The Umbria was built by John Elder & Co. in Glasgow, Scotland in 1884 and was the largest liner at the time. Her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York was in November of that year. The ship was named Umbria after a region in Italy that borders Tuscany. An ancient tribe had settled the area in 6th Century BC. The Umbria saw military service as an armed merchant cruiser for six months in 1885 and as a Boer War troop carrier in 1900 - 1901.
The Umbria and her sister ship the Etruria were the last of their kind. They were built for the Cunard Company and were the last single-screw (single-propeller) liners with auxiliary sails and the last single-screw vessels of any line to hold the Blue Riband. The Umbria had a reputation as an ocean greyhound because of her speed.
The Blue Riband was an accolade given to the ship that crossed the Atlantic the fastest and carried with it great prestige. Having one of your vessels receive this title was good for business. This put pressure on captains to push their crews and ships to their maximum capabilities, sometimes with disastrous results.
With the dawning of commercial air travel in the 1950s, passenger ocean liners became all but obsolete within a decade. Surviving ships became the first cruise ships.
That February trip with my grandfather aboard was the Umbria's last crossing as she was scraped later that year.
The Blue Riband was an accolade given to the ship that crossed the Atlantic the fastest and carried with it great prestige. Having one of your vessels receive this title was good for business. This put pressure on captains to push their crews and ships to their maximum capabilities, sometimes with disastrous results.
The ship had a top speed of twenty-one knots or approximately twenty-four miles per hour in land travel terms. It was one hundred and fifty-eight meters long and seventeen meters at its widest point - the beam. This coal powered steamer weighed 8127 tons and had 14,500 horsepower. By comparison the RMS Titanic, which embarked on her fateful maiden voyage in April of 1912, was two hundred and sixty-nine meters long and twenty-eight meters wide.
She could carry five hundred first class, one hundred and fifty second class and eight hundred third class passengers plus five hundred crew members. The price of a ticket would range between thirty-seven dollars for third class up to one hundred and twenty-five dollars for first class.
The typical second and third class fare on an ocean liner at that time could have included boiled or roast beef, boiled fish, stews, salt pork, potatoes, boiled cabbage and bread. First class menus were more sophisticated with many different courses being served. Turtle soup, olives, quail, salmon, prime rib, lamb, vegetables and deserts were served. The meal was the highlight of the day out in the middle of the ocean.
She could carry five hundred first class, one hundred and fifty second class and eight hundred third class passengers plus five hundred crew members. The price of a ticket would range between thirty-seven dollars for third class up to one hundred and twenty-five dollars for first class.
The typical second and third class fare on an ocean liner at that time could have included boiled or roast beef, boiled fish, stews, salt pork, potatoes, boiled cabbage and bread. First class menus were more sophisticated with many different courses being served. Turtle soup, olives, quail, salmon, prime rib, lamb, vegetables and deserts were served. The meal was the highlight of the day out in the middle of the ocean.
I don't know what class ticket my grandfather purchased. As a young, single man I assume he travelled second or third class. He probably travelled in February as winter tickets were the least expensive. Some say only the brave or the foolish chose to cross the Atlantic in the winter. As someone who gets seasick, I don't think I would have fared very well on the Umbria. It makes me queasy just imagining the movement of the ship.
Different passage prices were charged depending on the class you booked. Accommodations ranged from staterooms on the upper decks to bunks in the lower deck with makeshift dividers. There was a separate dining room for each class, a music room, smoking room for the men and the ship was one of the first to be equipped with refrigeration machinery.
Upon arrival, immigrants were processed at Ellis Island Immigration Center which was in the New York Harbour. Ocean liners contributed substantially to immigration in the early 1900s with millions of landed immigrants passing through Ellis Island. They left their homelands for various reasons; crop failure, land and job shortages, famine, religious and political persecution to travel to what they hoped would be the land of opportunity. From there they dispersed and settled throughout the United States and Canada.
That February trip with my grandfather aboard was the Umbria's last crossing as she was scraped later that year.