A Titanic story, Fairview Lawn Cemetary, Halifax NS Canada
Today my wife @marsha and I visited the Fairview Lawn Cemetary in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I sobering moment in our vacation to the eastern province of Canada.
As most know the Titanic sank after 4 days at sea after striking an iceberg just south of New Foundland Canada. The waters are very chilly and are for the most part not survivable for longer than a couple minutes. There were just over 700 survivors brought back to Halifax in the days following the disaster. Many know that there were too few life boats on the "unsinkable" ship. There were many heroes that day for sure. A majority of those saved that day were woman and children. One has to wonder if that would be the case today. Here are a few stories of those that perished that day.
This is where Everett Edward Elliott lies. He was a Trimmer on the titanic. A trimmer, or coal trimmer, would handle the coal. They would move coal from side to side to keep the ship from tipping from one side or the other. They would send coal down shoots to the firemen who would feed the boiler fires. This was far from a glorious job. He died a glorious death by allowing woman and children to board the scarce life boats. I can imagine the fear in his heart as he helped others to safety knowing full well that he would not survive for lack of boats.
Alma Paulson (Pålsson) was the mother of 4 young children. Her husband Nils was a miner in Sweden until there was a miner's strike. He got tired of mining and emigrated to Chicago in June of 1910. He saved up money and sent for his wife and 4 children to join him in Chicago. The boarded the Titanic in Southampton and were lost in the tragedy. There was a rumor that one of the unidentified children found alive might be his son. He searched in vain until notified that his whole family was among the lost. The body of his wife was found but the children were lost as sea.
A final story is that of an unidentified child that was found by one of the first rescue boats to arrive. The rescuers were so moved they all donated towards a head stone and a memorial service for this child. There were many ideas of who this child was. Through meticulous record keeping and modern day DNA tests it was determined that the child was Sidney Leslie Goodwin.
There were many lives lost that day and many stories remain unsolved. There are even conspiracy theorists that believe there is a connection to the Federal Reserve Bank of the US. Notables that died that day were John Jacob Astor IV, Benjamin Guggenheim and Macy's co-owner Isidor Straus. Many believe that these 3 men were adamantly opposed to the Fed and were taken out to clear the way. Here's a link to look into it further. You make your decision.
Either way many people died that day and are still remembered over 100 years later by many visitors to the Fairview Lawn Cemetery. It made my wife and I think about that terrible night and to be thankful for the lives we live.
mark
enjoy the journey as well as the destination.
Sad stories and fascinating at the same time. Many sites have so many stories to tell. Thanks for bringing them to us.
Please come back ♥