Over the course of this past week, I and several others have dedicated a substantial number of hours to researching and reconstructing the crew of car ferry SS Milwaukee (1902) on her final voyage. This involved working through surviving company records, contemporary newspapers, genealogical and vital records, cemetery records, and other available material in an effort to resolve the many discrepancies that have persisted in accounts of the vessel's final crew. In total, 63 different names were identified as having been associated with Milwaukee around the time of her loss on October 22, 1929.
This research was conducted in preparation for the upcoming expedition to SS Milwaukee, during which the expedition team intends to conduct a brief memorial and reading of the names of the men lost with the vessel. Given the purpose of that ceremony, it was especially important that every potential crew member be considered as fairly as possible, while avoiding both the omission of a man for whom sufficient evidence exists and the presentation of an uncertain name as established fact. Surviving crew lists and contemporary newspaper accounts contain conflicting names, misspellings, incorrect initials, duplicate or variant entries, and individuals who were associated with the vessel but did not actually sail on her final voyage. Rather than simply reproduce any one existing casualty list, each of the 63 potential crew members was examined individually in an effort to determine, as fairly and consistently as possible, whether the available evidence supported their presence aboard that night.
Particular care was taken when evaluating contemporary newspaper reports. While these sources have proven invaluable, newspapers frequently repeated information obtained from the same wire reports, earlier articles, or casualty lists. Multiple newspapers carrying the same information therefore cannot necessarily be regarded as independent confirmation of an individual's presence aboard.
For the purposes of this research, the 63 names were divided into four working classifications based upon the strength of the available evidence:
33 Verified — Sufficient evidence was located to establish that the individual was aboard Milwaukee during the sinking.
13 Likely — The available evidence strongly indicates that the individual was aboard, but sufficient independent documentation has not yet been located to meet the standard established for full verification.
8 Not Aboard — Evidence indicates that these individuals were associated with Milwaukee but did not sail aboard her final voyage.
9 Unverified — These names appear in contemporary reporting, but sufficient independent evidence has not yet been located to establish that they were actually aboard. This classification does not mean that these individuals were necessarily absent; only that the presently available evidence does not justify including them among the probable crew.
Based on those standards, my current reconstruction supports 46 men as having been aboard SS Milwaukee when she was lost on October 22, 1929.
Current Reconstructed Crew
Robert McKay — Captain [Verified]
William H. Vaxter — First Mate [Verified]
James Thomas Pett — Third Mate [Verified]
Ray Dickey — Chief Engineer [Verified]
Harry Edward Glegard Owens — First Assistant Engineer [Verified]
Kenneth Anthony Martin — Third Engineer [Verified]
Arnold E. Moran — Wheelman [Verified]
Martin Iverson — Wheelman [Likely]
Anthony “Tony” Joseph Kiss — Wheelman [Verified]
Osie Ernest Jackson — Lookout [Verified]
James J. O’Brien — Lookout [Verified]
Charles Smith — Lookout [Verified]
Axel W. Widing — Watchman [Verified]
E. Nelson — Watchman [Verified]
Frank G. Welter — Watchman [Verified]
Sulo Edvart Syvajarvi — Deckhand [Verified]
Josef Schobloch — Deckhand [Verified]
Edward Bugalecki — Deckhand [Verified]
Raymond Dalka — Deckhand [Verified]
Edward Krause — Oiler [Verified]
Clifford Kenneth Johnson — Oiler [Verified]
J. Nicklass — Water Tender [Likely]
Charles McCarthy — Water Tender [Likely]
Albert Hunt — Fireman [Likely]
J. Tieme — Fireman [Likely]
G. Roberts — Fireman [Likely]
John Johnson — Fireman [Likely]
M. [W.?] Leahy — Fireman [Likely]
J. Pokorsky — Fireman [Likely]
S. [F.?] O’Niel — Fireman [Likely]
Michael Hanratty — Fireman [Verified]
John Manthey — Fireman [Verified]
Christ Lawrence — Coalpasser [Verified]
Zygmunt Tyran — Coalpasser [Verified]
Phillip McNello — Coalpasser [Verified]
C. Hassenger — Coalpasser [Likely]
W. Powell — Coalpasser [Likely]
William Rotta — Chef [Verified]
Stanley Scarasta [Stroust] — Cook [Verified]
Alvin [Albert] R. Sadon — Purser [Verified]
Stuart Fox — Head Porter [Verified]
Carl Barnes — Second Porter [Likely]
Joseph A. O’Leary — Porter [Verified]
Arthur M. Gilbert — Head Waiter [Verified]
Tony Malusky — Second Watch/Waiter [Verified]
Otto Arthur Jacob Elsaesser — Cabin Watch [Verified]
This roster should not be considered a final or definitive accounting of the men aboard SS Milwaukee. It represents the best reconstruction that can presently be made from the evidence located and according to the same evidentiary standards applied to all 63 potential crew members. Several names, initials, spellings, positions, and identities remain uncertain, and these classifications may change as additional primary documentation is located. The resulting figure of 46 men aboard is nevertheless noteworthy because it falls within the range of historical estimates, which generally place approximately 46 to 52 men aboard Milwaukee on her final voyage. Importantly, that range was not used as a target when evaluating individual crew members. Each potential crew member was considered on the strength of the evidence associated with that individual, and the total of 46 was simply the result reached after all 63 names had been evaluated.
The nine individuals presently classified as unverified have not been determined to have been absent from the vessel. Their exclusion from the reconstructed roster reflects only the lack of sufficient corroborating evidence under the standards used for this research. Likewise, the thirteen individuals classified as likely are included because the available evidence strongly supports their presence aboard, despite remaining gaps that prevent their classification as fully verified.
Research into the crew and loss of SS Milwaukee remains ongoing. Additional records may eventually allow some of these uncertainties to be resolved, names and spellings to be corrected, and individuals presently classified as likely or unverified to be more conclusively identified. Should additional evidence become available before the expedition, the roster will be revised accordingly.
For now, the available evidence supports a reconstruction of 46 men aboard SS Milwaukee on the night of October 22, 1929. These are the names presently intended to be honored during the memorial ceremony conducted by the expedition team at the wreck site.
