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New York Arrival of Joseph Rosenquist

Joseph Rosenquist arrived in the Port of New York on March 7, 1887. He was aboard the S.S. Germanic, a ship of the White Star Passenger Line. The captain was Benjamin Gleadell.  Joseph was number 467 on the passenger list. His name appeared on the middle of the ninth page. His country of origin was listed as Finland.  (Such mistakes were common.)  His "calling" was "labourer", a very common listing.  Joseph's Swedish surname was "Jönsson", which followed the "patronymic" custom, since his father's name was "Jöns".  This list was made before he adopted his permanent American name.  The spelling on the list (Jonson) is modified somewhat to be more American.  Joseph probably had little doubt as to what his name would be.  An uncle and three brothers were already known by the name "Rosenquist".

From New York, an immigrant train took Joseph to his first home in America - Princeton, Illinois.  His two older brothers were living nearby.

This passenger list is published on film no. M237-504 of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Microfilm Publications.
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Ship's Manifest for the SS Germanic, Arriving at the Port of New York, March 7, 1887
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The SS Germanic

The GERMANIC was a 5,008 gross ton ship, built for the White Star Line in 1874 by Harland & Wolff, Belfast (engines by Maudslay, Sons & Field, London). Her details were length 455ft x beam 45.2ft, two funnels, four masts (rigged for sails), iron construction, single screw and a speed of 15 knots. There was passenger accommodation for 220-1st and 1,500-3rd class. Launched on 15th Jul.1874, she sailed from Liverpool on 20th May 1875 on her maiden voyage to Queenstown (Cobh) and New York. In July 1875 and Apr.1877 she made record passages between Queenstown and New York and in Feb.1876 between New York and Queenstown. She was rebuilt to 5,066 tons in 1895, had an extra deck added, triple expansion engines fitted by Harland & Wolff and her funnels lengthened. On 13th Feb.1899 she capsized at her berth in New York due to the weight of snow and ice which had accumulated on her upperworks during a particularly severe voyage. She was salvaged and resumed Liverpool - Queenstown - New York sailings on 7th Jun.1899. Her last voyage on this service started 23rd Sep.1903 and she was chartered to the American Line and commenced Southampton - Cherbourg - New York sailings on 23rd Apr.1904. Her sixth and last voyage on this service started 2nd Oct.1904 and in 1905 she was sold to the Dominion Line and renamed OTTAWA. Refitted to carry 250-2nd and 1,500-3rd class passengers she commenced Liverpool - Quebec - Montreal voyages on 27th Apr.1905. Her last voyage on this route started on 2nd Sep.1909 and on 15th March 1911 she sailed from Liverpool for Constantinople. Renamed GUL DJEMAL for Turkish owners, she was torpedoed and sunk by the British submarine E.14 in the Sea of Marmora on 3rd May 1915. She was later salvaged and commenced her first Constantinople - New York voyage on 6th Oct.1920. Her fourth and last voyage on this service commenced 21st Oct.1921, and in 1928 her name was amended to GULCEMAL. She was finally scrapped in 1950 at Messina. [North Atlantic Seaway by N.R.P.Bonsor, vol.2,p.757-8]
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whitestar
The White Star Line


The White Star Line was founded in 1845 and started sailing-ship voyages the following year with the chartered brig ELIZABETH to Montreal. They purchased their first ship in 1849 - barque IOWA and advertised as the 'White Star Line of Boston Packets'. Steamship sailings commenced in 1863 but the company went into liquidation in 1868 and was bought out by Thomas Ismay who formed the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company in 1869 (known thereafter as the White Star Line). In 1926, Oceanic Steam Naviagtion Company was taken over by Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. However, in 1934, the Royal Mail Group collapsed and White Star and Cunard Steam Ship Company formed Cunard-White Star Ltd. Cunard purchased the remainder of the Cunard-White Start stock in 1947 and in 1949 they took over all activities but the two remaining White Star ships, GEORGIC and BRITANNIC which continued sailing in White Star Line colours until they were scrapped in 1956 and 1960 when the White Star name finally disappeared.

The company sailed from Liverpool via Queenstown to New York. Later, they started sailing through the Suez Canal to Bombay, Calcutta, Hong Kong and Sydney. White Star also sailed to Japan and China. The sailing time by the fast vessels in the fleet was under 6 days Liverpool to New York. The line also sailed monthly to New Zealand and monthly from San Francisco to Japan and China. The Oceanic, in 1889, made the voyage to Yokohama from San Francisco in 13 days, 14 hours, 4 minutes.
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