SS Mount Clinton 1921 Passage Contract: A Rare Third-Class Eastbound Voyage from New York to Latvia 🇺🇸➡️🇱🇻
📌 Explore the rare 1921 passage contract for the SS Mount Clinton, documenting an eastbound third-class voyage from New York to Libau (Liepāja, Latvia) via Hamburg. A valuable resource for historians, genealogists, and educators, this document provides insights into post-WWI migration, ticketing processes, and travel conditions.🚢
Third Class Outward Passage Contract No 12249, SS Mount Clinton of the United American Lines, New York to Libau (Liepāja, Latvia) via Hamburg, 26 May 1921. GGA Image ID # 1fa7f93ded
Summary of Passage Contract
- Date of Purchase / Voyage: 26 May 1921
- Steamship Line: United American Lines
- Steamship: SS Mount Clinton
- Route: New York to Libau [Liepāja, Latvia] via Hamburg
- Ticket Type: Passage Contract
- Voyage Class: Third Class
- Name on Contract: Karl Sivert
- Etnicity of Passenger(s): German
- Contract Terms: Transcribed
- Cost of Ticket: $142.00 / $2,050.00 USD in 2020
Rare Outward Bound (eastward) Passenger Steamship Ticket for Third Class accommodations on the SS Mount Clinton of the United American Lines on her maiden voyage to Hamburg, Germany.
Brief Article on the Maiden Voyage
The United American Lines' steamer Mount Clinton sailed last week [May 26, 1921] on her maiden voyage to Hamburg. She was built by the Merchant Shipbuilding Corporation at Chester, and is the third vessel specially equipped for carrying third-class passengers to be placed in the Hamburg service by the United American Lines.
The latter has an agreement with the Hamburg American Line for the maintenance between New York and Hamburg of joint third-class passenger service of six vessels, three to be contributed by each company.
With the sailing of the Mount Clinton, the United American Lines has completed its quota. The Hamburg American Line vessels are now approaching completion. When all six steamers are in commission, weekly passenger sailings will be maintained.
- The Nautical Gazette: An International Weekly Chronicle of Shipping, Volume 100, Number 23, June 4, 1921, P. 728
Third Class Outward Passage Contract
UNITED AMERICAN LINES
(Incorporated)
IN SERVICE WITH
HAMBURG AMERICAN LINE
General Office
UNITED AMERICAN LINES BUILDING 39 Broadway, New York
THIRD CLASS OUTWARD PASSAGE TICKET
T. C. O. 12219 [565 handwritten]
AGENCY AT : 158 W. 31st N.Y.C.
DATE: May 25, 1921
STEAMER: Mt. Clinton
SAILING ON: May 26, 1926
AT ___ O'CLOCK ___ m
UNLESS THE STEAMER IS PREVENTED FROM SAILING BY UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES
FROM PIER
RECEIVED 142.00 Dollars
PASSENGER'S NAME: Karl Sivert
ADULTS (PERSONS OVER 10 YEASR OF AGE): One
OCEAN PASSAGE TO: Libau [Liepāja, Latvia] $ 137.00
REVENUE TAX: $ 5.00
TOTAL : $ 142.00
Room: 68, Berth 2
UNITED AMERICAN LINES, Inc.
Per /s/ A. Wesson
Third Class Outward Passage Contract.
This Ticket Is Issued in Consideration of the Agreement by the Passenger to the Following Terms and Conditions, Constituting the Contract of Carriage Between the Parties, to Which, by Accepting This Ticket, the Passenger Agrees, Viz.:
Wherever the term Carrier is used herein, it shall mean and include the vessel and tenders, and its owners, operators, charterers, masters, agents, brokers, officers and crew.
1. RIGHTS OF THE CARRIER.
(a) The steamer shall have liberty to proceed without pilots, to tow and assist vessels in all situations, to put back or into any other port, to deviate from the direct or customary course, if necessary or proper in the judgment of the captain.
In emergencies, or if the steamer be unduly delayed or prevented from proceeding in the ordinary course, whether due to its negligence or to any other cause, the Carrier may either refund such proportionate part of the passage money as, at the Carrier's rates, will represent the value of the unperformed voyage, or may tranship the Passenger and his baggage by another similar vessel, to the port of destination, and, upon such refund or transhipment, the Carrier shall be released from all further liability hereunder.
(b) The responsibility of the Carrier hereunder is limited to that period only while the Passenger and/or his baggage are on board the steamer and/or its tenders. Booking on connecting routes is for the convenience of the Passenger, no responsibility of any kind being assumed thereby by the Carrier, except to furnish the Passenger with the connecting Carrier's ticket, or, in default thereof, to refund so much of the passage money as represents the cost of such ticket.
(c) In case of quarantine, each Passenger must himself bear all risks and expenses thereby caused, and will be charged $2 per day for maintenance, payable day by day, if maintained on board the steamer.
(d) If children are older than represented hereon, the difference in fare, if any, must be paid. Only one (1) infant for each family will be carried at infant's rate. Additional infants pay half-fare.
(e) Upon refunding the money paid hereon, the Carrier may cancel this ticket and decline to carry any Passenger who may be suffering from, or with, a contagious or infectious disease, and/or who, for any other cause, may endanger, or be obnoxious to, others.
(f) No special contract modifying, or adding to, the terms hereof, shall be binding on the Carrier, unless entered into, for an additional consideration, with a person having actual authority on its behalf to make the same, and unless the same be signed in duplicate by the parties.
2. CAUSES FOR WHICH CARRIER IS NOT LIABLE.
The Carrier shall not be liable for loss, death, or delay of, or injury to, any Passenger, or loss of, or damage to, his baggage, arising from the act of God, the public enemy, governmental restraints, perils of the sea or rivers, fire, robbers, thieves, barratry, or negligence in navigation of this or any other vessel; the quality, nature or consequences of medical or surgical treatment given; riots, strikes, labor troubles; explosions, bursting of boilers, breakage of shafts, or any latent defect in hull, machinery, or appurtenances of the steamer, at whatever time existing; unseaworthiness, provided the Carrier has exercised due diligence to make the steamer seaworthy; nor for any loss or damage arising from the nature or insufficiency, or inadequacy or absence of marks, address or description, of baggage; any loss or damage caused by delay in sailing, prolongation of the voyage, or stoppage in transit; any act, omission, fault or negligence of any other passenger; any cause beyond the control of the Carrier whether of the kind hereinbefore enumerated or not.
3. REGULATIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF CARRIER'S LIABILITY FOR BAGGAGE.
(a) Wherever the term " baggage " is used herein, it shall mean only trunks, valises, satchels, bags or bundles containing clothing and such other articles of personal use as are customary and suitable to the station in life and/or wants of third class passengers.
No tools of trade, household goods, presents and/or property of others, jewelry, money, documents, valuables of any description, or such articles as are specified in Section 4281 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, shall be carried except under and subject to the terms of a special contract to be obtained from baggage master, and the Passenger hereby warrants that no such articles are contained in any receptacle or container presented by him as baggage hereunder and if any such articles are shipped by the Passenger as baggage in breach of this warranty, no liability therefor shall attach to the Carrier on account thereof, as carrier, or bailee, or in any other capacity.
(b) Baggage, not to exceed 10 cubic feet in measurement and $25 in value per adult passenger, will be carried without additional charge. The Carrier shall not be liable, as Carrier or bailee, for loss or detention of, or injury to, any baggage, unless delivered to the Carrier's baggage master on the wharf or steamer; nor unless such lose, detention or injury be directly caused, after such delivery, by the negligence of the Carrier, in which event such liability shall not exceed said sum of $25, the Passenger agreeing that the value of said baggage does not exceed said sum, in consideration of which the Carrier agrees to carry it without additional charge.
If the Passenger has baggage exceeding $25 in value, he shall, in writing, specify its true value and pay to the baggage master 1% on the excess of such value, in which case the Carrier's liability shall be limited to the actual damage sustained, up to, but not exceeding, such specified value.
Excess baggage will not be carried, except at current rates, under special contract to be obtained from baggage master. The Carrier shall not be liable for loss, damage of, or injury to, property carried in staterooms, on the person, or in the custody of the Passenger.
4. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
(a) No intoxicating liquors or beverages and no firearms and/or explosive substances shall be taken on board the steamer.
(b) This ticket is good only for the steamer and for the date named.
(c) No suit shall be maintainable against the Carrier for loss or delay of, or injury to, baggage, or for death or detention of, or personal injury to, any Passenger. unless written notice of the claim, with full particulars, shall be delivered to the Carrier at its office within 5 days after termination of the voyage and unless suit shall be commenced thereon within 90 days after such termination.
(d) This contract shall be construed, and the rights of parties thereunder determined, according to the laws of the State of New York.
UNITED AMERICAN LINES
(Incorporated)
/s/ Karl Sivert
Passenger's Signature.
/s/ A. Wesson
Agent's Signature.
PASSENGERS WILL PLEASE NOTE THAT THEY MUST have their baggage checked at the Baggage Master's desk on the UNITED AMERICAN LINES Pier BEFORE GOING ABOARD THE STEAMER.
All baggage must be plainly marked with owner's name, name of steamer and destination. Tags furnished on application.
It will be honored for Passage, ONLY IF BERTH HAS BEEN RESERVED or if room is available.
Relative Cost of Passage Ticket in Today's Currency Value
In 2020, the relative values of $142.00 from 1921 ranges from $1,660.00 to $39,900.00.
A simple Purchasing Power Calculator would say the relative value is $2,050.00. This answer is obtained by multiplying $142 by the percentage increase in the CPI from 1921 to 2020.
This may not be the best answer.
The best measure of the relative value over time depends on if you are interested in comparing the cost or value of a Commodity, Income or Wealth, or a Project.
If you want to compare the value of a $142.00 Commodity in 1921 there are four choices. In 2020 the relative:
- real price of that commodity is $2,050.00
- real value in consumption of that commodity is $5,480.00
- labor value of that commodity is $8,600.00 (using the unskilled wage) or $9,570.00 (using production worker compensation)
- income value of that commodity is $13,100.00
- economic share of that commodity is $39,900.00
If you want to compare the value of a $142.00 Income or Wealth, in 1921 there are five choices. In 2020 the relative:
- real wage or real wealth value of that income or wealth is $2,050.00
- household purchasing power value of that income or wealth is $5,480.00
- relative labor earnings of that commodity are $8,600.00 (using the unskilled wage) or $9,570.00 (using production worker compensation)
- relative income value of that income or wealth is $13,100.00
- relative output value of that income or wealth is $39,900.00
If you want to compare the value of a $142.00 Project in 1921 there are four choices. In 2020 the relative:
- real cost of that project is $1,660.00
- household cost of that project is $5,480.00
- labor cost of that project is $8,600.00 (using the unskilled wage) or $9,570.00 (using production worker compensation)\
- relative cost of that project is $13,100.00
- economy cost of that project is $39,900.00
Source: www.measuringworth.com Samuel H. Williamson, "Seven Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1790 to present," MeasuringWorth, 2022.
🚢 SS Mount Clinton Passage Contract (1921): A Rare Outward-Bound Journey from New York to Latvia 🇺🇸➡️🇱🇻
The SS Mount Clinton Passage Contract, dated 26 May 1921, offers a fascinating glimpse into the lesser-documented eastbound transatlantic journeys of the early 20th century. Unlike the vast majority of westward voyages, which carried immigrants to America, this contract records a return journey to Europe, specifically Libau (Liepāja, Latvia), via Hamburg. The ticket was issued to Karl Sivert, a third-class passenger, marking an intriguing case of post-World War I migration.
For teachers, students, genealogists, and historians, this primary source document provides valuable insights into migration trends, maritime travel conditions, and ticketing processes during the 1920s. With detailed contractual terms, financial costs, and voyage conditions, it serves as an essential reference for those studying immigration, repatriation, and transatlantic travel networks.
🔍 Key Highlights & Takeaways
1️⃣ An Unusual Eastbound Voyage 🗺️
This contract is not for immigration to America but for a return trip to Latvia via Hamburg—a unique perspective compared to the common westbound immigrant journeys.
The SS Mount Clinton was part of the United American Lines, which partnered with the Hamburg American Line to maintain a joint third-class passenger service between New York and Hamburg.
The ship was on its maiden voyage, making this contract even more historically significant.
2️⃣ The Cost of Passage & Its Modern Equivalent 💰
Karl Sivert paid $142.00 for his third-class ticket, which included a $5.00 U.S. revenue tax.
Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to $2,050.00 in 2020 currency, showing that a third-class voyage required substantial financial planning even for working-class travelers.
3️⃣ Ticketing, Travel Conditions & Passenger Rights 📜
The contract spells out key travel conditions, including:
🔹Rights of the carrier (such as the ability to change routes, refund passage, or transfer passengers).
🔹Passenger responsibilities (such as handling their own quarantine costs).
🔹Liabilities and limitations, including no refunds for baggage losses beyond $25 unless insured.
The document reflects the detailed legal agreements required for transatlantic travel, highlighting the importance of contracts in protecting both the steamship company and passengers.
4️⃣ Historical Context: Post-WWI European Migration & Repatriation ⚖️
The early 1920s saw significant migration movements in both directions—immigrants returning home after failing to establish themselves in the U.S., displaced people relocating, and war refugees seeking family reunification.
Latvia had just gained independence from Russia in 1918, meaning Karl Sivert’s journey could have been connected to political, economic, or personal reasons.
The United American Lines’ partnership with Hamburg American Line ensured a steady flow of passengers returning to Europe, whether permanently or temporarily.
📸 Noteworthy Images & Their Importance
1️⃣ The SS Mount Clinton Passage Contract
📜 This rare document provides a firsthand look at outbound ticketing for third-class passengers. It serves as an exceptional resource for genealogists researching family members who left America during the 1920s.
2️⃣ The Nautical Gazette Report on the Maiden Voyage of SS Mount Clinton
📰 An article from The Nautical Gazette confirms the historical importance of this ticket—it was issued for the SS Mount Clinton’s maiden voyage to Hamburg, a key event in maritime history.
🌍 Why This Document Matters for Historians, Genealogists & Educators
🔎 For Historians
🔹Reveals post-WWI migration trends, especially eastbound journeys that are often overlooked in favor of westward immigration records.
🔹Highlights the role of United American Lines and Hamburg American Line in maintaining transatlantic migration routes.
🧬 For Genealogists
🔹If your ancestors returned to Europe from America, this type of record is crucial in tracking their movements.
🔹It provides detailed personal and financial data, including ticket cost, voyage date, and ship name, all valuable in family history research.
📚 For Educators & Students
🔹Perfect for lessons on migration, economics, and legal contracts in maritime history.
🔹A great case study on transatlantic travel conditions for working-class passengers in the 1920s.
🏆 Final Thoughts: A Unique Perspective on Transatlantic Travel
Unlike most migration records, which focus on passengers immigrating to America, this SS Mount Clinton Passage Contract documents an eastward journey, offering a rare glimpse into return migration after World War I. The financial, legal, and logistical details captured in this contract make it an invaluable historical artifact, shedding light on the overlooked stories of those who left America for Europe.
For anyone interested in maritime history, genealogy, or early 20th-century migration patterns, this contract is a treasure trove of information! 🌊✨
