Oscar Wilhelm Johansson

Oscar Wilhelm Johansson was a passenger on *Titanic*.

## Early life

Oscar Wilhelm Olsson was born at the Myckleby parish in Orust, Bohuslän, Sweden on September 8, 1879. Oscar's father Johan Olsson was a sea captain and married to Maria Emanuelsdotter. They had three children together; in addition to Oscar, three brothers were born named Johan and Olof. The family lived in Lunna in Myckleby parish on Orust.

Oscar had been to America before when he followed in his father's footsteps and began his career at sea by accompanying him on the schooner *Edit av Uddevalla*. Oscar emigrated to America in 1905.

On 1st of March, the *Oceanic* departed from Liverpool and arrived in New York on March 9. He was probably accompanied by two other Lunna residents. However, these two, Eric M. Olsson and Olof Nyquist, were going to Chicago while Oscar was on his way to his brother Johan, who lived in Sharon, Wisconsin. It was also Johan who had paid for the trip. Oscar chartered the ore ships that crossed the Great Lakes and was for largest part of his time he was in the service of Captain Petersen of Norway. Oscar changed his name to Johansson during his stay in America, because everyone had a hard time pronouncing Olsson correctly and his dad's name was Johan.

In 1911 he returned to Sweden. On New Year's Eve he married Maria Abrahamsson from the neighboring farm.Unfortunately, it was difficult for a sailor to manage himself financially in Orust at this time and after writing to Captain Petersen he was promised a renewed employment on his ship *Bulgaria*, which made Oscar decide to leave again.

His close friend Samuel Niklasson was also going to America and they both persuaded their mutual friend Karl Johansson to come with them, even though he had set out to emigrate in the fall of 1912.

Oscar and his mates departed from Gothenburg on April 5 and they arrived in Hull in England on April 7. From there, they continued to Southampton on April 8.

## *Titanic*

Oscar, Samuel and Karl where on the grandest and most luxurious liner that was only just built, when they left Southampton on April 10 aboard her in Third Class. Oscar was 32 years old at the time.

After the collision with the iceberg on April 14, *Titanic* sustained damage and had tons of seawater coming in. On April 15, the master of the ship was aware that she couldn’t stay afloat and ordered for an evacuation just after midnight.

During last 15 minutes of the ship, Oscar ended up in the water but was able to rescue himself onto the collapsible lifeboat A, which had landed from the Officer’s Quarters onto the Main Boat Deck and was washed off minutes later when *Titanic* took a dive forward with her bridge submerged. Two compatriots, August Wennerström and Carl Olof Jansson also saved themselves by hauling themselves onto the boat.

Other sources say otherwise and claimed he was actually on top of the overturned Collapsible B, but since the statements of August Wennerström and Carl Olof Jansson confirm eachother's claim that they were both in boat A, and Jansson claims that Oscar was in the same boat, so this should be considered the most likely.

While Oscar survived, his travel compagnians Karl and Samuel were lost.

On board the *Carpathia* he went down to the engine room to warm himself and as soon as he landed in New York he sent a telegram home to his wife: "Saved. Oscar". He received $50 from The Women's Relief Committee in New York. There is no record of compensation for damages.

When he set off for his promised employment in *Bulgaria* , he actually took a boy with him who had also survived the disaster but had become an orphan and brought him to his relatives.

He had not heard from Captain Petersen and no one knew where he was, and an American newspaper wrote about his "disappearance" under the headline "Man rescued from '*Titanic*' lost between New York and Detroit", He instead enlisted on another ship from the same shipping company. Ironically, it ran aground and sank. Oscar was able to save himself, wearing only his underwear, but afterwards he had problems with his nerves and stomach.

On May 9, 1912, at the consulate in Chicago, he had to pay $1 to have a new passport issued because his old one had followed the *Titanic* into the depths.

## Later life

Not until 1918 did he return to Sweden. He then managed to get work as a rigger at Allmag's shipyard and later switched to running a boarding house together with his wife Maria. On 5 April 1967, he died at the Trolltorp retirement home in Orust, aged 87. Oscar's grave is at Myckleby church.