My grandfather was a sailor. He was a merchant mariner and he sailed onboard ships. One of the ships he sailed on was the M.S. ELISABETH BAKKE which was a cargo ship. He worked on the M.S. ELISABETH BAKKE as a galley boy and also a second cook. The duties of a galley boy on a ship is to clean, serve food to the crew and run errands for the captain. My father was also a merchant mariner, graduating from SUNY Maritime College. He sailed onboard oil tankers on the East and West coast of the United States. One of the pictures is the Article of Agreements, it is an employment contract between my grandfather and the shipping company. He worked onboard the M.S. ELISABETH BAKKE from November 2nd 1959 to December 17th 1959. One of the other pictures is his log book while he worked on the ship. The picture of the ship is the M.S. ELISABETH BAKKE that I found on the Internet. The last picture is a copy of my father's United States Coast Guard license to work as a third mate of oceans steam or motor vessels of any gross tons(gross ton is a measurement for the size of a ship). I think it is very interesting that my father and my grandfather had similar backgrounds. I wish I knew my grandfather and heard about his sea adventures.

– T

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant