🛳️ SS California Passenger List - 19 August 1926: A Cultural Cross-Section of Educators, Doctors & Reformers on a Mediterranean Voyage
Front Cover of a Tourist Third Cabin Passenger List for the SS California of the Anchor Line, Departing Thursday, 19 August 1926 from Naples to New York via Gibraltar, Commanded by Captain Alex. Collie. This Vintage Cover Features a Classic Ocean Liner Aesthetic Typical of Anchor Line Branding in the 1920s, Complete With Elegant Typography and Transatlantic Symbolism. | GGA Image ID # 229fce145b
🛳️ Review and Summary of the SS California Passenger List – 19 August 1926
Route: Naples ➡️ Gibraltar ➡️ New York
Ship Operator: Anchor Line
Passenger Classes: Tourist Third Cabin
Captain: Alexander Collie
Explore the 19 August 1926 Tourist Third Cabin Passenger List of the SS California from Naples to New York via Gibraltar. Discover notable academics, doctors, and reformers whose stories reflect a dynamic era of transatlantic cultural exchange. Ideal for genealogists, educators, and historians.
🧭 Overview of the TSS California
Launched: 1923
Tonnage: ~16,700 tons
Operator: Anchor Line (subsidiary of Cunard Line)
Route: Primarily between Mediterranean ports and New York
Voyage Date: 19 August 1926
Ports of Call: Naples, Gibraltar, New York
Notable Features: One of the “New” post-WWI passenger liners built to modern standards, equipped with Tourist Third Cabin accommodations—a class created post-war to meet the growing demand for economical, yet respectable transatlantic passage.
Senior Officers and Staff
- Captain: Alex. Collie
- Chief Officer: John Duncan
- Chief Engineer: Charles Munro
- Surgeon: R. H. Chadwick
- Purser: John Munro
- Chief Steward: William Lindsay
Tourist Third Cabin Passengers
- Miss Clara M. Ackerson
- Mr. Arthur B. Adams
- Mrs. Fannie S. Adams
- Mr. William P. Agnew
- Miss Helen Alcott
- Mr. Herbert J. Alford
- Mrs. Alford
- Miss Elizabeth R. Alexander
- Miss Elizabeth L. Allen
- Miss Miriam R. Apple
- Dr. Arnold
- Miss Dorothy H. Aston
- Miss Mary J. Austin
- Mr. Robert Babb
- Mrs. Babb
- Miss Beatrice Babb
- Miss Ruth M. Baker
- Mr. Albert C. Baker
- Mrs. Genevieve D. Baker
- Miss Beverly Bailes
- Miss Frances C. Balding
- Miss Edythe G. Balsley
- Miss Louise B. Barclay
- Miss Elizabeth Barrett
- Miss Anna R. Beardsley
- Miss Ada M. Bearsdley
- Mr. Frank W. Beck
- Mr. Kenneth H. Beck
- Mr. George Bebee
- Mr. Warren R. Bentley
- Mr. Wendel C. Bennett
- Miss Rose Berger
- Miss Mary A. Bert
- Miss Mabel Berry
- Mr. Bertram Berry
- Mrs. Berry
- Miss Clara M. Berryman
- Mrs. Mary A. Berryman
- Miss Margaret A. Best
- Miss Edith Best
- Miss Mildred I. Beyer
- Miss Leona C. Beyer
- Mr. Robert M. Black
- Mrs. Black
- Miss Virginia L. Black
- Mrs. Alice P. Blair
- Master Robert H. Blair
- Miss Marie A. Bogniard
- Miss Gizella Bokor
- Miss Viva B. Boothe
- Mrs. Boothe
- Miss Irene E. Boothe
- Miss Charlotte L. Bosworth
- Miss Mary Blanche Bovay
- Miss Eleanore Bowmann
- Mr. Horace I. Bowne
- Miss Isabella R. Boylston
- Miss Elizabeth H. Breneman
- Miss Anna M. Breneman
- Miss Louie Brennan
- Mr. Carl Brolin
- Miss Marion C. Bromiley
- Miss Doris K. Brower
- Mrs. Caldwell H. Brown
- Mr. Caldwell J. Brown Jr.
- Miss J. Brown
- Miss Ina C. Brown
- Miss Emily E. Brown
- Miss Leliaetta Bruns
- Miss Mary Isabel Bryce
- Miss Ruth Bugbee
- Miss Elizabeth Bugbee
- Miss Eva M. Bullard
- Mrs. C. H. Burlingame
- Mr. Russell H. Burno
- Miss Ruth. V. Butler
- Miss Mary T. Butler
- Mrs. Josephine L. Cain
- Miss Amma Cain
- Miss Leslie Campbell
- Mr. Lloyd T. Canfield
- Mrs. Frank Carter
- Miss E. Caven
- Miss Edna Chamberlein
- Mrs. Esther Chamberlain
- Mrs. Celeste A. Chapman
- Miss Alberta R. Cheshire
- Mr. Herbert Childs
- Miss Blanche Christy
- Miss Elizabeth B. Christy
- Miss Margaret L. Clapp
- Mr. Ray B. Clark
- Miss Katherine H. Clark
- Miss Charlotte R. Clark
- Mr. Calvin M. Clark
- Mrs. Clark
- Miss Grace I. Clarke
- Miss Sylvia Claster
- Miss Lillian Claster
- Miss Dorothy Clendenning
- Mrs. Helen Clifton
- Miss Mary M. Glower
- Mr. Willard H. Cobb
- Mr. Orrice G. Cocks
- Mr. Orrice G. Cocks Jr.
- Mr. Robert S. Cocks
- Miss Martha A. Colburn
- Dr. Frank W. Collier
- Mrs. Frank W. Collier
- Miss Clara F. Collier
- Miss Helen E. Collins
- Miss Harriet R. Colquitt
- Miss M. Rosetta Conover
- Mrs. H. Cook
- Miss Verona Code
- Miss JesSie L. Coulter
- Miss Helen G. Countryman
- Miss Grace Cowles
- Miss Muriel Cox
- Miss Mary W. Craig
- Miss Margaret L. Crain
- Miss Sal-all F. Crandell
- Miss Martha L. Crawford
- Miss Viola Dake
- Mr. J. Dwight Daugherty
- Miss Elsie M. Davidson
- Mrs. Clara L. Davis
- Miss Helen G. Dean
- Miss Elizabeth Dearing
- Miss Laura M. Decker
- Miss Norma M. Decker
- Miss Helen C. Dempsey
- Miss Lillian E. Dentinger
- Mr. William J. Dentler
- Mrs. Dentler
- Miss Florence A. Derby
- Mr. George H. Dession
- Miss Ruth R. Dibben
- Miss Marie Doherty
- Miss Sidney V. Donaldson
- Miss Helen M. Donnelly
- Miss Frances M. Dossert
- Miss Marguerite Douglas
- Mrs. Harriett M. Draper
- Miss Estelle M. Drysdale
- Mrs. Vera D. Dunberger
- Miss Margaret L. Dunn
- Miss Beatrice A. Dupree
- Miss Ruth I. Dupree
- Miss Allison Durkee
- Mrs. Jay H. Durkee
- Miss. Margaret Durkee
- Miss Marion Du Ross
- Mr. David W. Dusinberre
- Miss Margaret J. Dutcher
- Miss Mary E. Edwards
- Miss Sarah H. Eiers
- Miss Sarah H. Ellis
- Mist Mary English
- Miss Helen English
- Miss Corinne P. Evans
- Miss Miriam R. Ewart
- Mrs. M. H. Fall
- Miss Florence A. Farley
- Miss Mary F. Farnham
- Miss Marie E. Farrell
- Mr. William Fernley
- Miss Isabel Field
- Mrs. Sadie H. Finley
- Miss Dorothy L. Fish
- Miss Anna Fisher
- Mr. Robert Fisher
- Miss Grace E. Fitz
- Miss Hildegarde Fitz-Maurice
- Miss Harriet Flomher
- Mrs. Mabel G. Fogelsanger
- Miss Frances Foott
- Miss Ruth Ford
- Miss Helen Ford
- Miss Winifred M. Forsyth
- Miss Katharine L. Foster
- Miss Elizabeth B. Fowler
- Miss Mary Fraser
- Miss June Freeman
- Miss Marie Furlong
- Miss Edith M. Geiger
- Miss Elva K. Goodhue
- Miss Adeline Gordon
- Miss Sarah F. Gordon
- Miss Jessie Gould
- Miss Grace M. Gove
- Mr. Spenser Gowdy
- Mrs. M. E. Gowdy
- Miss Margaret Grainger
- Mr. Ellsworth Grant Jr.
- Miss Ethel T. Greaney
- Miss Jessie M. Greene
- Mr. Robert D. Gregg
- Mrs. Mary Tilden Grier
- Mr. Edwin N. Griswold
- Miss Alice B. Haight
- Miss Elizabeth H. Hall
- Miss Elizabeth Harding
- Miss Mildred Hargis
- Mr. H. Albert Haring Jr.
- Dr. Frederick B. Harris
- Mrs. Frederick Harris
- Dr. Fred. Harrison
- Mrs. Harrison
- Mrs. W. C. Harrison
- Miss Lenore R. Hayes
- Mrs. A. F. Hayes
- Miss Anna S. Hayward
- Miss Elizabeth G. Hayward
- Miss Celia Helfand
- Mr. Philip Heller
- Mrs. Martha S. Helmer
- Mr. Julius Herscher
- Miss Maud M. Hershey
- Mr. Paul D. Hicks
- Miss Isabel Hicks
- Miss Mabel Higgs
- Miss Beatrice Hildreth
- Miss Hope Hill
- Miss Dorothy Hirschberg
- Miss Elizabeth B. Hoffmann
- Miss Gladys Holmes
- Miss Susan K. Holleran
- Miss Nevada Hoover
- Dr. Henry H. Hosford
- Mrs. Hosford
- Miss Ida E. Houseman
- Miss Edith W. House
- Miss Alice K. Howell
- Miss Marie Howell
- Mr. Joseph A. Hubata
- Miss Margaret Hunger
- Miss Wiald Hutchinson
- Miss Amy E. Jacob
- Miss Phillis Jacob
- Miss Mary E. Jerman
- Miss Beatrice Jenkins
- Mr. Edward J. Jennings
- Miss Charlotte Jennings
- Mr. J. M. Johlin
- Mrs. Johlin
- Mr. J. M. Johlin Jr.
- Mrs. Ruth Johlin
- Mrs. A. Johnson
- Miss Valerie F. Johnson
- Miss M. Elizabeth Jones
- Miss Margaret C. Jones
- Miss Ina Jordan
- Miss Susan Joyce
- Mrs. Pearl Judson
- Miss Emily L. Kaufman
- Mr. William. Kearney
- Mrs. Kearney
- Miss Laura Keck
- Miss Helen E. Keith
- Mr. Edwin M. Kenney
- Mr. Frank M. Kercheville
- Mr. John M. Kimble
- Miss Bertha A. Kimble
- Miss Jane Kimble
- Miss Kathryn L. Kimble
- Mrs. Alta W. Kimble
- Miss Margaret King
- Mr. Frank Kingdon
- Miss Phyllis Kingman
- Miss Martha F. Kinnear
- Miss Jean Kirkpatrick
- Miss Ruth Kistler
- Mr. William G. Laffer
- Miss Dorothy L. Lampe
- Miss Hattie G. Lay
- Miss Carrie Leaman
- Miss Mabel Leslie
- Miss Anna C. Letzer
- Miss Mary C. Lietz
- Miss Helen Liflander
- Mr. Victor Linley
- Miss Fannie S. Lister
- Mrs. Ella S. Lodge
- Miss Nellie M. Lombard
- Miss Clara J. Long
- Miss Flora Long
- Miss Georgia E. Lowry
- Miss Grace Mackie
- Miss Elizabeth W. MacMaster
- Miss Katherine L. MacMillan
- Miss Elizabeth Martin
- Miss Ruth Mathewson
- Mr. Charles Maxwell Jr.
- Mrs. Maxwell
- Miss Marie May
- Miss Alice O. McCarren
- Miss Ellen McCarron
- Mr. Devereaux F. McClntchey Jr.
- Miss Ora McConahy
- Mr. J. D. McDonald
- Miss Mary E. McEntee
- Mr. William D. McGraw
- Miss Dorothy McKee
- Miss Lucie McKibbin
- Miss Louise McLouth
- Miss Miriam McNaughton
- Miss Elizabeth S. Melick
- Miss Margaret M. Merriman
- Mr. William M. Merritt
- Miss Madeline M. Merrill
- Miss Virginia Michel
- Mr. Frank E. Miller
- Mr. J. Stedman Miller
- Miss Marie Mitchell
- Miss Evelyn G. Miter
- Mr. Walter Moak
- Miss Grace E. Monty
- Mr. Alvin G. Monroe
- Miss Bertha E. Montague
- Miss Ruth P. Montgomery
- Miss Georgia R. Montgomery
- Miss Edith K. Moore
- Miss Doris V. Moore
- Miss Darrel E. Morrow
- Miss Adelaide H. Moser
- Mr. George Moser
- Miss Ruth V. Mugler
- Miss Georgie L. Muldrow
- Mrs. Lucie D. Murchie
- Miss Marie E. Murphy
- Mr. Eward C. Newfang
- Miss Doris A. Newton
- Miss Nan Newton
- Miss Gertrude Nichols
- Miss Florence Nicholson
- Miss Ailen E. Nicholson
- Mr. Carl C. W. Nicol
- Mr. Herbert P. Noble
- Miss Susanne Oberdorf
- Miss Willie D. O'Kelley
- Miss Florence E. Osborne
- Miss Pauline Packard
- Mrs. Pauline Packard
- Miss Edith Palmer
- Miss Janet Palmer
- Miss Cathryn Parker
- Miss Mildred J. Parker
- Miss Edith M. Parsons
- Miss Elizabeth C. Patterson
- Miss Anna L. Payne
- Miss Ruth Perry
- Mrs. Stephen F. Perry
- Miss Ruth E. Perry
- Miss Margaret Persons
- Miss Carol Phillippe
- Miss Louise M. Platz
- Miss Maude M. Pollak
- Miss Bessie M. Pope
- Miss Harriette F. Post
- Miss Dorothy Power
- Mr. John M. Pressou
- Miss Costance E. Price
- Miss Robin Rapp
- Miss Eudora Ratcliffe
- Miss Stella Raunheim
- Miss Kattie Raunheim
- Miss Alice M. Raw
- Miss Jennie M. Read
- Miss Olive C. Richards
- Miss Margaret Ridlon
- Miss Ethel Robb
- Miss Dorothy Roberts
- Miss Hilda M. Roberts
- Mrs. Frederick R. Roberts
- Miss Marian Rothman
- Miss Mary Roundebush
- Miss Sarah W. Roundebush
- Miss Elsie B. Rowe
- Miss Welthea G. Rowe
- Miss Isabel R. Roylston
- Miss Jeane Rummel
- Miss Alta J. Russack
- Miss Mary E. Russel
- Miss Barbara Rutledge
- Miss Winifred J. Sarr
- Mr. Irl. Sandidge
- Mrs. Marian L. Sanford
- Miss Virginia C. Sankey
- Mrs. A. McClain Sankey
- Miss Ruth E. Semans
- Miss Helen B. Scotney
- Miss Margaret B. Shapiro
- Miss Wenona L. Shattrick
- Miss Irene Shay
- Miss Adaline L. Shearer
- Miss Augusta Shefer
- Miss Margaret Shepard
- Miss Florence A. Sherman
- Miss Georgia E. Shropshire
- Miss Gertrude N. Sibbet
- Miss Birdie Silversmith
- Miss Mary F. Sime
- Miss Catherine Simonton
- Miss Edith M. Simonton
- Miss Amy A. Simpson
- Miss Dorothy Simpson
- Miss Lida J. Simpson
- Miss Agnes N. Simpson
- Miss Margaret Skillman
- Miss Elizabeth H. Sloan
- Miss Jonnie E. Slough
- Miss Marion L. Smibert
- Miss Laura M. Smith
- Mrs. Clyde H. Smith
- Miss Marguerite Smith
- Miss Lulu Hess Smith
- Miss Ruth M. Smith
- Miss Christie A. Smith
- Miss Ivy May Smith
- Miss Pearl Snodgrass
- Miss Eleneor Snow
- Miss Marion G. Snow
- Miss Minabel Snow
- Miss Georgetta Spangler
- Mr. Collie F. Sparkman
- Mr. Nelson J. Springer
- Miss Helen Stahl
- Mr. Richard Steffey
- Miss Ruth Steinhauser
- Miss Sarah Stephens
- Miss Ruth F. Stewart
- Miss Katherine Stewart
- Miss Helen Stockwell
- Miss Florence C. Stockwell
- Mrs. Stella H. Stockbarger
- Miss. Mary H. Stoner
- Miss Dorothy Stonesifer
- Miss Miriam F. Stotzer
- Mr. J. P. Syme
- Miss Mary L. Taylor
- Miss Erma B. Taylor
- Miss Mary Snyder Taylor
- Miss Florence C. Taylor
- Mr. Walter M. Teller
- Mr. William D. Templeman
- Miss Elizabeth Terry
- Miss Marion Terry
- Mr. George U. Terborgh
- Mr. William O. Thomas
- Mrs. Thomas
- Miss Ruth Thomas
- Miss Mary Thornton
- Miss Dorothy F. Townley
- Miss. E. Trackleton
- Miss M. Trackleton
- Miss Carroll J. Traver
- Miss Corinne L. Trotter
- Miss Mildred Truehart
- Miss Ruth Tyler
- Mrs. Belle S. Van Anken
- Mr. Donald R. Van Wart
- Miss Charlotte Walroth
- Mr. Ray B. Weaver
- Miss Ruth H. Welch
- Miss Mary Wendt
- Miss Isabelle Whitefield
- Mr. Sterling White
- Miss Eleonor Whittier
- Mr. E. Bryan Williams
- Miss Katherine Williams
- Miss Fannie Williams
- Miss Effie Williams
- Miss Dorothy Willison
- Miss Carrie A. Wills
- Miss Mary J. Wilson
- Miss Virginia E. Winbigler
- Miss Marjorie Wittwer
- Mrs. Edna Wolfinger
- Miss Ruth W. Wood
- Miss Mary M. Woods
- Mrs. Frances Worral
- Miss Martha Wright
- Miss Helen E. Yates
- Mrs. Samuel York
- Miss Gladys H. York
Gibraltar - New York
- Mrs. J. F. Burrows
- Miss Elaine G. Johnson
- Miss Isabelle C. Johnson
- Miss Lola B. Clark
- Miss Eunice Craig
- Miss Gertrude Foster
- Mrs. W. H. Foster
- Miss Villa E. Freeland
- Miss Florence E. Hagen
- Mr. Harry Hay
- Mrs. Hay
- Miss Mary Hurley
- Mr. Michael Marfe
- Mrs. Marfe
- Master Frank Marfe
- Master Albert Marfe
- Mrs. Viola W. Sholz
- Mrs. Cara Sommers
- Miss Eva Walker
- Miss Carrie Wilken
- Miss Irma Wilson
👨⚕️ Notable Individuals and Professional Highlights
This 1926 passenger list is uniquely characterized by its sheer size and diversity of professional travelers, many of whom were scholars, medical professionals, and middle-class American tourists undertaking a cultural Grand Tour. The Tourist Third Cabin class was particularly popular among educators, recent college graduates, and intellectuals in the interwar period.
🔬 Physicians
Dr. Frederick B. Harris and Dr. Fred. Harrison (with spouses): Their presence suggests a professional or academic excursion, perhaps tied to a medical conference or European study tour.
Dr. Frank W. Collier and Dr. Henry H. Hosford: Indicate the ship also catered to experienced professionals likely balancing travel with scholarly work.
🎓 Academics and Educators
Mr. Wendel C. Bennett: Future Yale professor and a pioneering figure in American anthropology. His early travel to Europe at age 23 reflects the influence of transatlantic scholarly exchanges.
Miss Ruth I. Dupree and Miss Beatrice A. Dupree: Possibly sisters or colleagues, and likely educators or involved in religious work based on similar patterns in name registries.
Mr. Orrice G. Cocks, Sr. and Jr.: From a notable family of social reformers and educators tied to the YMCA and civic uplift movements.
⛪ Clergy and Religious Figures
Mrs. Harriett M. Draper and others associated with missionary or church-related travel: Many women of this period engaged in religious or educational service abroad.
🌍 Cultural Tourists and Reformers
The list contains many female solo travelers or groups of women—typical of educated women in the 1920s engaging in cultural tours and social work study. Women like Miss Elizabeth Harding, Miss Edith Best, and Miss Mary T. Butler represent this phenomenon.
Mrs. Josephine L. Cain and Miss Amma Cain may have been part of a mother-daughter travel pair, again underscoring the family-oriented, upper-middle-class nature of this voyage.
Anchor Line Fleet
- TSS Caledonia (New), 16,800 Tons
- TSS Transylvania (New), 16,700 Tons
- TSS California (New), 16,700 Tons
- TSS Tuscania (New), 16,700 Tons
- TSS Cameronia (New) 16,280 Tons
- TSS Assyria, 8,103 Tons
- TSS Britannia, 8,500 Tons
- SS Circassia, 6,732 Tons
- SS Elysia, 6,432 Tons
- SS Castalia, 6,600 Tons
- SS Massilia, 5,091 Tons
- SS Scindia, 5,106 Tons
- SS Olympia, 5,124 Tons
- SS Tarantia, 4,753 Tons
Anchor Line Services
- Glasgow and New York
- Glasgow and Boston
- Glasgow, Manchester, and Liverpool To Gibraltar, Port Said, Suez, Bombay and Karachi
- Bombay To Suez, Port Said, Marseilles Gibraltar, Liverpool, and Glasgow
- Mediterranean and New York
✨ Relevance of This Voyage for Educators, Historians, and Genealogists
Genealogists will find the full names, familial relationships, and port of embarkation crucial for tracing ancestry, especially for passengers arriving in New York via Gibraltar.
Historians studying the interwar period will note the ship's role in democratizing transatlantic travel through the Tourist Third Cabin class, fostering educational and cultural exchange.
Educators and students exploring immigration, travel history, or women’s roles in the early 20th century can use this passenger list as a microcosm of larger social trends—ranging from the growth of female independence to the internationalization of academic careers.
Social scientists may analyze gender demographics, noting the predominance of young women traveling alone or in small parties—many of them likely teachers, missionaries, or graduate students.
📝 Final Thoughts – Why This Passenger List Matters
The SS California’s 19 August 1926 voyage captures a vibrant post-war moment when the "middle-class Grand Tour" became an educational rite of passage. Its Tourist Third Cabin class was filled with doctors, academics, and reform-minded individuals—many of whom were women—traveling not just for leisure but for knowledge, service, and cultural diplomacy.
This list also provides a rare window into family dynamics and academic or missionary travel trends, reflecting the cosmopolitan aspirations of 1920s Americans.
