Having been damaged severely by her German crew, the President Lincoln underwent extensive repairs and conversion at Robin's Dry Dock and Repair Company in Brooklyn, New York before being re-commissioned as a Navy troop transport at Brooklyn on 25 July 1917. Such information as I am able to give you may be substantiated by the records of the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, Washington, DC Your husband’s discharge papers I hope may have preserved. Fireman 1c James Archie Long (profiled above) was assigned to the USS Sixaola after the sinking of the USS President Lincoln. Witt’s crew numbered 344, and they remained aboard ship until August 26, 1914. On about the third day out from Southampton, Cook Winkle felt he needed some air and was sitting on the rail of the ship enjoying the sunshine. The big hippo had been consigned to the Cincinnati zoo, and was said to be the largest hippo ever brought to America at the time. This was divided up into three parts: the forward part, the entrance to the conning tower, the middle part consisting of a weather screen, and a small bridge on which a couple of young German officers were standing with their captain. Again reported to the Receiving Ship New York, N.Y. 7/10/18 and finally assigned to the USS Sixaola 9/22/18. Pre - World War I - Mexican Border Expedition, 1916-1917 [edit | edit source]. So, I'll close with the thought, sincerely brought, Oldendorf in his own words described his approach to the battle as follows. I then started to look into the story of the old beer stein. Now seriously, men who perhaps never prayed sent up a prayer than and I am sure many since then have made solemn resolutions to become better acquainted with their God. Bill Cox shared this information about his grandfather who was a crewman aboard the President Lincoln when she sank. There was also a public dining room on the dock that was frequented by the Germans from the various ships. Leonard worked as a fireman for the city of Houston and also living in the home with the Coffman’s was another fellow fireman named Leo E. Clark and his wife Mattie L. Both Leo and Mattie were 30-years old and had only been married for about one year at the time. Everything was calm and going pretty nice. After rafts and boats were all fastened together, and darkness was beginning to come upon us, lanterns were tied to the ends of oars and hoisted into the air so that any ship in search might locate us. Paymaster Johnson got on a raft alongside the ship, but in some way was caught by the ship as she went under, as C. M. Hippard, ships cook 3d class, USN, states that he was on the raft with Paymaster Johnson and that they were both drawn under the water, but when he came to the surface, Paymaster Johnson could no longer be seen. Joseph’s mother Hubertina, had come to the United States alone at the age of 22 from Aachen in the German Rhineland in 1891. The ‘Lincoln' had been tied up at a pier in Hoboken at the time for more than a year and was being used by German refugees coming from the Far East on account of the war with Japan and these refugees were making their way back to Germany. Christian was curious as to what the real story was behind this simple item, which is a direct link to the ship, and the events, which took place so long ago. Entered the Navy on 4/16/17 at the receiving ship at Norfolk, VA as a apprentice seaman. We did not have to wait long to have a different opinion of the craft that approached us, for it was nothing else than the German sub that had torpedoed and sunk the President Lincoln. Of the 715 men present, all told on board, it was found, after the muster, that three officers and twenty-three me were lost with the ship, and that one officer, Lieut. Everything continued quiet and without incident during the night and days of the 29th and 30th, while on the latter evening the escort left us and we continued along in the same formation. At the time of her maiden voyage, the President Lincoln was both the largest freighter and the largest emigrant carrier in the world. His Citation Reads: In action with the relief expedition of the Allied forces in China during the battles of 13, 20, 21 and 22 June 1900. Ordering them alongside, they ordered him aboard, putting the seaman off the life raft back in the boat. On 5 June 1917 as Leonard was a 21-year old man he listed his occupation as a painter for L. A. Coffman of Houston, Texas. asking about her husband and what had happened during the sinking. As we go up the stairway to the street we find a narrow crooked one with a little dinky street car that will stop and wait for you to get off the track perchance you should have happened to be on it. A pre-war post card of the Hamburg-Amerika Line Steam Ship President Lincoln. In these seaport towns the merchants are noticing a pick up of business do to trade with Americans after landing. During this time I was in the radio room trying to establish communication with the spark coil set, but finally had to give it up when the ship began to lurch violently to starboard, making it hard to stand up. His family has several postcards showing troops on a ship and a ship in a harbor in France, and a program and a picture from a reunion of President Lincoln crew that took place in the 1930's. During her internment shortly before America entered the war against Germany in April of 1917, orders came and her German crew that was still left aboard severely damaged her engines and mechanical systems in order to make her unusable by the United States Navy. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images. The ship by this time was listing heavily to port, but gradually righted herself to an even keel, which made it appear as if there was a chance of her remaining afloat, so the captain "belayed" the order to "abandon ship." In late September after her repairs in the dry dock were completed she was moved from the dry dock with the aid of 14 tugs to Pier 5 in Hoboken for final repairs. He was assigned to the USS Oklahoma on 6/7/17 then transferred to the USS Kearsarge on 6/29/17. After floating around aimlessly for about an hour, a dark object was sighted coming over the horizon, which was first taken for a sailing vessel, but soon merged into a large submarine, which upon nearer approach was seen to have her forward gun trained on us; a member of the gun crew was seen to approach the gun and open the breech. He was awarded the Navy Cross for distinguished service as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. This resulted in him being promoted as aide to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels. He served on Cruisers and Destroyers before World War I. She also said that he told her that while going through a passage to get off the ship, a large black sailor from the galley was kneeling and praying blocking the way. Later Joseph Clayton was a member of the masons and plasterers Union No. He performed his duty efficiently, by a skilful maneuver preventing his ship from being torpedoed when the signal was received that a torpedo was near the vessel. He may have been in the Navy or possibly was a passenger on the return trip. Karl Ernst Hoffmann passed away on April 17, 1970 in Hempstead, NY. Jonathan Campbell who is the grandson of William McIntyre, Jr. tells this about William: Entered the Naval Reserve force 2/4/18 mess atdt 1c; wardroom stewd 11/1/18, Hq 3 Naval Dist; USS President Lincoln 2/5/18; Recg Ship New York N.Y. 5/31/18; USS Sixaola 6/30/18, Inact 4/25/19. He did become a naturalized citizen on January 14, 1940.”. Claus Rücker and sank eight ships totalling 15,462 gross register tons (GRT). William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, was born in Niles, Ohio on January 29, 1843. Many chose the camp to avoid renouncing Germany, but fifteen Germans, including Johann Freiberger and his friend George Milte, along with Karl Ernst Hoffmann left the ship together. Forward of the conning tower, on the main deck, was mounted a 5.9 inch naval gun, while aft, was a gun of smaller caliber, probably a 4.2. He remained in command until 1944, when he assumed the command of the Lewis Luckenbach, which was in the process of being converted to the USAHS Louis A. Milne. William Sr. was still working as a painter while William, Jr. having returned from duty in the navy worked as a clerk in an office. Now I really had wanted to see one of those “subs” and had a desire to get just as close as we were then, but I also had a desire to view one from a different angle, to look down upon it, if you please, instead of looking up to it. At about 11:30 p.m. a light was sighted, which revived our spirits. At some point during the 1920’s Joseph Clayton may have also worked for the De Laval Steam Turbine Company of Trenton. "My theory was that of the old-time gambler: Never give a sucker a chance. This division suffered a loss of seventeen men, all of who were co-workers with your husband. She had made five successful trips between New York and France carrying over 20,000 troops to Europe. She also said that he told her that there was someone in the brig and that this person was pleading for someone to let him out. Having been notified from the bridge to send an S. O. S., we shifted to a small emergency coil set and began broadcasting distress signals. Birth Place: Baltimore, MD. The ‘Lincoln’s’ convoy arrived at Brest, France, on December 28, and left for home on January 17, 1918 with the transports Covington and Pocahontas, reaching Hoboken on January 31, 1918. She now had passenger accommodations of 324 in First class, 152 in Second class, 1,004 in Third class, 2,348 in steerage and a crew of 344. After that he signed on as a Steward on the ship President Lincoln from March 1914 until her last voyage to New York in July of 1914. There they would live until Anne passed away on January 8, 1952 in Franklin Square. 32 in Houston. Dear Mrs. Cusack, In 1942, he was given command of the USAHS Acadia, which was the first US Army hospital ship. It was said by family members that Karl worked as a baker most of his life. The Acadia took part in the North African, Sicilian and the Italian invasions. William Sr. worked as a House Painter and eldest son Walter worked in a Rubber factory as a laborer. In closing I wish to state that the captain of that German submarine is a sane fighter and as he spoke good English I am assuming he must have a spark of warmth some place in his heart for the U.S.A. otherwise he would have shelled and killed every one of us. On August 12, 1945 in Buckner Bay Okinawa Oldendorf transferred his flag from the USS Tennessee (BB-43) to the USS Pennsylvania (BB-38). Back of this came the after section, a large platform with a railing around it on which a number of very grimy members of the crew were standing. Never the less the Germans are not playing with us and when you talk with people, both Americans and French in France as I have done, you will come to the conclusion that we have a big job and everyone must put his shoulder to the wheel, otherwise the task will be a hard and long one. Seized in New York harbor in 1917, it was turned over to the Shipping Board and transferred to the Navy for operation as a troop transport. U.S.S. One day I took a little trip of a few miles into the country and found there was where you wanted to spend your time. My own memories of these stories are probably not exact, but this is the best that I can do. There was at the time a thought that this might have been the bubonic plague, but was later ruled out by Dr. Stack. In 1919, he was made a superintendent for the United American Line. From July 8, 1917 to June 13, 1919 William H. Cox F3C performed honorable service on the following ships; USS Granite State, USS President Lincoln, USS Seagate, USS Westward Ho, and USS Liviathan. World War 1 at Sea . After the war, in 1945 Oldendorf commanded the 11th Naval District and in 1947 took command of the Western Sea Frontier. 9, and was a master at applying fancy ceiling plaster decorations, even decorating a cathedral ceiling in New York City. World War II began in 1939, and the United States joined the war in 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. by Date and Ship/Base - May 1918: Ship's Cook Edward Daly, lost in sinking of USS President Lincoln, May 31, 1918 (US Naval Historical Center, click to enlarge) on to June 1918 or back to Contents List : 1. Enjoy the updated homepage featuring background images from Catalog records; Add your comments on digitized records, descriptions, and authority records; Find what you need with a more intuitive advanced search; Efficiently browse search results with better “Next Page” link placement On the 1930 Census form the rent per month for the apartment on East 84th Street was $35 and it was noted that the family did have a radio set in the home. A survivor of the sinking of the troopship USS President Lincoln during WWI, Leonard Franklin Coffman was born on 2 June 1896 in Temple, Texas to Lawrence and Kate M. Coffman. On September 18, 1918, the West Gambo steamed out of the harbor and joined a convoy bound for Russia. Of course we all expected to be shelled right there and then. George H.W. It was reported by Dr. Stack that 15 cases were identified aboard the ‘Lincoln’ with vomiting, cramps and other symptoms of Cholera. He later became navigating officer and executive of the USS Zeelandia until the end of World War I. The USS Great Northern, which picked us up is almost like a palace. The arrival of Commodore Matthew C. Perry's "black ships" in Tokyo Bay in 1853 helped persuade the Japanese to negotiate a treaty. They had stayed a total of six weeks in Binghamton. James was born on 20 April 1984 in St. Marys County, Maryland. The President Lincoln made five voyages from New York to France. About a year after the ‘Lincoln’ had been interned at the pier in Hoboken it was reported that there might have been cases of Asiatic cholera aboard the persons living on the ship. 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