Stories of Maritime Nations, Merchants, Captains, Ships and Passenger Lists of opportunists and immigrants sailing from world seaports into San Francisco Bay during the 1800s.
Passenger Lists and news of Maritime Nations are selected to give a sense of the development of San Francisco and world commerce during the 1800s. News and images from international harbors are included to illustrate mass world migration during 19th century.
The Maritime Heritage Project includes Ship Passengers.
The Project was started in 1998 to honor sea captains, including the project director's great-great-grandfather James H. Blethen, a Master Mariner based in San Francisco during the 1800s.
Along with thousands of other commanders, Captain Blethen's ships were crowded with venturists along with every conceivable item newcomers to California would need or desire.
D. A. Levy, founder of The Maritime Heritage Project, was invited to join the San Francisco Branch of The Naval Order of the United States, (NOUS), which has a history dating from 1890. Membership in NOUS includes a wide range of individuals, many with highly distinguished career paths associated with various military branches.
Levy was invited because of military history throughout The Maritime Heritage Project. However, family members include several individuals who served in various campaigns, including command of a Civil War Hospital Ship, soldiers in WWII, a marine tank commander in Korea, and Army ground troops in Vietnam.