The SS Georgic

It’s amazing what one vintage receipt can reveal. In researching the history of an original receipt that documents the travels of cargo from the SS Georgic maritime history unfolded. The date on the receipt is December 23, 1937. When I found the ship’s name, http://smsmoewe.com/indexsm.htm reported it was sunk before 1937. Oh, no! What does this mean?  Well, further investigation detailed that the “Georgic” was a British steamship that was captured and sunk by SMS SeaGull on December 10, 1916, off the coast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. 

There was a Georgic II. Harland and Wolff built Georgic II in Belfast and launched November 12, 1931. Georgic II was the last ship built for the White Star Line. The ship traveled between Liverpool and New York. Over the years, she served as a ship for annual charity banquets, carried a record 3,000 tons of fruit, requisitioned for trooping in 1939 capable of carrying 3,000. It was bombed in 1941, savaged and made seaworthy again.  Carried troops and civilians.

The vessel survived until 1955 and was sold for scrapping in January 1956. A video of the MV Georgic is an interior view of the ship.

On 12/23/1937 it transported leather from W. F. Cobb & Son for delivery to Athletic Shoe Co. in Chicago. Foreign Freight Forwarders were C.H. Powell Co. (now includes Tandem Global Logistics). 

The Powell Company, founded in 1919, still exits and their history is highlighted here: http://www.chpowell.com/about-ch-powell/our-story/