Anniversary

Today, April 18, 2010, the Carpathia entered New York Harbor in place of the Titanic carrying the 705 survivors and 18 of the 20 lifeboats.  The Carpathia first lowered the Titanic's lifeboats.  God Only know what happened to the lifeboats after they were brought back to England on the Olympic, Titanic's sister ship.  The world finally came to the full realization that the Titanic had sunk and there was a great loss of life.  On that rainy night, many wept for their husbands, fathers, family members, and friends who would never greet them on the those docks.

Survivor of All Three Sisters

Violet Constance Jessop was born on October 2, 1887 to William and Katherine Jessop near Blanca, Argentina. William had emigrated from Dublin, Ireland around 1884-1885, and his fiance Katherine followed him in 1886. Violet Jessop was the firstborn of 9, although only 6 survived. Violet got tuberculosis at an early age, but recovered despite the doctors' prediction that she wouldn't live a month. She and her family moved to Great Britain after her father died, and she continued her education in a convent school while her mother was a stewardess. After her mother got sick, she quit school and became a stewardess at the age of 23 for the Royal Mail Line. She was then transferred to the White Star Line. She was paid £2 ($10) per month, working 17 hours per day. She boarded the R.M.S. Olympic on October 20, 1910. One voyage ended shortly, after a collision with the H.M.S. Hawke in 1911. She continued as stewardess on the Olympic, until being transferred to the R.M.S. Titanic, Olympic's sister ship. She boarded on April 10, 1912 like most of the crew. She served as 1st Class stewardess and in her memoirs, she wrote that Thomas Andrews took her suggestions on improving the ship, and earned her admiration along with all other crewmen because he actually listened and gave them advice, and respected eachother, with both being Irish. She also claimed to have been friends with Scotsman and bandleader, Wallace Hartley. On April 14-15, 1912 when the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank. She was able to board a lifeboat, and was given an infant. She cared for the infant until reaching the decks of the rescue ship, Carpathia. Then, once on deck, the infant was snatched from her arms by a woman without a word, and ran off. She went on the Britannic (Titanic and Olympic's sister ship) in 1916, as a nurse (the Britannic had been turned into a hospital ship due to WWI). The Britannic struck a mine on the Aegean Sea, and began to sink. She was asleep, and immediately grabbed a toothbrush (a lesson learned after the Titanic, going for several days without a toothbrush and getting several cavities) and ran up on deck. She boarded a lifeboat and it was launched. However, the captain tried to beach the Britannic. So, with the propellers rising out of the water, the boat began being sucked towards it. She jumped despite her fear of water after the Titanic, and was sucked under the Britannic. Then, she went straight up and her head hit the bottom of the Britannic. She went into panic, and then she felt a hand which she could tell was alive. Then, they went up together and were pulled aboard a lifeboat, just as the Britannic made her final plunge. She later had severe headaches and went to the doctor where she found out that she fractured her skull. Afterwards, she continued to work for the White Star Line, and then worked for the Red Star Line, Royal Mail Line. She had a short marriage in the 1930s (the groom has never been identified), and retired in 1950 in Great Ashfield, Suffolk after 42 years at sea. One night, she got a phone call from a woman, asking if she saved a baby on the Titanic. After Violet said yes, the woman revealed that she was that infant. She laughed, and hung up. No one has ever identified the caller, or the infant. She was interviewed by Woman Magazine, and by Walter Lord for A Night To Remember. Throughout her life, she was a devout and Catholic. She was a very strong believer in prayer. She in fact, always carried a rosary in her apron or around her neck. Violet Jessop died of congestive heart failure in 1971. There is a book called "Titanic Survivor" (pictured above), telling the story of her life which is based off of her memoirs.

The Biggest Family on the Titanic

John George Sage was born in 1867 in Hackney, London. Annie Elizabeth Cazaly was born also born in 1867 in Hackney, London to a family whom was descended from a French Hugenot line. John and Annie married on November 2, 1890. Together, they had Stella Anne (born in 1891), George John (born in 1892), Douglas Bullen (born in 1894), Fredrick (born in 1895), Dorothy Florence (born in 1897), Anthony William (born in 1899), Elizabeth Ada (born in 1901), Constance Gladys (born in 1904), and Thomas Henry (born in 1907). In case you lost count, that's 7 kids. They did have two other children, but they died as infants. In 1900, John became a landlord and owned a family-run bakery. Some time after 1900, John and his oldest son George became dining car attendants in Canada on the Canadian Pacific Railway. They did come home to visit though. In 1911, John bought some land in Jacksonville, Florida. George stayed in Florida where he became engaged. His wife was not thrilled, due to her fear of water after their daughter Dorothy almost drowned in a well in the backyard. The furniture (including the family piano) was sent on ahead. The family boarded the Titanic in Southampton, England on April 10, 1912. You can imagine that the mother felt a little better, especially with that huge leviathan towering above them with solid iron plates firmly fixed together, to protect them during the voyage. The entire family was in steerage and you can suppose, that they attracted some attention with 9 children. You can also almost imagine them meeting the Goodwins (The Goodwins had 8 and none of them survived). The Titanic struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912 and began to sink. The Sage family came up on deck almost too late. One account says that Stella boarded a lifeboat, but came back on the steadily sloping decks after hearing that there wasn't enough room for her whole family. The entire family died in the disaster, and only Anthony's body was recovered by the Mackay Bennett.

Titanic Barber Shop

The Barber Shop was used not only for cutting hair, but for souvenirs too. There was one for 2nd class(located on E-Deck), and 1st class (located on C-Deck) too. It also served as a sort of lounge for the maids and valets brought by the passengers. The 3rd class passengers had to make due and either have a haircut before, or after the voyage. The Barber Shops for 1st class and 2nd class were small. They had a bench on one side, and chairs on the other. The benches were used for waiting while the chairs were used for cutting hair. The souvenirs were hanging from the ceiling, or on the walls. They sold penknives, banners, dolls, hats, tobacco, ribbons with RMS Titanic embroidered on it, and other things like that. The photograph above is from the Titanic's almost identical sister ship, Olympic. The barbers were Arthur White(formerly the J.P. Morgan's private barber who owned of White Star Line) in 2nd class and Charles Weikman in 1st class. Nothing is known about what happened to either of the Barber Shops during or after the sinking. No one has visited them yet. The Barber Shop in 1st class is accessible, with it being just off the Grand Staircase. The one in 2nd class, was in the stern. As far as I can tell, it might be still standing but it is more than likely inaccessible. There may be a souvenirs that were carried off by the passengers into the lifeboats from the Barber Shop, but I'm not aware of any.

More Lifeboats?

Many people say that if the Titanic had enough lifeboats to save everyone, no one would have died. That is in fact, not the case. The Titanic sank in nearly 2 1/2 hours, and that isn't enough time to launch all the lifeboats in my opinion. Yes, they could have saved more lives. The evidence I have to support my theory, is that by the time the water reached the boat deck, the last two lifeboats were being taken off of the roof officer's quarters had there been 40 or 50 to sustain all lives, I estimate that only around 22-25 lifeboats would've either been launched or floated off. So, that's only a little difference between the 20 taken off the ship (2 floated off). All that to say, the Titanic sank very quickly once it got just above the boat deck, which was time to launch a few boats but not very many as to the slanting/listing towards the bow.

When Weather Changed History

Video

This movie talks about the sinking of the Titanic, as told through accounts. It also goes through the iceberg, and how they're preventing another Titanic disaster.