Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
“ The men on board seemed to lose their heads completely [when their ship encountered a storm before reaching the Isthmus of Panama]. They cursed and fought for life preservers, forgetting all about the women and children. The women wept and prayed in silence. They were much more composed than the men. One big German woman from steerage put on a pair of life preservers and walked up and down the deck with a large market basket on her arm which contained all her belongings. She was ready to jump overboard at any moment.
When the storm subsided, the passengers helped the crew put things in order. In time many of them became drunk and quarrelsome. They broke the trunks of the passengers, taking away all that was valuable. My mother lost everything. ”
Kathleen Cole on her mother, Mary Butler Cole
arrived in 1854 from Ireland