L.M.Reid is an Irish writer who has published many history articles online and in magazines.

The Sinking of the Titanic

The infamous luxury liner set sail for New York from Southhampton, England with stops in Cherbourg, France and Queenstown, Ireland. The ship hit an iceberg at 11:40pm, April 14th, 1912 and sank at 2:20am, April 15th.

Casualties and Survivors:

• 1,343 passengers and 885 crew members were on board.
• 832 passengers and 685 crew members died.
• 706 people survived.

The Legacy of The Titanic Passengers

Those who experienced the shipwreck over 100 years ago are all gone now, but their stories have been written down and recorded. There are first-hand accounts from interviews with survivors in newspapers and television documentaries. All of this information, including the stories of many passengers who died, is now freely available on the internet.

By reading their individual stories, we can also feel their pain, terror and utter despair as they tried to escape from the ship. Through these memories, the legacy of the many passengers who died on that terrible night will always be alive.

From these accounts, it's hard not to feel like we know some of the families who died in the tragedy. We can read about their reasons for boarding the ship, like immigrating to America with the hope of a better life. Some second-class passengers were returning from business trips in Europe, and some newlyweds were using the voyage as part of their honeymoon.

Priority of Passengers Based on Class

Passengers were divided and prioritized by first, second, and third-class accommodations, respectively. Each passenger's access to designated areas of the ship depended on their class. Therefore, first and second-class passengers had a better chance of reaching the lifeboats.

Most of the deaths were men as the officers in charge of loading the boats prioritized women and children. Some boys as young as ten and eleven were left on board with their fathers as their mothers and sisters were lowered down from the sinking ship.

The Spedden Family From America

Douglas Spedden was six years old when he was a first-class passenger on board the Titanic. He was traveling with his very wealthy parents and their two servants. In a famous photograph, you can see him aboard the ship with his father, Frederic Spedden, and his nanny, Elisabeth Burns.

The Photographs of Father Browne

This iconic photo was taken by an Irish priest, Father Browne, who had boarded the ship at Southampton. He was a keen photographer and set about photographing the passengers and crew on his short journey. He received his ticket to board the Titanic as a gift, but he got off the ship at a stopping point in Queenstown before the accident. This is why his famous photos still survive today.

The Spedden Family and Their Servants all Survived

The family was interviewed about what happened on board when the iceberg hit the Titanic, and how they got into Lifeboat 3. Douglas’s nanny told reporters how he reacted when he was in the lifeboat and when the rescue ship, the Carpathia, finally came to save the survivors.

The tragic part of this family story is that Douglas died just two years later in a terrible car accident. Frederic and Daisy Spedden were devastated and never got over the loss of their only son.

The Goodwin Family from England

Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin and their six children, Lillian (16), Charles (14), William (11), Jessie (10), Harold (9), and Sidney (less than two years old) all died in the shipwreck.

On Board

Frederick and Augusta Goodwin and their six children were from London. They left England on the Titanic as immigrants to start a new life in America. They boarded in Southampton as third-class passengers.

Frederick was a qualified electrical engineer and had been offered a job in New York. His brother, Thomas, and his sister were already living there. They secured a rental home and took weeks preparing and furnishing the house for the family’s arrival.

Third-Class Accommodation

As third-class passengers, the family was excluded from designated areas of the ship. This led to many deaths of third-class passengers, including women and children. They were not told of the danger of the ship sinking until it was too late and most of the lifeboats were already gone.

Even when the third-class passengers were aware of the terrible danger, most of the families were trapped in their cabins and third-class areas which were segregated by doors and barriers. The doors to the first and second-class areas were either manned by the crew or kept locked. The only way to get to the lifeboats was through the first-class areas.

As soon as the lifeboats were being prepared, the Captain gave the order that the second-class passengers were allowed to enter the first-class accommodation to reach the decks and lifeboats.

The Segregation of Third-Class Men

Another reason so many third-class women and children didn't make it to the lifeboats was because of the segregation of men in third-class accommodations. All adult males and older male children stayed in rooms separate from their families.

The Titanic hit the iceberg at 11:40 pm, meaning many of the mothers and young children were asleep in their cabins on the stern side. Their husbands and older sons were in the opposite part of the ship, on the port side. Any single men were also kept separately and were not available to help any mother escape with her young children and babies.

This was the case for the Goodwin family on that terrifying night. There is no record of what happened to them in the last hours of their death. We do not know if Frederick Goodwin and his sons managed to get to the rest of their family before they died. I hope they did.

The Rice Family From Ireland

Mrs. Margaret Rice and her five young children boarded the Titanic in Queenstown. She was a widow and was returning to her home in Washington.

Here children were Albert (10), George (8), Eric (7), Arthur (4), and Eugene (2). Margaret was a very young child when she immigrated to Canada from Athlone, Ireland with her family. She met and married William Rice at age 19, and they went back to Canada.

The family later moved to Washington, but William died in an accident at work a few years later. Margaret received compensation from the company and bought a house in Washington, but in her grief, she decided to make a long visit to her hometown in Ireland with her sons. After over a year in Ireland, she finally felt strong enough to return home to America via the Titanic. but only Margaret’s body was recovered.

Google Earth and The Titanic

The wreck of the Titanic lies at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Using the Google Earth app, you can navigate around a 360 degree 3-D model of the ship and view real images of the ruins. You can feel the eerieness of what is left of this magnificent vessel and the passengers who were trapped in its many corridors and cabins.

Other Articles by L.M.Reid

• Memories of my Grandmother of the Black and Tan Raids in Ireland in 1921
• Memories of My Great Grandparents in Dublin from 1907 to 1960
• Rationing in Ireland During World War Two
• The Irish War of Independence and Kevin Barry Age 18
• A Missing Child in Dublin: Irish Nun M. Aylward spends 6 Months in Prison
• The Lives of Poor Irish People in Debtors' Prisons in 19th Century Ireland
• Children with Tuberculosis in Ireland had to stay in hospital for years
• An Irish Family living in Australia in 1967
• Memories of Living in Australia in 1967 as a 10 Year Old Irish Child
• Memories of my Irish Mother Living in Australia in 1967

Sources

Master Robert Douglas Spedden by Encyclopedia Titanica

Douglas Spedden - Find a Grave Memorials

Robert Douglas Spedden - Memorial

Douglas Spedden by Jeff Rickman Green- Wood Historian Blog

Mrs Margaret Rice - Encyclopedia Titanica

The Athlone Titanic six who never came home.by Deirdre Verney. Independent

Mr Frederick Joseph Goodwin Encyclopedia Titanicia

The Unknownd Child Wikipedia

The Goodwin Family Died on the Titanic by Tim Malton

The Irish Aboard Titanic by Senan Molony

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord.

Titanic by Peter Thresh.

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition by Judith Geller.

Spirit of the Titanic by Nicola Pierce.

Discovering Titanic - The story of the most famous ship wreck by Ben Hubbard

A girl Aboard the Titanic : a Survivor's Story / Eva Hart by Ron Denney.

On Board RMS Titanic : Memories of the Maiden Voyage by George Behe.

Down with the Old Canoe : Cultural History of the "Titanic" Disaster by Steven Biel.

The Titanic Diaries by Anthony Cunningham.

Great Disasters : Great Catastrophes Of The Twentieth Century by John Canning.

Titanic: In A New Light by Dr Joseph MacInnis.

Titanic : The Tragic Story of the Ill-fated Ocean Liner by Rupert Matthews.

Titanic: The Unsinkable Ship and Halifax by Alan Ruffman.

Titanic Belfast Museum

Southampton's Titanic Story

Titanic Experience Cobh

Nova Scotia Museum Halifax

Titanic Historical Society Museum

Questions & Answers

Question: When did the last Titanic survivor die?

Answer: The last survivor of the Titanic disaster died on May 31, 2009 in Southampton, England. She was Millvina Dean and was 97 years old.

Question: Why did the captain of the Titanic stay on board as it sank? Why did he not save himself?

Answer: No one can say for sure. But I would imagine he was busy trying to organise the lifeboats and save as many passengers as possible. His body was never found.

Comments

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on December 27, 2019:

Hello Mastermariner, I really did not realise that Captain Smith did anything wrong on the Titanic to be honest with you. Guilt and shame are heavy burdens to carry.

Mastermariner on December 05, 2019:

Does anyone think about the shame brought upon Captain Smith and his family and subsequent generations of his family who were scarred by this and had to burden this guilt and kept is as a family secret. My uncle several generations was one of them who still carried the guilt.

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on October 15, 2019:

Hello Sheri, Yes the story of the passengers on the Titanic has always been of great interest to me too.

Sheri Luscombe on June 22, 2019:

I just found out my great great uncle john james borebank lost his life on the titanic! Now I’m hooked on getting as much info as possible

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on June 22, 2019:

Hello MG Singh, Yes I read any book I can get my hands on about the people who were on the Titanic. So many interesting stories.

MG Singh emge from Singapore on June 14, 2019:

It's very thrilling to read about these people from the Titanic. A wealth of knowledge and voted up

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on June 13, 2019:

Hello Judith. Joseph Laroche was an engineer. He was born in Haiti but was educated in France. This is where he met and married his wife, Juliette. They were 26 and 22 years old when they boarded the Titanic as 2nd class passengers with their two daughters, Simonne and Louise. Juliette was also pregnant.

The family were going to live in Haiti where there was a job waiting for Joseph.

When the Titanic was sinking Joseph put his wife and daughters on a lifeboat but he stayed behind. They survived but he was lost at sea presumed dead. After their rescue Juliette went back to France and her family where she gave birth the their son who she named Joseph.

Judith Cephas on June 06, 2019:

What about the Black family on The Titanic?

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on June 14, 2014:

Yes they must have been terrified especially the parents in third class who were trapped and knew they could not save their children.

sophie on June 05, 2014:

I fell sorry for the people that died

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on June 10, 2013:

I have heard the exhibition in the Titanic Belfast Museum is an awesome experience. I really have to make it my business to get up there and visit it.

Titanic Belfast on December 04, 2012:

Titanic plan on display at the Titanic Belfast museum The massive longitudinal sectioned plan of Titanic that was used during the British Board of Trade's inquiry into the tragedy is now on display at Titanic Belfast.I have seen lot a storage about titanic.http://www.the-titanic.com

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on July 18, 2012:

Hello Les, the Titanic exhibition at the Henry Ford Museum sounds like a great place to visit. I have read and researched so much about the passengers on board the Titanic that it would be so emotional to be able to see some of the real pieces left behind from their journey.

Yes fate is a weird thing. There were many families who travelled third class on the Titanic because of the coal strike having been transferred from other ships. Many of them would have thought themselves lucky to be able to travel on the Titanic on her maiden voyage.

Thank you Les for taking the time to leave a comment and letting people know about the exhibit

les9 on July 14, 2012:

hello , i loved your stories, so interesting , with much research.thank you so much! i live near the henry ford museum in michigan usa ,(near detroit) at this moment they are having the titantic exibit until sept. it is the largest exibit of its kind , with artifact from the ship buried for all these years ... i was there last week , it was spectacular , seeing actual papers, suitcases , dishes ,jewlery, replicas of the rooms and even the grand staircase and the stories of the people who lived and died , many 2nd and mostly 3rd class were on that ship because there was a coal strike and most coal was being used in the titantic and so ppl were being bumped from other ships for passage on the titantic , very very interesting how a coal strike would be the reason so many died because they change their passage ....unbelievable.. i feel so lucky to have seen this exibit!!! les from detroit.

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on May 31, 2012:

The doors from the 3rd class section of the ship Titanic were locked as a normal procedure. This was to stop these passengers from going into the 2nd and 1st class areas. The second class doors were also locked going up to first class areas.

The difference being that when the Titanic started to sink the second class doors were unlocked quickly so that the passengers could reach the lifeboats.

Thanks for reading and taking the time to leave a comment Beth

Beth Godwin on May 25, 2012:

I enjoyed reading your account of the sinking of the Titanic. I learned some additional information . I was shocked to discover how many children from 3rd class perished when reading the passenger list for the Titanic. It makes you wonder who gave the order for the doors from 3rd class to be locked.

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on May 02, 2012:

Hello John, sorry to hear you had a member of your family die on the Titanic. The stories of the individual lives and deaths of the passengers is what makes this tragedy stay in all our minds.

John Strong on April 26, 2012:

My great great uncle died on the titanic and I have a great obsession with it, this was a great read.

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on April 19, 2012:

Hello Ellie, yes it is very sad that so many people were drowned, especially when it could have been avoided. There were lots of things that were done wrong once the iceberg hit the ship.

I really feel very sad for the children in the third class areas because they had no chance of getting out alive and must have been terrified.

Thank you Ellie for reading and taking the time to leave a comment.

Ellie on April 19, 2012:

Wow......Im a 11 year old girl and I just found that fascinating. It really inspires me alot watching and reading about the Titanic its so sad.

LauraGT from MA on April 08, 2012:

Thanks for the interesting hub. The personal stories bring home the tragedy.

hectordang from New York on April 01, 2012:

I've never heard of "A Night To Remember," but I'll have to get it now and tell you what I think! Thanks for the recommendation!

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on April 01, 2012:

Hello Hector, thanks for reading. There are so many sad stories of the passengers dying, especially all the young children in third class.

I thought the Titanic film of 1997 was a bad one so will not be watching the 3D version. The best film about the sinking of the Titanic is the old black and white one. 'A night to remember'. I am hoping they have it on here during April. It is well worth watching again!

hectordang from New York on April 01, 2012:

What a tragic event! I remembered Titanic when I heard about the recent cruise accident (in Italy?). Are you going to watch Titanic 3D?

L M Reid (author) from Ireland on March 28, 2012:

Yes even though it was 100 years ago the stories of the families and their children on the Titanic are still very sad.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to leave a comment, I appreciate it.

MG Singh from UAE on March 28, 2012:

A great hub with lots of info. Good show

CreateHubpages on March 27, 2012:

This is a great story about the Titanic.

sarah on January 23, 2012:

its so good

dinkan53 from India on November 28, 2011:

Wow, it is visible through your hub that how much hard work you made to write this. I think a lot of research through various articles is necessary, and videos are excellent stuff. Lot of myths are there about the time between iceberg collision and sinking, but the article that i read one or two witnesses said that warning and the crash were almost instantaneous. 37 seconds became generally accepted as the time between the first warning and the collision. Anyway sad history but like your hub. My vote up and awesome!

Kathleen Cochran from Atlanta, Georgia on June 04, 2011:

Just the research that went into this hub is amazing, let alone the actual information gleaned from reading it. Thank you.

Ayman on April 14, 2011:

Really amazing.

Seems you have researched a lot on your HUB. Might say your HUB is fabulous. It really provides information of that huge happened. Thanks for your information. Keep it up.

gajanis from Pakistan on April 14, 2011:

A great researched hub with jewels of unique information regarding a historical event .....incidentally today is 14th April, the day Titanic had hit an iceberg with a bang.....and exactly in a year's time this event will be one century old.....Thanks.

fucsia on April 13, 2011:

Great and very interesting research.Thank for sharing and for have put these videos!

SUSIE405 from Delray Beach, Florida on April 13, 2011:

Great research and details of families and how they fared. Fascinating stories.

danelia on April 13, 2011:

WOWWWWWWWW... In one word i can say .. its excellent. .. GREAT RESEARCH.... THUMBS UP ....

Simone Haruko Smith from San Francisco on April 04, 2011:

Wow, what stories - and your photos and videos are great!! Voted up and awesome!

Susan Hazelton from Sunny Florida on April 03, 2011:

I am fascinated by the reports about the titanic and the devastation. What a horrible way to go. I cannot imagine having to say goodbye knowing my husband was going to die. The terror and heartbeak of knowing you child was going to die is unimaginable. Great article. Rated up and awesome.

munirahmadmughal from Lahore, Pakistan. on April 02, 2011:

"Titanic April 1912 3rd class passengers survivors died Ist 2nd ship maiden voyage iceberg sinking sank"

The hub is rich in content, full in research, research oriented with pictures of the actual scenes.

The hub is a record of a great human misery nearly a century back.

The food for thought is that despite such a huge devastation there were dead as well as survivors. Life and death are in the control of God Almighty.

How bravely the death was faced is remarkable. human efforts have not stopped thereafter, rather more and more efforts were made to improve the voyage.

It is the struggle of the past people that train of life has reached in the modern era with blessings of science and technology and we must use it for the betterment of mankind and not for the harm of mankind.

May God bless all everywhere.

chspublish from Ireland on April 02, 2011:

Such devastationa and loss willl never be forgotten. Thanks for your research and details.