STEAMER MINNESOTA

On September 6, the Ferdinand, Amalie, Alma and Jennie Friederici arrived in Queenstown, New York Harbor on the Steamer Minnesota from Liverpool England. During the late 1860's the new steam ships, including the Minnesota, made the journey from Liverpool as brief as three weeks, holding nearly 1,000 passengers. Alma would have celebrated her 4th birthday in the middle of the Atlantic. There were no deaths on their voyeage.

The Steamer Minnesota was built for the Guion Line, an American entreprenaur who sought to bring the largest number of people accross the Atlantic in the shortest time period; with a fleet developing newer faster technologies each year. While diseases became less of a problem on shorter voyeages, when disasters did occur they were more monstrous. The Guion Line was not amune to the rare occasion of bringing to shore a pathetic 10% of the original passengers aboard. Also called the SS Minnesota was built by Palmer Brothers & Company in New Castle England; and took it's maiden voyeage in 1867; a clipper with one funnel; 2 masts; an iron hull; single screw propulsion; two inverted engines; capable of 10 knots; weighing 2,869 tons; at 335'x42'. The Minnesota has both steam and masts as no believed a ship could safely make a transatlantic trip on steam alone. In 1876 Guion sold the Minnesota to the Warren Line, a Liverpool -- Boston route; while briefly (from 1882-1886) it became the Vinuelas until it was finally scrapped in 1908 as the San Ignacio de Loyola (Cia Trasatlántica).

This image was obtained from the Steamship Collection at the University of Baltimore, one of three archives for Steamships in the country. The archive owns a film positive, which in turn was taken from a photograph. The above image of the Minnesota appears to be a reproduction of a painting. A second photo was found of the SS Minnesota from the Essex Museum (East India Square; Salem MA 01970 (978)745-1876). This is a harbor photo where the masts are down.