The Aroostook County Swedish Colony settlers endured hardships on their crossing of the Atlantic to reach their new homes. The Germanic, a White Star Line steamship, brought Lars Petter Larson, his wife, Amanda Olofsdotter Larson and their three children; five year old Johan, three year old Selma and ten month old Axel across the Atlantic. The Larson Family boarded the SS Juno at Göteborg, Sweden, on May 4, 1883 for the 48 hour voyage to Hull on Great Britain’s east coast. From Hull they traveled by train across England to Liverpool. After a nine day voyage on the Germanic out of Liverpool the five Larsons arrived in New York harbor on a raw, rainy May 21.

The Germanic (1874-1950) set a transAtlantic crossing record on April 13, 1877 by completing her voyage in 7 days, 18 hours and 2 minutes. The Germanic was in continuous service for 75 years.