Funding for encoding this finding
aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
Biographical Note
Hazel (Wood) Niendorff (1898-1991) worked in the Seattle Chamber of
Commerce in the Research and Statistical Department in the 1920s. Married to
Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Fred Niendorff, Hazel
Niendorff had a passion for maritime history, particularly for the history of
maritime disasters; she made a lifelong project of researching, collecting and
organizing materials to create a comprehensive record of North Pacific marine
disasters. Niendorff was considered an authority in the field, and was
solicited in the 1960s to serve on the review board for Gordon Newell's
The H. W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific
Northwest.
Content Description
The bulk of the collection consists of scrapbooks about marine
disasters and maritime history in the North Pacific, from the 16th century
through the 1960s, with the bulk of the materials concerning the period from
approximately the 1850s through the 1930s. Niendorff compiled the scrapbooks
beginning in the 1920s and continued through the 1960s, though only a few
scrapbooks list the date of their compilation. The territory covered in the
scrapbooks ranges from the coast of California, north past Oregon, Washington,
British Columbia, and Alaska, as well as around Siberia. The scrapbooks are
comprised of newspapers clippings from the 1920s-1960s, transcriptions from
earlier newspapers and transcriptions from old books on maritime history, such
as Lewis and Dryden's 1895
Marine History of the Pacific Northwest and Alexander
Starbuck's
History of the American Whale Fishery, From its Earliest Inception
to the Year 1876.
The scrapbooks also contain brochures and pamphlets, information
Niendorff collected from government records, correspondence, as well as
original writing by Niendorff, including lists of sailing vessels and
shipwrecks, and narrative chronologies of disasters. Materials within the
scrapbooks sometimes overlap, as Niendorff compiled the scrapbooks based
variously on casualties, geographical location, industries such as lumber,
wheat, whaling and fur trading, and individual people. Many of the
geographically themed scrapbooks represent locations associated with Northwest
lumber mills, such as Port Gamble, Port Blakeley, Port Ludlow, Port Madison,
Port Discovery, Utsalady and Seabeck.
The collection also includes Navy pilot and current charts of the
North Pacific from the 1930s and one map of British Columbia. Other materials
unrelated to maritime history include a scrapbook of clippings on Salomon
August Andree's 1897 fatal balloon flight to the Arctic, an index to the
holdings of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce Alaska Bureau library, and a series
of scrapbooks concerning the development of Seattle.
Use of the Collection
Alternative Forms Available :
The following volumes of the scrapbooks are available on microfilm:
Volumes 1-23, 26-29, 31-36, 40-47, and 51-66.
Restrictions on Access :
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
Restrictions on Use :
Microfilms must be used in place of original scrapbooks when
available.
The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in
the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research,
publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI
before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to
all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may
require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation :
Hazel W. Niendorff Scrapbooks on North Pacific Marine Casualties and
Maritime History, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
Arranged into series and subseries:
Scrapbooks
Marine Disasters
Pacific Northwest Maritime History
Seattle
Maps and charts
Other materials
Acquisition Information :
Gift of William W. Niendorff, September 8, 1989 (Accession No.
1989.83) and of William and Gayle Niendorff, November 26, 2007 (Accession No.
2007.31).
Processing Note :
The collection consists of two accessions received from the donor
several years apart, Accession No. 1988.83 and Accession No. 2007.61.
Due to the fragile condition of the scrapbooks, microfilm copies were
made of most of the volumes. MOHAI received a Washington Preservation
Initiative grant to preserve the scrapbooks, which were microfilmed in 2004 by
OCLC Digital Collection & Preservation Services.
Gaps in numbering are a result of the transfer of items (books and
pamphlets) to other collections within the repository.
Separated Materials :
Books and pamphlets received with Accession No. 1989.83 were
transferred to the book and pamphlet collections in the repository.
Brochures, pamphlets and ephemera received with Accession No. 2007.61
were transferred to the pamphlet and ephemera collections in the
repository.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in
the collection.
Scrapbooks, circa
1920s-1960s
The scrapbooks were compiled between the 1920s and 1960s, but
contain materials about maritime history and disasters beginning in the 16th
century. Dates of the described events, when known, are included in the
scrapbook title; unless a more specific compilation date is known, no date is
given.
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Marine casualties
Scrapbooks may include clippings, transcriptions from newspaper
articles and books, original writing and correspondence between Niendorff and
various individuals and offices regarding wrecks.
North Pacific Trade
12 volumes
package
1
1989.83.1: Volume 1: Tradition to
1845
2
1989.83.2: Volume 2:
1846-1869
3
1989.83.3: Volume 3:
1870-1886
4
1989.83.4: Volume 4:
1887-1896
5
1989.83.5: Volume 5:
1897-1902
6
1989.83.6: Volume 6:
1903-1908
7
1989.83.7: Volume 7:
1909-1916
8
1989.83.8: Volume 8:
1917-1924
9
1989.83.9: Volume 9:
1925-1930
10
1989.83.10: Volume 10:
1931-1935
11
1989.83.11: Volume 11:
1936-1939
12
1989.83.12: Volume 12:
1940-1942
U.S. Life Saving Service and
U.S. Coast Guard
2 scrapbooks
The United States Life-Saving Service was a United States
government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian efforts to
save the lives of shipwrecked mariners and passengers. It began in 1848 and
ultimately merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to form the United States
Coast Guard in 1915.
These two scrapbooks consist largely of the General Summaries
and lists of "Marine Casualties on the Pacific Coast" from the U.S. Life Saving
Service and U.S. Coast Guard annual reports.
Box
2
1989.83.15: 1876-1899
3
1989.83.16: 1900-1930
Marine disasters --
miscellaneous
1989.83.14: British Columbia
wrecks
missing
Box
7
1989.83.22: St.
Nicholas--1808
Copy of 1916 translation by C.L. Andrews from
Description of Remarkable Shipwrecks
Suffered by Russian Mariners by Vasili Mikhaelovich Golovnin, 1864,
about the wreck of the Russian American Fur Company ship St. Nicholas in 1808.
1927
7
1989.83.23: Wreck of the
Clara Nevada, February 5, 1898
9
1989.83.26: Working lists,
casualties
Includes 15 photographs. Notes, clippings and narratives about the Oregon coast and
shipwrecks.
9
1989.83.28: "Graveyard of the
Pacific"
Includes approximately 110 photographs. Scrapbook consists largely of original photographs and
clipped newspaper photographs of the "graveyard of the Pacific"--the stretch of
coast between Tillamook Bay in Oregon and Vancouver Island known for its high
number of shipwrecks. Includes photos of Neah Bay, Cape Flattery, Cape Alava,
James Island, La Push, Abbey Island, Destruction Island, Cape Elizabeth, Point
Granville, Cape Disappointment, Long Beach, Cape Arago and Vancouver Island.
Also includes some transcriptions about shipwrecks.
2007.61.2a-b: "Strandings and Wrecks of
Vessels on the Coasts of California, Oregon and Washington" by Lt. Commander
W.A. Mason, U.S. Navy
Lists and map.
Lists
Box
1
1989.83.13: "Marine Casualties of the
North Pacific, 1532-1930"
List of shipwrecks compiled by Niendorff in 1931. Includes
an introductory essay by Niendorff, and is arranged chronologically, then
geographically, including wrecks in Washington, Oregon, California, British
Columbia, Alaska, "at sea," and "in foreign waters."
1931
4
1989.83.17: "Shipwrecks in North Pacific
Waters, 1745-1925"
List of shipwrecks and lists of newspaper articles related
to casualties, arranged chronologically, then by publication.
6
1989.83.21: "Wrecks by
category"--1532-circa 1930s
List of shipwrecks by category, then chronologically.
Categories include whaling, Californian Gold Rush, lumber, wheat, etc. Also
includes an alphabetical index of marine casualties and an outline of a
proposed book,
Lost Ships of the North Pacific, by Hazel
Niendorff, 1936.
Pacific Northwest Maritime
History
By industry
Box
8
1989.83.25: Shipbuilding, circa
1917-1945
Includes clippings of articles by John Lyman from
Marine Digest, 1941-1945; other articles; and
lists of ships built in the Pacific Northwest.
10
1989.83.29: Whaling,
1875-1950s
Include 9 photographs. The scrapbook is divided into 7 sections: History, Dangers,
North Pacific, Whaling Fleet, Casualties, Captains, U.S. Bureau of Education
Reports, and Miscellaneous. Includes transcriptions from books and late 19th
century government publications on whaling, as well as clippings from the
1930s-1950s.
11
1989.83.31: Fisheries
Divided into sections: General, Oysters, Cod, Salmon,
Halibut, Miscellaneous. Scrapbook consists largely of clippings from
the1930s-1960, as well as a scholarly paper on Washington fisheries by
University of Washington Dean of the College of Fisheries, John N. Cobb.
11
1989.83.32: Sealing
Includes information about vessels lost in pelagic sealing
and about court cases and controversies, particularly in regard to the
decimation of seal herds.
12
1989.83.34: Fur traders
"Old South Leaflets" on the Northwest fur trade;
Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada (1931) on trading vessels in the
fur trade; and "A Narrative of Voyage and Commercial Enterprise" by Richard J.
Cleveland (1842) about a typical voyage of a fur trading vessel to the
Northwest coast.
13
1989.83.35: Wheat
Includes 26 photographs of ships, mostly British.About the wheat industry and the "wheat fleet" ships.
Includes an index to and histories of the ships.
13
1989.83.36: Wheat--Pacific Coast
Fleet
Lists of ships, divided into sections: Puget Sound, Oregon,
California, Index.
Lumber
For more on the lumber industry, see also scrapbooks for
Port Gamble, Port Blakeley, Port Ludlow, Port Madison, Port Discovery, Utsalady
and Seabeck.
Box
24
1989.83.52: Lumber fleet,
1851-1894
Divided into section by year. Includes lists and
descriptions of ships, accounts of trips transcribed from newspapers, and
general information about the lumber industry.
25
1989.83.53: Lumber fleet,
1895-1924
Lists, divided into sections by year.
25
1989.83.54 : Lumber
mills--miscellaneous
Clippings, transcriptions of articles and lists of
vessels. Divided into sections: Seattle, Olympia, Everett, Bellingham, Oregon,
and British Columbia.
26
1989.83.55: Lumber--industry and
ships
Includes 27 photographs. Transcriptions of many articles and book excerpts from
the late 19th century about the history of lumber mills in Washington. Divided
into two section: history of the lumber industry, and of sailing ships used by
the lumber industry in the late 19th-early 20th century. Also includes listings
from the city directory.
34
2007.61.4: "Green Gold"
Scrapbook about the lumber industry and pioneer mills at
Ports Ludlow, Blakeley, Madison, Gamble and Discovery, and at Utsalady and
Seabeck.
By location
Box
7
1989.83.24: San Juan Islands
Includes 43 photographs of the San Juans, plus clippings and
notes
9
1989.83.27: Miscellaneous articles, etc.
(Cape Flattery and Quillayute County)
Clippings and transcriptions with one section about Cape
Flattery and another about Quillayute County (now Clallam County) including
clippings about Destruction Island, Vancouver Island, Tatoosh Island and Cape
Disappointment. Also includes an index to Clinton A. Snowden's
A History of Washington (1909), and a copy of
Isaac Steven's report on exploration for railroads.
12
1989.83.33: "Alaska--Ships of the
Klondike"
Includes 5 photographs. Divided into sections: Alaska,
Klondike (background), Klondike ships, Siberian Trade, and Customs (consisting
of "Annual Statement of the Commerce and Customs business of Alaska" for 1919,
1920 and 1922).
26
1989.83.56: Port Gamble
(Teekalet)
Transcriptions of
Seattle Daily Intelligencer articles about
Captain William C. Talbot and other pioneers of the area.
26
1989.83.57: Port Blakeley, Alki Point and
Port Orchard
Includes 16 photographs. Includes a biographical sketch of
Captain William Renton as well as a list of the lumber fleet at Port Blakeley
in the late 19th century.
27
1989.83.58: Port Ludlow
Divided into sections: William Sayward biography; William
Sayward, 1852-1854; Cowlitz Trail; Joshua K. Thorndike; 1854-1858; A.A.
Phinney; Puget Mill Co.; Shipbuilding.
28
1989.83.59: Port Madison
Includes 12 photographs. Includes a history of the lumber mill, a chronology of the
mill from 1853-1868, and a chronology of ships that set sail from Port Madison
circa 1930s-1950s.
28
1989.83.60: Port Discovery
Includes 12 photographs.Includes information about the mill, the people and the
history of Port Discovery, including narrative chronologies of the history and
of ships which set sail from Port Discovery. Also includes narratives about
marine casualties and clippings from the 1930s and 1950s.
29
1989.83.61: Utsalady
Includes 14 photographs.Materials about the lumber mill, and about Whidbey and
Camano Islands, including a history of Penn's Cove, information on Whidbey
Island settlers and chronologies of events, of ships sailing, and of
wrecks.
29
1989.83.62: Grays Harbor
Includes 1 photograph.Includes a history of the Simpson Logging Company, articles
about Ryderwood and Longview, and clippings about Grays Harbor from the
1920s.
30
1989.83.63: Okanogan
Consists largely of clippings, including an extensive series
of articles published in the
Wenatchee Daily World and written by Alexander
Ross, a fur trader who spent several years at Fort Okanogan; and a series of
Okanogan Independent articles "Let's Say It
While We're Alive" (circa 1923), featuring recollections of local residents.
Also includes other information about old Fort Okanogan, pioneer days,
prospecting, the Okanogan-Cariboo Trail, and Chief Joseph; and a 1922 map of
Colville National Forest.
31
1989.83.64: Wenatchee
Clippings and booklets about apple (and other fruit)
growing, including history and statistics. Also includes a series of clippings
of reminiscences of Colville's settlers.
31
1989.83.65: Yakima
Mostly clippings, about the early settlements of the Yakima
Valley, and about the area's birds and flowers. Also includes material about
salmon, Native Americans and about reclamation, irrigation development and
water rights.
32
1989.83.66: Seabeck
Includes 14 photographs.Information about Seabeck Mill and founders Marshall Blinn
and J.R. Williamson, general history, lists of sailings and narratives on
shipwrecks.
By individual
Box
10
1989.83.30: Coast Guard--Admiral Fred A. Zeusler,
1935-1965
Clippings about Fred A. Zeusler, who made a career in the
Coast Guard. Includes supplements to the newsletter of the Puget Sound Maritime
Historical Society written by or about Zeusler. Also includes transcript of
Alaska Leg: United States Army Air Service First Around
the World Flight by Mudge Ransom, 1965.
circa late 1960s
Captain P.A.
McDonald
Three scrapbooks consisting largely of correspondence
between Hazel Niendorff and Captain McDonald, in which they exchange
information and photographs about maritime history.
Box
14
1989.83.37: 1929-1954
Includes 25 photographs of ships. Contains a short biography of McDonald, lists the ships
on which he served and the corresponding jobs. Also includes an alphabetical
index to ship references and ship photographs in all three volumes.
14
1989.83.38: 1955-1960
Includes 31 photographs.
14
1989.83.39: 1960-1972
Includes 8 photographs.
1989.83.122-.129: "Along the Waterfront"
8 volumes
Scrapbooks consisting of clippings of Hal E. Jamison's
newspaper column "Along the Waterfront," one volume for each year from
1935-1942. Scrapbooks for 1935-1939 have been bound into hardcover volumes.
1935 volume includes a subject index for that volume.
1935-1942
1989.83.122-.126: 1935-1939
10b.2.1
5 bound volumes
1935-1939
Box
32
1989.83.127: 1940
1940
33
1989.83.128-.129: 1941-1942
1941-1942
Box
35
2007.61.6: Review of
Marine History of the Pacific
Northwest
Binder of papers, largely correspondence, but also minutes and
reports by Niendorff from period when Niendorff served on the review board to
examine the accuracy of Gordon Newell's
The H. W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific
Northwest.
1963-1965
Marine-miscellaneous
Clippings, transcriptions from newspaper articles and books,
and Niendorff's notes and about ships, trade, ship captains and other
individuals associated with maritime industries.
Box
5
1989.83.19: 1821-1919
6
1989.83.20: 1921-1930
15
1989.83.40: 1930-1936
16
1989.83.41: 1937-1939
17
1989.83.42: 1940-1941
18
1989.83.43: 1942-1944
19
1989.83.44: 1945-1950
20
1989.83.45: 1951-1960
21
1989.83.46: Marine
miscellaneous--general
Includes 52 photographs of ships and figureheads. Includes poems with maritime themes, clippings and
transcriptions, and indexes to illustrations in various books.
Includes clippings and a 1925 paper "The Necessity of
Industrial Development in Seattle" by engineer Erwin L. Weber, and other
articles by Weber.
22
1989.83.48: Seattle Organization
Directory
Directory compiled by Hazel Niendorff. List of clubs by
subject classification; state clubs related to Washington located in other
states; and an alphabetical list of clubs giving address, phone number and list
of officers.
1926
23
1989.83.49: Seattle Foreign
Trade
Trade section of
Marine Digest issues from July 28, 1928 through
March 23, 1929
1928-1929
23
1989.83.50: Chamber of Commerce
Reports
Copies of special reports completed by Hazel Wood (Niendorff),
presumably as part of her job in the Research and Statistical Department of the
Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Includes reports on climate, forest resources,
mineral resources, water power, and agriculture of the Pacific Northwest; the
highway system of Washington; Alaska; Northwest ports; manufacturing; and
business conditions and cost of living in Seattle.
2007.61.3: Salomon August Andree Arctic
Expedition, 1897
Scrapbook of clippings (1930-1931) from the
Seattle Post Intelligencer about the fatal balloon
flight to the Arctic.
1930-1931
35
2007.61.5: Alaska Department
Index
Index to the library of the Alaska Bureau of the Seattle Chamber
of Commerce. Index to bound volumes, Annual Reports, publication, maps,
Resources and Products exhibit and famed photographs. Inscription: "Prepared
and for the personal use of Hazel R. Wood (Mrs. Fred Niendorff)."
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online
catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or
places should search the catalog using these headings.
Geographical Names :
United
States--Washington (State)--Grays Harbor County
United
States--Washington (State)--Kitsap County--Seabeck
United
States--Washington (State)--Okanogan County
United
States--Washington (State)--Port Blakeley
United
States--Washington (State)--Port Discovery
United
States--Washington (State)--Port Gamble
United
States--Washington (State)--Port Ludlow
United
States--Washington (State)--Port Madison
United
States--Washington (State)--Wenatchee
United
States--Washington (State)--Yakima River Valley
