An Abandoned Mansion In NYC Raises Questions

The Aftermath of the General Slocum Tragedy

Captain William Henry Van Schaick was held responsible for the accident. It was widely reported that he didn’t bring the ship to shore for insurance reasons. Onlookers could see the burning ship just off shore and wondered why he didn’t come back to land. Instead of turning around and docking the ship, he sailed it to North Brother Island. According Van Schaik, gas tanks and lumber yards near 130th Street, where the boat was burning right off shore, made docking there dangerous.

Van Schaik was found guilty of criminal negligence because he failed to maintain the fire drills required by law. He was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor, and ended up serving only a portion of his sentence at Sing Sing prison. He was pardoned by President William Howard Taft in 1911.