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Geiser,
of the Danish "Thingvalla Line"
The tragic history of the
Geiser started in 1882 when it began its maiden voyage from Copenhagen
on New Year's Day as part of the "Thingvalla Line". She had a capacity
of 1000 passengers, most of them in steerage (third class) and for a few
years had good service with few mishaps. On Aug. 14, 1888, while
sailing from New York to Christiana, her sister ship Thingvalla (also
the flagship for the "Thingvalla Line") rammed her at sea and the Geiser
sank in less than ten minutes, with a loss of 105 lives.
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Thingvalla, flagship of the Danish "Thingvalla Line"
The Thingvalla began her
career as a passenger-cargo vessel on the exotic East Asian trade route,
and was purchased by the Danish "Thingvalla Line", making her maiden
voyage on October 25, 1879 from Copenhagen to New York. She became the
flagship of the line, in service from 1879 until 1898 when she became
part of the "Scandanavian America Line", after the demise of the Danish
company. Her long record was marred by the 1888 collision with her
sister ship Geiser at sea, in which 105 lives from the sunken Geiser
were lost, and the Thingvalla fearfully damaged. She did, however,
manage to make it back to port for repairs, backing up most of the way.
After being sold to private owners in 1900, she was scrapped in 1903.
![](ships%203.jpg)
Thingvalla, showing damage caused by the tragic collision with the
Geiser
Angelo, 1874-1906
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Osceola County Iowa Genealogy - The IAGenWeb Project