SS Werra Passenger List - 19 November 1896
Front Cover, Cabin Passenger List for the SS Werra of the North German Lloyd, Departing Thursday, 19 November 1896 from Genoa to New York via Gibraltar, Commanded by Captain C. Pohle. GGA Image ID # 1dcc5e19a4
Cabin Passengers
For New York
- Mrs. Mary A. Alton
Keokuk, IA - Mr. C I. Alton
Keokuk, IA - Mr. David K. Boyd
Philadelphia, PA - Mrs. David K. Boyd
Philadelphia, PA - Miss Paula Baumgartner
New York - Mrs. Marianna Caselli
Lucca, Italy - Mr. John Downes
Newhaven, CT - Miss Erminia Ferretti
Chiavari, Italy - Mr. Jachson C. Fero
Pomtret, CT - Mr. Charles Fritz
New York - Mrs. Bessie S. Gilmore
New York - Miss Ginevra Gilmore
New York - Mr. Pietro Gabrielli
Lucca, Italy - Rev. E. J. Kreidt
Nicaragua Falls, Canada - Mr. Federico Lena
Fort Worth, TX
Title Page and Cabin Passengers Heading to New York, 19 Noember 1896. GGA Image ID # 1ffcb66b2e
Diary of a Voyage on the SS Werra, 1894
New York, 19 October 1894, Wednesday Afternoon
We left Chicago on the "Limited," with many friends at the station to bid us Godspeed and our compartments filled with the fragrance of flowers sent by those who could not be of the number.
All were cheerful, and we tried to be, although there could not but be speculation as to the advisability and feasibility of two lone women undertaking the journey around the world.
Even the related experiences of Orthodoxia and her friend were not wholly reassuring. We were tired from the necessary preparations and rested to our heart's content until we arrived at the Union Station in New York.
A friend invited us to the theater, and we enjoyed a delightful evening after a Holland House dinner.
We were surprised at the table by the appearance of Chas. G. and Abby. We had given up seeing them, as it seemed like they would need more time to return from their Montréal trip.
However, they are here, and we are more than pleased.
Today, we have finished the last details of preparation, and friends have called to bid us "hail and farewell."
It is late, and we must rise betimes tomorrow, as our "S. S. Werra" sails at ten o'clock. So good-night.
S. S. Werra, 20 October 1894, 11 a.m.
Just a line to send back by the pilot. There is no time to read the twenty-three letters to the steamer and only time for glances at the seven telegrams. If all the wishes of our dear friends are fulfilled, we shall indeed have a successful journey, and it will not be "a little journey round the world" either.
Chas. G. and Abby, with other friends, waved us off, and Mary's flag and my handkerchief responded heartily. It is a beautiful morning, and we are full of courage and are sincerely grateful for all the contributions to our comfort and pleasure.
21 October 1894
Our glorious weather continues, and the air seems more like June than October. The sky is cloudless, and the sea is quiet. There never could be two more delightful days for ocean travel. Thus, our beginning is auspicious.
The only observance of Sunday has been playing national hymns early in the morning. Everybody is quiet, and all is decorous if we except the singing and dancing of the Italians in the steerage, of whom there are seven hundred. These are going home to sunny Italy to escape the rigors of our northern winter.
They have made some money, and the steamship companies allow them to do this.
An Italian priest instigated them to sing and dance; it is surprising to notice how musical most of them are. The priest attended to their spiritual needs early in the day. He, too, is going home for the winter and is a first-cabin passenger.
There are only forty-five passengers, and they are the quietest lot I have ever seen on board a ship. A later acquaintance may develop some hilarity.
Captain Pohle is cordial and pleasant and is a jolly-looking weather-beaten tar. We are seated at his table, and our vis-a-vis are Californians. Our rights and lefts are inclined to be social, so we anticipate a delightful twelve-day sail.
28 October 1894
Our week has been one of unusual beauty and comfort. We have rocked most gently in the cradle of the deep; the sun has shone constantly, and the air has been delightful.
Tuesday and Wednesday, a few succumbed to mal-de-mer, but only for one day. The trip so far has been perfect.
Last night, Mary and Mrs. Potter asked the Captain if they could have a dance on deck. Before we realized his "yes," the deck was cleared, draped with flags, and brilliantly lighted with electrics.
Many of the passengers joined in the Virginia reel, which made the ball's opening lively. The band played well, and all voted the ball a jolly success.
We have come in a southeasterly direction. We were not without companionship on the great deep when we passed the Azores and saw men and animals moving about Fayal.
We are amused that Mary is constantly being taken for a Boston girl.
The maple sugar from Queechee, the half pints, and the "Park and Tilford" packages have proved most acceptable, and we thank you.
Quite a number of the passengers disembarked at Gibraltar to go to different points, and we shall be obliged to hurry right on from Genoa to make our connections at Naples.
Let us hope that the Mediterranean will not be as treacherous as before.
The Merrills did themselves proud in sending so many kind, loving messages to the steamer.
They were all appreciated, be assured.
31 October 1894
We arrived at Gibraltar at noon on Monday and had four hours there. We went on shore in the N. D. L. lighter and took a long drive with our table vis-a-vis. Our drive was over passable roads to the jumping-off place, and we passed many beautiful gardens surrounding tasteful dwellings.
Gibraltar seemed like an old friend, so familiar were the queer little streets, quaintly named, and the very cosmopolitan people who thronged them. It was but yesterday that we might have been there.
The soldiers were playing football at the other end of the Rock as before. Five thousand of these lead here their idle lives, and you know it is said that the "new" gun can demolish even Gibraltar. Let us hope no necessity will arrive for its being done. It would seem a pity to mar this magnificent specimen of nature's handiwork.
We bade our shipmates adieu at the Grand Hotel and boarded the "Werra" just in time to sail away. During the afternoon, we passed the islands of Ibiza, Majorca, and Minorca, and we could distinguish houses.
The night was so beautiful that we were reluctant to leave our steamer chairs and turn in. Today is perfect, and as we had planned to remain in our berths on account of the expected "choppy" sea, we are enjoying our surprise.
We found a letter from the new courier when we came on board in New York, and he is to meet us in Genoa.
We thought to have news from somewhere in Gibraltar, but no one remembered to buy a paper, so we are still ignorant of terra firma affairs.
Naples, Italy, 4 November 1894
We had breakfasted early on Thursday morning, and our new courier, Weismuller, came on board as soon as possible and assumed his duties immediately. We drove to the Hotel de Gènes and had a beautiful room. The same uncertain elevator was running, which looked like in 1890.
The day was perfect in Genoa, and being "All Saint's Day," the whole city had a festive appearance. Everybody seemed to be carrying flowers in various forms, and we learned that they were preparing to go out to Campo Santo, the beautiful city of the dead. We decided to drive out and see the decorations.
The pillared square was filled with immense wreaths and bouquets; before each tomb, large candelabras held burning candles. In the center, where are the graves, a crowd of people were hanging wreaths and tiny lamps on the headstones or covering the burials with blossoms.
Many of the people were kneeling in prayer. The women were in the country's bright costumes, adding charm to the picturesqueness. It was all touching and exciting.
From Genoa to Rome, the "wagons-lits" had to be endured; in the morning, we changed to the first Pullman car that was ever made, we thought. Still, it was infinitely better than the wagon-lit.
After breakfast, we took a stroll from the station and entered the church of "Santa Maria degli Angioli." This was once the "Baths of Diocletian," and Michael Angelo transformed. It is beautiful.
We arrived at the "Grand Hotel" in Naples at about three o'clock. We found it as immaculate as before, with service and table good. Our room is on the Bayside, with Mt. Vesuvius in the distance.
Sarah A. Pope, "Aunt Sarah Here: Aunt Sarah There," Chicago: Self Published, MDCCCXCVI (1896), Compiled and Printed as a Souvenir of the Round-the-World Journey. pp. 9-17.
