S.S. Grosser Kurfurst
The S.S. Grosser Kurfurst was the first of three names that this vessel had during its years in production. Built by F.Schichau in 1899 for North German Lloyd in Bremen, she was launched on December 2nd, 1899 and her maiden voyage from Bremen to South Hampton and New York on May 5th, 1900. In April 1917, the boat was seized by the U.S. authorities in New York. She was renamed Aeolus by the U.S. ad was used by their government until 1922. She was then transferred to the Los Angeles SS Company and was renamed City of Los Angeles. The ship was scrapped in Japan in February 1937.
• Length: 170.87 m (560 ft 6 in)
• Beam: 18.99 m (62 ft 3 in)
• Propulsion: single screw
• Speed: 16 knots (18-19 Mph)
• Capacity: 13,182 tons
• Occupancy: 424 1st class, 176 2nd class, and 1,211 3rd class passengers
Ancestors Traveled
Franz (Born: 1880) and Karl Steskal (Born: 1882) sailed from Bremen to America aboard this vessel in 1908. Both brothers ended up settling in Springfield, IL within a year of their arrival.