SS ''George W. Elder'' (1874–1935) was a passenger/cargo ship. Originally a U.S. east coast steamer, she was built by

John Roach & Sons John Roach & Sons was a major 19th-century American shipbuilding and manufacturing firm founded in 1864 by Irish-American immigrant John Roach. Between 1871 and 1885, the company was the largest shipbuilding firm in the United States, building mo ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

. The ''George W. Elder'' became a west coast steamer in 1876 and served with the

Oregon Steamship Company The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) was a rail and steamboat transport company that operated a rail network of running east from Portland, Oregon, United States, to northeastern Oregon, northeastern Washington, and northern Idaho. ...

Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) was a rail and steamboat transport company that operated a rail network of running east from Portland, Oregon, United States, to northeastern Oregon, northeastern Washington, and northern Id ...

, San Francisco and Portland Steamship Company and the North Pacific Steamship Company. In 1907, the ''George W. Elder'' helped to rescue the survivors of her former running mate '' Columbia''. The last owners of the ''George W. Elder'' were a Chilean firm which operated her under the name ''America''. Chilean Coast was finally scrapped. The location

History

The ''George W. Elder'' was launched in 1874 at the

Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works The Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works (founded in 1871) was a major late-19th-century American shipyard located on the Delaware River in Chester, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the industrialist John Roach (shipbuilder), John Roac ...

and first served as a nightboat for the Old Dominion Steamship Company on the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

route. She was equipped with brigantine-rig sail configuration and a triple-expansion steam engine rated between and . The ''George W. Elder'' drew of water, was long, had a beam of and measured 1,709 gross tons. Due to her design, the ''George W. Elder'' was able to visit several different ports. In 1876, the ''George W. Elder'' was sold to the

, which brought the ship around

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

and placed her on the

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

route. The ''George W. Elder'' became part of the

fleet after O.R. & N purchased the Oregon Steamship Company. In O.R. & N service, the ''George W. Elder'' served alongside the innovative ''Columbia'', which was the first structure to use the

incandescent light bulb An incandescent light bulb, also known as an incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe, is an electric light that produces illumination by Joule heating a #Filament, filament until it incandescence, glows. The filament is enclosed in a ...

outside

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

's laboratory in

Menlo Park, New Jersey Menlo Park is an unincorporated community within Edison Township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 1876, Thomas Edison set up his home and research laboratory in Menlo Park, at the time an unsuccessful real estate deve ...

.Dalton, Anthon
''A Long, Dangerous Coastline: Shipwreck Tales from Alaska to California''
Heritage House Publishing Company, 1 Feb 2011 – 128 pages O.R. & N was bought out by the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

in 1898.Belyk, Robert C. ''Great Shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast''. New York: Wiley, 2001. On May 31, 1899, the ''George W. Elder'' set out of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

on a scientific exploration voyage to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, via

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. Although her stopovers were brief, the actions and nature of research done on the ''George W. Elder'' followed tradition. The voyage, called the Harriman Expedition, was over long. The ''George W. Elder'' was captained by Peter A. Doran during this expedition. After the Harriman Expedition, the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

drafted the ''George W. Elder'' in November 1899 for use as a troopship in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. Strangely during this time, the owners of the ''George W. Elder'' were listed as Goodall, Perkins & Company, the agents of the

Pacific Coast Steamship Company The Pacific Coast Steamship Company was an important early shipping company that operated steamships on the west coast of North America. It was first organized in 1867 under the name Goodall, Nelson and Perkins. The Goodall, Nelson & Perkins Ste ...

who were the owners of the ill-fated ''Pacific'' back in 1875. In December of the same year, she was returned to O.R. & N. In 1904, the ''George W. Elder'' was transferred to the newly formed San Francisco and Portland Steamship Company along with the ''Columbia''. During this time, the ''George W. Elder'' continued to build on its reputation for being a safe vessel. In 1905 however, this reputation vanished, when the ''George W. Elder'', now 31 years old, struck a rock along the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

and sank under of water. She was raised in May, 1906. After being salvaged, the San Francisco and Portland Steamship Company abandoned her and she was sold in Auction to Captain J.H. Peterson. In 1906, the ''George W. Elder'' was sold to the North Pacific Steamship Company, who would be her last American owners. In a chance of coincidence, the ''George W. Elder'' was paired the SS ''Roanoke'', which had also been built as a nightboat for the Old Dominion Steamship Company. On July 21, 1907, the former running mate to the ''George W. Elder'', the ''Columbia'' collided with the lumber schooner '' San Pedro'' off

Shelter Cove, California Shelter Cove is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It lies at an elevation of 138 feet (42 m). Shelter Cove is on California's Lost Coast where the King Range meets the Pacific Ocean. A nine-hole golf course surrounds th ...

, causing the ''Columbia'' to sink, killing 88 people. Among the dead was Captain Peter A. Doran, who had commanded the ''George W. Elder'' on her 1899 Harriman Expedition. Both the ''George W. Elder'' and ''Roanoke'' arrived at the site of the disaster and picked up ''Columbia''s survivors from the badly damaged ''San Pedro''. The ''George W. Elder'' returned some of the survivors to

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...

. The ''George W. Elder'' also towed the ''San Pedro'' to shore, following the disaster. By 1915, the North Pacific Steamship Company was struggling, due to the loss of their steamer ''Santa Clara'' on the bar of

Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay () is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. It shares Coos Bay with the adjacent city of North Bend, Oregon, North Bend. Together, they are often referred to as ...

, in 1914. The management considered closing the company's doors. Thankfully, relief came when the California South Seas Navigation Company chartered both ''Roanoke'' and ''George W. Elder''. Neither were used for passenger service under this charter. Unfortunately, the ''Roanoke'' capsized and sank off the California coastline, on her second voyage under the charter. Only three people survived. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the ''George W. Elder'' was leased by the

Pacific Mail Steamship Company The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848, as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants. Incorporators included William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett (American consul ...

, which was at the time owned by the

Grace Line Grace is an American chemical business based in Columbia, Maryland. It produces specialty chemicals and specialty materials in two divisions: Grace Catalysts Technologies, which makes polyethylene and polypropylene catalysts and related products ...

. The ''George W. Elder'' was used during this time as part of a four ship feeder service for Central American and Mexican ports. At war's end, now 44 years old, the ''George W. Elder'' was sold to Artigas Riolrio Compania, based in Valparaiso, Chile, they were to be her last operators. The ''George W. Elder'' was renamed ''America'' and served the Chilean coastline until 1935. On 7 December 1928, the Chilean

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

collided with ''America'' and sank. ''America'' survived the collision and was reported scrapped in 1935, but it remains uncertain whether the job was done in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

or Valparaiso. Either way, ''America'' had reached an outstanding age of 61 years.

References

External links

Kelley House Museum Archives – Search results for George Elder
– Includes many photographs of the ''George W. Elder''.
Photograph of the George W. Elder
– Dated circa 1898. This photograph however, shows the ship partially sunk, suggesting that this may be after her 1905 sinking. {{DEFAULTSORT:George W. Elder Steamships of the United States Maritime incidents in 1905 Shipwrecks in rivers Maritime incidents in 1928 1874 ships Passenger ships of the United States Ships built by the Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works Spanish–American War auxiliary ships of the United States

History

See also

References

External links