SS Minnewaska Passenger List – 23 April 1927 | Transatlantic Voyage of Film Pioneer Edwin Thanhouser, Naval Surgeon Sir Daniel McNabb, and Academic Dr. W. Lewis Howe

Front Cover, SS Minnewaska First Class Passenger List, Departing 23 April 1927 from London to New York via Boulogne-sur-Mer, Commanded by Captain Frank H. Claret. | GGA Image ID # 173822db8c

🚢 Review & Summary of the SS Minnewaska Passenger List (23 April 1927)

🌍 Voyage & Key Details

The SS Minnewaska, operated by the Atlantic Transport Line, departed London on 23 April 1927, with a call at Boulogne-sur-Mer, bound for New York. This sailing was under the command of Captain Frank H. Claret, O.B.E., R.N.R., a decorated naval officer who frequently helmed ATL’s flagship liners.

Commander: Capt. Frank H. Claret, O.B.E., R.N.R.

Surgeon: Sir Daniel J. P. McNabb, C.B., former Surgeon Rear-Admiral, Royal Navy (Ret.) ⚓ – a highly distinguished naval medical officer whose presence as ship’s surgeon reflects the ATL’s prestige.

This voyage represented the Atlantic Transport Line at its peak, connecting Britain and America during the interwar years—a period of glamour, shifting social structures, and vibrant transatlantic exchange.

🛳️ About the SS Minnewaska

• Launched: 1923, built for the Atlantic Transport Line under IMM.
• Operator: Atlantic Transport Line (affiliated with International Mercantile Marine).
• Route: London–New York via Boulogne, designed primarily for business and upper-class transatlantic travel.
• Features: Known for large First-Class accommodations, elegant lounges, smoking rooms, and modern wireless communication.
• Historical Note: Unlike earlier immigrant-driven liners, the Minnewaska represented the shift toward leisure, commerce, and elite social crossings in the 1920s.

Explore the SS Minnewaska First Class Passenger List from 23 April 1927, featuring silent film pioneer Edwin Thanhouser, Royal Navy Surgeon Sir Daniel McNabb, U.S. Army officers, and Dr. W. Lewis Howe. A remarkable record of 1920s transatlantic society for historians, teachers, and genealogists.

Senior Officers and Staff

1. Commander: Captain Frank H. Claret, O.B.E., R.N.R
2. Chief Engineer: A. Gentle
3. Surgeon: Sir Daniel J. P. McNabb, C.B., Surgeon Rear-Admiral, R.N. ( Retired.)
4. Purser: W. G. Manning
5. Chief Steward: W. Peate

List of Passengers, Part 1 (Mr. V. R. Arbogast-Mrs. S. G. Forbes)

1. Mr. V. R. Arbogast *
2. Mrs. Arbogast *
3. Mrs. L. M. Ascough
4. Lady Bagot and Maid
5. Mr. Ezra H. Baker
6. Miss Gertrude Baker
7. Mr. Roger Bayley and Child
8. Mrs. F. Beale
9. Mr. Walter Beck
10. Mrs. Beck
11. Mr. T. Sedyard Blakeman *
12. Mr. Isaac C. Blandy
13. Mrs. Blandy
14. Miss E. Blandy
15. Mrs. Henrietta M. Bourne
16. Mrs. N. Camp
17. Mr. Stuart R. Cecil
18. Mrs. Porter Chandler
19. Mr. George L. Cheney
20. Mrs. Cheney
21. Mrs. E. Claffey
22. Mr. W. H. Close
23. Miss E. Dalton
24. Mr. Edward Davis *
25. Mrs. Davis *
26. Miss Margaret Davis *
27. Mrs. G. Denny
28. Mr. H. Dulin *
29. Mr. Oliver Eldridge *
30. Mrs. A. Field
31. Mr. Thomas W. Fletcher
32. S. G. Forbes

List of Passengers, Part 2 (Miss Ann M. Garrity-Mr. William Andrew White)

1. Miss Ann M. Garrity *
2. Dr. S. E. Getty
3. Mrs. Getty
4. Mrs. B. Happ
5. Miss G K. Happ
6. Miss E. G. Happ
7. Mrs. John H. Hawley
8. Miss Florence H. Hawley
9. Mrs. A. R. Henderson
10. Mr. William C. Heydecker *
11. Mr. H. C. *Hines
12. Mr. Arthur E. Hoe
13. Miss Cecilia E. M. Hope
14. Dr. W. Lewis Howe *
15. Mrs. *Howe
16. Mr. L. *King
17. Mrs. E. L. Kloess
18. Mrs. M. *Lauferty
19. Miss Marian A. Lawson
20. Miss *Leovry
21. Miss Minnie N. Linton
22. Mr. Henry F. Macdonald
23. Mrs. Macdonald
24. Mr. George W. Mackintosh
25. Mrs. George W. McKee *
26. Mr. J. B. McLoughlin
27. Mr. Ralph W. Merrill
28. Mr. Harold P. Mills *
29. Mrs. Mills *
30. Mr. Frederick Moore
31. Mr. L. A. Osborne *
32. Mrs. Osborne *
33. Miss N. Osborne *
34. Mr. Harold P. Outland
35. Mr. Henry D. Patton
36. Mrs. Patton
37. Mr. William N. Penny
38. Mr. T. W. Raoul *
39. Mrs. *Raoul
40. Miss Mary L. Rickcord
41. Mrs. Frederick R. Roberts
42. Mr. Walter L. Ross
43. Mrs. Ross
44. Miss Margaret Ross
45. Miss Julia P. Ross
46. Mrs. Charles K. Roys *
47. Miss Elizabeth K. Roys *
48. Capt. James Ryan
49. Mrs. Ryan
50. Miss Gertrude Schultz *
51. Mr. Sears
52. Mr. George G. Smith
53. Mr. Horace F. Smith
54. Mrs. Smith
55. Mrs. W. Stawell
56. Mr. Edwin Thanhouser *
57. Mrs. Thanhouser *
58. Miss M. Thanhouser *
59. Mr. George S. Turner
60. Mr. A. E. Watson
61. Mr. William Andrew White

⭐ Notable Passengers & Social Context

🎖️ Military Figures

Capt. James Ryan (United States Army, Retired) – his service underscores the continuing link between U.S. officers and Europe in the years after World War I.

Sir Daniel J. P. McNabb (Royal Navy, Retired) – not only part of the ship’s crew, but a C.B. (Companion of the Bath) and knighted medical officer who served the Crown at sea.

✝️ Religious & Social Leaders

While fewer clergy appear on this sailing compared to earlier Minnewaska lists, the presence of Lady Bagot and Maid represents Britain’s enduring aristocratic ties to faith, philanthropy, and tradition.

🏫 Academia & Professionals

Dr. W. Lewis Howe, likely affiliated with Washington and Lee University (Virginia, USA), was an important literary scholar and professor of English who influenced interwar academia. His crossing connects higher education with the intellectual exchange between America and Europe.

Mr. William Andrew White – though details are minimal here, the White family name was prominent in business and civic leadership on both sides of the Atlantic.

🎭 Entertainment & Cultural Figures

Mr. Edwin Thanhouser 🎬 – founder of the Thanhouser Film Corporation (New Rochelle, NY), one of the pioneering American motion picture studios of the silent era. His presence brings a Hollywood–Broadway glamour to this voyage. He traveled with his wife and daughter, underscoring the cultural importance of transatlantic film and theater in the 1920s.

💼 Transatlantic Businessmen & Families

The list is also filled with professionals and upper-class families such as the Blandys, Ross family, Roys family, and Merrills, many of whom represented either industrial wealth or transatlantic commerce. These passengers highlight how liners like the Minnewaska were the preferred vehicle of business, culture, and family travel.

Information for Passengers

Breakfast from 8:00 am until 10:00 am
Lunch at 1:00 pm I
Dinner at 7:00 pm

The Bar opens at 8:00 am, and closes at 11:30 pm

Divine Service will be held on Sundays at 11:00 am

Smoking.—Passengers are kindly requested not to smoke in either the Dining Saloon or in the Reading and Writing Room.

Seats at Table.—Passengers who have not previously arranged for seats at table to be reserved should apply to the Second Steward.

When the steamers sait with full lists, children under the age of ten years not paying the adult fare are provided with meals at separate sittings in the Dining Saloon.

Upper Berths.—Passengers occupying upper berths can obtain steps for getting in or out on applying to the Steward or Stewardess.

Medical Attendance. The Surgeon is Authorised To Make Customary Charges, Subject in Each Case To The Approval of The Commander, for Treating Passengers at Their Request for Any Illness Not Originating On The Voyage. in The Case of Sickness Originating On The Voyage No Charge WILL Be MADE, and MEDICINE WILL Be PROVIDED Free in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.

The Purser's Office is situated 011 Deck B, where Letters, Cables, Telegrams and Marconigrams are received or delivered, and Postage Stamps can be purchased.

None of the ship's staff other than those on duty in the Purser's Office are authorized to accept Letters or Telegrams for despatch.

Charges Collected on Board. Passengers are requested to ask for a Receipt on the Company's Form for any additio al Passage Money, Chair or Steamer Rug Hire, charges collected for Marconigrams, Cablegrams or Telegrams or Freight paid on board.

Deck Chairs or Steamer Rugs can be hired on application to the Deck Steward, at a charge of 6/6 (or $1.50) each for the voyage.

Deck Chair Cushions. A limited supply of Cushions, with loose covers, for Deck Chairs is available for hire at a charge of 6/6 (or $1.50) each for the voyage.

Valuables. For the convenience of Passengers, the Line has provided in the Purser's office a safe in which money, jewels, ornaments, documents or other valuables may be deposited by Passengers. A receipt for any articles so deposited will be issued by the Purser, but the Line does not, having regard to the ticket conditions and to the provisions of Section 502 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, and of Section 4281 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, accept any responsibility for the safe custody of any such articles. Passengers are accordingly advised to protect themselves by insurance.

Precious Stones or other similar articles of merchandise may not be taken as baggage, but all Passengers must deliver such goods to the Purser of the vessel. The Pursers are instructed to furnish Passengers with a receipt for merchandise so delivered, and place the goods in the safes aboard their vessel until a customs permit is presented to the Inspectors ordering the goods into the U.S. appraiser's stores for examination.

Exchange of Money. The Purser is prepared, for the convenience of Passengers, to exchange a limited amount of English and American money, at rates which will be advised on application.

Baggage. Questions relating to Baggage should be referred to the Second Steward, who is the Ship's Baggage Master.

Wardrobe Trunks. Passengers are advised that it is not alWays possible to arrange for the placing of Wardrobe Trunks in the passenger accommodation in a position where they are easily accessible, also that there is frequently difficulty with regard to the landing of such packages owing to their exceptional size. They are therefore recommended to use steamer trunks in preference.

Baggage Room. For Passengers' special convenience all heavy baggage not placed into state rooms is stored in the baggage room, where it is available to the owner twice daily at hours as stated on the ship's notice board.

Dogs. Passengers are notified that dogs should be handed over to the care of the live-stock attendant, and cannot be landed in Great Britain unless a license has previously been procured from the Board of Agriculture, London. Forms of license must be obtained by direct application to the Department before the dog is taken on board.

Travellers' Cheques. I. M. M. Company's Travellers Cheques payable in all parts of Europe can be purchased at all the principal offices of the Atlantic Transport Line. These Cheques in small denominations are accepted on board Atlantic Transport steamers in payment of accounts, but the Pursers have not sufficient funds to enable them to cash these or any other Cheques.

Deck Games and Amusements. Deck Quoits, Shuffleboard, Bull Board and other games are provided on deck under the charge of the Deck Steward.

Chess, Draughts, Dominoes, Mah Jongg, etc., can be obtained on application to the Lounge Steward.

Boots and Shoes. These will be c'eaned if left outside the Stateroom door.

Barber. The Barber is authorized to make the following charges :— (Not Shown)

His hours are 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, but for the general convenience of the greater number, Passengers are requested not to apply for hair-cutting or shampooing except between the hours of noon and 5.30 pm

The Barber is allowed the privilege of selling various souvenirs and small articles on his own account.

Directories of London and New Yorx are kept on the steamers for the convenience of Passengers.

Picture Postcards. Picture Postcards of the steamers can be obtained on board gratis.

Passengers' Addresses should be left at the Purser's Office, in order that any letters received after Passengers have left the steamer may be forwarded.

Wireless Telegram Rates.

This Steamer is fitted with Marconi's system of Wireless Telegraphy and also with Submarine Signalling Apparatus.

Long Range Wireless Service.

This vessel is fitted with special long range wireless apparatus which will enable Passengers to communicate with their friends or business houses on shore throughout the voyage across the North Atlantic Ocean.

The wireless charge for messages directed through the long distance wireless station at Devizes, England, is 10d. per word; through Chatham, Mass. and Louisbourg, N.S., 9d. per word.

Orchestra. An Orchestra of skilled musicians will play daily.

Lounge and Reception Rooms. These rooms are respectively situated on Deck A and at the entrance to the Dining Saloon on Deck D. They are intended for the use of both Ladies and Gentlemen, and afternoon tea and after-dinner coffee will be served here.

A special Dancing Floor has been fitted in the Reception Room on Deck D.

Reading Room. Bocks may be obtained from the Bookcase in the Reading Room on Deck A on application to the Steward in charge, between the hours of 10:00 am and 12 noon, 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm, 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm, 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm

By special arrangement with the " Times Book Club," a supply of recent books is placed on board each voyage, as a supplement to the permanent collection of standard works.

Smoking Room. This Room is situated at the after end of Deck A.

Letters, Etc., for Passengers Will be brought on board before the Passengers land.
Passengers should personally ascertain whether there is any mail for them before disembarking, and they are invited to leave their addresses at the Purser's Office for any later despatches to be re-directed.

Special Notice - Professional Gamblers

The attention of the Managers has been called to the fact that certain persons, believed to be professional gamblers, are in the habit of traveling to and fro in Atlantic Steamships.

In bringing this to the knowledge of travelers the Managers, while not wishing in the slightest degree to interfere with the freedom of action of patrons of the Atlantic Transport Line, desire to invite their assistance in discouraging games of chance, as being likely to afford these individuals special opportunities for taking unfair advantage of others.

Recovery of U.S. Head Tax

This tax, if paid, can be recovered by Passengers, provided they inform the U S. Immigration Inspector on arrival at New York of their intention to leave the United States within 60 days (the time prescribed by U.S. Law), and obtain from him Transit Certificate Form 514.

It is also necessary after leaving the United States for Transit Certificate Form 514 to be handed to the transportation company when completed, in time to allow it to be placed before the Immigration Authorities in Washington within 120 days of the passenger's arrival in the United States.

Unless this regulation is complied with the Tax cannot be recovered.

Note.—Passengers who have not paid the Head Tax in consequence of their being in transit to points outside of the United States, should kindly complete Form 514 (which must be obtained from the Immigration Officials at New York) and forward it to the Atlantic Transport Line, 1, Broadway, New York, as soon as possible after their departure from the United States, or hand it to the Purser of the steamer in which they return to the United Kingdom.

Landing Arrangements at New York

Should the steamer arrive at New York Wharf after 8:00 pm, all Passengers who have been passed by the U.S. Immigration Authorities may land or remain on board overnight at their own option. Those Passengers who have been passed by the Immigration Authorities and desire to remain on board may have all their oaggage passed by the U.S. Customs that night or the following morning at their own option. No baggage will be passed before 7:00 am the day following arrival. Breakfast will be served to those who remain on board overnight.

In the event of the steamer arriving at Quarantine after the hours mentioned hereunder, Passengers, other than United States citizens, may be required by the U.S. Immigration Authorities to remain on board over night and to have their passports examined the following morning :-

• October to December, inclusive, 5.30 pm
• January to March 6.00"
• April to June If 7.30"
• July to September It 7.15 ,

Breakfast will be served in the usual course.

Upon landing at New York and upon application to the uniformed representatives of the railroads, who meet all steamers, railroad tickets may be purchased and baggage checked from the Steamship Pier to any point along the Lines of the Pennsylvania, New York Central, New York, New Haven, and Hartford, Erie, Lehigh Valley, and connecting railroads.

Passengers destined to New York City, or nearby points, will find on the Pier representatives of the Hendrickson Transfer Company, who will arrange for the expeditious transfer of baggage to Hotels, railroad terminals or residences.

📸 Noteworthy Images from this Passenger List

Placed together, these images illustrate the luxury, branding, and cultural context of the voyage:

Front Cover, SS Minnewaska Passenger List (23 April 1927) – elegant design showcasing ATL prestige.

Title Page with Officers and First Passenger Listings – sets the formal tone of the journey.

List of Passengers, Part 2 (Miss Ann M. Garrity–Mr. William Andrew White) – rich genealogical and social history resource.

Sailing Schedule (London–Boulogne–New York) – highlighting the network of sister ships (Minnekahda, Minnesota, Minnetonka, and Minnewaska).

Atlantic Transport Line Track Chart of the North Atlantic – visualizing northern, southern, and “extra southern” ocean routes, an artifact of navigational history.

Back Cover Graphic: “The Connecting Link Between London and New York” – a marketing masterpiece emphasizing the symbolic role of the Minnewaska as both vessel and bridge across cultures.

🎓 Relevance of the Voyage

For Teachers & Students: A case study of transatlantic society—highlighting education, military service, aristocracy, and the film industry.

For Historians: The 1927 sailing reflects the changing purpose of liners in the post-immigration era, with more emphasis on culture and business.

For Genealogists: The passenger names (with spouses, children, and household staff like maids) provide a rich resource for family history research.

For Maritime Scholars: Illustrates both the practical realities of interwar travel (wireless, baggage rules, gambling warnings) and the romanticized glamour of liner culture.

💡 Final Thoughts – Why This Passenger List Matters

The SS Minnewaska’s April 1927 voyage is a fascinating microcosm of its time. With Sir Daniel McNabb, a decorated naval surgeon; Dr. W. Lewis Howe, a leading academic; Capt. James Ryan, a retired U.S. Army officer; and Edwin Thanhouser, a silent film pioneer—the voyage reveals a blending of military, intellectual, aristocratic, and entertainment worlds.

This passenger list is more than a ledger—it’s a story of human movement, cultural connection, and maritime prestige ⚓✨.

Title Page, Listing of Officers, List of Passengers, Part 1 (Mr. V. R. Arbogast-Mrs. S. G. Forbes). SS Minnewaska First Class Passenger List, 23 April 1927. | GGA Image ID # 22fc2dd479

List of Passengers, Part 2 (Miss Ann M. Garrity-Mr. William Andrew White). SS Minnewaska First Class Passenger List, 23 April 1927. | GGA Image ID # 22fc42eb2b

Sailing Schedule, London-Boulogne-New York Service, from 23 April 1927 to 29 October 1927. Ships Included the Minnekahda, Minnesota, Minnetonka, and Minnewaska. SS Minnewaska First Class Passenger List, 23 April 1927. | GGA Image ID # 22fc526be7

Atlantic Transport Line Track Chart of the North Atlantic Ocean Showing the Northern, Southern, and Extra Southern Tracks (Routes) and Memorandum of Log. SS Minnewaska First Class Passenger List, 23 April 1927. | GGA Image ID # 22fc5aba3e

Back Cover, The Connecting Link Between London and New York Graphic. SS Minnewaska First Class Passenger List, 23 April 1927. | GGA Image ID # 22fcb49ff7