Titanic: Who Knew??

[Virgo10]

As of April of 2005 there were still 3 survivors alive. The oldest of the 3 women is Lillian Gertrud Asplund and she lives in Massachusetts. As far as I could tell, all three are still alive today.

All this came up because we watched a new Titanic special that was on TV a week or so ago. I believe Ms. Asplund was the lady they were interviewing during the show. She was only 5 when the Titanic sank but she seemed to remember some of that night pretty well. She'll be 100 years old in October of this year.

BTW, that show I was talking about was called Titanic's Final Moments. There's some info about it here. History Channel

It was very well done.

 

[Sthronds]

I was watching that on Sat. night and fell asleep! So tell me, did they find the strips of metal or what? I can't believe I missed it.

It is cool that there are still survivors. What an amazing story to tell.

 

[Sandy51]

I watched it last week. Very interesting. I have a collection of Titanic stuff. It has been a passion of mine for a long time. I've been to the exhibit inOrlando twice.



Sandy

 

[Virgo10]

I was watching that on Sat. night and fell asleep! So tell me, did they find the strips of metal or what? I can't believe I missed it.

It is cool that there are still survivors. What an amazing story to tell.

I was pretty tired when I was watching it but it seems they tried exploring an area no one had been to or that hadn't been thoroughly looked at. There they found a huge section of the bottom of the ship. Apparently when it broke into sections, this large, intact piece came off and sank quite a distance from where the other two sections were found. There is still quite a bit of the ship that hasn't been really looked at. The debris field is huge!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Any spoilers on this thread??

 

[Virgo10]

Any spoilers on this thread??

 

[Mishetta]

I am suffering an Alzeihmers moment right now but......at the cemetery where my Mom is buried, there is a Titanic survivor buried. He died in his 80's & he has one of those giant tombstones above ground (you can have those here if you get one of those huge ones where 12 family plots are held). Anyway, the tombstone is really cool since it has the Titanic Ship etched on it & it has his story engraved below the Titantic. Something about he turned 5 a month after the Titanic ship & due to his parents both vanishing in the horrible accident that night, he ended up being an orphan & was raised in a convent. The nuns there had nicknamed him "Ty" since he was a Titanic survivor. Shoot....none of us can think of his name right now but when we went to the Titanic exhibit in FL, we did find his name on the wall & it did show he was a survivor.

We see lots of people drive by his tombstone & get out & take a photo (which sounds tacky) but I've also seen people stop & pray after snapping that photo. We let my DS (10) walk up to the tombstone & he ran his hand on the etching of the ship. He was so in awe. Now everytime we go to visit my Mom, we go by Mr. Titanic's grave & we say a little prayer for him too. I can't help but think what a terrifying night that must have been for a small child ~ even if he had been on a lifeboat. He lost his Mommie & Daddy that night.

 

[OhMari]

I am suffering an Alzeihmers moment right now but......at the cemetery where my Mom is buried, there is a Titanic survivor buried. He died in his 80's & he has one of those giant tombstones above ground (you can have those here if you get one of those huge ones where 12 family plots are held). Anyway, the tombstone is really cool since it has the Titanic Ship etched on it & it has his story engraved below the Titantic. Something about he turned 5 a month after the Titanic ship & due to his parents both vanishing in the horrible accident that night, he ended up being an orphan & was raised in a convent. The nuns there had nicknamed him "Ty" since he was a Titanic survivor. Shoot....none of us can think of his name right now but when we went to the Titanic exhibit in FL, we did find his name on the wall & it did show he was a survivor.


We see lots of people drive by his tombstone & get out & take a photo (which sounds tacky) but I've also seen people stop & pray after snapping that photo. We let my DS (10) walk up to the tombstone & he ran his hand on the etching of the ship. He was so in awe. Now everytime we go to visit my Mom, we go by Mr. Titanic's grave & we say a little prayer for him too. I can't help but think what a terrifying night that must have been for a small child ~ even if he had been on a lifeboat. He lost his Mommie & Daddy that night.

What a neat story, thanks for sharing.

 

[SueM in MN]

This is a cool site.
It was last updated in 2005, so I don't if the 3 survivors are all still alive or not. I didn't see the recent Titanic special, but I have seen these 3 ladies interviewed before.

 

[Disney-Kim]

I watched that special. It was really good. They DID find those bottom metal pieces. they came off when the ship came apart. It didn't prove that the Titanic grounded on the iceberg...but they felt that it did contribute to the ship sinking really fast, much faster than people expected. and that it probably didn't rise in the air as high as thought.
so basically people thought the ship would stay afloat longer and they would survive until help came, but they were saying that it sank really fast because water was coming in from underneath.
I saw the Titanic exhibit here too. It was really good.

 

[Stitchfans]

I missed it. sure hope they show it again.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Any spoilers on this thread??

 

[maleficent1959]

I am suffering an Alzeihmers moment right now but......at the cemetery where my Mom is buried, there is a Titanic survivor buried. He died in his 80's & he has one of those giant tombstones above ground (you can have those here if you get one of those huge ones where 12 family plots are held). Anyway, the tombstone is really cool since it has the Titanic Ship etched on it & it has his story engraved below the Titantic. Something about he turned 5 a month after the Titanic ship & due to his parents both vanishing in the horrible accident that night, he ended up being an orphan & was raised in a convent. The nuns there had nicknamed him "Ty" since he was a Titanic survivor. Shoot....none of us can think of his name right now but when we went to the Titanic exhibit in FL, we did find his name on the wall & it did show he was a survivor.

We see lots of people drive by his tombstone & get out & take a photo (which sounds tacky) but I've also seen people stop & pray after snapping that photo. We let my DS (10) walk up to the tombstone & he ran his hand on the etching of the ship. He was so in awe. Now everytime we go to visit my Mom, we go by Mr. Titanic's grave & we say a little prayer for him too. I can't help but think what a terrifying night that must have been for a small child ~ even if he had been on a lifeboat. He lost his Mommie & Daddy that night.

Mishetta,

Which cemetery is this? I have a 9-year-old cousin in Clarkston who is obsessed with the Titanic and I think it would be nice for him to see it and be in the presence of a survivor. He's never seen anything in person from the ship and it could be powerful for him. Thanks.

 

[sgtdisney]

I found the information on 'Ty.' Neither of his parents perished on the Titanic, but died in the years after the disaster, when he was still a child.

http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography/1133/

Master Michael J. ("Michael Joseph") Peter / Joseph
Master Michael J. Joseph, 6, was born in Detroit, Michigan on 11 May 1907, the son of Lebanese immigrants Peter Joseph and Catherine Rizk.

Michael, his mother and sister Mary Anna boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as third class passengers

On the night of the sinking Michael became separated from his mother and younger sister, who ended up in collapsible C. Michael was bundled into collapsible D (1). After the sinking Michael saw a great number of icebergs in the water, a scene that haunted him for the rest of his life. He was reunited with his mother on the Carpathia.

In the years after the disaster Michael lost both his parents so he went to live with an uncle.

Michael was dubbed 'Ty' by the nuns at his school who had learned of his close escape. He worked as a delivery boy for a soft drinks company for many years, married and raised a family.

Michael 'Ty' Joseph never liked to discuss the Titanic disaster, but would do so occasionally to his grandson Brian who, coincidentally, employed survivor Winifred Quick Van Tongerloo's daughter Jeanette Van Tongerloo Happel in his funeral director business.

Michael Joseph lived for the rest of his life in Detroit, Michigan. He died on 18 May 1991. On his gravestone is a small painting of the Titanic.

SUMMARY
Born: Saturday 11th May 1907
Age: 4 years
Last Residence: in Scraal Lebanon
3rd Class passenger
First Embarked: Cherbourg on Wednesday 10th April 1912
Ticket No. 2668 , £22 7s 2d
Destination: Detroit Michigan United States
Rescued (boat D)
Disembarked Carpathia: New York City on Thursday 18th April 1912
Died: Saturday 18th May 1991

Travelling Companions (on same ticket)
Mrs Catherine Peter / Joseph
Miss Anna ("Mary Joseph") Peter / Joseph

An interesting side note was the fate of his sister, who also survived. She, however died at the age of 4, two years after the Titanic sunk in a horrific fire at the family home in Detroit.

http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography/1134/

 

[sgtdisney]

Here is a link to a website with a photo of the tombstone in case anyone is interested. The engraving is very interesting.

Ty's Grave

 

[joshsmom]

It is SO interesting that this thread was posted. I've always been interested in Titanic--missed the special though, I'll have to look for that. Anyway, there is an exhibit at the St. Louis Science Center and I really want to go to that. Maybe this weekend. DS10 just saw the movie (Leo and Kate Winslett) and he LOVED it. Cried--but still liked it. I made him turn away during a few scenes (the sketch).

I would be very interested in seeing the show on the History Channel. I really didn't know there were still survivors alive!! What an amazing story they have to tell.

 

[amburger]

Wow. That's so awesome. I wish I had known of that show. I love anything and everything having to do with the Titanic.

 

[Mishetta]

Mishetta,

Which cemetery is this? I have a 9-year-old cousin in Clarkston who is obsessed with the Titanic and I think it would be nice for him to see it and be in the presence of a survivor. He's never seen anything in person from the ship and it could be powerful for him. Thanks.

It's Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton Twp off Romeo Plank/Clinton River Road. How cool is that that sgtdisney was able to find more info on the story about this man. Thank you ~ that was so interesting! Yes, Michael P. Joseph was his name!! Nicknamed "Ty" by the nuns who raised him (is what his tombstone says). It's not a small picture of the Titanic...it's a nice sized one! That's how we first found it. We took the back way into the cemetery to go visit my Mom (she's in the moselium in the next section over) & we drove past this tombstone that had a ship on it. So I told my DH ~ slow down, I want to see what that tombstone says (thinking this was a man who worked on a ship & maybe died at sea or something) & then I was like "cool! That's the Titanic!" I had no idea. I told a cousin of mine (her parents are at the same cemetery) & she was the one who told me the story that I posted up above. I guess she had some of the facts wrong but still an interesting read! Poor kid lost his parents & even his baby sister at such a young age, after surviving the Titantic sinking! How one just never knows......

 

[sgtdisney]

I agree Mishetta, that isn't not a small painting based on the photos. What a lovely engraving. I can see how that would stand out to anyone driving by and making them want to take a closer look. What a sad story, this man's family had. I found his mother's information and she had TB. 'Ty' had a brother who died shortly after birth and then his sister died in 1914, his mother died from the TB in 1915 and his father in 1920. His story sounds like an interesting and tragic one. So sad. Here is a link to the info on his mom.

http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography/1132/