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Memorabilia - Two TeSelle Brothers Voyage to America -
S.S. Helvetia Description
Ship: S. S. Helvetia
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S. S. Helvetia
(click on image for enlarged view) |
| Years in Service: |
1864-1894 |
| Funnels: |
1 |
| Masts: |
3 |
| Builder: |
Palmer’s Shipbuilding
and Iron Company Ltd., Newcastle, England |
| Tonnage: |
3,325 tons gross
Note: In 1877 the ship was lengthened to 419
feet (as seen in the picture) with new tonnage of 4,588 tons
gross |
| Dimensions: |
371 feet x 41 feet (lengthened to 419
feet in 1877) |
| Power: |
Single-screw, 10 knots,
inverted engines |
| Shipping Line: |
National |
| Source |
[1] Ancestry.com:
Passenger Ships and Images (see Source Information
below) |
At the time the te Selle
brothers sailed on the S.S. Helvetia, the ship was 371.5 feet long
by 41.2 feet wide. These dimensions actually differ from the
dimensions quoted by Harman Jan te Selle in
Letter 2, where he states that the "ship was pretty big, measuring 460 feet
long and 40 wide." The reason for this discrepancy is unclear.
A further description of the
S.S. Helvetia is found in North Atlantic Seaway, by N.R.P. Bonsor,
vol. 2, p. 612:
The HELVETIA was a 3,318
gross ton ship, built in 1864 by Palmer Bros & Co, Jarrow-on-Tyne
for the National Line of Liverpool. Her details were - length
371.5ft x beam 41.2ft, clipper stem, one funnel, three masts
(rigged for sail), iron construction, single screw and a speed
of 10 knots. Launched on November 16, 1864, she sailed from
Liverpool on her maiden voyage to Queenstown[2] (Cobh) and New York
on March 18, 1865.
She started her last voyage on this service
on May 25, 1871 and on July 11, 1871 commenced London - Havre -
New York sailings. Rebuilt to 3,982 gross tons in 1872 and
fitted with compound engines by J.Penn & Sons, London in 1873-4,
she resumed Liverpool - Queenstown - New York voyages on October
14, 1874. In 1877 she was lengthened to 419 ft, 4,588 tons,
saloon cabins rebuilt amidships, and with accommodation for
72-1st and 1,200-3rd class passengers. From 1877 to 1886 she
continued on the Liverpool to New York service, and from 1886 to
1891 was used from either Liverpool or London to New York. Her
last Liverpool - Queenstown - New York sailing started on March
26, 1891 and she resumed London - New York sailings on August 6,
1891. On September 8, 1892 she started her last voyage on this
service and in 1893 was sold to French owners. She was abandoned
and lost off Cape Finisterre in April 1894, while on voyage to shipbreakers.
[1]
Source Information:
Ancestry.com. Passenger Ships and Images [database on-line].
Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007. Original data:
Various maritime reference sources.
This database is an index to passenger ships. For each ship listed
in this database there is a description of it, containing such
information as:
-
Line sailed under
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Builder
-
Ship type
-
Tonnage
-
Dimensions
-
Number of masts and funnels
-
Ship history
-
Years in service
For about 1,000 ships there will also be an image of the ship
(either a photograph or artistic rendering).
Note: This is not a comprehensive list of ships that ever sailed.
Additional ships will be added to this database in the future.
[2]
Queenstown - Cobh
Cobh
(Irish:
An Cóbh, pronounced "cove"; derived from English the cove)
is a seaport on the south coast of
Ireland, in
County Cork,
Republic of Ireland.
The locality, which had had several
different Irish-language names, was first referred to as Cove ("the
Cove of Cork") in 1750. It was renamed Queenstown in 1849 to
commemorate a visit by
Queen Victoria and so
remained until the name Cobh (closer to the Irish spelling) was
restored in 1922 with the foundation of the
Irish Free State.
Cobh is located on the south shore of
the Great Island
in Cork Harbour,
(reputed to be the second largest natural
harbour in the world), on
slopes overlooking the harbour. On its highest point stands the
Cobh Cathedral,
St. Colman's, seat of the diocese of Cloyne.
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