This is a much more accurate list of the victims of the Valencia shipwreck than all the other lists currently found online and in print.  The passenger and crew list given by the owners of the Valencia after the wreck is pretty good, though quite a few names didn’t make the list.  For example, a significant number of children on the Valencia were not recorded as passengers.  A few adult passengers also do not appear on the lists and were only discovered in the days and weeks after the tragedy in various newspapers.

The Valencia Disaster

 1. The Valencia 2. The Voyage 3. The Boats 4. The McCarthy Boat 5. The Bunker Party 6. On the Valencia 7. The Rafts 8. The Turret Raft 9. The Rescue Ships 10. The Aftermath 11. The Survivors 12. The Lost 

The West Coast Trail

Prologue 1: The West Coast Trail 2: When to Hike & Fees 3: Trailheads 4: Getting There 5: Considerations 6: Campsites 7: Shipwrecks 8: Routes 9: Sights & Highlights

Interestingly, there seems to be no attempt at an accurate recount to find the true number, which appears to be at least 135 dead, not 126 as is usually recorded.  There is a good chance that this list contains errors or duplications.  One very common confusion is in the spelling of names.  In 1906 newspaper reports were compiled by telephone and reporters would evidently be taking notes and listing names as they are heard.  This is why you can have names found spelled several different ways and there is no way to be certain which version of the spelling is the correct one.  Even newspaper reports on the government investigations into the wreck, print misspelled names as often as correctly spelled names.  Often the same name will be spelled differently in the same article.  We have done our best to arrive at an accurate list base on cross referencing passenger lists as well as hundreds of newspaper articles that appeared in Victoria, Seattle and San Francisco.  This is the most complete and accurate list of crew and passenger deaths from the Valencia disaster.  An accurate list of Valencia survivors and how they survived can be found here.

1. C.A. Aaseth, Second Class Passenger for Seattle - LOST

C.A. Aaseth was a second class passenger on the Valencia. He lived in Ballard, which at the time Ballard was its own independent city northwest of Seattle, today it is a suburb of Seattle. His name appeared in the published lists of Valencia’s passengers as Casetto or C.A. Cosette., which resulted in his true identity remaining a mystery in the days following the wreck. His name was finally recognized in early February by Reverend M.A. Christensen of Zion’s Lutheran church of Ballard. The pastor sent a telegram to the Seattle Star newspaper on February 2nd, and the following day the paper published an article identifying C.A. Aaseth with the photo shown here. The article titled, BALLARD MAN IS A VICTIM wrote:

“Mr. Aaseth had taken passage for Seattle on the lost steamship. This was the first intimation that his friends had to the effect that he had lost his life in the wreck. Owing to the peculiar way of spelling his name, it had been given incorrectly. Mr. Aaseth had been visiting relatives in San Francisco for the past two months. He was a Norwegian laborer, 23 years of age, and resided with the family of S.O. Hovick, in the northern suburb. He was single and if the remains can be found his body will be interred in the Ballard cemetery.”

C.A. Aaseth’s body was not identified from any of the bodies recovered in the weeks after the wreck of the Valencia.

2. Herman Aberg, Fourth Officer - Body Recovered

Herman Aberg was the Fourth Officer on the Valencia. When the last raft to leave the ship was picked up by the Topeka at about 4pm on January 24th, the barely alive survivors reported who was still alive on the Valencia. When they left the Valencia on the raft at about 10:30am they estimated 60 to 75 people still on board and Herman Aberg was one of them.  Other survivors mentioned included: Captain Johnson, Holmes, Downing, Hopkins, Campbell, Wilkins, Hughes and stewardess Musgrove.  It would be discovered later that all the remaining survivors on the Valencia were hit by a huge wave and thrown into the ocean and killed just two hours after the rafts departed the crumbling ship.  On the 5th of February several bodies were recovered and Aberg’s body was identified as one of them.  The body of a man wearing a blue sweater and wearing a ring with “AA” monogrammed on it.  Survivors of the Valencia identified the body as that of A. Aberg.

3. Pontus Ahlstedt, Seaman - LOST

Pontus Ahlstedt was a seaman on the Valencia. He was 36 years old and a native of Sweden. He was one of the victims of the Valencia disaster and his body was not recovered.

4. Norman Anderson, First Class Passenger - LOST

Norman H. Anderson was registered as a first class passenger on the Valencia and was one of the victims of the tragedy. He was 27 years old and worked as a railroad man for the Great Northern railway. He lived in Superior Wisconsin and was on vacation, on his way to Seattle to visit W.J. Mezgers who had a letter from Anderson stating he would be arriving in Seattle on the Valencia. 

5. Laura Badertscher, First Class Passenger - LOST

Laura Badertscher, often misspelled Boderscher or Bairdstaker, was a first class passenger on the Valencia with her 5-year-old son Victor. Her husband Ernest Batertscher was in San Francisco his wife and son lost their lives on the Valencia. A few months ago the family moved to San Francisco from Tacoma where Ernest worked as a harness maker. They recently decided to move back to Tacoma and Ernest sent his wife and son ahead to stay at his mothers home while he settled up his business affairs in San Francisco. 

6. Victor Badertscher, First Class Passenger - LOST

Victor Badertscher, aged 5 was travelling with his mother on the Valencia. They both were lost in the tragedy and their bodies were not recovered.

7. W.A. Bean, Second Class Passenger - LOST

There doesn’t appear to be any record of W.A. Bean, second class passenger for Seattle on the Valencia, beyond his name appearing on the newspaper distributed passenger lists.

8. John Bell, Waiter - Body Recovered

John M. Bell was registered as a waiter on the crew of the Valencia and was a victim of the tragedy.  His body was recovered and identified.

9. Robert Brown, First Class Passenger - LOST

Robert Brown was a first class passenger on the Valencia. There was some confusion over his identity and spelling of his first name which is printed in papers three different ways: Robert, Robard and Robards. He was first identified as a member of the Pacific Electric Company of Port Townsend and Chief Engineer of the Pacific Wireless Company. Later it was reported that he was from Montana with the name Robard Brown. His body was never recovered.

10. I.J. Bruer, Unregistered Passenger - Body Recovered

Mr. I.J. Bruer, from Minneapolis, was a passenger on the Valencia. His name does not appear on the Valencia’s passenger list but his friends received from him a letter written from San Francisco two hours before going on board the steamer in which he stated that he was travelling by the vessel. Albert Meyers, a friend in San Francisco, with whom Mr. Bruer spent the evening before the Valencia sailed sent the letter.  Mr. Bruer left Minneapolis January 2nd for a pleasure trip along the Pacific Coast, expecting to remain away from home until the rigors of winter were past.  He has many friends on the coast as he lived in Los Angeles with his family for two years before moving to Minneapolis.  Mr. Bruer was at the head of the Bruer Bros. Lumber Company.  He has a wife and three sons, Harry, Franz and Leo. The two elder boys are associated with him in his business.  He was 50 years of age and had a sandy moustache.  Born in Hamburg, Germany, he came to the United States as a boy with his parents.

The Victoria Daily Times on 29 January 1906 reported that “Miss Minna Bruer, of Minneapolis, is in the city today seeking information relative to the body of her uncle, IJ Bruer, who is among those who were aboard the Valencia.  Mr. Bruer’s name does not appear on the passenger list.”  Miss Bruer offered a $100 reward for the recovery of her uncle’s body.  The following day when the Wyadda arrived with several bodies to Victoria, I.J. Bruer was identified as one of them.  Due to the condition of the body, he was only positively identified by his dental records.

11. Isabelle Bunker, First Class Passenger - LOST

Isabelle Bunker, Frank Bunker, their 4 year old daughter Dorothy and 2 year old son Frank were on the No.6 lifeboat that departed the Valencia during the first hour of the disaster.  In middle of the night, in stormy weather and freezing rain, boat No.6 managed to get a couple hundred yards from the Valencia before being caught by a breaker and casting most on board into the freezing ocean. Frank Bunker, his wife and son managed to survive, though Dorothy was never seen again.  Moments later the boat, caught in another breaker was thrown again.  This time the boat smashed into the reef.  Frank Bunker managed to survive by crawling out of the surf and clinging to the base of a cliff.  The rest of his family were never found.  Frank Bunker went on the lead quite a prominent role in the Valencia tragedy.  After being washed ashore at the base of a cliff he gathered with eight others and was the driving force of the group that made their way to a telegraph hut and notified the world of the shipwreck of the Valencia.  The article pictured here with the title "BUNKER SAVED BUT WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN LOST" appeared in the San Francisco Call newspaper on January 25, 1906.

The 24th of January edition of The San Francisco Call newspaper wrote: “The Bunker family were moving from Berkeley California to Seattle, where Frank Bunker was to soon begin working as Assistant Superintendent of Schools.  Mrs. Bunker was formerly a Miss Bull of Tulare, and the two were married six years ago.  Two children were born to the couple – Dorothy, a pretty girl of 4, and Frank, aged 2.  The Bunker family had planned to make their home in the north, his position with the school department of Washington being a lucrative one; but the sea disaster put an end to a happy outlook.  Bunker was formerly vice principal  of the San Francisco Normal School and is very well known in this city.  The family lived for some time on Baker Street, opposite the park panhandle.  Later he took up his residence in Berkeley.  Mrs. Bunker was a young woman and was very well known to the residents of Tulare, where she was born.  Bunker is a native of Los Angeles, having received his early education there.  He advanced rapidly in educational work.”

12. Dorothy Bunker, Age 4 - LOST

Dorothy Bunker, 4 year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bunker.  They were on the No.6 lifeboat that departed the Valencia during the first hour of the disaster.  Mrs. Bunker, Dorothy Bunker and her 2 year old brother Frank did not survive the boat getting smashed against the reef.  Only the father, Frank Bunker survived.

13. Frank Bunker, Age 2 - LOST

Frank Bunker Jr., the 2 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bunker.  Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bunker, 2 year old Frank Bunker Jr., and his sister, 4 year old Dorothy Bunker were on the No.6 lifeboat that departed the Valencia during the first hour of the disaster.  Mrs. Bunker, Dorothy Bunker and Frank Bunker Jr. did not survive the boat getting smashed against the reef.  Only the father, Frank Bunker survived.

14. James H. Cameron, Third Officer - LOST

James H. Cameron was the Third Officer on the Valencia and did not survive the disaster.  He was 27 years of age and has been in the employ of the steamship company for several years. He was three years on the City of Puebla.  When the Puebla was disabled a few weeks previously, Cameron was transferred to the Valencia. His body was never recovered.

15. James Cameron. Second Cook - LOST

James Cameron was Second Cook on the Valencia and did not survive. The Seattle Star newspaper reported that his intention was to give up the sea after this trip and start a laundry business. Tragically, he left behind a wife and six children. His body was never recovered.

16. N.H. Campbell, Second Steward - LOST

N.H. Campbell, Second Steward on the Valencia was one of the last survivors clinging to the rigging of the ship when the life rafts departed.  After the barely alive survivors were brought on board the Topeka from one of the rafts, a partial list of those still on the ship was reported.  Campbell was one of the names given, along with Captain Johnson, Holmes, Aberg, Downing, Hopkins, Wilkins, Hughes and Stewardess Musgrove.  When these names were told to the crew of the Topeka, the Valencia had already collapsed into the sea and all those named were drowned. Campbell's body was never recovered.

17. Mrs. Frank Campbell, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Mrs. Frank Campbell, second class passenger for Seattle was travelling with her husband and daughter Ruby Gordon age 16, step daughter to Frank Campbell.  The three departed the Valencia on lifeboat No.3, the fifth lifeboat launched during the first hour of the wreck.  The previous four lifeboats launched resulted in almost all the occupants drowning.  With 15 on board, the lifeboat managed to get away from the Valencia for a short distance with fifteen people on board.  After one of the oars was lost, the boat veered towards the surf and flipped over, drowning eight.  Somehow seven men survived and ended up along the shore at the base of near vertical cliffs about 250 metres north of the Valencia.  The seven survivors were Frank Campbell, Tony Brown, George Billikos, Yosuki Hosoda, Mike Stone, Charles Samuels, and Albert Willis.  Mrs. Campbell and Ruby Gordon were never seen again.

18. Reinhart Carlsen, Quartermaster's Mate - LOST

Reinhart Carlsen was a Quartermaster's Mate on the Valencia and did not survive. A native of Norway, he was 46 years old. His body was never found.

19. Theodore Chieves, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Theodore Chieves, second class passenger for Seattle.  The 25 January The San Francisco Call newspaper listed Chieves as, “no record of residence. Labourer enroute to Seattle in Search of employment.”  His last name appears in some publications as spelled Hives, though Chieves appears to be the likely correct spelling. HIs body was never recovered.

20. Jack Clements, Waiter - LOST

Jack Clements was a waiter on the Valencia. He was 29 years old and came from Milton Ontario. He did not survive the Valencia disaster and his body was never recovered.

21. Mildred Cole, First Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Mildred Cole, first class passenger on the Valencia, headed to Seattle.  Originally from Minnesota, she had appeared in Victoria the previous year with a concert company and it is thought she was returning to do similar work.  Her body was one of several found in the days after the wreck and hastily buried along the shore.  Several weeks later the bodies were brought to Victoria for identification.  Mildred Cole’s body was identified by Mrs. Clausen, a friend of Mildred Cole’s mother, who was sent to Victoria to see if she could identify her among several unidentified bodies.  This was reported on the 14th of April in the Victoria Daily Times, six weeks after her initial death from the Valencia shipwreck.  Her body was sent to Minnesota for interment.

22. Virgil Crane, Steward on the Valencia - Body Recovered

Virgil Crane was a steward on the Valencia, whose body was found along Long Beach, near Tofino in the days after the wreck.  The Victoria Daily Colonist on February 2nd reported, “one other body was found yesterday, the 22nd recovered to date.  This body, which washed ashore at Long Beach, was that of V.M. Crane, a steward of the Valencia.  It was badly decomposed and when found by the crew of the cutter Grant, which was sent to recover when Capt. Townsend of the Queen City reported the discovery at Bamfield was made ready for burial on the spot.  The interment will take place; a head board being prepared.”  Later Virgil Crane’s brother, W.M. Crane had his body exhumed and brought to San Francisco for interment.

On September 20th, 1906 The Daily Colonist ran an article titled, “A Valencia Suite. Wife of Victim Brings an Action Claiming $25,300.  An action has been commenced at San Francisco in the Superior court to determine whether the Pacific Coast Steamship company, owner of the steamer Valencia, which was wrecked off the coast of Vancouver Island last January, is to be held responsible for the disaster.  When the vessel went down with so many victims, Virgil M. Crane, a pantry man, lost his life, his body being recovered at Clayoquot and buried by the officers of the revenue cutter Grant.  He left surviving him Margurite I. Crane, his wife, who lives in this city, and a mother in North Yakima, Wash.  His wife has commenced an action against the steamship company for $25,300 damages, alleging that the ship was wrecked through the negligence of the defendant corporation.  If negligence can be proved the statures of California and the laws of British Columbia provide for the recovery of damages.”

23. S. Davis, Second Assistant Engineer - LOST

S. Davis was the second assistant engineer on the Valencia. Frank Connors, one of the survivors recalled Davis making a heroic attempt to swim a line to shore after John Segalos failed in his attempt. Connors recalled that Davis was in the water for half an hour and managed to get closer to the shore than Segalos did. The powerful undertow kept pulling him back from the shore and eventually he was pulled back on board. Davis was last seen clinging to the rigging of the Valencia just two hours before it finally collapsed into the sea. Davis and the remaining survivors numbering an estimated 60-75 did not survive.

24. S.E. Dawson, Second Class Passenger - LOST

S.E. Dawson, second class passenger heading for Seattle.  The San Francisco Call newspaper on 25 January 1906 listed him as, “no record of residence. Labourer en route to Seattle in Search of employment.

25. Joseph Doherty, Second Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Joseph Doherty was a second class passenger on the Valencia and lost his life at some point during the disaster.  His body was washed ashore in the days following the wreck.  The San Francisco Call newspaper on January 25th reported, “San Jose Man Loses Brother.  Joseph Doherty Had Recently Paid a Visit to Garden City.  Among the passengers on the wrecked steamer Valencia was Joseph Doherty, who for the past six months had been in this city visiting his brother, Robert A. Doherty, a local engraver.  Joseph Doherty resided in Seattle, where he has another brother, and he also has a brother in New York City.  Both brothers were notified this morning by Robert that Joseph had taken the steamer for Seattle and was in the wreck.”  The San Francisco Call, on 26 January reported that Joseph Doherty’s body was found with, “a small ikon in a small case, a little image of a Russian saint about three quarters of an inch long, a gold watch engraved with the letter “D” on the case, a purse with a small sum of money, eyeglasses and case of business cards, two spools of silk and a card of Jack D. Wassen of Los Angeles.”

When Joseph Doherty’s body was found, he was identified as Louis Gripenstraw due to business cards with that name with the body.  When it was discovered that Gripenstraw was alive in California, it was realized that the body was that of Joseph Doherty, who had met with Gripenstraw in California and was known to have some of his cards with him.  Another newspaper report in Victoria on the 27th of January attributed Joseph Doherty’s body to William Doherty, a crewman on the Valencia.  The mistake was due to the similarity of names, however William Doherty survived the Valencia shipwreck on the Topeka raft.

26. D. Doran, Coal Passer - LOST

D. Doran is listed as a coal passer on the Valencia and likely died at some point during the wreck, though his body was never recovered.

27. William Downing, Chief Engineer - LOST

William Downing, chief engineer, pictured here, one of the last survivors on board when it finally broke up.  A photo of him appeared in The San Francisco Call newspaper on 26 January.  When the last life raft left the Valencia, Downing was seen alive on the rigging of the ship along with an estimated 50 to 70 others.  Two hours later they would all be dead when the Valencia was finally smashed into the sea by a huge wave at about noon on January 24th. The San Francisco Call newspaper on January 24th, 1906 ran an article, “Relatives Still Hope.  W.E. Downing, chief engineer of the steamer Valencia, resided at 1556 Ninth Avenue, Oakland, with his brother, George J. Downing, a purser for the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, and two sisters, Miss Alice Downing and Miss Cerina Downing.  He is unmarried and has always made his home, when in port, with his brother and sisters.  Downing has held his present position for a little more than a year, and has been rated as one of the best men in the service of the company.  His brother and sisters were greatly overcome when informed that the Valencia had been wrecked, but clung to the hope that their brother may be among those who escaped from the ill-fated steamer.”

28. Howe Duff, First Class Passenger - LOST

Howe Duff was a first class passenger on the Valencia headed for Vancouver is listed on the ships register and did not survive. His body was never recovered.

29. John J. Dusel, First Class Passenger - LOST

John J. Dusel was a first class passenger on the Valencia heading to Seattle. Little was known about John Dusel in the weeks after the Valencia disaster. It wasn't until March that his mysterious life was discovered when a woman from San Francisco claimed to be his wife and began legal action to secure his estate. Dusel apparently never told anybody about his life and was known in Seattle as a single man. Soon it was revealed that he was a rich Austrian with real estate in San Francisco and mining interests in Arizona. His estate was estimated at a half million dollars. The woman claiming to be Dusel's wife was not identified by name and it is not known if she was successful in her claim. Dusel's body was never recovered.

30. Gus Erickson, Second Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Gus Erickson was a second class passenger on the Valencia travelling to Seattle from Riverside California.  The San Francisco Call newspaper on January 25th, 1906 listed him as “No record of residence.  Labourer en route to Seattle in search of employment.”  In the January 27th edition of The Call, Gus Erickson was listed among nine bodies recovered.  “NINE BODIES CAST ASHORE BY THE SEA – John Wallace, waiter, R.M. Nelson, third assistant engineer, American Soldier, Marine from Concord, Gus Ericksen, Los Angeles passenger, James Inglehorne, and three unidentified.”

31. Fred Erickson, First Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Fred Erickson from Oelwein, Iowa, was a first class passenger on the Valencia heading for Seattle.  A foreman for the Chicago Great Western Railway, Ericson was travelling with Cornelius Allison, a contractor working for him in the company.  Cornelius Allison, a naval veteran, was one of the survivors of the Valencia picked up by the Topeka on the second of two rafts launched just two hours before the Valencia broke up and the remaining survivors drowned.  In the Seattle Star newspaper on the 3rd of February, it was reported, “Yesterday the tug Lorne brought two victims to Bamfield, one being Fred Erickson, of St. Paul, the other J.B. Graham of San Francisco.  Seven others were left on the shore, there being too much sea to take them onboard the tug.”  Fred Erickson’s body was later sent to Minnie Erickson in St. Paul.

32. John Finley, Second Class Passenger - LOST

John Finley, misspelled Fernie in most newspapers, was a second class passenger on leave from the US navy on his way to Victoria. United States navy records list him as Ordinary Seaman John Finley drowned when the Merchant ship SS Valencia wrecked on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, along with four other navy personnel on 23 January 1906.

The misspelling caused a lot of confusion due to another J. Fernie, a somewhat prominent person in British Columbia was mistakenly reported as dead on the Valencia. When J. Fernie was reported alive and well, there was a scramble by the Victoria newspapers to correctly identify this man, which they appear to have never done. The Victoria Daily times on 24 January, 1906 wrote, “The identity of J. Fernie, bound for Victoria is not known.  W. Fernie, of this city, says he knows of no relative of that initial.  A traveler by the name of Fernie, representing a Montreal firm, occasionally visits the coast, and it is thought the passenger on the Valencia may be this traveler.”  John Finley’s body was never recovered.

33. Harman Fisher, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Harman Fisher was listed as a second class passenger on the Valencia. He was on leave from the US navy heading for Seattle.  United States navy records list him as Coal Passer Harman Fisher, drowned when the Merchant ship SS Valencia wrecked on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, along with four other navy personnel on 23 January 1906.

34. F.T. Fonda, First Class Passenger - LOST

F.T. Fonda was a first class passenger listed on the Valencia travelling to Seattle.  The 24 January edition of The San Francisco Call newspaper lists him as, “E.T. Fondo is a commercial traveler whose home is in Seattle.” His body was never recovered.

35. FROGGE, C.E. Waiter - LOST

C.E. Frogge was a waiter on the Valencia and did not survive. The San Francisco Examiner published a photo of him after the disaster. His body was never recovered.

36. Charles Gamage, Oiler - Body Recovered

Charles Gamage, oiler, is listed on the Valencia’s list of officers and crew and a victim of the disaster.  In different reports his name is variously spelled as Gamage, Gammage and Camage.  His body was later recovered and reported in the Victoria Daily Colonist on 20 April 1906, “THE QUEEN CITY RETURNS. The Body of Another Valencia Victim Brought from the Coast.  The steamer Queen City reached port yesterday from Ahousaht and way ports of the Vancouver Island Coast.  The steamer brought 25 passengers… Among the passengers who arrived by the Queen City was H.S. Noise, a Seattle undertaker, who brought with him in a hermetically sealed casket, the body of one of the Valencia victims, an oiler named Gammage, whose father is employed at the Bremerton naval yard.  Mr. Noise says the body, which had been recovered and buried ashore among the unidentified dead, was identified as the oiler by the clothing and the dentistry.  The body had been interred four miles from the scene of the wreck.”

37. Peter Glube, Second Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Peter Glube, a second class passenger from San Francisco on his way to Seattle is listed in the Valencia’s passenger list.  His body was found washed up along the shore near Darling River and found by Frank Bunker, a Valencia survivor.  The San Francisco Call newspaper on January 31st, 1906 reported, “PROPERTY OF DROWNED. Collector of Customs Guards Effects of the Valencia’s Dead.  Collector of Customs John Newbury received from F.F. Bunker, who arrived by the Salvor today, the effects of some of the bodies washed ashore.  One lot is the effects of Peter Glube, or Glude, in which are two watches, one gold, the other silver, a purse with a small sum of money and a letter signed by his wife, with enclosures of a little letter with crosses indicating kisses from children, a knife and a match box.  The letter referred to was posted at Brownsville, near Seattle, on January 9 and has a Seattle postmark of January 10 and an Oakland postmark of January 12.  The body on which these things were found was picked up by Bunker and Captain Ferris near Darling River.”

38. Ruby Gordon, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Ruby Gordon, age 16, travelling with her mother Mrs. Campbell and stepfather Frank Campbell.  Ruby Gordon and Mrs. Campbell drowned when thrown from lifeboat No.3 in the first hour of the wreck of the Valencia.  Frank Campbell survived.

39. J.B. Graham, First Class Passenger - Body Recovered

J.B. Graham was a first class passenger on his way to his home town of Tacoma, near Seattle when he became a victim of the Valencia disaster.  Graham had recently sold a gold mine in Alaska for $60,000.  Valencia survivors picked up by the Topeka recalled Mr. Graham frantically offering a bag of gold to anyone who would place him on shore.  The bag of gold, thought to be worth $1500 was refused by those he offered it to.  The bag of gold would likely have weighed close to 5 pounds and in today’s prices the bag would be worth over $125,000 US.  The bag of gold was reportedly last seen laying on the broken desk of the crumbling ship, kicked underfoot, with nobody even bothering to pick it up.  The February 3rd, 1906 edition of the Seattle Star reported several bodies arriving in Victoria and one of them identified as J.B. Graham.

40. Harry Gregory, Second Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Harrison J. Gregory was a second class passenger on the Valencia headed for Seattle.  Working as a fireman in the United States navy, in various news reports covering the Valencia his name is misspelled “Greggy”.  Harry Gregory nearly survived the Valencia by escaping on the first of two life rafts launched just two hours before the ship finally collapsed into the sea killing all those remaining on board.  The raft drifted helplessly up the coast unseen by any would be rescue ships.  Gregory and nine others on board were dying of exposure, partially submerged in the freezing ocean.  Three would die during the first hours from exposure or driven insane by the experience, throwing themselves into the ocean.  One man, Gregory’s friend died during this time and the others decided to throw his body overboard.  Hours later when they finally came ashore on Turret Island and the seven remaining on board, barely alive waited for daylight to arrive would have the silence broken by Gregory.  He lunged at Sam Hancock, tried to choke him and shouted something about wanting to eat him.  The others overpowered Gregory and he collapsed back into the raft and never moved again.  It is thought that he died shortly after this incident along with two others.  When the raft was finally found, three dead bodies were with it, Harry Gregory, Robert Nelson and John Wallace.  Mrs. HJ Gregory, of Portland, writes asking particulars of her son, Harrison J. Gregory, aged 34 years, and weighing about 175 lbs.  He was 5 feet 11 inches in height.  This is believed to be the man who died on the raft which reached Turret Island, and whose name appears as Greggy.

41. Abraham Handgref, Second Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Abraham Handgref was a second class passenger on the Valencia, on his way to Seattle.  As if to highlight how brutal the sinking of the Valencia was, on March 4th, 1906, more than a month after the disaster, Abraham Handgref’s body washed up on the shore of Wreck Bay, near Tofino.  The article reads, “Yesterday morning the sea gave up another victim of the Valencia wreck after tossing it about the waters for over five weeks.  The special correspondent of the Colonist at Ucluelet, wiring yesterday morning says: “The body of Abraham Handgref, a second class passenger of the lost Valencia was found and buried yesterday on the west end of Wreck Bay.  A lifebelt was on over and overcoat, but the pants were gone.  On the body was found a silver watch, a gold ring on a finger, some letter in a foreign language, all signed Sam Kitty, but no money.  Identification was through the finding on the body of intention papers for citizenship on the United States.  The body was badly decomposed.”

42. J.H. Harekamper, Second Class Passenger - LOST

J.H. Harekamper was a second class passenger on the Valencia according to the passenger list provided to newspapers. His body was never recovered.

43. William Harper, Fireman - LOST

William Harper was a fireman on the Valencia that did not survive. His name appears on the crew list for the Valencia and is counted among the lost. His body was never recovered. In the weeks after the disaster, George B. Harper, William's brother made several inquiries to find out if he was on the Valencia. William Harper had left Hopkinton, Iowa eighteen years previously and was known to be working as a fireman for the steamship company that owned the Valencia. 

44. Mattie Harraden, First Class Passenger - LOST

Mattie Harraden and George Harraden from Port Townsend were on the Valencia.  Mattie Harraden did not survive, though her son George Harraden made it off on the last life raft and saved by the City of Topeka on January 24th, 1906. Mattie Harraden's body was never recovered.

45. Roy Hazard (alias C. West), Second Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Roy Hazard, 21, Mabel Rowland and her sister Lulu Rowland, 16, were travelling from LA using fake names on the Valencia’s ship registry.  Roy Hazard went as C. West and the two girls went as “Misses T Martin and T Simpson.”  

Hazard left a letter with a friend with instructions to mail it when they sailed.  The friend forgot until January 27th, several days after the Valencia wrecked.  The parents only learned they were on the Valencia when the letter arrived.  It appears that Roy Hazard’s father E.L. Hazard assaulted Lulu Rowland at some point before the trio ran away.  Several months after the Valencia disaster, the San Francisco Call reported E.L. Hazard had been charged with assaulting Lulu Rowland.

Several months after the Valencia shipwreck happened a bottle floated ashore 800 kilometres north of the Valencia wreck on island of Haida Gwaii.  This bottle contained a letter written was sent from the Valencia several hours into the ordeal.  “We are going down off the coast. – E.F. Hazard.”  The letter was written in pencil, faded and difficult to read, so the E.F. was likely mistaken for R.F. as Roy Hazard was the only passenger with that last name.

46. R. Hill, Second Class Passenger for Seattle - LOST

R. Hill was a second class passenger heading for Seattle. Listed on the Valencia’s passenger list, no other information can be found.

47. Jack Hoddinott, Chief Steward - LOST

Jack Hoddinott was the Chief Steward on the Valencia and one of the last survivors to perish when the ship finally collapsed into the sea. His brother Charles Hoddinott, a waiter on the Valencia survived on the last life raft and later recounted what happened. His brother refused to leave the ship for a place on the raft, but urged him to go.  “I asked my brother to go with me,” said Charles, “but he refused, saying he was going to stand by the women and children.  So I bade him good bye and jumped overboard.” Charles Hoddinott was rescued, along with 18 others on the raft by the Topeka two hours later. He would find out days later that his brother, and all the remaining survivors were swept into the sea and drowned at the same time as he was rescued by the Topeka. Jack Hoddinott's body was never recovered.

48. Herman.T. Hoelscher, First Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Herman T. Hoelscher was a first class passenger on the Valencia heading for Seattle, from San Francisco.  The San Francisco Call newspaper on January 25th printed a picture and some information about him, “H.T. Hoelscher Among Dead.  Was First Time He Had Taken Trip for Company.  One of those who perished on the sinking of the Valencia was Hermann T. Hoelscher, a member of the firm of William Hoelscher & Company, wine merchants at 106 Taylor Street in this city.  Hoelscher’s case is a sad one.  He was the secretary treasurer of the company and had never left the San Francisco office on business.  Last week he told his brothers that he wished to get away for a little while, as he needed the change for his health.  There was business to be done at Seattle and he was sent on the Valencia.  It was his first trip on the water.  All day yesterday his brothers waited to receive a telegram from him announcing his safety.  Last night came and no message.  When the news finally arrived that only the few had been saved they gave up hope.  Hoelscher has three brothers, William, Victor and Arthur.  His mother and sister live on Baker Street.  He was 28 years old and a young man with hosts of friends.  He was strong of body and would have had a good chance to have reached the shore in any ordinary sea.  Some of his friends have not yet given up hope that he has landed somewhere safe but has been unable to telegraph.” The Victoria Daily Colonist on January 30th reported, “Regarding the bodies found yesterday a dispatch from Cape Beale said: Logan and party have recovered three bodies this morning.  The first body is that of Thomas H. Hoelscher.  He has four cheques for $75 each, $95 in bills and a gold watch with his name on it.”

49. Peter Hogan, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Peter Hogan was a second class passenger registered on the Valencia heading for Seattle.  His body was never found.

50. William Holmes, First Officer - LOST

William Holmes, First Officer on the Valencia was reported as still alive on the Valencia by survivors picked up two hours later by the Topeka.  The San Francisco Call reported on January 25th, “WELL KNOWN TO SAN DIEGANS. First Officer on Valencia Formerly on Southern Run.  One board the Pacific Coast Steamship Company’s steamer Valencia was a brother of Justice of the Peace George Holmes of Coronado, William Holmes, who was the first officer of the vessel.  William Holmes was well known her and at Coronado.  He has been on the coast for nineteen years, having previously run as an officer on the Cunard Line on the Atlantic.  He was for several years connected with the Lower California Development Company as officer, and for nearly ten years has been with the Pacific Coast Company, mush of the time as an officer on the State of California, arriving here each Saturday morning, and sailing each Saturday night.”  A picture of him also appears in this article as well as a picture of Mrs. W Holmes and their baby, Mildred Tracy Holmes.

51. Eugene Hopkins, Assistant Freight Clerk - LOST

Eugene Hopkins, assistant freight clerk on the Valencia was reported to be still on the ship when the last two rafts departed.  He would have been cast into the sea just two hours later when the Valencia finally crumbled into the sea.  The San Francisco Call on January 24th reported, “Eugene E. Hopkins, freight clerk of the Valencia made his home with his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. J.S. Hopkins in Alameda, the family residence being at 2241 Clinton Avenue.  He was unmarried and was widely known an popular in the Encinal City, where he attended the public schools and spent his boyhood days.  Hopkins was 25 years of age and had been in the employ of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company for several years.”  The Victoria Daily Colonist on January 26 reported, “The lottery of fate was played by two freight clerks on the Valencia, with their lives as the stakes.  C.A. Metz left the vessel on her last trip to San Francisco, and Hopkins returned to the ship when she sailed for Seattle, and it was the first time he had been on duty aboard the Valencia since last October.”

52. J. Hosie, Second Class Passenger for Seattle - LOST

J. Hosie appears on passenger lists as a second class passenger for Seattle.

53. J.J. Hughes, Porter - LOST

J.J. Hughes was a porter on the Valencia.  He was one of the people reported to be still on the Valencia when the last life raft departed.  Two hours later the Valencia was smashed into the sea killing the last of the survivors on board.

54. William Stanton Hume, First Class Passenger - LOST

William Stanton Hume was a first class passenger on the Valencia. The San Francisco Chronicle on February 2nd, 1906, wrote:

"Among the passengers known to have sailed on the Valencia who have not been heard from was William S. Hume, a Kentuckian, but a resident of San Francisco for the past five months. Mr. Hume, who is of a prominent and well connected family of Richmond, Madison county, Kentucky, came to the Coast last summer to look into the mining industry, spending some time at Bullfrog. Completing his work there, he came to San Francisco and had been living at the Monarch Hotel, on Stockton Street, near Sutter, up to the time of his departure for Seattle. His mother, Mrs. Eugenia B. Hume, and a brother, Edward B. Hume, live at Richmond. He has two married sisters, whose names are no known." 

William Stanton Hume's body was never recovered.

55. Otto (James) Inglehorne, Second Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Otto (James) Inglehorne was a second class passenger on the Valencia.  The San Francisco Call on January 27th reported, “NINE BODIES CAS ASHORE BY THE SEA”  James Inglehorne was identified as one of the bodies, “The fifth body was that of O.W. Inglehorne, a second class passenger, given in the passenger list as James Inglehorne.  He belonged to Ferndale, Wash.  He had a check showing he had room No.49 on the steamship.  There was a 50 cent piece in his pockets.”

56. George Henry Jesse, First Class Passenger - LOST

George Henry Jesse was a first class passenger heading to Victoria.  He was still on the Valencia when it finally broke up killing all on board.  One Seattle newspaper reported on January 30th, "Survivors tell of the heroism of G.H. Jesse who is a prominent British Columbia oarsman, in refusing to take a place on the raft on which Connors and Long escaped, that he might remain to assist Miss Laura Van Wyck, a San Francisco society girl. Connors said: "I saw Jesse and know him, as he was a little further on the mast than I when the top-mast broke. I was carried down, and he had a hard time to keep in the rigging, holding Miss Van Wyck. "I called to him to come down and take a chance on the life raft, but he replied; "No, I have some one here to look after, and will stay and take my chances.”

The San Francisco Call reported on January 24th, “G.H. Jesse, a well known commercial traveller of the north, was on board the Valencia.  Jesse’s destination was Victoria, where he had business for a northern firm.  Jesse was formerly employed by the Hudson Bay Commercial Company and is well known all over the Northwest, as well as in this city.”  A memorial stone for George Henry Jesse is in the Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, BC.

57. Albert Johnson, Quartermaster's Mate - LOST

Albert Johnson was a Quartermaster's Mate on the Valencia and did not survive. Timothy McCarthy, boatswain on the Valencia and survivor later testified that Albert Johnson was the Quartermaster in charge of the Valencia when the ship struck. That appears to be the only mention of him during the disaster and it is unknown how or when he lost his life. Just four years previously he was one of the survivors of the sinking of the steamship Walla Walla. He escaped the sinking ship on a lifeboat and later picked up by another ship. He lived in San Francisco at 328 Drumm Street with roommates also part of Valencia's crew.

58. Oscar Johnson, Captain of the Valencia - LOST

Captain Oscar Johnson reportedly made no effort to save his own life and remained on the ship until it was smashed into the sea killing all on board.  The San Francisco Call on January 26th reported, “Survivors of the wreck of the steamship Valencia who were picked up from a life raft by the steamer City of Topeka are of the opinion that Captain O.M. Johnson, master of the Valencia, made no effort to save his own life, even were a chance presented.  According to their story Captain Johnson was heartbroken over the great loss of life attending the loss of the Valencia.  With tense, drawn face, Captain Johnson, clinging to the rigging with the passengers, thought only of those with him and time and again prayed for assistance.  “My God, send relief to my passengers,” Captain Johnson was heard moaning yesterday morning just before the life raft let the steamer.  Passengers and crew during the night prior to the departure of the life rafts, according to those saved, begged Captain Johnson to place a lifebelt about his waist. This he persistently refused to do.  In spite of the fact that those near him and who still thought of him in a kindly light, begged of him to think of his family and friends.  Captain Johnson would not do a single thing to help his condition.” 

59. Albert Karr, Second Class Passenger to Vancouver - LOST

Albert Karr was a second class passenger on the Valencia heading to Vancouver. A resident of Collingwood, a suburb of Vancouver. He went to San Francisco on a business trip and was returning on the Valencia. He had been on the City of Puebla when it broke its propellor shaft and nearly wrecked off the mouth of the Columbia River. The Valencia replaced the Puebla while getting repairs. Mr. Karr had a wife and a family of small children in Collingwood. His body was never recovered.

60. J. Keating, Second Class Passenger - LOST

J. Keating was a second class passenger on the Valencia. A body found near Turret Island was briefly identified as Keating by a friend, however it appears the body is that of Wilson, one of the men on the first raft to leave the Valencia. Wilson jumped off the raft and drowned before reaching Turret Island. J. Keating's body was never recovered.

61. Clyde William Knight, Passenger Not Registered – LOST

Clyde William Knight does not appear on the Valencia’s list of passengers; however, he is listed with four other men on leave from the US navy that were killed during the Valencia disaster. The official navy listing, published months after the Valencia disaster, is likely accurate and credible and it is interesting to note how often names were misspelled in newspapers in 1906. Two of the men listed in the navy report, Charles Uhler and John Finley were misspelled in the Valencia’s passenger list as C. Yuler and J. Fernie. This seems to make possible that Clyde Knight was a listed passenger on the Valencia and his name was too misspelled to recognize. No listed passengers come close to his name however. The US navy listing reads:

Merchant ship SS Valencia wrecked on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Five personnel on leave were drowned: Ordinary Seaman John Finley, Coal Passer Harman Fisher, Ordinary Seaman Clyde William Knight, Ordinary Seaman Charles Uhler and Coal Passer John Sidney Widmer. 23 Jan. 1906.

The Seattle Star newspaper wrote an article on February 5th, 1906 that confirmed Clyde William Knight was on the Valencia:

Albert Willis, of Spokane, one of the survivors of the wrecked steamship Valencia gives the name of C.W. Knight as on of the party of six naval men from San Francisco to Bremerton. Knight's name does not appear on the passenger list given out by the company and as he was not among those rescued his name must be added to the already long death roll.

62. Carl A. Linden, Carpenter - LOST

Carl A. Linden, a native of Finland, aged 50 was the carpenter on the Valencia. He did not survive. One of the Valencia survivors, Tony Brown, an Austrian second-class passenger, later testified that he encountered the carpenter on the deck soon after the Valencia struck.

“I just heard bump of ship on the rocks, I get out of bed and go up on deck to see, I find carpenter on deck look alongside bow, he say, “Everything is all right, go to bed”; after that I went down stairs again and put my clothes on and my shoes, in a couple minutes I hear all people say, “six feet water in the center”; after that I took life preserver and put it on me; after that going in the boat, as I was to go in the boat somebody want to grab me on the back, he say, “What you going to do?” I say, I am going in the boat.”

Tony Brown escaped the Valencia on lifeboat number 3 with fourteen others. They managed to get away from the ship, but were soon hit by a huge wave that overturned the boat. Brown and six others miraculously survived by clinging to a rocky ledge at the base of a cliff where they grouped with another two survivors from another lifeboat. The nine survivors formed was was later dubbed the Bunker Party and made their way to a lineman's hut where they contacted the outside world of the disaster.

63. C.A Loban, First Class Passenger - LOST

C.A. Loban was a first class passenger registered on the Valencia. His name appeared on the various lists of Valencia passengers published in newspapers. His body was never recovered. 

64. Ben Locke, Deck Boy - LOST

Ben Locke was a deck boy on the Valencia and did not survive the disaster. From Tacoma, Washington, he was just 17 years old and had been working on ships for years. He transferred from the steamship Santa Rosalie recently when it was undergoing repairs. He had been on the Valencia for just a couple of runs. His body was never recovered.

65. William Lombardini, First Class Passenger - LOST

William Lombardini was a first class passenger heading to Seattle after a pleasure trip to San Francisco.  January 25th the Victoria Daily Colonist reported, “Some Seattle Victims.  W. Lombardini, one of the best known residents of this city, was a passenger on the Valencia.  Mr. Lombardini has resided here since 1888, says the Seattle Post Intelligencer of yesterday.  Up to three months ago he was the proprietor of the Columbia beer hall.  He left Seattle on January 10 for Napa, California on private business.  He was to return by the Valencia and so told his brother, Toni Lombardini of Georgetown.  Mr. Lombardini is 47 years old and has a wife and two children, Josie, aged 14, and Lucy, aged 12, who reside at 912 Twelfth Avenue South."

66. Jacob Looring, Second Class Passenger for Seattle - LOST

Jacob Looring was listed as a second class passenger on the Valencia heading for Seattle. His body was never found.

67. J.E. Lucas, Second Class Passenger - LOST

J.E. Lucas was a second class passenger heading for Seattle. Josiah Lucas wrote a letter looking for information about J.E. Lucas.  “The missing one is described as a man of 23 years of age, about 5 feet 6 inches in height and of a quiet manner.”

68. John T. Lynch, Oiler - LOST

John T. Lynch worked as an oiler on the Valencia and did not survive. He was just 16 years old and a resident of San Francisco. The San Francisco Examiner wrote an article on January 25th, 1906 about George Lynch, Johns younger brother waiting for news of his brother for hours everyday outside the editorial rooms.

69. T. Manwakio, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Manwakio was a second class passenger heading to Seattle. He was travelling with two other Japanese men, S. Rancuna and Yosuki Hosoda. Of the three, Yosuki Hosoda was the only survivor.  On one of the lifeboats during the first hour, he managed to crawl his way out of the ocean after the lifeboat he was on flipped and smashed on the reef.  He was part of the Bunker Party that made their way along the beach to the hut at Darling River and used the telegraph line to call the outside world.

70. J.C. Marie, First Class Passenger - LOST

J.C. Marie was listed as a first class passenger heading to Seattle. His body was never recovered or identified.

71. P. Martin, Messboy - LOST

P. Martin was listed as a messboy on the Valencia. His body was never found.

** MARTIN, T., Registered Using Alias – See Rowland, Mabel

72. Charles McCarney, Waiter - LOST

Charles McCarney was listed as a waiter on the Valencia’s crew list.

73. James McCarrick, Cook - LOST

James McCarrick was a cook on the Valencia and did not survive. January 24th in The Call newspaper, “James McCarrick, well known in Butte and other Montana towns, was supposed to be on the steamship.  He is a livery man and about 29 years old.  He obtained work in the culinary department of the Valencia the day before she sailed and was on his way to Seattle.  McCarrick lived in Los Angeles several months before he came to this city.  He has a father and relatives in Great Falls Montana.”

74. P. Miller, Coal Passer - LOST

Miller is listed as a coal passer on the Valencia’s crew list. He did not survive the Valencia disaster. His body was not recovered.

75. John Montgomery, Quartermaster - Body Recovered

John Montgomery, was the quartermaster on the Valencia.  He died attempting to get into lifeboat No.5.  Communitystories.ca tells the tragic story beautifully, “ During the morning of Tuesday, January 23rd, the Valencia started to break apart. At 8:00 am Captain Johnson called for a volunteer crew to launch the last lifeboat #5. Manned by Boatswain Timothy J. McCarthy it was lowered down the side by ropes called falls. John Montgomery also to have gone in this boat had remained on deck to help in its dangerous lowering. As the lifeboat descended rapidly and its launch appeared hopeful John quickly attempted to join the others by sliding down the fall. Tragically, he was not quick enough and due to the cold and wet conditions likely lost his grip, fell into the water and was swept to his death.  Victoria's Daily Colonist for February 6, 1906, reported that the tug Lorne had returned from the search the previous day with the bodies of 9 men and 3 women. Four bodies had been definitely identified and two tentatively. One of the latter was likely that of quartermaster John Montgomery. The description was similar to that given by Mr. Griffith: 'Male - 5 feet 8 inches, long hair, features unrecognizable: no clothing. On left arm a British and Danish shield tattooed in blue and red, also a star with blue border tattooed on same arm. On right arm, three cross fishes tattooed in blue.' Montgomery's naval record showed his actual height to be 5 feet 7 inches which is very close to the description of the recovered body. The most distinguishing feature, however, is that of the tattoo showing three crossed fish. This unusual feature is actually the coat of arms for the Town of Peebles, Scotland where John was born and raised. This evidence strongly implies that the body was indeed that of John Montgomery.  This body along with many others, mostly unidentified, was interned at Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria. Although never positively identified, it appears that Montgomery was buried in the grave marked 'Number 11, Unknown'. Based on a review of many of the original records of this disaster, this grave can be safely said to be his final resting place."

76. J. Murphy, Second Class Passenger - LOST

J. Murphy was listed as a second class passenger heading for Seattle. His body was never recovered.

77. Mary Musgrove, Stewardess - LOST

Mrs. Musgrove was a stewardess on the Valencia.  She was one of the last survivors on the Valencia as reported by the men from the Topeka raft.  Two hours after the two life rafts left the ship a huge wave broke the ship in two and it folded like a jackknife, hurling everyone into the freezing ocean.  Some were pulled out to sea and others were smashed against the rocky cliffs.  Of an estimated 60 people, no one survived.

The San Francisco Call newspaper on January 25th reported how Mrs. Musgrove came to be on the Valencia, “Mrs. Orchard, the regular stewardess of the steamship Valencia, stayed ashore on the coaster’s last and fatal trip in order that another woman, with whom the world had not been going very well, might earn a few needed dollars.  She feels now that she owes her life to the little act of self-sacrifice.”

78. Mike Myocivic, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Mike Myocivic was a second class passenger on his way to Seattle when he became a victim of the Valencia disaster. There are several variations on the spelling of his name in newspapers printing the list of passengers, such as Miko Micoliv. His body was never recovered.

79. Walter C. Neele, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Walter C. Neele was a second class passenger for Seattle who lost his life at some point during the Valencia shipwreck.  The San Francisco Call reported on January 24th, “Walter C. Neele of Cincinnati was a passenger on the Valencia.  He was bound for Seattle; to which city he was assigned for duty by the Postal Telegraph Company.  Neel was employed in this city for the last month.  He arrived here shortly before Christmas and worked as a telegraph operator for the Postal Telegraph Company.  Neele was unmarried and about 30 years old.  His relatives reside in Cincinnati.”  In Victoria, inquiries were being made for a passenger named Neele, who is well known in Seattle, and is also known to some in this city, including H. Brewster.  Mr. Neele was formerly a telegraph superintendent in Manila, but has later been in the telegraphy service on the Coast.  Mr. Neele is of medium height, dark complexioned and is slightly bald.

80. J.F. Neley First Class Passenger - LOST

J.F. Neley was listed as a first class passenger heading to Seattle.

81. Robert M. Nelson, Third Assistant Engineer - Body Recovered

Robert Nelson, third assistant engineer was one of ten men that left the Valencia on the first of two life rafts at about 1030am on Wednesday, January 24th.  He died of exposure that night after enduring 15 hours in the raft which was constantly flooded with freezing ocean waves.  His body along with the bodies of Harry Gregory and John Wallace were found on the raft at 1pm Friday, January 26th.  This is the timeline of the horrific journey this raft went through.  10am Wednesday 24th Jan: Rafts Launched with chief cook Sam Hancock, fireman Max Stensler, fireman George Long, waiter Frank Connors, Unknown, steward A.T. Rolph, passenger W. Wilson, passenger Harry Gregory, waiter John Wallace and third assistant engineer Robert Nelson.  4pm Wednesday 24th Jan: Raft drifts past Cape Beale.  4-5pm Wednesday 24th Jan: After passing Cape Beale Unknown dies of exposure and is thrown overboard. 4-5pm Wednesday 24th Jan: Rolph jumped overboard to swim to shore.  Others watch as he is dashed against the rocks.  5-6pm Wednesday 24th Jan: Wilson died of exposure and is thrown off the raft, leaving 7 on board.  1159pm(midnight Wed night) Wed 24th Jan: Raft Lands on Turret Island with Hancock, Stensler, Long, Connors barely alive, Gregory and Nelson nearly dead from exposure and Wallace dead from exposure.  Nelson remained in a stupor all night though Gregory It was during this time that Gregory attacked Hancock and after being fought off, Gregory remained still the rest of the night.  8am(daylight Thurs morning) Thurs 25th Jan: Hancock, Stensler, Long and Connors head inland and along the coast in search of help.  9am Thurs 25th Jan: Connors splits from Hancock, Stensler and Long, heading inland in search of a lighthouse Connors believed he saw.  Hancock believed Connors was losing his mind and wanted to keep close to the beach.  12pm Thurs 25th Jan: Hancock, Stensler and Long found by a local Indian.  9pm Thurs 25th Jan, Hancock, Stensler and Long taken by steamer Shamrock to Toquay.  9am Friday 26th  Jan Hancock, Stensler and Long taken aboard Salvor and the Salvor learns that Connors is possibly still alive on Turret Island. 11am Friday 26th Jan Salvor anchors off Turret Island and launched two boats to circle the island in either direction to find Connors.  1pm Friday Jan 26th: The westward boat finds the raft, in the third bay searched, with Gregory, Nelson, and Wallace huddled on the raft.  2pm Friday Jan 26th:  The other boat found Connors about a mile eastward, laying on a log in the sun.

82. Jacob Nikko, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Jacob Nikko was listed as a second class passenger heading to Seattle.  His body was never found.

83. Henry Nordstrom, Second Class Passenger With Wife and Daughter - LOST

Henry Nordstrom was a second class passenger for Seattle travelling with his wife and their 8 year old daughter Marguerite, though she does not appear on the Valencia’s passenger list.  Connor from Turret raft confirmed “Mrs. Nostrum and child drowned” 26 Jan daily Colonist p8.  The Call newspaper on January 26th wrote, “F.M. Campbell, one of the survivors of the Valencia wreck left here last Saturday with his wife and 16-year-old stepdaughter, Ruby Gordon, bound for Seattle.  In company with the Campbell’s were Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Nordstrom and probably the latter couple’s 8-year-old daughter Marguerite, although the child’s name has not appeared in the published lists of passengers.  With the exception of Campbell, all of the other members of the party who were known to be on the Valencia are thought to have gone down to ocean graves.

Campbell is an Australian by birth, and he served in the British army during the Boer War, undergoing great hardships.  At the conclusion of the Boer War he engaged in the tobacco business in South Africa and later came to this country.  He had worked hereabouts as a machine agent and also as an insurance solicitor for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.  With his wife and daughter, Campbell occupied rooms at the Alameda Hotel, 1715 Park Street.  They left that place suddenly Saturday morning, leaving no word with the landlady as to their destination.

Nordstrom was, until the first of January, manager of the local agency of the Singer Sewing Machine Company at 1221 Park Street with his wife and little daughter at the home T.M. Edmunds, 2930 Central Avenue.  His wife assisted him in his work at the machine agency and the daughter attended Wilson Grammar School.  Nordstrom, after retiring from the management of the local office of the Singer Machine Company at the first of the year, aided his successor for a week in obtaining an insight into the business.  Nordstrom and Campbell had arranged to settle in Seattle and take charge of an agency for the Domestic Sewing Machine Company.  When the Nordstrom’s left the Edmunds home Saturday morning at 8am, they gave Mrs. Edmunds to understand that they might go north and also that they might return to Alameda.  They did not tell Mrs. Edmunds whether they intended to take their daughter with them, but Mrs. Edmunds believes that the little girl was a passenger on the Valencia.”

84. Mary Nordstrom, Second Class Passenger With Husband & Daughter - LOST

Mary Nordstrom was a second class passenger for Seattle, travelling with her husband and their 8 year old daughter Marguerite, though she does not appear on the Valencia’s passenger list.  Connor from Turret raft confirmed “Mrs. Nostrum and child drowned”. 26 Jan daily Colonist p8

85. Marguerite Nordstrom, Unregistered with Mom and Dad - LOST

Marguerite Nordstrom, 8-year-old daughter, not registered on the Valencia’s passenger list.  Mrs. Edmunds(landlord) believes that the little girl was a passenger on the Valencia.  Connor from Turret raft confirmed “Mrs. Nostrum and child drowned”.

86. Frank Novoch, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Frank Novoch was a second class passenger for Tacoma.

87. J.J. O'Farrell, Purser - LOST

J.J. O’Farrel, purser on the Valencia who did not survive.  The San Francisco Call reported on January 24th, “J.J. O’Farrell, the purser, is one of the best known men in this city and on the coast.  He is a son of Jasper O’Farrell, a pioneer, after whom O’Farrell Street was named.  The father was a civil engineer and laid out most of the streets in the Western Addition.  The purser is 48 years of age and has a wife and four children living at 624 Turk Street.  He was the senior member of the real estate firm of O’Farrell & Lang that dissolved in 1896.  FIRST RUN ON VALENCIA.  After the dissolution of the firm he obtained the position of claims agent of the Pacific Coast Steamship company and was later made purser on the Puebla.  He laid off for a trip and then went out as purser on the Valencia.  He has many friends in Sonoma County.  Mrs. O’Farrell was prostrated with grief last night.  She believed he had succumbed.”  Purser J.J. O’Farrel’s body was never found.

88. William Ogle and Wife and 4 Children - LOST

William Ogle was a passenger on the Valencia, travelling with his wife and four children.  Hancock(Turret Island survivor chief cook) 26 Jan Daily Colonist p8:  He says he knew the following passengers and thinks they are gone:  Mr. and Mrs. Ogle, with four children.  When he left the parents and their children were gone but one little boy was still aboard. Quartermaster Tarpey identified the bodies of the two Ogle children. 3 Feb 1906 Victoria Daily Times p1

89. Mrs. William Ogle, Husband and 4 Children - LOST

Mrs. Ogle was travelling with her husband and four children.  Her body was never found.  Hancock(Turret Island survivor chief cook) 26 Jan Daily Colonist p8:  He says he knew the following passengers and thinks they are gone:  Mr. and Mrs. Ogle, with four children.  When he left the parents and their children were gone but one little boy was still aboard.

90. Carl Ogle, Son, Child 1 of 4 - Body Recovered

Carl Ogle, a young boy, one of the four Ogle children on board the Valencia. The San Francisco Call on February 2nd, “The bodies were brought down from Victoria on the steamship Princess Beatrice, and included the remains of two children, supposed to be those of W.M. Ogle, who was lost with his wife and four children.” The bodies of Carl and his sister Neita were both recovered at the same time.

91. Neita Ogle, Daughter, Child 2 of 4 - Body Recovered

Neita Ogle, child 2 of 4, body recovered.  The San Francisco Call on February 2nd, “The bodies were brought down from Victoria on the steamship Princess Beatrice, and included the remains of two children, supposed to be those of W.M. Ogle, who was lost with his wife and four children.”

92. Ogle, Son, Child 3 of 4 - Body Recovered

The oldest of the four Ogle children, child 3 of 4, the oldest body recovered.

93. Ogle Baby, Child 4 of 4 - LOST

Ogle, child 4 of 4, on the Valencia - body not recovered.

94. Gunnar Lorense Olsson, Seaman, Got Ashore Killed, LOST

Gunnar Lorense Olsson was a seaman on the Valencia. There are several accounts by Valencia survivors of one, two, or three men at the base of the cliffs across from the Valencia.  Comparing the numerous versions of this event, it seems that there was only one man.  How he got there is still unknown, though he must have been one of about 50 passengers and crew thrown from the lifeboats in the first hour of the wreck.  He evidently was the only one that didn’t drown and found himself at the base of an unclimbable cliff.  Frank Connors, who survived on the Turret raft believes that person was Louis Olsen.

January 29th Victoria Daily Times, “A member of the crew called Lewis, who Mr. Connors thinks was Lewis Oleson getting into a place of safety on the face of the rock, tried to drag this line in, but his efforts were useless.  This line also parted.  It has always been a mystery how Lewis reached this place of safety.  Connors says he saw him attempt to cross a narrow strip of water which from the ship looked to be only about five feet wide.  It looked as though he could jump across and from the other side could reach the top of the bluff.  He was advised to do this, but apparently the distance was greater than it appeared from the ship.  Lewis stripped off his gum boots and some other clothing and attempted to swim the gulf.  He was immediately dashed to death.”

95. Michael O'Neill, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Michael O’Neill was a second class passenger on the Valencia on his way to Seattle. His body was never recovered.

96. J. Osborn, Steward - LOST

J. Osborn was listed as a steward on the Valencia on the published crew lists.

97. Henry Osland, Watchman - LOST

Henry Osland was a watchman on the Valencia. He was killed during the initial launching of the lifeboats which was later reported by survivor, Frank Connors. "I helped launch the boats and saw several of them swamped. While of of these was being lowered, the watchman, who was in the boat, reached over to push her off and his head was caught between the ship and the boat and crushed like an eggshell."

98. Bert Parker, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Bert Parker was a second class passenger on the Valencia with his fiancé Iva Shaver and her mother U.C. Rosenberg. Parker worked as a broom maker in Los Angeles, where he lived for the past two years. He rented a room in Mrs. Rosenberg's house where he met and fell in love with Iva Shaver. They planned on getting married starting a new life in Washington. They did not survive the Valencia disaster and their bodies were never recovered.

99. James Patterson, Chief Cook - LOST

James Patterson, chief cook on the Valencia was a resident of San Francisco. The San Francisco Call reported, “He was the father of six children, the oldest of whom is 14 years of age.  Patterson had been in the employ of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company for more than ten years, and had served on almost every vessel owned by that company.  Before leaving home for his last trip he told his wife that for the first time in his life he did not feel like going away, fearing some accident.  Patterson was 45 years of age and was a native of Belfast, Ireland.  He had followed the sea ever since his childhood.  His children are: James 14; Annie, 12; Mary, 10; Andrew, 9; Loretta, 6, and George, 4 years of age. He did not survive the Valencia disaster and his body was never recovered.

100. E. Pentila, Second Class Passenger - LOST

E. Pentila was listed as a second class passenger on the Valencia heading for Juneau. His name varies in spelling in newspapers reporting on the Valencia. Pentila, Pantha and Ranthee are the main variations and it is unclear which one is correct. His body was never recovered.

101. David M. Peters, Second Class Passenger - Body Recovered

David M. Peters was a first class passenger on the Valencia. His body was recovered and identified by his wife as reported in the Victoria Daily Times on January 27th, “Chief Langley this morning received a telegram from Mrs. D.M. Peters of Los Angeles, identifying one of the bodies secured from the wreck as that of D.M. Peters.  She describes him as a man of 5 ft 9 in, dark, 200 pounds, age 40, with a forefinger of left hand off.  The description exactly tallies with that of one of the bodies picked up.  Chief Langley has telegraphed the lady that he will notify her when the body is brought to Victoria.”

102. A. Pickering, Oiler - LOST

A. Pickering was an Oiler on the Valencia and did not survive. He was the stepson of A. Johnson, the Chief Steward of the steamer Pamona. This tragic voyage on the Valencia was his first trip. On January 27th, The San Francisco Call newspaper reported: "The mother of A. Pickering, who shipped as an oiler on the Valencia, has decided that there is no hope now of every hearing from her boy again.  He went on the trip much against her wishes.  Young Pickering is scarcely over 21 years old and had considerable property south of Market Street, but chose to follow the sea because of his love of adventure." His body was not recovered.

103. Rancuna, Second Class Passenger - LOST

S. Rancuna was a second class passenger on the Valencia heading to Seattle. He was travelling with two other Japanese men, S. Manwakio and Yosuki Hosoda. Of the three, Yosuki Hosoda was the only survivor.  On one of the lifeboats during the first hour, Yosuki Hosoda managed to crawl his way out of the ocean after the lifeboat he was on flipped and smashed on the reef.  He was part of the Bunker Party that made their way along the beach to the hut at Darling River and used the telegraph line to call the outside world. It seems likely that Rancuna and Manwakio were on the lifeboat with Hosoda and did not survive, but their fate is unknown. Rancuna and Manwakio's bodies were never recovered and Hosoda was never interviewed after the disaster.

104. Adam Rolph, First Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Adam Rolph was a first class passenger on the Valencia heading back to his wife and five children in New Westminster where he lived for twenty years.  The Daily Colonist reported that Rolph had recently resigned his position as bookkeeper at the St. Mungo Cannery, Fraser River, and went to San Francisco to engage in a business venture there.  Mrs. Rolph received a letter from him that his plans had miscarried and that he was returning on the Valencia.  Rolph was one of ten men on the first of two rafts that left the ship just two hours before it collapsed into the sea killing an estimated 65 people still on board.  After six hours of drifting along the coast and submerged in freezing water, Rolph jumped overboard to try to swim ashore. Connors remembers: “I saw him dashed against the rocks, we were unable to help him.”  Days later his body was found washed ashore. 

105. Jose Salomon Romero, Waiter - LOST

Jose Salomon Romero was a waiter on the Valencia. He lived in San Francisco where he was recently married. Romero has worked for several years on various steamships and only recently transferred to the Valencia. This tragic voyage was only his second on the Valencia. The San Francisco Call newspaper reported on January 26th: "Mrs. Romero awaits news of her husband, and her grief is doubly severe owing to the fact that her mother died but two months ago." His body was never recovered. 

106. U.C. Rosenberg, Second Class Passenger - LOST

U.C. Rosenberg was a second class passenger on the Valencia travelling with her daughter Iva Shaver and Bert Parker. Shaver and Parker were planning on getting married soon after arriving in Seattle and making their home there with Mrs. Rosenberg's brother. The San Francisco Call newspaper reported on January 25th, 1906:

"Only a few months ago Mrs. Rosenberg was in comfortable financial circumstances, owned considerable realty in this city, and her daughter had lucrative employment. The mother went into a real estate deal, which terminated unfortunately, and in the litigation which followed she lost the property and was left practically without means. Her daughter became ill and the mother was unable to care for her. Mrs. Rosenberg's brother whose home is in Seattle, invited them to make their home with him and they accepted. Mrs. Rosenberg's son received a telegram from Seattle today stating that his mother and sister were on the wrecked vessel, but no tidings of them had been received."

107. Donald Ross, First Class Passenger - LOST

Donald Ross a first class passenger on the Valencia headed to Victoria. The San Francisco Examiner reported on January 26th, 1906:

"Of the Victoria dead by the Valencia disaster one of the best known in Donald Ross of Cove Road, who has for years been very prominent in labor circles. He was connected with the British Columbia pottery works and was regarded as one of its most trusted employees. It is a curious coincidence that scarce three years ago his wife was drowned almost within sight of home while voyaging on the Clallam from Puget Sound. His children are being tenderly cared for and comforted in their new and terrible grief."

Donald Ross was 24 years old, from Scotland and just two years ago moved to Canada. He worked as a stonecutter and was on his way to Victoria to work on a hotel. His body was never recovered.

108. Lulu Rowland (alias T. Simpson), Second Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Passenger registered as T. Simpson was later discovered to be a fake name used by Lulu Rowland.  Roy Hazard, 21, Mabel Rowland and her sister Lulu Rowland, 16, were travelling from LA using fake names. The two girls went as “Misses T Martin and T Simpson.”  In the weeks after the Valencia disaster newspapers would report that Roy Hazard's father was "under indictment in Los Angeles on a statutory charge preferred by Lulu May Rowland, 16 years of age..." Young Hazard, in company with Lulu Rowland and her sister Mabel, fled from Los Angeles about three weeks ago and took passage on the Valencia from San Francisco under assumed names..." Hazard's father, a Los Angeles real estate broker is out on a $3000 bond and will return to stand trial. He and the father of the Lulu and Mabel Rowland came to Victoria in early February to identify the bodies of Lulu and Roy. Mabel's body was never recovered, though newspapers frequently mixed up the names and reported Mabel's body found and even identified. 

109. Mabel Rowland (alias T. Martin), Second Class Passenger - LOST

Mrs. T. Martin appears on the Valencia’s passenger list.  It was discovered in the days following the wreck that this was a fake name used by Mabel Rowland.  Mabel Rowland, Roy Hazard, 21 and Lulu Rowland, 16 had run away together to keep Lulu Rowland from testifying in court against Roy Hazard's father. He was, "under indictment in Los Angeles on a statutory charge preferred by Lulu May Rowland, 16 years of age..." They were travelling from LA using fake names.  The two girls went as “Misses T Martin and T Simpson.” They left Los Angeles together surreptitiously, young Hazard giving his name as “West” when taking passage on the Valencia at San Francisco, and the two girls as “Misses Martin and Simpson.””  Hazard left a letter with a friend with instructions to mail it when they sailed.  The friend forgot until January 27th, several days after the Valencia wrecked.  The parents only learned they were on the Valencia when the letter arrived. Mabel Rowland's body was never recovered, though several newspapers reports list her body found and identified by her father. This appears to be incorrect as Lulu Rowland and Roy Hazard's bodies were found and identified as reported by the majority of newspapers. Mabel Rowland's body was never found.

110. Miss Iva Shaver, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Iva Shaver was travelling with her mother and Bert Parker to Seattle to start a new life. Shaver and Parker were planning on getting married soon after arriving. Her mother U.C. Rosenberg had a brother in Seattle and they planned to stay with him. Iva Shaver, Bert Parker and U.C. Rosenberg all died in the Valencia disaster and their bodies were never recovered.

111. Theodore Shreve, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Theodore Shreve was a second class passenger on the Valencia going to Seattle. A resident of Los Angeles, Shreve was 40 years old and on his way to Montana to look after farming interests and was visiting a friend in Seattle on his way. His body was recovered, though unidentified and buried in Victoria weeks after the disaster in a grave marked XIII. In late February his wife in Los Angeles, who had not heard from him, discovered he was on the Valencia. A photograph and description of him was sent and used to identify the description of body XIII.

**SIMPSON, T., Registered Using Alias – See Rowland, Lulu

112. William Sibley, First Class Passenger - Body Recovered

William Sibley was a first class passenger on the Valencia who did not survive.  His body was later found when it drifted ashore at Long Beach near Tofino.  He was 21 years old.

113. Mark Smith, Second Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Mark Smith was a second class passenger on the Valencia. The February 5th edition of The San Francisco Call reported: “Of the three bodies taken from the shore near the wreck and brought here by the tug Wyadda tonight with the five bodies found by the Perry, already described.  One has been almost positively identified as that of Mark Smith of Rockford, Ill.  On this body were two rings, one buckle keeper, with the word “Klondike” engraved thereon, and a gold watch, No. 2269377, made by the Standard Watch Company.”

114. J. Sperow, Fireman - LOST

J. Sperow worked as a fireman on the Valencia. His name appears on the Valencia's crew list.

115. Minnie Stewart, First Class Passenger - LOST

Minnie Stewart was a first class passenger on the Valencia. Newspapers reported that left San Francisco to hurry to the bedside of her dying mother in Juneau, Alaska. Her body was never recovered.

116. Alice Stoltenberg & Two Children - LOST

Mrs. Alice Stoltenberg, often misspelled Stollenberg, and her two children were on the Valencia. Newspapers reported that she was the wife of a rancher in Shelby, Montana and she had been visiting her father in San Francisco for the past three months. They had planned on going home three weeks earlier, but the children were not well and ended up on the Valencia. The bodies of Alice Stoltenberg and her two children were never recovered.

117. Stoltenberg Child on the Valencia - LOST

Mrs. Alice Stoltenberg reported lost with two children.

118. Stoltenberg Child on the Valencia - LOST

Mrs. Alice Stoltenberg reported lost with two children.

119. Sam Tam, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Sam Tam or possible Sam Tem was a second class passenger on the Valencia on his way home in Tacoma. His body was never found.

120. Henry Telgman, First Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Henry Telgman, sometimes misspelled Helgman was a first class passenger on the Valencia. He is a member of the firm of Telgman & Torka, manufacturers and repairers of scientific instruments at 116 Union Square Avenue. Telgman is unmarried and has been living at the St. James Hotel, but recently moved to another address.  His partner, Frank Torka, said that Telgman went to Victoria on a business trip on behalf of the firm and expected to be gone some time. He says that Telgman is an athlete and expert swimmer, and that if he was not injured in the wreck he would have had no difficulty in reaching the shore. The Victoria Daily Colonist on February 24th, 1906 reported body number 13 was positively identified as Henry Helgman of San Francisco. The newspaper misspelled his name in their reporting.

121. Mrs. J.C. Thompson, First Class Passenger - LOST

Mrs. J.C. Thompson was listed as a first class passenger on the Valencia. She was reportedly heading to Bellingham. Her body was never recovered.

122. Charles Uhler, Second Class Passenger - LOST

Charles Uhler, variously misspelled Yuker or Yuler in the newspapers reporting the Valencia disaster, was a second class passenger on leave from the US navy on his way to Seattle.  United States navy records list him as Ordinary Seaman Charles Uhler, drowned when the Merchant ship SS Valencia wrecked on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, along with four other navy personnel on 23 January 1906. His body was never recovered.

123. Laura Van Wyck, First Class Passenger - Body Found

Laura Van Wyck was a first class passenger on the Valencia on her way to Seattle to visit her sister. She lived in San Francisco she came from a rich family and described as a prominent young society woman. In the days and weeks after the Valencia disaster she received a lot of attention in the press which highlighted her rich and prominent family. The San Francisco Examiner on January 25th, 1906 wrote:

The Van Wyck family is well known in San Francisco and is of distinguished origin. Miss Laura Van Wyck's name appears in Browning's recently published list of royalty's descendants in America. She belonged to Jefferson Davis Chapter, Daughters of the Confederacy, of which her mother is president. She recently returned from an extended visit to friends and relatives in the East. In society she has been a belle since her debut.

Another newspaper reported that she had planned to travel to Seattle by rail, but at the last moment decided to go by sea and take the Valencia. Her mother urged her to travel by train as she worried about the dangers of travelling by steamship. She couldn't be persuaded and insisted, "It will be exciting to go on the boat, and I expect to have a grand time."

A week after the Valencia wreck, on January 31st, Laura Van Wyck's brother Sidney M. Van Wyck travelled to Victoria to search for her body which was yet to be recovered. He met with his brother in law, Mr. Peters who also came to search. Peters, three days previously had narrowly escaped death himself when the Southern Pacific train he was on collided with a freight train at Grants Pass. Laura Van Wyck's body was found on February 2nd by the United States revenue cutter Perry. On that day the Perry found five bodies floating more than a mile from the Valencia wreck. The bodies, two woman and three men were spotted from the deck of the Perry. All were described as badly mutilated and nude. One was thought to be Laura Van Wyck, though far from certain. As of February 2nd, the number of victims of the Valencia wreck recovered totalled twenty-seven. The following day she was positively identified by her dental records sent from San Francisco which matched the teeth of the recovered body. Her body was brought back to San Francisco by her brother.

124. G. Walker, First Class Passenger - LOST

G. Walker was registered as a first class passenger on the Valencia heading to Seattle. His body was not recovered.

125. John Wallace, Waiter - Body Found

John Wallace was a waiter on the Valencia. He was on the first raft with nine other men that left the Valencia at about 1030am, Wednesday January 24th.  About 14 hours later, at around midnight they managed to get ashore on Turret Island, a small island in the maze of islands in Barkley Sound.  Three of the seven men had died of exposure or jumped from the raft and died.  Four of the remaining seven men waited until morning and set off for help.  John Wallace, Harry Gregory and Robert Nelson were thought by the others to be dead from exposure.  The others managed to find help at about noon on Thursday, January 25th.  On Friday, January 26th, the raft with Wallace, Gregory and Nelson on it was found and picked up by the Salvor.

126. Harry Ward, First Class Passenger - LOST

Harry Ward was a first class passenger on the Valencia headed for Seattle, then to Eagle Harbor to visit his mother.  Harry Ward was 17 years old and lived in San Francisco with his father, Captain Daniel Ward, a prominent, retired, sea captain.  There was some confusion on the identity of Harry Ward as he was initially reported as Harry R. Ward of San Francisco.  Harry R. Ward contacted The San Francisco Call newspaper to let them know that, “he is well and busy”.  In Victoria, the Daily Colonist on January 25th reported another incorrect Harry Ward, this one from Nelson, BC.  “Mr. Harry Ward, who was one of the best known accountants in Kootenay”.  They reported that he is from a well-known and highly respected family, and to add to the tragedy, just a year ago he lost his father.  The article quite irresponsibly listed this incorrect Harry Ward’s two brothers and sister-in-law and, “It is not known whether any of these are among the rescued”.  The Daily Colonist didn’t just report one person dead, but possibly four people that were not even on the Valencia.  They corrected their mistake in the following days paper and reported that, “Mr. Ward was at Fernie a week ago”.

127. J.D. Wasson (alias J.B. Shannon) Second Class Passenger - LOST

J.D. Wasson was a second class passenger on the Valencia that registered under the name J.B. Shannon. He worked as a salesman for the Armour Packing Company in Seattle. It is unclear as to why he travelled under the name J.B. Shannon on the Valencia. His identity was only discovered in late February when a letter was received in Seattle from his wife in Missouri. Though they had separated two years ago and she was seeking proof of his death in order to receive the $1000 insurance policy she had on him. It does not appear in any records that his body was found or identified.

128. E. Waughtil, Second Class Passenger - LOST

E. Waughtil, sometimes spelled Weightel, was listed as a send class passenger headed for Tacoma, travelling with P. Waughtil. Both bodies were not found.

129. P. Waughtil, Second Class Passenger - LOST

P. Waughtil, sometimes spelled Weightel, was listed as a second class passenger headed for Tacoma, travelling with E. Waughtil. Both bodies were not found.

130. Charles Welch Pantryman - LOST

Charles Welch, a seventeen-year-old boy who was employed as a pantryman on the Valencia, was another who met a sad fate. The Call on 25 January reported, “Welch lived in this city.  He was the son of Henry Welch, stoker of Engine Company 26 on Second Avenue, near Point Lobos Avenue, and the home of young Welch was across the way from the engine house.  Welch must have gone down after a desperate struggle, as he was young and strong and the kind to put up a vigorous fight in the face of imminent death.  His parents are prostrated over the news that their son was among those who met a watery grave.”

**WEST, C. Registered Using Alias – See Hazard, Roy

131. John Sidney Widmer, First Class Passenger - LOST

John Sidney Widmer was registered as a first class passenger on the Valencia.  He was on leave from the US navy and headed for Seattle.  His body was never found.  He is listed in United States navy records along with four other men who died on the Valencia.  The record reads:  Merchant ship SS Valencia wrecked on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Five personnel on leave were drowned: Ordinary Seaman John Finley, Coal Passer Harman Fisher, Ordinary Seaman Clyde William Knight, Ordinary Seaman Charles Uhler and Coal Passer John Sidney Widmer. 23 January 1906. 

132. L. Wilkins, Bartender - LOST

L. Wilkins was the bartender on the Valencia an was witnessed to be still on the ship when the last life raft left. The Valencia collapsed into the see two hours later and all on board were flung into the sea and drowned. His body was never found.

133. Mrs. Wilkinson, First Class Passenger - LOST

Mrs. Wilkinson was listed as a first class passenger on the Valencia heading for Seattle, her body was never found. In the days after the Valencia disaster, Miss Edith Ellis of Vancouver was making inquiries to find out if this was her aunt. All she knew was that her aunt named Mrs. Wilkinson was coming to visit Seattle from San Francisco, however she did not know when. 

134. John George Williams, Seaman - LOST

John George Williams, seaman on the Valencia was a native of Canada and his age was 50.  He was reported to have died on the Valencia, his body was never recovered.

135. W. Wilson, Second Class Passenger - Body Recovered

W. Wilson, a second class passenger on the Valencia was one of the ten men that set off on the first of two rafts that left the Valencia. After about 10 hours on the raft, soaking wet with freezing seawater, Wilson leaped into the sea and drowned. He was the third man on the raft to die.  Only four of the ten men that boarded the raft survived.  Wilson’s body was later found and identified by Hancock, one of the raft survivors.  A handkerchief was found on his body with the initial “W” worked into it with red silk.

136. Harry Woolridge, First Class Passenger - Body Recovered

Harry Woolridge was a first class passenger on the Valencia headed to Vancouver. There was considerable confusion over this passenger in the weeks following the Valencia disaster. The San Francisco Call on January 25th wrote:

“There will be sincere mourning in the mining caps of Alaska when the news reaches them of the fate of Harry Woolridge, famed from Dawson to the Bering Sea for his remarkable coups on the faro table.  His regular vocation was that of gambling, and his daring and spectacular gaming with heaps of gold dust had won him high renown in the camps of the frozen north.  The prestige he thus gained with the rugged miners, whose own lot is that of odds and chances, was added to by a warm personality, a generosity unstinted and an unquestioned reputation for being “on the square”.  He was well along in the forties, his hair was tinged with gray and his appearance was that of a gentleman.  Although most of his life had been spent among the rough places of the frontier and in the company of rough men, Woolridge remained always the genial, unobtrusive man of clean habits.  Woolridge went to Dawson with the great rush of 1898, and it was in notable faro games during the first years of the remarkable camp that he achieved fame for big winnings and losings.  His career was most spectacular, notwithstanding that his personality was modest.  Woolridge has been spending the winter in San Francisco, and was on his way to Seattle for a stay of a month before starting for Fairbanks over the ice in March.”

Two days later, on January 27th, another newspaper, The Evening Statesman reported that Harry Woolridge was alive and was not on the Valencia:

"He had been in San Francisco and had bought a ticket for Seattle, intending to take the Valencia on what proved to be her last and fatal trip. The night before she sailed, however, Woolridge determined to have one more wrestle with the Frisco "tiger", and as a result of a long drawn out battle Woolridge found himself "broke". Not wishing to reach Seattle in this depleted financial condition, Woolridge disposed of his passenger ticket to a broker. The latter must have disposed of it to someone of unknown name, for it appears certain that a passenger on board the ill-fated vessel was travelling as H. Woolridge."

On February 9th, two weeks after the Valencia disaster The San Francisco Call ran a story:

“FIND WOOLRIDGE’S BODY. Remains of Thirty-Ninth Victim of Valencia Wreck Recovered.  The body of a well dressed man has been picked up by an Indian on Long Beach, near Schooner Cove.  Papers found in the pockets identify the corpse as that of Harry Woolridge, one of the victims of the Valencia.  A Bible was found in his pocket, with the name inside.”

Harry Woolridge was discovered to be a young New Zealander who had been working in San Francisco for several months. Planning to return to New Zealand, Woolridge was first coming to Victoria to visit his uncle.

137. James Wright, Second Class Passenger - LOST

James Wright was a second class passenger on the Valencia. Just 16 years old, a year ago he was living in Seattle with his mother as The Vancouver Daily News Advertiser reported:

"Last winter he was induced to go to Port Townsend and while there he was shanghaied aboard a vessel bound for Australia. From Australia, young Wright shipped for Peru on another sailing craft and later returned to San Francisco about three weeks ago and at once wrote to his mother. The boy was in good health but was practically without means as he had been obliged to work his passage up the Coast from South America. Mrs. Wright sent her son money to defray his expenses home and he left San Francisco as a second cabin passenger on the ill-fated Valencia."

**YUKER or YULER, C or E., Misspelled on Passenger List – See Uhler, Charles

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