Sam Davis, Second Assistant Engineer on the Valencia, drowned while heroically attempting to swim a lifeline to shore on January 23, 1906. Few details of his time on the Valencia during the fateful last voyage are known, though many of the survivors later recounted his brave attempt to save them all.
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
As Second Assistant Engineer, Davis was a licensed officer in the engine department. On a ship like the Valencia in 1906, this role involved standing engine-room watches, operating and monitoring the triple-expansion steam engines and coal-fired boilers, supervising firemen and coal passers, maintaining auxiliary machinery (pumps, generators, steering engine), keeping engineering logs, and performing routine repairs at sea. In an emergency, he helped keep steam and power available for lights, pumps, and lifeboat winches as long as possible.
Background and Family
Sam Davis was about 26 years old and hailed from Coos Bay, a coastal town in Oregon. He had recently married Alma (Morgan) Davis and moved to Seattle, Washington. The couple’s happiness was tragically brief.
On January 25, 1906, The Bulletin (San Francisco) published a front-page photograph of Sam and his wife Alma with the caption:
“S.H. Davis, Second Assistant Engineer of the Valencia, Who Is Believed to Be Drowned, and His Wife.”
The Valencia Disaster – The First Hours
Just before midnight on January 22, 1906, the Valencia struck a rock ledge a few hundred metres from the shore of Vancouver Island. In the first chaotic hour, six of the seven lifeboats were launched hastily amid darkness, freezing rain, crashing waves, and panic. Many boats were overloaded or had falls snap, throwing dozens of people — including women and children — into the sea. Boats No. 1, No. 4, and the small working boat No. 7 were largely destroyed, with nearly all occupants lost. Boats No. 2, No. 3, and No. 6 managed to pull away briefly but met similar fates against the reef, with only a handful of survivors reaching shore.
By the early morning of January 23, the ship continued to disintegrate under relentless waves. The stern of the ship rested on the reef and the bow, facing out to sea, sloped down beneath the crashing waves.
With all but one of the lifeboats gone and rescue ships still distant, the situation grew desperate. John Segalos, a Greek fireman, bravely volunteered to swim a line to shore but was battered by the surf and hauled back aboard.
Despite the obvious danger, Sam Davis insisted on trying. Survivor Frank Connors later testified that Davis was in the water for fully half an hour and got closer to shore than Segalos had. Witnesses described how he plunged into the boiling sea with a lifeline around his waist, fighting the powerful undertow and crashing waves. A huge breaker eventually parted the line, and Davis was smashed against the rocks and killed.
Capt. Gibbs, secretary of the board of underwriters, recounted the attempt:
“During the interval when those on board saw it would be useless to try and launch boats, one of the sailors volunteered to attempt to get a line ashore… With a lifeline about his waist and thin clothing, the sailor… stepped to the rail and plunged in the boiling sea… Another huge wave parted the line, and the sailor who had given his life in an attempt to save the remaining passengers was dashed to pieces on the rocks.”
John Segalos later spoke highly of Davis’s conduct during the wreck.
Recovery and Memorial
Sam Davis’s body was never recovered. He is listed among the lost in detailed crew compilations of the Valencia tragedy. His selfless attempt to save others — made in the face of almost certain death — stands as one of the most heroic acts of the disaster.
Tragically, his young widow, Alma, survived him by only a month. Alma’s health declined rapidly after learning of her husband’s death. She passed away on February 22, 1906, at the home of her father, J.E. Morgan, in Seattle. Her death was attributed to consumption, hastened by grief.