Karl Albert Midtsjø

Karl Albert Midtsjø was one of the Norwegian passengers who travelled on the RMS *Titanic* on its Maiden Voyage.

Karl Albert was born on August the 4th, 1890, in Kråkstad municipality on Vestre Midtsjø farm and was the son of Johannes Midtsjø and Marie Johansen. It was a rough life, and he had to endure seeing his siblings die one after the other. They had to work very hard to sustain themselves, and Karl starting his work from a very young age.

## Aboard the *Titanic*

Karl purchased a ticket on March 30, 1912, covering his journey from Kristiania to Chicago, Illinois. It was purchased from General Agent Ferdinand J. Elster in Kristiania. He travelled first from Kristiania to Hull, and from there on to Southampton where he boarded the *Titanic*. He was 21 years old at the time. On the ship he became well acquainted with Johannes Nysveen, an older man and one of the other Norwegian passengers. They had a cabin in the bow, like most single steerage men.

On April 14th, late at night, *Titanic* had a collision with an iceberg, It became apparant that she was going down by the head.

During the chaotic evacuation belowdecks, both Midtsjø and Nysveen managed to get up on deck. On the starboard side of the ship, lifeboat 15 was one of the last boats at the aft part of the Boat Deck, launched around 1:43 A.M. and had already started descending by the time the two Norwegians reached it. During the lowering, First Officer Murdoch requested more passengers who could row, and with his experience from Midsjøvannet at home in Kråkstad, Midtsjø volunteered. Murdoch then gave him permission to drop himself down the ropes towards the lifeboat.

Nysveen realized that he couldn't jump, and realised his own chances as a 61 year old were slim, so he gave his pocket watch and a coat to Karl so he could later hand over the belongings to Johannes' family in North Dakota. Midtsjø agreed, climbed down the ropes and survived the sinking this way.

## After the disaster

After the disaster, Midtsjø was lodged at St. Vincent's Hospital where he stayed for a few days.

During his stay, Midtsjø wrote a letter to his brother back home in Norway. The letter has recently been given attention due to Karl's description of how some passengers who tried to get into a lifeboat were shot by the ship's crew.  It is uncertain whether Midtsjø witnessed this himself or whether he reproduced a rumor that spread rapidly in the days after the shipwreck.

He then travelled to Chicago on April 26. There, the Norwegian - American newspaper "Skandinavian" conducted an interview with him.

He was there for only a few days before traveling to Cummings, North Dakota to meet the family of Johannes Nysveen. During the meeting, Midtsjø told about Nysveens' last days on the ship and his belongings were handed over to the family.

He married Anna Christine Paulson on September 15, 1913 and on January 5th, 1915 they had a son, which they named Marvin Gilbert Midtsjø.

In 1917, Midsea and his newly established family settled in Evanston, Illinois, where he worked as a janitor. In 1921, the family moved to Norway where they lived for barely a year. Later, they moved to Maywood, Illinois, and around 1930 Karl began working as a construction gardener. In 1937, failing health put an end to his work, and on January 25, 1939, he died very young, as a result of a heart defect. He was only 48 years old.