Mary Nordstrom, a second-class passenger bound for Seattle, perished in the SS Valencia maritime disaster of January 22–24, 1906, along with her husband Henry and their eight-year-old daughter Margaret. The coastal passenger steamer ran aground in heavy fog off Vancouver Island and broke apart in pounding surf. All women and children aboard lost their lives. Mary had assisted her husband in his work as agent for the Singer Sewing Machine Company in Alameda and was traveling with the family to start a new chapter in Seattle.

The Valencia Disaster

 Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail1. The Valencia Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail2. The Voyage Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail3. The Boats Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail4. The McCarthy Boat Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail5. The Bunker Party Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail6. On the Valencia Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail7. The Rafts Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail8. The Turret Raft Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail9. The Rescue Ships Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail10. The Aftermath Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail11. The Survivors Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail12. The Lost 

The West Coast Trail

Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailPrologue Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail1: The West Coast Trail Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail2: When to Hike & Fees Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail3: Trailheads Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail4: Getting There Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail5: Considerations Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail6: Campsites Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail7: Shipwrecks Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail8: Routes Shipwreck on the West Coast Trail9: Sights & Highlights

Background and Family

Mary Nordstrom and her husband Henry lived with the T. M. Edmunds family at 2930 Central Avenue in Alameda. Henry managed the local Singer Sewing Machine Company agency at 1321 Park Street, and Mary helped him in the business. Their daughter Margaret attended Wilson Grammar School and was beloved by the household.

In early 1906, the family decided to move north. Henry and his friend Frank Campbell planned to take over an agency for the Domestic Sewing Machine Company in Seattle. The two families left Alameda hurriedly on Saturday, January 20. Mrs. Edmunds later believed Margaret was aboard the Valencia with her parents.

The Valencia Disaster

Valencia survivor Frank Connors from the Turret Raft confirmed that “Mrs. Nostrum [Nordstrom] and child drowned.” This account, reported in the Daily Colonist on January 26, 1906, indicates that Mary and Margaret were lost together during the ordeal.

No detailed personal accounts describe Mary’s final hours, but like all women and children on the ship, she did not survive the failed lifeboat launches and the vessel’s breakup on January 24.

San Francisco Examiner Photos of Henry and Mary Nordstrom

Photos of Henry and Mary Nordstrom 1906

Recovery and Memorial

Mary Nordstrom and her family were listed among those lost. Their bodies were never recovered.