Testimonials began arriving the month this site was launched in 1998; among the initial eMails was that of an English gentleman who had been seeking his great-great grandparents for many years and found them on The Maritime Heritage Project site.
That email was followed by requests from a French student preparing a Master's thesis on the French in California during the Gold Rush.
A personal favorite is from James P. Delgado, author of "To California by Sea: A Maritime History of the California Gold Rush." He wrote that this is the only site of its kind in that it is listing all ships and passengers arriving at the port of San Francisco. Following is a letter similar to one I received the first year of beginning this project.
N
ew testimonials are now also on the Ship's Blog
November 2, 2011
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful resource. Regardless of whether or not I am looking in the right place I am delighted to find your website . . . I'm writing however because I'm hoping to get in contact with someone I met last month. I was hoping she might work with you or you might be aware of the organization she does work with. She described a project she was working on that involved education, children, and exploring old ships docked in the harbor. It sounded great as I'd love to connect with more marine-related activities.
May 11, 2009
I just wanted to let you know that once again you've added to the genealogical history of my family. The Boston Daily Atlas of 6 Apr. 1849, listed passengers on the Areatus which departed Boston for San Francisco. The article lists all the passengers which included Simeon Chase.
We had communicated last year regarding Herman Harris Greene of Hopkinton, NH. Simeon, too, was originally from N.H., but was "of Chicopee, Mass." when he made the trip. He died there 10 June 1851 according to the Chase Genealogy. Thanks again for all your wonderful work.
June 29, 2008
I'm writing from faraway Israel, where my wife and I have lived since 1967. We're native San Franciscans.
My gg grandfather Julius Salomonson arrived in San Francisco on April 19, 1851 on board the "Republic". I discovered this today in your site, via a link from sfgenealogy.com.
For 27 years I had been searching Rasmussen and other sources to try to find out how he traveled to California, and only today did I find it! S. Salomonson, in steerage, from Panama! Thankyou very much for having provided this information. It shows that Julius arrived two years earlier than I had thought. He's mentioned in a footnote in Levinson's Jews in the California Gold Rush together with his partners, in the dissolution of a partnership in Mariposa in 1854.
On the net, via Google, I tried to find a picture of the Republic, to no avail. Can you help me? I'm also seeking the arrival record of Julius' father Michael Salomonsohn/Salomonson who was born in 1785 and died in SF in 1860. They didn’t come together on the Republic in 1851.
Thanks again,
Haifa, Israel
June 2007
Thank you for Captain E H Hitchcock. Your efforts to transcribe Daily Alta California list of Ship Arrivals lead to location of Fred's Wife's ancestor. All we had was Betty Hitchcock's "Gone to California as ship's captain" info. . . We really appreciate this.
June 2007
Thank you very much for your help. You told me in a previous message that you are working on this project by yourself. I'm
impressed with your work and recognize pain of research.
May 2007
Thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction. Very handy site you have; it has been of great value to my research from here. You must visit New Zealand again.
June 2006
I have enjoyed your site, located the arrival of my 2nd great grandfather in August of 1849 on the Humboldt. Lots of information on the site. Thank you and all the others for all the work it took to place the information on the net for all to discover.
May 2006
I've enjoyed your web site while looking for photos and marine drawings/plans of side wheel steamers built by William H. Brown during the 1850s . . .. We are trying to build a scale model (of the S.S. Pacific) for display. Thank you!
November 2004
Guess you've heard it before, but you've got a fantastic website. Great job and thanks for the enjoyment.
