John Bell - Waiter
John Morson Bell, a 24-year-old waiter aboard the SS Valencia, perished in the maritime disaster of January 22–24, 1906. The coastal passenger steamer ran aground in heavy fog off the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and broke apart in pounding surf on January 24. All women and children aboard lost their lives, along with many crew members and male passengers. John’s body was one of the few recovered, but a misidentification led to a poignant last-minute funeral mix-up involving another victim’s family. John Morson Bell was born in 1881 in San Francisco, California. He was the beloved son of John and Elizabeth J. Bell. At the time of the disaster, he served as a waiter on the crew of the Valencia. His body was recovered from the scene of the wreck and taken to Victoria.
On February 2, 1906, the Victoria Daily Times reported that body No. 15 had been identified as John N. Bell (likely a slight spelling variation), a waiter on the ill-fated steamer. Plans were made to forward the body to San Francisco for interment at the request of his relatives.
On February 6, 1906, the News Tribune noted that John’s father telegraphed from San Francisco, confirming the identification based on a distinctive tattoo: an eagle above an American flag on his arm. The body was then scheduled to be shipped to San Francisco.
The Funeral Mix-Up
A heartbreaking case of mistaken identity occurred with John Bell’s body. The parents of another Valencia victim, Henry Osland, had been told their son’s body was in Victoria and prepared a funeral at their home in Brighton Beach, Seattle. Services were to be held by Rev. Mitchell of the Presbyterian church, with assistance from the choir and a delegation from the Seaman’s union. Friends and relatives gathered with many floral tributes.
Late on Wednesday afternoon, just before the scheduled service, a friend discovered at the morgue that the body was not Henry Osland but that of John Bell. The secretary of the Seaman’s union traveled to Victoria to verify the mistake. The funeral for Henry Osland was called off at the last minute. The Seattle Star reported on February 9, 1906, that Osland’s parents were almost prostrated with grief, the long uncertainty compounded by this final disappointment.
John Morson Bell’s body was ultimately returned to his family in San Francisco and interred at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park (Section F, Memorial ID 59581084). His gravestone reads:
“Bell — At sea, January 24, 1906, John Morson Bell, beloved son of John and Elizabeth J. Bell, a native of San Francisco, Cal., aged 24 years 8 months and 8 days."
Picture of John Bell - 25 Jan San Francisco Examiner
