Associated with RMS Titanic – Page 3 – The Exasperated Historian

35) John Collins

35) John Collins

He Testified About It!

Born: 24 October 1894, Belfast, Ireland (Present-Day Belfast, Northern Ireland)

Died: 6 February 1941, Belfast, Ireland (Present-Day Belfast, Northern Ireland)

John grew up in a poor Roman Catholic household and was one of nine siblings. His father died when he was younger, and so he had to help take care of his younger siblings and widowed mother.

One of the jobs he took up over those years was as a scullion on the RMS Titanic. At the time of the collision he'd been asleep, but quickly woke and headed up to the decks where he was told the situation was not serious and to go back to bed.

Soon after he made his way to the decks again and pulled on his lifebelt. After realizing he was not going to get onto Lifeboat 16, as he'd been assigned, he found a woman with two children in need of assistance. John was holding one of the children in his arms when a wave crashed into the ship and he was swept out to sea, losing hold of the baby.

John was able to drag himself over to Collapsible Lifeboat B and pulled himself onto it alongside others. The men on Collapsible B eventually made their way into Lifeboats 4 and 12.

Once the Carpathia docked in New York Harbor, John was called to testify before the US Senate Inquiry into the disaster.

He then returned to his native Ireland and continued working aboard various vessels into the 1920's.

John married in 1919 and had three children.

In the last years of his life he suffered from delirious episodes and paralysis stemming from being infected with syphilis, and he lived out his last years in a psychiatric facility.

Badges Earned:

Located in My Personal Library:

10 True Tales: Titanic Young Survivors by Allan Zullo

How It Happened: Titanic, The Epic Story From the People Who Were There by Geoff Tibballs (Mentioned on the Crew List Under "Galley Staff")

Titanic: First Accounts by Tim Maltin and Nicholas Wade

Sources:

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/john-collins.html

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/ten-true-tales-titanic-by-allan-zullo/

34) William Carter

His RMS Titanic Story is Arguably the Saddest I've Ever Heard

Born: 14 September 1900, Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, United States of America

Died: 28 January 1985, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States of America

William traveled aboard the RMS Titanic in the First Class, alongside his parents, sister, and three family servants (one of whom traveled in Second Class for some reason). His parents both hailed from affluent families and they had been vacationing in Europe.

Most important of all to note in this story, William's treasured family pet, an Airedale, was also traveling with them.

His mom, sister, and he managed to get aboard Lifeboat 4, but William had to leave his father and beloved Airedale behind. It is said that he only agreed to it after Colonel John Jacob Astor IV, the richest man aboard the ship (and arguably the world at the time) agreed to watch the dog and keep it safe. William's last view of his dog was of Mr. Astor holding its leash on the boat deck.

William's father and one of their servants would also survive the sinking. However, his father's survival put a strain on his parents' already unhappy marriage, and they soon divorced.

William himself married in 1925 and had two children. He also went into the banking sector, following his father. In later life he divorced and married another woman.

Throughout his life, William continued to travel extensively on different passenger ships, with manifests listing him aboard different vessels as late as 1956, however, he never liked discussing Titanic. He even discouraged any radio or TV interviews. The reason why? He reportedly never got over the death of his dog.

When William died, he was the last surviving member of the Carter family that had survived the sinking. There were also only two First Class passengers to outlive him.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

10 True Tales: Titanic Young Survivors by Allan Zullo

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

How It Happened: Titanic, The Epic Story From the People Who Were There by Geoff Tibballs (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

Sources:

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/william-thornton-carter.html

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/ten-true-tales-titanic-by-allan-zullo/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13225343/william-thornton-carter

33) William Coutts Jr

33) William Coutts Jr

Barely Survived the RMS Titanic Sinking

Born: 16 October 1902, Chatham, Kent, United Kingdom

Died: 25 December 1957, Steubenville, Ohio, United States of America

He was called Willie by his family.

His family was poor and hailed from Scotland. They sailed in Third Class, despite his father saving up enough money for them to sail second (he had traveled to the United States earlier on and sent the money back, but Winnie--William's mom, wanted to save their money for when they arrived in the United States).

At the time of the collision, Willie and his family had been sleeping. However, once Winnie realized the ship was sinking, she tied lifebelts around her sons to get them ready for what was about to happen. She was unable to locate a lifebelt for herself.

Once they were on the deck, another male passenger who was never identified gave Winnie his lifebelt. Here is where they caught trouble. Winnie had no problem securing passage for herself and her younger son, but Willie was nearly denied passage because of his straw hat. The men loading the boats claimed he looked like a grown man (you can see a picture of him in his hat for yourself, it’s the one above!). Luckily Willie, Winnie, and his brother made it into Lifeboat 2, and they were reunited with his father in Brooklyn, New York.

Once he was grown, Willie married and became a professional musician, manager for the Household Finance Corps, and a credit manager for the Rubber Products Co. He was reportedly held at gunpoint six times over his career.

He had two daughters with his wife and became a member of the Free Masons. Willie was found dead after suffering a stroke at the young age of fifty-five.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located in My Personal Library:

10 True Tales: Titanic Young Survivors by Allan Zullo

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

How It Happened: Titanic, The Epic Story From the People Who Were There by Geoff Tibballs (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

Sources:

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/william-coutts.html

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/ten-true-tales-titanic-by-allan-zullo/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8214788/william-loch-coutts

32) John Borie Ryerson

32) John Ryerson

RMS Titanic Survivor

Born: 16 December 1898, Illinois, United States of America

Died: 21 January 1986, West Palm Beach, Florida, United States of America

John was thirteen years old at the time of the sinking and was traveling with his parents and two sisters in the first class.

Originally, John was denied entry into Lifeboat 4 by Charles Lightoller (who would be the highest-ranking ship's officer to survive the sinking) but John's father convinced Lightoller to let him board.

After the sinking, John would help contribute to the now famous A Night to Remember by Walter Lord.

In 1953, John and one of his sisters were invited onto the set of the film Titanic.

He was later interviewed on the fiftieth anniversary of the sinking and other occasions.

John was the last surviving member of his family to pass away. He was married but had no children.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

10 True Tales: Titanic Young Survivors by Allan Zullo

Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic's First-Class Passengers and Their World by Hugh Brewster

Titanic: True Stories of Her Passengers, Crew, and Legacy by Nicola Pierce

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

How It Happened: Titanic, The Epic Story From the People Who Were There by Geoff Tibballs (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

Sources:

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/john-borie-ryerson.html

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/ten-true-tales-titanic-by-allan-zullo/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8123544/john-borie-ryerson

31) John B Thayer III

Not to be Confused With His Businessman Father, John B Thayer II

Born: 24 December 1894, Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States of America (Or Philadelphia, depending on the source)

Died: 20 September 1945, Pennsylvania, United States of America

John was an RMS Titanic Survivor.

Jack, as his family called him, was traveling in first class with his parents at the time of the disaster. His father was a wealthy businessman and would die in the sinking.

During the confusion of that night, Jack was separated from his parents and thought they had already escaped on a lifeboat. After speaking with some of the other men still aboard the ship, Jack made the decision to jump off the sinking ship, and he landed in the frigid Atlantic water. He eventually made his way to a crowd of other men, all of whom clung to the outside of the collapsible Lifeboat B. They were eventually rescued by boats 4 and 12.

His lifeboat arrived at the deck of Carpathia around 8:30 the next morning, where Jack was reunited with his mother and learned his father was missing.

While still aboard Carpathia, Jack described how the ship had sunk to another survivor, LD Skidmore, whose drawings based on Jack's descriptions are now iconic first-person accounts of that night.

Jack went on to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania and entered the banking sector.

He married and had two sons.

During World War II, both of his sons enlisted in the service. One of them died. It is believed that this depression is part of what drove Jack to commit suicide. His obituary related that he was found in his car, his wrists and throat slit with his own knife.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

10 True Tales: Titanic Young Survivors by Allan Zullo

Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic's First-Class Passengers and Their World by Hugh Brewster

How It Happened: Titanic, The Epic Story From the People Who Were There by Geoff Tibballs (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

The Band That Played On: The Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down With the Titanic by Steve Turner

Sources:

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/john-borland-thayer-jr.html

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/ten-true-tales-titanic-by-allan-zullo/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7220366/john-borland-thayer