SS Eider Passenger Lists 1890
All Digitized Passenger Lists For the SS Eider Available at the GG Archives. Listing Includes Date Voyage Began, Steamship Line, Vessel, Passenger Class and Route.
1890-01-01 SS Eider Passenger List
- Steamship Line: Norddeutscher Lloyd (North German Lloyd)
- Class of Passengers: Cabin
- Date of Departure: 1 January 1890
- Route: Bremen to New York
- Commander: Captain H. Baur
Passenger Lists contained in the GG Archives collection represent the souvenir list provided to the passengers of each cabin class (and other classes). Many of these souvenir passenger lists have disappeared over the years. Our collection contains a sampling of what was originally produced and printed by the steamship lines.
Express Steamer "Eider" (1884) of the North German Lloyd. Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen, History and Organization, 1908, p. 27. GGA Image ID # 1d1862c502
The first express steamer of the Norddeutscher Lloyd was the "Elbe", which was commissioned for service in 1881. The first express steamer captain of the Lloyd was Chr. Leist, who made five voyages on the "Elbe" in 1881.
The "Elbe" was followed at short intervals by the "Werra" and the "Fulda" and in 1883 the Lloyd was able to open with these and the fastest of the older ships a regular weekly express service between Bremen and New York, by which the duration of the voyage to and from New York was reduced to from 8 to 9 days.
The type of these steamers ("Elbe", "Fulda", "Werra", "Eider", "Ems", "Aller", "Trave", "Saale") represented a progress over the type of steamers thereto fore employed in the passenger service, as, in addition to greater speed, the materially improved passenger accommodation greatly increased the comfort of travel.
The removal to amidships of the first class accommodation from the after part, which from the time of sailing boats had been considered the best location, the construction of a long midship house on the upper deck with a promenade deck over it, the fitting up of a dining saloon on the main deck, extending the full width of the ship, and the artistic decoration throughout, constituted an advance which characterized the express steamers of the Norddeutscder Lloyd as a new type that was followed in the construction of other express steamers until the end of the 'Nineties.
After the capital of the company had been raised to m 15,000,000 by a loan, two new express steamers, the "Eider" and the "Ems", which had a speed of 17 knots, were placed in the North American service.
Two years later the sister-ships "Aller", "Trave" and "Saale", running 18 knots an hour, were added, and during the years 1S87 to 1890 four more Express steamers — "Lahn", "Kaiser Wilhelm II." (later on called "Hohenzollen" ), "Spree" and "Havel" were built. These latter four were the first express steamers built in Germany, and were constructed by the "Vulcan" Shipyard at Steltin.
"The Express Steamers of the Norddeutscher Lloyd," Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen, History and Organization, 1908, pp. 59-60.
⚠️ About Accuracy in Historical Records Research Tip
Context. The GG Archives presents passenger lists as faithfully as possible to the original documents. While OCR is generally accurate, portions of these collections—especially image captions and some transcriptions—are typed by hand and may include typographical or spelling variations. The original manifests themselves also contained clerical inconsistencies (names recorded phonetically, mid-voyage corrections, etc.).
What this means for your research:
- Search variant spellings of names (e.g., “Schmidt/Schmitt/Smith,” “Giuseppe/Joseph”).
- Cross-reference with immigration cards, passport applications, naturalization files, city directories, and newspapers.
- Treat manifests as primary sources with historical quirks—use them alongside corroborating records.
- For place names, consider historical borders and language variants (e.g., Danzig/Gdańsk, Trieste/Trst).
How to cite. When quoting a name from a manifest, consider adding [sic] for obvious misspellings and include a note such as “spelling as printed in original passenger list.”
Need help? If you spot a likely transcription error in captions, feel free to contact us with the page URL and a brief note—we love community input. 🙏
Curator’s Note
For over 25 years, I've been dedicated to a unique mission: tracking down, curating, preserving, scanning, and transcribing historical materials. These materials, carefully researched, organized, and enriched with context, live on here at the GG Archives. Each passenger list isn't just posted — it's a testament to our commitment to helping you see the people and stories behind the names.
It hasn't always been easy. In the early years, I wasn't sure the site would survive, and I often paid the hosting bills out of my own pocket. But I never built this site for the money — I built it because I love history and believe it's worth preserving. It's a labor of love that I've dedicated myself to, and I'm committed to keeping it going.
If you've found something here that helped your research, sparked a family story, or just made you smile, I'd love to hear about it. Your experiences and stories are the real reward for me. And if you'd like to help keep this labor of love going, there's a "Contribute to the Website" link tucked away on our About page.
📜 History is worth keeping. Thanks for visiting and keeping it alive with me.
