The SS Nevada of the Guion Line was a transatlantic passenger steamship famous for carrying emigrants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) from Liverpool, England, to New York City, United States. It was built in 1868 by Palmer’s Shipbuilding & Iron Co. in Jarrow-on-Tyne, England. The 3,125-ton iron-hulled steamer was a pioneer for the Liverpool & Great Western Steamship Company (commonly called the Guion Line).
“The Guion line became the preferred company for organized Mormon [LDS] emigrant passage because of the favorable treatment and reduced fairs [sic] arranged between the Guion agents in Liverpool and the Church leaders of the British Mission. The Mormons were organized and orderly passengers generally respected by the captains” (Vaughn).
The ship featured a single funnel and three masts rigged for sails, which was a typical design configuration used to assist steam engines on transatlantic crossings during the late 19th century. The SS Nevada primarily ran the steerage route between Liverpool, England; Queenstown, Ireland; and New York, USA, transporting thousands of European emigrants—including massive parties of early LDS pioneers—to the United States until she was retired and broken up in Italy in 1896.
Maria Emilie Wilker sailed on the SS Nevada (Guion Line) under the care of the Ulrich and Elizabeth Fischer family, bound for Utah in the United States. The SS Nevada departed Liverpool, England, on May 17, 1882, and arrived at the Port of New York on May 29, 1882. Note: Because this voyage carried an organized group of 399 European emigrants (primarily British and Scandinavian Mormon converts under the leadership of Elder William R. Webb), travelers often documented their journey starting from the day they boarded and were assigned their berths in Liverpool, through the afternoon the ship anchored and they stepped onto New York soil: May 16 to May 27, 1882.
The May 1882 voyage was one of the SS Nevada’s earliest voyages after returning to service from major renovations at the end of 1881, where her hull was expanded to 3,617 gross tons, and she was fitted with more efficient compound steam engines. The ship followed the standard Guion Line pipeline, leaving Liverpool, England, stopping briefly to pick up additional passengers at Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland, and making a 10-to-11-day transatlantic sprint across the North Atlantic to the Port of New York.
Maria Emilie Wilker’s parents and siblings followed her to America a year later aboard the SS Nevada under the direction of LDS church leader Peter F. Goss. They departed from Liverpool, England, on August 29, 1883 (typically stopping briefly at Queenstown, Ireland, to pick up additional passengers and mail). They arrived at the Port of New York on September 10, 1883, completing a standard 12-day transatlantic passage.
The ship’s official roster recorded 399 passengers on board for this crossing. A significant portion of the steerage manifest was comprised of European converts and families (including members of the Wilker family) who were traveling to join relatives already established in the American West.
The following Wilker family members are listed for the August 1883 voyage of the SS Nevada, all of whom were noted as having originated in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and traveling to Montpelier, Bear Lake, Idaho:
Wilker, Albertina [daughter]
Wilker, Emma Julie [daughter]
Wilker, Ernst Hermann [son]
Wilker, Friedrich Karl [son]
Wilker, Marie [mother]
Wilker, Wilhelm [father]
Wilker, Wilhelm Heinrich [son]