recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
John Henry Jackopson

John Henry Jackopson was born in Liverpool on June 23, 1881. His father, Charles Ludwig Jackopson was probably Norwegian, although this is not certain. His mother, Sarah Ann, was born in Whitehaven, Cumberland. The couple married in Liverpool and had five children. Very little is known about John’s early life, mainly because his surname was frequently misspelled so records are hard to identify with any certainty.

When John’s father died, in 1896, his mother went to live with her married daughter, Mary Thalia Gibson in Kirkdale, Lancashire. John probably also lived with her but, by this time, he was already working at sea so doesn’t show on any census. On March 30 1903, John married Catherine McCabe in Liverpool.

In 1907 he moved to Southampton. They had four children, the first two, Charles and Thomas, born in Liverpool and Cornelia and Catherine born in Southampton. Tragically, Catherine died within a few weeks of her birth.

The move to Southampton was most likely prompted by John’s work as a ship’s Fireman. His last ship before joining *Titanic* was the merchant steamer *Highland Brae*, a far smaller ship than *Titanic*, carrying around sixty or so passengers. When John signed onto *Titanic* the family were living at 97 Dukes Road. His wages would have been £6 a month.

On April 14, at 12:40 P.M. *Titanic* strikes a glancing blow against an iceberg, which makes incisions in her hull. Unable to stay afloat, the ship took on too much water and sank in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

John was not one of the lucky stokers who were fortunate enough to man a boat or find another way to save themselves. He perished when the ship went down. His body was never identified.

Catherine must have been devastated by the news. She was pregnant at the time and gave birth to a son just weeks after the sinking. She named the child John, after his father. To add to her misery and tragedy, baby John only lived a few months.

In late 1913, Catherine married Charles George Hatcher and went on to have two more children. She lived in Southampton until her death in 1951. John’s children also remained in Southampton. Thomas married Florence Spencer in 1946 but had no children. He died in 1974. Charles married Doris Glasspool Plummer and had five children. He died in 1942. Cornelia married Robert Fuller and had four children. She died in 1991.

## Sources

Special thanks and credits to Marie Keates for allowing me to use a large part of this information of her blog:

https://iwalkalone.co.uk/titanic-tales-from-st-denys-part-two/: Titanic tales from St Denys part two – I Walk Alone
George Allen

## Biography

Mr. George Allen was born in 1886 in London, Middlesex, England. Nothing is known about his life except that he got married, might have had kids, and moved from London to Southampton, Hampshire, England, to work at sea.

When he signed on the Titanic in Southampton on April 4th, 1912, George gave his address as 32 Grove Street, Southampton, Hampshire, England and his last ship as the R.M.S. Oceanic. He would work as a scullion and get a monthly wage of £3 10s. George perished in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified.

His paternal grandmother Sophia Allen was the one to get relief funds from the Titanic Relief Funds.
Edward Castleman

Edward was one of Henry Castleman’s ten children, born in 1874 in Littleton, Hampshire. Seven of the children were from his father's previous marriage to Charlotte Rose, who sadly passed away early. Edward was conceived from Henry's new wife, Elizabeth Lock, who he remarried to in 1874, along with two other children, a brother named Fred, and a sister called Martha, who came after Edward.

His early life was spent living at Harestock Farm, where his father was an agricultural labourer and his mother a dairywoman. When Edward left school he became a farm servant but, after his father’s death, his mother moved to Shirley Southampton to live with her married daughter, Martha Dabell. It’s probable that Edward joined her when she moved but he is not listed on the 1901 census and was most likely already working at sea.

In 1905 Edward married Kate Amy Marchant in South Stoneham. When he joined *Titanic*, the couple were living at 37 North Road and had no children. He signed on as a Greaser, earning £6 10s a month. His brother-in-law, Martha’s second husband Walter Alexander Bishop, was also working aboard as a Bedroom Steward.

Tragedy struck when the ship made conctact with an iceberg on the late night of April 14, which caused such a damage that she sank on April 15, less than 3 hours after impact.

Both Edward and Walter were lost in the sinking and their bodies were never identified.

A death notice was posted in The Echo on 30 April 1912.

Two years later Kate married Frederick Stevens. She remained in Southampton and died in 1948.

## Sources

Special thanks and credits to Marie Keates for allowing me to use a large part of this information of her blog:

https://iwalkalone.co.uk/titanic-tales-from-st-denys : Titanic tales from St Denys – I Walk Alone
Gretchen Longley

Gretchen Fiske Leopold Longley was a First Class passenger on Titanic.

On 1 September 1890, Gretchen was born in Hudson, Columbia. Her father was, a lawyer and former mayor of the town. Her mother was Mary Deare Andrews Gretchen was a late child,  her parents were both 40 years when she was  born. Her parents had both died when she was only 12. After her mother passed, she and her father lived with her grandparents, the parents of her mother.  He passed in 1902. Therefore, in 1905 she lived with her aunt Cornelia Andrews in Hudson whilst being educated at a Ladies’ School in Boston.

Miss Longley came onboard Titanic in Southampton, she had taken cabin D-9. The aunts from her mother’s side, Cornelia Andrews and Anna Hogeboom also boarded.

She and her aunts were rescued in lifeboat 10. When they were rescued by the RMS Carpathia, both Cornelia Andrews and Anna Andrews and Gretchen refused to stay in a cabin as there were other people in much worse conditions. Instead, they slept in the living room.

Gretchen Fiske Longley later married Dr. Raymond Leopold on 21 October 1913. They had 3 children together and settled in Philiadelphia. Raymond would go on to become executive vice president of Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital.

After the Titanic disaster she still took voyages on various ships,  and ran an antique shop in Philadelphia.

She became a widow when Raymond died on 30 June 1957 and in 1965 on of her sons died at a young age.

She died as Mrs Gretchen Leopold on 11 August 1965 after a sudden illness, but she was 74 years old. She died aboard a ship,  the SS Constitution, which was on a cruise, near Genua, Italy.

Gretchen was buried at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
Margit Elizabeth Skoog

Miss Margit Elizabeth Skoog was born in Iron Mountain, Michigan on 14 April 1910.

She was the youngest child of Wilhelm Johansson Skoog (b. 1872), a mine engineer, and Anna Bernhardina Karlsson (b. 1866), both Swedish immigrants hailing from Skaraborg who had emigrated to the USA shortly after their marriage in 1898. She had three siblings: Karl Thorsten (b. 1900), Mabel (b. 1902) and Harald (b. 1906). The family appear on the 1910 census living in Mountain City, Michigan and her father was described as a miner and he worked at the Pewabic Mine as an engineer.

The family decided to return to Sweden around November 1911 which they did but soon regretted the move and made plans to return to America. Having travelled via Stockholm, Göteborg and Hull, the family boarded the Titanic at Southampton on 10 April 1912 as Third Class passengers (ticket number 347088 which cost £27, 18s). Travelling with them were two relatives, Elin Pettersson and Jenny Henriksson, who they had persuaded to join them. Whilst aboard ship Margit celebrated her second birthday. During the disaster, Margit, along with the rest of her family, were lost and their bodies were never recovered.
George William Feltham

George William Feltham was born on the 28th of April, 1870 in Bermondsey, Surrey to George Feltham, a warehouseman and Elizabeth Coleman. Both parents were Wiltshire Natives. He was the middle child of three, with an elder sister and a younger brother. He was baptised in the Sint James Church on June the 19th. In the first few years of his life his family moved from Bermondsey to Bromley, London and his father became a seed warehouseman. George began his working life as a baker and confectioner, lodging at various addresses in London and Middlesex.

By 1901 he was lodging in London with a Mrs Francis Emma Mayley (neé Turner) and her six children. In around 1907 George, along with Francis and three of her children, had moved to Southampton and were living at 64 St Denys Road. George was now working aboard *Majestic* as a confectioner. What became of Francis’ bricklayer husband, Alfred, isn’t clear, as he was abscent on the concensus, but, in 1908 George and Francis had married, despite her being fourteen years his senior.

George left *Majestic* to join *Oceanic* and then signed on to *Titanic* as a Vienna Baker, earning £4 10s a month.

On April 14th, the ship had brushed against an iceberg below the waterline which was enough to cause small gashes, which led her to sink.

Feltham did not survive the sinking and his body was never recovered. Poor Francis never remarried but stayed in Southampton. She died on October 2, 1939.

## Sources

Special thanks and credits to Marie Keates for allowing me to use a large part of this information of her blog:

https://iwalkalone.co.uk/titanic-tales-from-st-denys: Titanic tales from St Denys – I Walk Alone
Jack Butterworth

Jack Butterworth was born in Manchester on the 6th of February, 1889. His father was William James Butterworth who was a butcher, and Mary Jane Jervis was his mother. He had no less than 13 siblings, although one of them died long before him, at the age of 2. When a set of twins was born, of of them received the name of his deceased brother. Jack was the youngest.

His mother, aged 41, passed away in the Fall of 1895. Her widowed husband would not remarry. In November of that year, Jack went to the St George’s School. Little is known about his story when he started living in Southampton, but it was almost certainly connected with his seafaring career and he was there for a few years when he started his work. He met a local girl who worked as a domestic maid. She went by the name of May Evaline Hinton. They got engaged.

Before he joined *Titanic* he’d been working on the *New York*, which sailed the same route as *Titanic* would have. In fact, *New York* was berthed beside *Oceanic* when *Titanic* set sail and the suction of her passing caused the three inch steel hawsers securing the smaller ship to be torn from their moorings. There would have been a collision if Captain Smith hadn’t ordered *Titanic*’s port propeller to be reversed and turned the gigantic liner. Meanwhile a tugboat towed the *New York* in the opposite direction. Had the two ships collided, history may have been very different. Jack was 23 years old at the time.

Jack posted a letter to miss Evaline during the stop in Queenstown, where he described this incident in lively terms.

On April the 14th, *Titanic* had grazed an iceberg but Jack hadn't felt or noticed anything, as he was in a deep slumber, if we go by the words of fellow First Class steward, Percy Edward Keen. The latter had to rouse him and shake him, to tell him to get dressed, as the ship was stationary and Percy felt something was wrong. It was very difficult to wake Butterworth, who was still very sleepy. When Jack had put his clothes on, they were ordered to come on deck and bring wraps. Percy hadn't seen Jack since. Jack Butterworth perished in the disaster.

On the 20th of April, the poor Miss Hinton got the awful news about Jack's death, more than a week after the sinking. Tragically, the letter from Queenstown reached her that same day, and on top if it, it was her 21st birthday. Jack’s body however was recovered by the *Mackay-Bennet* and numbered 116. He was described as having red hair and was wearing dark clothes, a white stewards' jacket and black boots. In his pocket was a cigarette case. He was buried at sea.

## Sources

Special thanks and credits to Marie Keates for allowing me to use a large part of this information of her blog:

https://iwalkalone.co.uk/titanic-tales-from-st-denys: Titanic tales from St Denys – I Walk Alone
Kurt Bryhl

Kurt Anrold Gottfrid Bryhl was a passenger on *Titanic*.

## Early life

Kurt Arnold Gottfrid Bryhl was a native of Skara in Västergötland, Sweden. He was born as the son of Gottfrid Lustig and Ida Jenny Gustafsson on February 3, 1887.  The reason his last name is different form his father is that he and his sister Dagmar adopted their grandmother’s surname. Dagmar was his younger sister or half-sister, she was born  on 2 September 1891.

Kurt traveled together with his sister Dagmar and her fiance Ingvar. Kurt was the only one of them who went to America with the intention of remaining and he received his moving certificate for emigration on March 19, 1912. He was to act as an interpreter for the others during their stay there, as none of them were very proficient in English. Kurt and his sister were on their way to their uncle Oskar Lustig's at 511 Pearl St. in Rockford, Illnois.

## *Titanic*

For their voyage to America, the three of them boarded the famous ocean liner *Titanic* on April 10, in Southampton. Kurt was 25 years old at the time. Since they were a little better off, they traveled in Second Class.

In addition to Kurt's traveling party, there was another familiar person on board the *Titanic*, namely Jenny Henriksson, who previously worked as a housekeeper for Kurt and Dagmar's father.

During the night on April 14, *Titanic* had struck an iceberg and was sinking.

After midnight on April 15, it became clear evacuation was needed. Kurt, Dagmar and Ingvar they were able to get onto the Boat Deck without any problems. While his sister was saved in a lifeboat on port side (it is believed to be no. 12). Kurt, Ingvar and the nearby Henrik Kvillner were refused to go along, even though it was only half full. This meant that they all perished in the disaster, and Kurt's body was never found or at least identified.

## After his death

A compensation of SEK 1,823:61 was paid to his father Gottfrid Lustig, the Sterhus co-owner.  Dagmar Bryhl was stationed in a New York hospital for a while and was eventually found by her uncle. She did return to Sweden after a while, remarried and lived an interesting life
Frederick Fleet

**Frederick Fleet** (15 October 1887 – 10 January 1965) was a crewman and survivor of the sinking of the RMS *Titanic* after it struck an iceberg on 14 April 1912. Employed as a lookout aboard *Titanic*, it was Fleet who first sighted the iceberg, ringing the bridge to proclaim, "Iceberg, right ahead!" Fleet testified at the inquiries that if he had been issued binoculars, he would have seen the iceberg sooner, because it was a blue iceberg in calm seas on a moonless night.

## Life

Fleet was born in Portsmouth on 15 October 1887. He never knew his father, and his mother abandoned him and ran away with a boyfriend to Springfield, Massachusetts never to be heard from again. Frederick was raised by a succession of foster families and distant relatives. In 1903 he went to sea as a deck boy, working his way up to able seaman.

Before joining *Titanic* he had sailed for over four years as a lookout in *Oceanic*. His address was given as Norman Road, Southampton.

As a seaman, Fleet earned five pounds per month plus an extra 5 shillings for lookout duty. And it was as a lookout that Fleet joined the *Titanic* in April 1912.

Fleet was one of the *Titanic* crew members assigned to man the lifeboats, after the ship started to go down. As such, he survived the ship's sinking and later served in the merchant service through World War I and again in World War II, after having been unemployed in the 1930s.

Fleet served in *Titanic*s sister ship *Olympic* from 1920 to 1935 and signed on as ship's lookout and able seaman. He left because he found out that the crew members of the Titanic were reminders to the White Star Line of the Titanic sinking.

When his wife died shortly after Christmas 1964, he was evicted and he then became depressed and committed suicide by hanging two weeks later in January 1965. Many have said that in many ways, Fleet was also the last victim of *Titanic*. People who knew him said that he suffered from terrible guilt all his life because he had lived while so many perished. Out of 2,224 passengers and crew in *Titanic*, he was one of only 710 who survived. Fleet was buried in a pauper's grave at Hollybrook Cemetery, in Southampton. The grave went unmarked until 1993, when a headstone bearing an engraving of *Titanic* was erected through donations by the Titanic Historical Society.
Harry Markland Molson

Harry Markland Molson was a Canadian politician and entrepreneur. As a member of the Molson family, he was the Mayor of Dorval, Quebec. He perished in the sinking of RMS *Titanic* on April 15, 1912.

Harry Markland Molson was born August 9, 1856 as the son of William Markland Molson and Helen Augusta Converse in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Harry remained in Montreal when his father and brother went to Oregon in 1877. He was attending McGill University at the time. His uncle John Henry Robinson Molson then offered him the chance to study in Europe, after which he could join Molsons Bank on his return. Harry attended lessons in Paris and Berlin at some point.

Although Harry Molson was not a prominent member of the influential branch of the Molson family, he serendipitously inherited his fortune from this childless uncle, who was a former owner of Molson Brewery and President of the Molson Bank that was founded in 1889. Soon he became known as 'Merry Larkwand Molson', branded this by his friends for his playboy behaviour, and often trying to take as much pleasure out of the good things in life as he could.

An example is the triangular relationship he had with his cousin Alexander and his wife Florence Nightingale Morris. She basically had both men at her disposal. The Montreal inhabitants would find out, despite the three being discrete and it became a public secret. He owned a magnificient yacht, 75 feet long called the *Alcyone*. Modern for it's time, the luxurious vessel sported 26 electric lights. He enjoyed sailing very much and was the Commodore of the Royal St-Lawrence Yacht Club and governed the Montreal General Hospital as well.

Harry had survived shipwrecks prior to *Titanic*, and often was aided by fate, however he would always make sure to rescue other people as well. In 1899 the first incident happened when the Scotsman went down in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He managed to swim away nonetheless. in 1904, the *Canada* sank after she had a collision with a collier in the St. Lawrence River near Sorel. Harry leapt through a window after having hardly any time to get properly dressed and reached the shore by swimming. Returning to the waters in a rescue boat, he would have participated in the collection of several passengers.

Harry Molson went to England for business in February 1912, and had booked passage to return to Canada at the end of March on the Allan Line ocean liner, SS *Tunisian*. Before leaving, he had arranged for all his properties to be given to Florence Nightingale in case something would happen to him. Molson was persuaded by fellow businessman, Major Arthur Peuchen, to extend his stay in England and sail home with him on *Titanic'*s Maiden Voyage. Of course he couldn't resist that offer. He occupied First Class stateroom C-30.

On April 14, *Titanic* would hit an iceberg and sink hours later on April 15. Molson was claimed to have been seen onboard, getting himself ready to swim to a certain light, which would later be believed to be the *Californian*'s mast light. His body was lost at sea.
Robert William Frederick Couper

Robert Frederick William Couper was the son of two natives of Southampton and came from a large family with at least seven siblings. He was born in Southampton on 27 March 1882. His father was Robert Couper, an engraver, and Stirling Manley was his mother.

He married Emily Alice Westbury in 1910 and although they had an infant registered in 1911 it seems that it died in infancy and the couple would have no further children.

He signed on to *Titanic* on April 6th as a Fireman and had previously served on the *Olympic* in the same role. He came aboard in Southampton.

Couper survived, it is suspected he was rescued on lifeboat 3 but it is not certain. He returned to Southapmton and continued to work at sea untill at least the late 1920s. He lost his father in 1920, who died that year in Southampton.

Robert Frederick William Couper died on 31 December 1941 at Southampton Docks. Exactly how isn’t clear but it may well have been during a bombing raid. He was buried in Hollybrook Cemetery in an unmarked grave. Emily survived him and continued to live in Southampton and passed away in 1963.

## Sources

Special thanks and credits to Marie Keates for allowing me to use a large part of this information of her blog:

https://iwalkalone.co.uk/titanic-tales-from-st-denys-part-two/: Titanic tales from St Denys part two – I Walk Alone
John Davis

John Davis was the son of a retired Royal Marine Corporal who became a publican, George Davis. John's mother was Rebecca Streets. He was born in Gosport in August 1884 and he had 5 older brothers as well as 3 older sisters. In 1888, his only younger sibling, Albert was born. John's first years appear to have been spent living at the George Inn, Melcombe Regis, Weymouth. Around the turn of the century the family moved to Landport, Hampshire.

In 1902 John turned eighteen and left the Third Hampshire Regiment Militia to join the Army Service Corps. He was just five foot two, had blue eyes, brown hair, decayed lower molars and a burn scar under his right arm. The last two things may have been connected with his previous job as a baker.

John served as a driver for the regiment in both Aldershot and Chatham but his behaviour got him into trouble. He was thrown in the cells once for falling asleep at his sentry post. He spent there two weeks. Then he got reprimanded for other minor offences. Eventually, after failing to report for duty twice, he was dismissed in 1908. He then found work at sea as a baker.

In late 1910 he married Eliza Blanch Hunt, known as Lily and moved in with her parents at 19 Eastfield Road, St Denys. On November 18th, 1911, their son John Samuel was born.

## *Titanic*

John was on *Titanic* for her delivery trip from Belfast. He had worked on *Olympic* before joining her new sistership on April 4th, as the Extra Second Baker, earning £5 a month. His elder brother Stephen James Davis was also aboard as an Able Seaman.

On April 14, disaster struck as the ship collided with an iceberg and the damage caused her to founder.

Neither brother survived the sinking but John’s body was recovered by the *Mackay-Bennett* and he was buried at sea on 24 April 1912. He was wearing white trousers, a blue coat and apron marked JD and a white outer coat. In his pockets were a Post Office savings account book, 3s 6d, keys and union books, suggesting he’d had time to collect his important belongings before the ship sank. Perhaps he believed he would be saved, or maybe he picked up the books because he knew they’d help identify his body?

## After his death

A death notice was posted in the Hampshire Independent.

His poor widow Eliza seemed to be unlucky in love. She married Harry Atkinson in 1915 but was widowed again two years later. In 1918 she married for the third time but her husband, Albert E Young, died in 1927. Her final marriage, to Frank Ernest Colverson in 1928, was her last. She died in Southampton in 1973, Frank survived her and died three years later.

## Sources

Special thanks and credits to Marie Keates for allowing me to use a large part of this information of her blog:

https://iwalkalone.co.uk/titanic-tales-from-st-denys : Titanic tales from St Denys – I Walk Alone
Aloisia Haas

Aloisia Haas was born on 14 February 1888 in Switzerland.

She lived in Altdorf, Kanton Uri, Switzerland. A cousin to Josef Arnold-Franchi, she was employed at the restaurant "Feldschlösschen" at Olten, Kanton Solothurn, Switzerland.

She boarded *Titanic* at Southampton with her cousin and his wife, Josefina. She was travelling for Chicago, Illnois, USA and shared cabin #190 on F-Deck, in Third Class, with Josefina, Maria Kink, Luise Kink and her daughter Luise Gretchen Kink.

On the night of April 14, *Titanic* had struck an iceberg and sank hours later. Aloisia died in the disaster and if her body was recovered, it was never identified.
Frank Winnold Prentice

**Frank Winnold Prentice** (February 17th, 1889 - May 30th, 1982) was a storekeeper on the RMS *Titanic*. He survived the sinking by swimming to Lifeboat 4 and being pulled in by its occupants. He was the second-to-last member of the crew to pass away, being survived only by Sidney Edward Daniels.

He joined the *Titanic* in Southampton on April 4th as an assistant storekeeper, earning monthly wages of £3, 15s.

During the collision he was in his cabin, talking to a friend. He didn't feel the collision, likely because his cabin was on the port side, but he felt the ship stopping. When he went up to the promenade deck to investigate, he saw pieces of ice that had fallen on the forward well deck.

During the sinking he assisted in the filling of the lifeboats, including helping Virginia Estelle Clark put on a lifejacket and convincing her to board a lifeboat, however he himself did not embark one of them, and ended up being left on the ship after all the lifeboats had left.

Prentice, along with his colleagues Cyril Ricks and Michael Kieran ended up on the port side of the Poop Deck and climbed over the railing. Prentice saw large amounts of debris floating around but eventually let himself slide off the stern and fell approximately 100 feet (30 metre) before reaching the water, nearly hitting the propellers during his fall, and reaching the water without hitting any of the debris. He could not find Kieran but he did find Ricks, who was injured after apparently having hit something in the water. Prentice remained with Ricks until he died.

He then swam around until he found lifeboat 4, which had remained near the ship during the sinking, and was pulled aboard by its occupants. Here he also met the now widowed Mrs. Clark again.

Lifeboat 4 was picked up by the RMS *Carpathia* around 8:00 AM and Prentice boarded the ship along with the approximately 60 other occupants of the lifeboat. He finally arrived in New York on on April 18th.

After the disaster, Prentice returned to England and worked on the RMS *Oceanic*. He recalled being on board when the ship found the swamped Collapsible A.

In his later life Prentice gave many interviews for televison, newspapers and magazines. After his death several documentaries used footage of these interviews. In 1982 (the year he died) he appeared in a documentary called Titanic: A Question of Murder.
Johan Charles Asplund

Johan Charles Asplund was born January 31, 1889 and grew up from the age of five with his mother and two brothers in Oskarshamn, Småland, Sweden. His brothers became sailors like their dad, Johan August Asplund. His father had divorced from his mother, Emilia Augusta Jonsdotter. It appears that the cause of this seperation was that the father was an alcoholic.

He was travelling to join his brother Fred Asplund in Minneapolis. He boarded the *Titanic* at Southampton.

On the late night of April 14, he was in his cabin, sleeping when felt a thud, and that got him awake and out of his bunk. Johan and his cabinmates took the staircases to the Forward Well Deck to see what had happened, and they spotted all the tons of ice laying there. They spent some time there, and when a notion grew that something had seriously gone astray, they went down again to try and collect their belongings but knee-deep sea water was seeping into the hallways.

In a letter he wrote and sent to his mother Augusta, John Charles described the dramatic hours of the sinking and how he is picked up from lifeboat 13 to the RMS *Carpathia*. He had found his way to the Boat Deck and had jumped in the lifeboat on the last second.

Asplund with a traveling party is mentioned in the Swedish people's newspaper on May 8, 1912 "One of the rescued, John Asplund, 23 years old, one of the passengers rescued from the "*Titanic*", has arrived in Minneapolis, and is now living with his brother Fred Asplund. He was in traveling company with a friend named Einar Karlsson." Photographs had been made of a large group of Swedish survivors, including him.

According to one list he was on his way to a friend, Mrs A. Engström, 212 53d St. New York, but probably he was on his way to his brother because, after his rescue, he received $25 and a ticket to Minneapolis from the Salvation Army in New York. After spending months in Minneapolis, he returned to New York. He had a job as a painter in Brooklyn, and also enlisted for the US Army in 1917. He worked as a sailor in the Swedish Navy during the First World War, for 10 months. He never married.

In August 1919 Johan took voyage on *La Lorraine* and went back to the United States. He and appeared in Götenburg He later returned to Sweden in 1923. He had become mentally unstable and violent on some point. At some point he had outbursts in his own hometown and that's why he was admitted to admitted to Västervik's hospital on June 17, 1923. Asplund was later sent to Sankta Gertrud's hospital, where he remained for 20 years until his death in 1943. He had gotten 54 years old.
Eroll Victor McGaw

Eroll Victor McGaw was a fireman aboard *Titanic*.

## Early life

Eroll Victor McGaw was born in early 1882 in Aldershot, Hampshire, England to Robert McGaw and Ellen Wills Boxer. Eroll had one older brother, Robert William and a younger sister: Agnes Isabella.

After father Robert died in 1887, Ellen had a relationship with James Oliver Watson, a boat maker from Southampton, and soon Eroll had another sibling, a half sister named Ivy Marguerite.

By 1891, the family were living in Folkestone, where Ellen had been born but, after Ellen and John married in 1898, they resettled in Southampton. By 1901 they we’re living in Ash Tree Road South Stoneham.

In 1902 Eroll married Mary Anne Francis Clarke from St Denys. Between 1903 and 1909, they had three children, Florence, Eroll and Dorothy. By 1911, they were living on Queenstown Road Freemantle. Eroll was driving a baker’s van for a local cooperative. Most likely this was a horse drawn van.

In April 1911, mother Ellen was widowed once again when Eroll lost his stepdad James. He was very important to Errol had probably thought of as a father since he was just five years old.

## ***Titanic***

His death is probably what must have prompted him to go to sea. At some time that year he joined *Oceanic* as a fireman. About the same time his family seem to have moved to Broadlands Road. After his service aboard *Oceanic,* he went to join *Titanic* in April 1912.

On April 14, the ship had struck an iceberg late in the night, and started to sink as a result. On April 15, evacuation started, but the ship eventually foundered. Like so many of the firemen aboard, McGaw did not survive and his body was never identified.

Mary Anne did not remarry and continued to live in Hampshire. She died in Winchester in 1971.

## Sources

Special thanks and credits to Marie Keates for allowing me to use a large part of this information on her blog:

https://iwalkalone.co.uk/the-final-titanic-tales-from-portswood-part-one/ The final Titanic tales from Portswood part one – I Walk Alone
Archie Jewell

**Archibald "Archie" Jewell** (December 4th, 1888 - April 17th, 1917) was a lookout for the *Titanic* and a survivor of the sinking. Archibald Jewell, known as Archie, was the youngest child of John Jewell, a sailor, and his wife Elizabeth Jewell. He had six older siblings, two sisters and four brothers. His mother died on 9 April 1891.

In 1903, at the age of 15, Jewell began working on smaller sailing ships. In 1904, he joined White Star Line where he served on board RMS *Oceanic* as a Full Seaman for 7-8 years, during the time he lived in Southampton.

On 6 April 1912, Jewell was transferred to the *Titanic* as one of six lookouts along with 24-year-old George Symons. Jewell was scheduled to be in the crow's nest between 20:00 and 22:00 and then from 2:00 to 4:00, during the night of 15 April 1912.

On the night of April 14th, 1912 he had worked his 8 P.M. to 10 P.M. shift and was in his berth when the ship hit the iceberg at 11:40 P.M. He was one of the first people to leave the ship in lifeboat 7 at 12:25 A.M.

The lifeboat reached the Carpathia at 5:10 A.M. the next day. After arriving in New York City on the RMS *Carpathia*, Jewell returned to England on 29 April 1912 on board the SS *Lapland*. He was among the first witnesses interviewed by Lord Justice Mersey on 3 May 1912 before the British Committee of Inquiry on the accident. At least 331 questions were asked.

He was married sometime around 1916 to Bessie Heard and moved to Bitterne with her. Bessie Jewell gave birth to her and Archie's son, Raymond Hope Jewell, in Autumn 1916. Jewell also worked on HMHS *Britannic* during World War I. He survived the sinking of the *Britannic* on 21 November 1916 along with two other *Titanic* survivors Violet Jessop, a stewardess operating as nurse on the newer sister ship, and Arthur John Priest, a wo was a stoker on Titanic.

At the end of 1916, Jewell left the White Star Line and was hired as an Able Seaman on the SS *Donegal*, a passenger ship put into service in 1904. The *Donegal* was converted into a hospital ship during World War I and transported wounded soldiers from France to England. On 1 March 1917, one of these voyages involved enemy contact with a German submarine. Badly damaged, the *Donegal* could get to safety, but it was never repaired. On 17 April 1917, another German submarine fired without warning on the *Donegal*. The ship went down in the English Channel, about 19 nautical miles (35 km) south of the Dean light vessel. The 28-year-old Jewell was one of the 12 crew members who died, along with 29 British soldiers. Jewell's body was never recovered. John Priest was also onboard, but survived.

A plaque commemorates Jewell at the Tower Hill Memorial, in London. Archie Jewell was survived by his wife and son, his father, and all six of his siblings; his son died in Exeter on 10 December 1930, at the age of 14, after a serious illness.
Robert Douglas Spedden

Robert Douglas Spedden was born in Manhattan, New York on November 19, 1905 and was the first child of Frederic Oakley Spedden and Margaretta Corning Spedden. The family lived at Wee Wath Lodge, Tuxedo Park, New York and was very wealthy because Frederic was a banker. Typically, the Spedden family spent summers in Bar Harbor, Maine and wintered at various resorts around the world.

When Robert turned 7, his mother, Margaretta, gave him a stuffed polar bear from which Robert never separated. In fact, Margaretta began to write a diary starring the polar bear that traveled the world so that, when he was older, her son would read it and remember all the trips he had taken with his parents. This book was later called "Polar: The Titanic Bear" or "Polar: The Titanic Bear".

At the end of 1911, the Spedden family sailed for Algiers with 2 maids; Margaretta's personal maid, Helen Alice Wilson and Robert's nanny, Elizabeth Margaret Burns, whom Robert named "Muddie Boons" because he had trouble pronouncing her name. From Algiers, they moved to Monte Carlo and then to Paris.

In April 1912, after a stint abroad visiting Madeira and several Riviera resorts, Robert Douglas Speddden, his father Frederic Oakley Spedden, his mother Margaretta Corning Spedden and his personal maid Helen Alice Wilson and his nanny Elizabeth Margaret Burns boarded the Titanic in Cherbourg.

On the night of April 14-15, 1912, after the collision of the Titanic with the iceberg, Robert Douglas was awakened by his nanny "Muddie", who told him that they were going to make a "trip to see the stars". The whole family and maids made their way to the starboard deck, where the women and little Robert and his polar bear were loaded into lifeboat 3. Later, Frederic was also able to get on that boat. Fortunately, they all survived the disaster.

Little Robert Douglas Spedden slept through the night in the lifeboat and when he woke up at dawn and saw the icebergs around, he exclaimed, "Oh, Muddie, look at the beautiful North Pole without Santa Claus!" Subsequently, all were rescued by the ship "RMS Carpathia".

Unfortunately, on August 8, 1915, 9-year-old Robert Douglas Spedden was hit by a cargo truck in Winter Harbor, near the family's summer camp in Maine. He died instantly from the concussion he suffered.
Edward Kent

**Edward Austin Kent** was a prominent architect in Buffalo, New York.

Edward Kent was born in Bangor, Maine in February 19, 1854. His parents were Henry Mellen Kent who was a dry goods merchant, and Harriet Ann Farnham. Edward had one brother, William Winthrop Kent who would also become an architect.

Kent moved with his family to Buffalo after the Civil War, where his father opened a successful department store, Flint & Kent. Kent was educated at Yale and then at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Returning to the U.S. in 1877, he became junior partner in the Syracuse, New York firm of Sillsbee and Kent. In 1884 he returned to Buffalo and remained there for the rest of his career, helping to found the Buffalo Society of Architects and receiving many prominent commissions, including Flint & Kent. Various designs came out of his hand, among which was the Board of Trade building in Toronto, Ontario.

In 1912, he took a two-month vacation to France and Egypt and planned on retiring after returning home. He decided to delay his trip home so he could travel on the maiden voyage of the new and luxurious ocean liner, the RMS *Titanic*.

## Aboard the *Titanic*

Kent traveled as a First Class passenger. He came aboard in Cherbourg and had a ticket for cabin B-37. During the voyage, he mingled with the other socialites, including Helen Churchill Candee and Archibald Gracie. He also met on occasion with a writers group.

He perished in the disaster that followed when the ship struck an iceberg and sank on the night of April 14–15, 1912. As the ship was sinking, he disregarded his own safety to help women and children into the lifeboats. He was last seen at *Titanic*'s final minutes, making no attempts to save himself as he was swept into the ocean. His body was recovered by the CS Mackay-Bennett as body No. 258 and claimed by his brother when the ship docked. He was laid to rest in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, New York.
Isakki Antonpoika Äijö-Nirva

Farmer Iisakki Äijö (later Äijö-Nirva) was born in Kauhajoki, Finland on December 24, 1870. He was the son of farmer Antti Äijö and Vilhelmina Juhontytär. Iisakki married Maija Liisa Salomonintytär in 1891 and they had five children. He embarked for America for the first time in January 1901.

Iisakki had sold his farm in Finland in 1912 with the intention of emigrating to Ontario, Canada for good. He boarded SS *Polaris* in Hanko on April 3, 1912, together with Nikolai Kallio, Matti Mäenpää and Matti Rintamäki, all from Kauhajoki.

Iisakki Äijö-Nirva and his traveling companions died in the *Titanic* disaster and their bodies were never found. Iisakki’s widow was paid £250 in compensation.
René Jacques Lévy

**René Jacques Lévy**, was a French chemist, author of several patents exploited by the company Air Liquide.

## Biography

René Jacques Lévy was born on July 7, 1875 in Nancy as the son of Nepthalie Lévy, an antique dealer, and his wife Henriette Dreyfus.

After graduating from the École Nationale supérieure des industries chimiques in 1896, René moved to Manchester in the year after, where he worked for the Clayton Aniline Company, of which his uncle Charles Dreyfus was the director. In 1902, together with André Helbronner, he invented a process that made it possible to produce liquid air industrially. The license is acquired by Air Liquide, after which he joined the company to work in the office in Boulogne-sur-Seine. He then joined the latter and worked in its offices in Boulogne-sur-Seine. Several of its patents are exploited by the company,,,,.

In 1903, he got married in Paris to Jeanne Royer with whom he had three daughters: Simone in 1904, Andrée in 1906 and Yvette in 1909.

After managing Air Liquide's English branch in London, he was sent to Canada in 1910 by the company's president, Paul Delorme, to create and manage a subsidiary in the suburbs of Montreal.

## *Titanic*

In March 1912, he went to Paris to attend a family funeral and planned to return to Canada with the *France* on April 20, but he exchanged his ticket to return ten days earlier aboard the *Titanic.* He came aboard in Cherbourg and had a ticket for Second Class. He was 36 years old at the time. In his cabin was also Jean-Noël Malachard and another passenger.

Jean-Noë Malchard and Rene spent time with the young Swiss lady Marie Jerwan during the Maiden Voyage. Rene made an ironic remark when passing the lifeboats on the top deck, stating that he'd rather go down with the ship than be sailing in one of them.

This would come true sooner than he could have realised, when *Titanic* struck an iceberg on the cold night of April 14. He died on April 15, 1912 in the sinking of the *Titanic.* It seemed that he was not worried about the danger and remained behind, but he and Malchard were willing to aid Marie Jerwan to get into a lifeboat. She would survive in what seemed to have been lifeboat 11, getting in from A-Deck.

His body was lost at sea.

The Royal Society of Chemistry honoured Mr. Lévy in 2012 on the occasion of the commemoration of the centenary of the sinking of the *Titanic*.
Ahmed Alī

## Biography

Mr. Ahmed Alī was born in 1888 in Lebanon. He had at least one brother, Wylīām Alī (1887 - April 15th, 1912).

Both brothers had emigrated in Buenos Aires, Pampas, Argentina where they established as farmers. They had gone to visit family back in Lebanon when, in 1912, they were finally ready to go back in Argentina. Both Ahmed and Wylīām booked passage on the R.M.S. Titanic as third class passengers. Ahmed's ticket was 3101311, which cost him £7 1s. They boarded the ship in Southampton on Wednesday, April 10th, 1912. The Alī brothers perished in the sinking and, although Wylīām's body was recovered, Ahmed's was not.
Olof Edvin Wendell

Olof Edvin Wendel was a passenger on *Titanic.*

## Early life

Olof Edvin Wendel was a Sweden native, born in Östra Sallerup, Malmöhus or Skåne, on May 2nd 1891. He was one of at least 5 children, of which one name is unknown. His parents were Per Olsson Wendel and Karna Jönsdotter. Olov had an elder sister: Hilma Elina, born in 1888.

Two brothers, Erik and Henning Hildegard, were born after him in 1896 and 1898 respectively.

He took a journey together with August Ferdinand Nilsson, another Swede from Östra Sallerup.  He and his friend had gone on a route via Copenhagen to England, where they would be on a voyage with the mightiest liner the world ever saw: *Titanic*. Their tickets are presumed to have been bought in Denmark. Ultiamte destination of Wendel’s crossing would be Saint Paul in Minnesota, where he was going to stay with relatives.

## *Titanic*

Olof and August went with the *Titanic* in Southampton, taking passage in Third Class. On April 10, the ship left the piers to start her Maiden Voyage. Wendell was 22 years old at the time.

On April 14, disaster struck as an iceberg was spotted too late and couldn’t avoid. *Titanic* had scrachted alongside the thick mass of the berg on the starboard side, leaving gashes which enabled water to enter the ship. On April 15, shortly after midnight, Captain Smith had discussed *Titanic*’s situation with her designer Thomas Andrews, who calculated that she would founder despite the pumps and the watertight doors. Smith immediately prepared for the passenger to evacuate.

Olof didn’t surive the sinking of *Titanic* when she went down on April 15 at 2:20 A.M. Many passengers in steerage died that night. His travelling mate also became one of over 1500 victims in this terrible disaster. Their body would not be found.

## After his death

On January 23, 1913, his parents were aided with relief money given to them by The Mansion House Fund, a sum of 418.83 Kr (£25). Additional money was given in terms of damage: 1366.50 Kr (£75) on December 17, 1914.
August Ferdinand Nilsson

**August Ferdinand Nilsson** was a passenger on the *Titanic*.

## Early life

August Ferdinand Nilson was born on October 19, 1890. He was a native of Östra Sallerup, Malmöhus (Skåne), Sweden, where he lived his whole life before he undertook a journey to America. August’s father was a miller named Johan Nilsson. He was the husband of Anna Jönsson. August had two brothers, one elder and one younger: The firstborn was Oskar Bernhard in 1888 and after August Nils was conceived in 1896.

Father Johan died before 1912. August had helped him a lot with the milling when he grew up.

Some time later, August traveled together with Olof Wendel, who also came from Östra Sallerup. They went to England via Copenhagen, which is probably where they bought their tickets. His destination was St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

## *Titanic*

In Southampton, he took voyage on board *Titanic* on Wednesday April 10, the day she set course on her Maiden Voyage*.* He and Olof had tickets for Third Class. At the time, August was 21 years old.

On the late, moonless night of April 14, *Titanic* found herself in a perilous situation as she made contact with a large iceberg. In the bow of the ship, many people heard a scraping sound as she had brushed her starboard side against the large wall of ice. *Titanic* had sustained damage underneath the water line because of this, over a good length of her hull. The seawater entered the ship very fast. After inspection was carried out, Captain Smith realised she would founder. After midnight on April 15, he started the evacuation.

*Titanic* sank at 2:20 A.M. August perished in the disaster where more than 1000 people ended up in the freezing Atlantic Ocean. His body was never recovered and if so, not identified at least.

## After his death

His mother received SEK 875:52 (£48) from the charity fund. On 13 June 1914 she received damages of SEK 1822 (£100).