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Nova Scotia's Connections to the Titanic Disaster - April 14/15, 1912
Everyone knows the story of the Titanic but not everyone knows of Nova Scotia's connections to the ill-fated White Star Liner ship.
GEORGE HENRY WRIGHT -
Born in Tufts Cove on October 26, 1849, George Henry Wright made a name for himself (and a fortune) as a printer, publishing Wrights World Business Directories. He was also a philanthropist and a property developer. He was dedicated to create better living conditions for the working class and in Halifax, built a subdivison integrating the rich and working class where mansions and modest homes stood side by side. This was one of the first like it in the world. Two of his public buildings, The Marble Wright Building (1672 Barrington Street) and The Saint Paul Building, (1684 Barrington Street) still stand in downtown Halifax. He left his own house (989 Young Avenue which also still stands today) to The Local Council of the Women to be used as their headquarters.
In April of 1912, Wright was in Paris, having sailed to Europe in the fall of 1911 aboard the Empress of Ireland. Having heard about the Titanic's maiden voyage, Wright booked his return passage on the famous ship. It is assumed he booked his ticket at the last minute as there is no record of Wright on the original passenger's list. No survivors reported seeing Wright during the sinking. It is assumed by those who knew him well that he simply slept through the sinking, given that he was such a deep sleeper.
His body, if ever recovered, was not identified. A grave marker in Dartmouth's Christ Church Cemetery memorializes Wright.
HALIFAX SHIPS USED TO RECOVER BODIES - At 11:40pm on Sunday, April 14, 1912, Titanic sturck the iceberg. By 2:20am on Monday, April 15, 1912, she sank. On Wednesday, April 17, the Halifax-based Cable Steamer Mackay-Bennett set sail for the sinking site. She arrived on April 20 and spent five days searching and recovering bodies. Her crew recovered 306 Titanic victims (bodies 1-306), 116 of whom were buried at sea. On Friday, April 26, the Mackay-Bennett set sail for Halifax with 190 bodies on board and was relieved by another Halifax-based cable ship, the Minia. Visit Encyclopedia Titanica for a comprehensive list of all of the victims recovered by the Mackay-Bennett. Some of the more well known victims recovered by the Mackay-Bennett include John Jacob Astor, Sidney Leslie Goodwin (formerly the Unknown Child), John Hume (one of Titanic's musicians), Michel Navratil and Alma Palsson.
Unidentified victims recovered by Mackay-Bennett
Body number 5 - Mount Olivet Cemetery
Body number 6 - buried at sea
Body number 13 - Mount Olivet Cemetery
Body number 20 - buried at sea
Body number 29 - Fairview Lawn Cemetery
Body number 78 - Baron de Hirsch Cemetery
Body number 102 - Buried at sea
Body number 112 - Buried at sea, possibly John Coleman
Body number 128 - Fairview Lawn Cemetery
Body number 136 - Baron de Hirsch Cemetery
Body number 170 - Buried at sea, possibly John Hall Hutchinson
Body number 194 - buried at sea, possibly Henry James Beauchamp
Body number 210 - Mount Olivet Cemetery
Body number 214 - Baron de Hirsch Cemetery, possibly William Thomas Fox
Body number 219 - Fairview Lawn Cemetery, possibly M. Rame?
Body number 237 - Fairview Lawn Cemetery, suggested to be Frederick Humby
Body number 241 - Fairview Lawn Cemetery, initially identified as Stephen Weart Blackwell
Body number 264 - Baron de Hirsch Cemetery, possibly Thomas Ryan
Body number 279 - Fairview Lawn Cemetery, possibly John Borthwick Crosbie
The Minia searched the Atlantic for 8 days and recovered 17 more victims (bodies 307-323), 2 of whom were buried at sea (bodies 310 and 318). 3 male bodies remain unidentified (numbers 308, 310 and 318). See below for the list of the 14 identified victims recovered by the Minia. Click their name for the link that will take you to Encyclopedia Titanica's comprehensive biographies of each victim. For comprehensive information on all of Titanic's victims and survivors, Encyclopedia Titanica is a great resource. Body number 308 is buried in Fairview Lawn Cemetery.
ABĪ SA'B, MrJirjis Yūsuf - Mount Olivet Cemetery
CARTWRIGHT, MrJames Edward - Fairview Lawn Cemetery
DONATI, Sig.Italo Francesco - Fairview Lawn Cemetery
ELLIOTT, MrEverett Edward - Fairview Lawn Cemetery
FYNNEY, MrJoseph J. - body taken to Montreal for burial
GATTI, Sig.Gaspare Antonio Pietro - Fairview Lawn Cemetery
HAYS, MrCharles Melville - body taken to Montreal for burial in
HOWELL, MrArthur Albert - Fairview Lawn Cemetery
KING, MrErnest Waldron - Fairview Lawn Cemetery
MOEN, MrSigurd Hansen - body taken to Norway for burial in Mount Royal Cemetery
MULLIN, MrThomas - Fairview Lawn Cemetery
STANBROOK, MrAugustus George - Fairview Lawn Cemetery
WIKLUND, MrJakob Alfred - Fairview Lawn Cemetery
WITTMAN, MrHenry - Fairview Lawn Cemetery
On May 6, the CGS Montmagny departed Halifax and recovered 4 bodies (numbers 326 -329), one of which was buried at sea (body number 326). The three remaining victims, Harold Reynolds, Charles Smith and an unidentified female, around 15 years, were brought to Halifax from Louisbourg via rail. The young female, possibly Helini Zabour, is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery (body 328). Reynolds and Smith are buried in Fairview Lawn Cemetery.
On May 16, the final recovery vessel, the SS Algerine, sailed from St. John's, Newfoundland and found one victim who arrived in Halifax aboard the SS Florizel. Body number 330 was that of saloon steward James McGrady, who was buried in Fairview Lawn Cemetery.
According to the Nova Scotia government website, "The majority of the bodies were unloaded at the Coal or Flagship Wharf on the Halifax waterfront and horse-drawn hearses brought the victims to the temporary morgue in the Mayflower Curling Rink."
Of the 209 bodies brought to Halifax, 59 were able to be claimed by their families. Claiming a loved one's body for burial to be shipped outside of Canada took considerable expense and Titanic victims whose loved ones were unable to afford this luxury, were buried in Halifax graveyards. Granite block headstones were paid for by the White Star Liner in the fall of 1912. 150 Titanic victims are buried in Halifax graveyards (Fairview Lawn Cemetery, 121 victims buried, Mount Olivet Cemetery, 19 victims buried, and Baron de Hirsch Cemetery, 10 victims buried), the largest number anywhere in the world. They are buried in order by their name with the unidentified in order by number at the end. 42 of the 150 victims buried in Halifax remain unidentified today.
Sidney Leslie Goodwin
THE UNKNOWN CHILD - In 2008, the Unknown Child buried in Halifax's Fairview Lawn Cemetery was positively identified as 19-month-old English boy, Sidney Leslie Goodwin, born September 9, 1910. The unknown child was originally thought to be either Irish boy, Eugene Francis Rice or Swedish boy, Gosta Leonard Palsson, whose mother, Alma, is buried behind the grave of the Unknown Child. In 2002 he was again erroneously identified as Finnish boy, Eino Viljami Panula. 13-month-old Eino Panula was the youngest victim of the Titanic. Sidney Goodwin was the youngest victim recovered. He was body number 4 recovered by the Mackay-Bennett. Both his parents and his five siblings also perished in the sinking. None of their bodies, if recovered, were identified.
Goodwin family (without Sidney) - the entire family perished
George Henry Wright
Encyclopedia Titanica, George Wright
The George Wright Mansion
Halifax Had Grim Role in Titanic Tragedy - CBC
Titanic Nova Scotia
The Unknown Child Identified via DNA
Titanic Fandom Victims Recovered
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic List of Titanic Victims Buried in Halifax
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic Frequently Asked Questions About the Titanic
National Post article
Moose River Mine Disaster April 12, 1936
Babes in the Wood - April 11, 1842
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