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This roster has been compiled through research and cross-referencing of the resources provided throughout this guide. It is intended to be a tool for further study.
The most reliable list of all those aboard the Oneida at the time of the disaster was ascertained from the survivors immediately after the wreck, and submitted as evidence to the U.S. Court of Inquiry.
The list identifies 115 lost (20 officers / 95 enlisted men) and 61 survivors (4 officers / 57 enlisted men). It also distinguishes race and nativity for eight Chinese and six African American crew members lost at sea.
Additional details, such as middle names or alternate spellings were supplemented from cenotaphs, muster rolls, newspaper archives, and other records included in this guide. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' list of Navy Ranks and Abbreviations was used to interpret rank notations.
Exact spellings of names vary between sources. All aliases should be investigated when pursuing individual research.
Each section of this guide provides resources that may reveal additional details about each individual man aboard the Oneida (sometimes with surprising specificity), as well as his experience in the U.S. Navy, and particularly, during the tragic events of January 24, 1870. Official records itemized in the Archival and Government Records section provide some of the most foundational data for building individual profiles, due to the formality and requirements of the documentation.
In addition to the subject-specific record sets, researchers should consider a genealogical approach to telling each man's story, even if the goal may not necessarily be to build a family tree. The Genealogy Basics section of this guide provides research entry points, as well as tools for searching the Library of Congress Online Catalog and Digital Collections.
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
*African American
**Chinese
In addition to the USS Oneida Memorials in Japan, many families of the men lost at sea created cenotaphs back home where the Oneida's crew could be remembered alongside their relatives. Though most of these markers are in name only, actual gravestones do also exist for the few sailors whose bodies were recovered.
Among the officers of the USS Oneida were a number of United States Naval Academy alumni who are honored with memorial profiles in the U.S. Naval Academy Virtual Memorial Hall External.