the tiled floor ensures absolute cleanliness. It is an attractive gathering place, as is the music room at the head of the main companionway.
"The Steamship Friesland," in Facts for Travelers: Atlantic Transport Line, American Line, Dominion Line, Leyland Line, Red Star Line, and White Star Line, New York: International Mercantile Marine Company, 1908, pp. 22-23.
