Dutch Passage on the Rijndam

In 1906, at the age of 17, Dewey Braaksma came to America with his family on the SS Rijndam. I wish I had known that when I was a child because I would have loved to ask Grandpa what it was like on that freighter. Did he love it? Did he get sea sick? Was it stormy or was it amazing?

About the SS Rijndam
The first SS Rijndam, was built in 1901 in Ireland for a Holland-American Line that sailed from Rotterdam to New York. She flew the Dutch flag from 1901-1916.
In 1917, during WWI, the ship was seized by U.S. Customs and commissioned on May 1, 1918, in New York to serve as a troopship under commander John J. Hannigan, U.S. Navy. She was recommissioned the USS Rijndam and brought troops from Europe to the U.S. for nearly a year.
After WWI, she was re-deployed as a passenger ship for service from Rotterdam to New York. She carried over 3,000 passengers on her 26 trips across the Atlantic.

The SS Rijndam was scrapped in Holland in 1929.


Ship Information
Built by Harlan & Wolff Limited, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1901. Weight: 12,527 gross tons; 575 (bp) feet long; 62 feet wide.Steam, triple-expansion engines; twin screw. Service speed, 15 knots. Capacity: 2,282 passengers (286 First Class, 196 Second Class, 1,800 Third Class).
Ship History
1901: Exclusively built for Holland - American Line, Dutch flag, named Rijndam:  Rotterdam-New York Service. 
1917: Laid up due to World War I.
1918: Chratered by United States Navy, American flag. Used as a troopship for about a year.
1919-1928: Reinstated Rotterdam-New York service 1919-1928
1929: Scrapped in Holland

Credits
Source: www.ellisisland.org
Drawing: Duncan Haws

Manifest
Click to see the front side of the manifest listing the John and Anna Braaksma family
Click to see the back side of the manifest listing the John and Anna Braaksma family