Lesson 9

I was able to go to a public library in another town today to do my assignment.  I enjoyed using Ancestry.com.  I found this information under immigration and travel, and then I chose ships and their pictures.  I searched for the sister ship of the Titanic and found it!

Olympic
Years in service:	1911-1934
Funnels:	4
Masts:	2
Shipping line:	White Star
Ship description:	Built by Harland & Wolff, Ltd., Belfast, Ireland. Tonnage: 45,324. Dimensions: 852' x 92' (882' o.l.). Triple-screw, 23 knots. Triple expansion engines and one low pressure steam turbine. Two masts and four funnels.
History:	Laid down on December 16, 1908. Launched, October 20, 1910. Note: From keel to top of funnels 175 feet. Navigating bridge was 104 feet above keel. Displacement of 60,000 tons. Draft of 34 1/2 feet. The promenade deck had an extreme breadth of 94 feet. The bower anchors weighed 7 3/4 tons each. The centre anchor weighed 15 1/2 tons. Cost $7,500,000 to build. Passengers: 1,054 first, 510 second, 1,020 third. The crew numbered 860. Maiden voyage: Southampton-New York, June 14, 1911. Rammed and holed by the British cruiser Hawke, September 20, 1911, but was not seriously damaged. After the sinking of the Titanic, her construction was altered. The changes increased her tonnage to 46,439. Served as a troopship in World War I. Thoroughly reconditioned in 1921, including conversion to burning oil fuel. She rammed and sunk the well-known lightship Nantucket off the New England coast, May 16, 1934, during a thick fog. The seven members of the lightship crew were lost. The great liner was withdrawn from service in March 1935 and sold to British ship breakers later in the year. The scrapped hulk was finally dismantled in 1937. Sister ship:Titanic. Masts: 2 Shipping line: White Star Ship description: Built by Harland & Wolff, Ltd., Belfast, Ireland. Tonnage: 45,324. Dimensions: 852' x 92' (882' o.l.). Triple-screw, 23 knots. Triple expansion engines and one low pressure steam turbine. Two masts and four funnels. History: Laid down on December 16, 1908. Launched, October 20, 1910. Note: From keel to top of funnels 175 feet. Navigating bridge was 104 feet above keel. Displacement of 60,000 tons. Draft of 34 1/2 feet. The promenade deck had an extreme breadth of 94 feet. The bower anchors weighed 7 3/4 tons each. The centre anchor weighed 15 1/2 tons. Cost $7,500,000 to build. Passengers: 1,054 first, 510 second, 1,020 third. The crew numbered 860. Maiden voyage: Southampton-New York, June 14, 1911. Rammed and holed by the British cruiser Hawke, September 20, 1911, but was not seriously damaged. The two articles are very similar, just written in a little different style. My next assignment was to help a young man find information on the Hindenburg dirigible using the newspaper link under "Ancestry.com." I found some interesting articles by clicking on the newspaper link and searching the Hindenburg dirigible. I found several articles, some about the engineers, some about the actual explosion, some about the aftermath and the desire to try the whole idea again.  Here is a small part of what I found: The air ship had been cruising for three hours.  They had flown over New York, crowds were below waiting for them to land when the line of flames began, and shortly thereafter, the dirigible exploded! The Stars and Stripes newspaper from May 4, 1957 reported the accident.  Another issue of the paper included a picture of the beginning of the explosion. The other two issues of Stars and Stripes with the articles were: Publication: 3 Feb 1955 and Stars and Stripes Newspaper, Europe, Mediterranean, and North Africa Editions, 1942-1964 Publication: 28 Feb 1958. For the third part of the lesson I had to find information for a celebration in my county.  I looked under "Family History books and Directories."  The next part of the search under this heading was to look under people. I typed in some of the names of our community from the beginning our small town.  I found information on the Seymour family and the Pollock family. I found that information in a book entitled, A Brief History of South Dakota.  I tried some other families, but was not able to find their names in articles of books.  I also tried the names of the towns in the country, but was not successful. Next I tried Lewis and Clark, since they traveled through Campbell County in 1804 and 1806, and we have had celebrations connected to that.  I found the stories of Lewis and Clark's visit to Campbell County in an encyclopedia entitled Encyclopedia of South Dakota by Doane Robinson. I found a book entitled:  A history of the Seymour family : descendants of Richard Seymour of Hartford, Connecticut, for six generations, with extensive Chapter: Illustrations Page number: 522 We have a family of Seymours in the Pollock area that come from Hartford Connecticut.  I found a picture which I plan to show the family.  I looked for another picture of another relative, but I was not successful in finding a picture of that relative. I also checked out the CAMIO site which I didn't quite finish for last week's lesson.  I still find it difficult to search using that site.  I did find some clothing for the British people for the 19th century, but I expected to find more.  I tried using the words, "Christmas Carol," thinking that would be helpful in finding drawings or paintings, but I did not find anything under that search.  It had to be a very basic term, or not much is found.  A person ends up looking through several pages to find the information, and it is not highlighted, so you have to read carefully and watch the pictures.