Were any of your ancestors shipwrecked at sea? This compilation, authored by Frank A. Biebel, contains the harrowing details of 339 transatlantic shipwrecks between 1817 and 1875. This is the first inventory of its kind ever made, and the only place where the names of many of these immigrants appear in any organized way.
Were any of your ancestors shipwrecked at sea? This compilation, authored by Frank A. Biebel, contains the harrowing details of 339 transatlantic shipwrecks between 1817 and 1875. This is the first inventory of its kind ever made, and the only place where the names of many of these immigrants appear in any organized way.
This collection mainly covers shipwrecks of European ships traveling to the United States, although some ships to Canada and other countries are included. Most of these 339 ships were wrecked and did not make it to port.
All details of each wreck are given, including
For those who survived, these records serve to document the story of a unique and rare immigration experience; for those who died, the records serve as a particularly tragic death record.
About half of the 339 ships have passenger information available, usually in the form of a manifest produced prior to embarkation. Ships covered do not include ships that sank without a trace, military or fishing vessels, or vessels with crew only.
The main sources used by Biebel were newspaper accounts and, in some cases, passenger lists from the port of departure that were submitted to the immigration authorities of New York.
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