An 18 year old deck boy with venereal disease was dropped off at Ellis Island Hospital. He didn’t know it but it was a stroke of good luck. Another lucky fellow was my cousin, Joosep Seeblum, he had signed off the ship as 2nd Officer/Mate and was going home to his wife and apartment in Queens, NYC.
A week later, on June 24th, the 3,000 ton S.S. Tiiu left New York. Eleven of the previous crew had signed off, ten men had signed on, making a total crew of 20. Tiiu made a stop in Halifax before heading across the Atlantic to Liverpool and London. During the crossing, Capt. Nelberg learned via the ship’s wireless radio that his 29-year-old wife had died June 29th of pulmonary pneumonia. Benhard Nelberg was suddenly a widower at sea. His 6-year-old son was in Tallinn dealing with his mother’s death as best he could without parental consolation.
