Armenians on The Titanic - 04/14/2012 11:40pm EST

AT EXACTLY THIS MOMENT, 100 years ago, at 11:40pm Eastern Time, on

April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg, and in the ensuing two

and a half hours, sank in the freezing waters off the coast of

Newfoundland.

We thought it appropriate to commemorate this grim anniversary with a

re-run of Katia Peltekian's article on Groong 5 years ago, which

researched the presence of Armenians on the doomed ship...

Even on The Titanic

They Escaped Turkish Persecution Only

to Die with the Sinking of the Titanic

Armenian News Network / Groong

February 5, 2007

by Katia M. Peltekian

Years ago while studying in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada), by chance,

I came upon the grave of an Armenian who was buried at the Fairview

Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, along with 120 others who had lost their

lives in the Titanic disaster in 1912. At the time I didn't think much

about it. As many Armenians, I was also brought up with the notion

that I would find an Armenian under any stone anywhere in the world. I

have to confess, I actually chuckled at this man's headstone when I

thought, 'Even on the Titanic?'

Last summer, I had the opportunity to again visit Nova Scotia, a small

province with a population of less than 1 million people. As a student,

I had come to like the small city of Halifax that lies on the Atlantic

and has one of the major harbors in Canada - a harbor that had

welcomed Armenian survivors of the Hamidian massacres in the late 19th

century. The province has one of the most beautiful shores in the

world. And driving along the coast, I used to enjoy taking pictures of

the many lighthouses or watching the whales swim near the rocky

shores. The only problem for me was only a handful of Armenians lived

in Nova Scotia.

One of the reasons I went back to Halifax again was to visit the grave

of M. Der Zacarian. I was curious to find out more about this Armenian

who had lost his life with the sinking of the Titanic. I was also

curious to know if there were other Armenians on board that ship.

Because the Titanic sank near the shores of Nova Scotia, most of the

bodies that were recovered were buried in the city of Halifax. And Der

Zacarian, a lone Armenian, was also buried there, perhaps forgotten

and abandoned.

The largest ship of its time, the Titanic left Southampton, England on

its way to New York City on April 10, 1912. It was reputed to be the

safest ship ever built, so safe that the builders believed 20

lifeboats were more than enough. It carried around 2,200 crew members

and passengers who ranged from the world's wealthiest to the poorest

refugees. The passengers were accommodated in three classes: the first

luxurious class accommodated 329 passengers, the second class had 285

passengers, and the third class was taken up by 710 people. The crew

of the Titanic was comprised of 899 personnel.

Four days into the journey, on April 14, just before midnight, the

Titanic hit an iceberg. The collision was fatal and the ship began to

sink. Although each passenger was issued a lifejacket, less than half

could be accommodated on the lifeboats. Two hours and 40 minutes after

the collision, the Titanic had sunk completely. The next day, another

ship, the Carpathia rescued only 705 survivors from the lifeboats.

1522 had lost their lives.

I went over the list of names of the passengers and located no

Armenians in either the first or the second class. However, in the

third class list, I came across the names of 6 Armenians. According to

the registers of the Titanic, 5 of these Armenians were from the town

of Keghi in the Armenian province of Erzeroum, and one was from

'Abosknak' (which could be Akkonak). The six were identified as

laborers and all had boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg, France. Of the

six, 4 lost their lives.

It was interesting that 5 were from Keghi, which was an administrative

district of Erzeroum province, and its district seat was in

Keghi-Kasaba. According to sources, Keghi was made up of 363 large and

small villages, 51 of which were Armenian. The estimated population of

the district at the beginning of the 20th century was 60,000 out of

whom around 20,000 were Armenians.

The economic conditions, the Turkish persecution of the Christian

minorities, and the sporadic massacres of the Armenians at the end of

the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century compelled many

to leave their towns seeking a better life in North America. And the

Keghetsi were no different. In fact, in 1911 alone a few thousand

young Keghetsi men had immigrated to the US as general laborers in

many North American industries.

According to one young man from Keghi, he and 7 other Keghetsis were

joined by 4 from Moush and 4 from Erzinga. Together, they walked for 7

days to Trebizond on the Black Sea and sailed to Marseilles

(France). They had stayed at the Keghetsi "hotel" in Marseilles,

where

their compatriots had cared for them. This young man was fortunate; he

was waiting for money sent by his relatives in the US to be able to

sail to America. The money arrived 3 weeks late. (I. Kaprielian,

"Immigration & Settlement of Armenians in S. Ontario")

However, five

of the Keghetsis managed to get tickets on the Titanic.

THE FOUR VICTIMS

According to the Titanic records, of the four Armenians who lost their

lives in the sinking, only one body was recovered, and is buried in

Halifax. The bodies of the other three were either not recovered or

not identified. The following information about the victims is

recorded in the Titanic files. It is to be noted that names could have

been misspelled by the Ship's staff.

a) Name: Mr. Maprie Der Zakarian

Age: 22 years

Last residence: Keghi, Turkey

Class: 3rd class passenger

Port of embarkation: Cherbourg, France

Ticket Number: 2656

Ticket price paid: #7, 4 shillings, 6 dimes

Destination: Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Buried: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

When Mr. Der Zakarian's body was recovered, it was tagged as #304 with

the following description:

No. 304 - Male -

Estimated Age, 26. Dark Hair and slight mustache.

Clothing - Blue suit; striped shirt, brown pants, three shirts.

Effects - 80 francs in gold; $12.50 in gold in purse; empty purse.

Third class ticket.

Name: Mapri Der Zacarian

b) Name: Mr. Sarkis Mardirosian

Age: 25 years

Last residence: Keghi, Turkey

Occupation: Farm laborer

Class: 3rd class passenger

Port of embarkation: Cherbourg, France

Ticket Number: 2655

Ticket price paid: #7, 4 shillings, 7 dimes

Destination: Brantford, Ontario, Canada

According to records, Mr. Mardirosian was an Armenian-American whose

family was traced to Beirut, Lebanon. He owned an antiques shop in

Lyons, France. Most probably. he was visiting his family and

relatives in Keghi.

His body, if recovered, was never identified.

c) Name: Mr. Artin Zakarian

Age: 27 years

Last residence: Keghi, Turkey

Occupation: General laborer

Class: 3rd class passenger

Port of embarkation: Cherbourg, France

Ticket Number: 2670

Ticket price paid: #7, 4 shillings, 6 dimes

Destination: Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Mr. Zakarian's body, if recovered, was never identified.

d) Name: Mr. Arsen Sirayanian

Age: 22 years

Last residence: Keghi, Turkey

Occupation: Farmer

Class: 3rd class passenger

Port of embarkation: Cherbourg, France

Ticket Number: 2669

Ticket price paid: #7, 4 shillings, 7 dimes

Destination: Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Mr. Sirayanian's body, if recovered, was never identified.

On July 13, 1912, Gochnak, the Armenian weekly from New York City,

published a letter sent by the Patriarchate of Keghi informing the

deaths of four Keghetsis in the sinking of the Titanic. Although the

letter gives the correct names of the victims, there is no mention of

the victims' ages:

- Mampri Der Zakarian leaves behind a 25 year-old wife, a son, two

sisters and a brother.

- Sarkis Mardirossian is survived by an 80-year-old father,

75-year-old mother, a pregnant wife, a 5-year-old son and a brother.

- Haroutyun Der Zakarian leaves behind a 40-year-old wife and 3 sons.

- Arsen Sirkanian (and not Sirayanian as the Titanic records show) is

survived by a 75-year-old father and 70-year-old mother, one sister

and one brother.

In the three cemeteries where the Titanic victims are buried, there

are graves of unidentified passengers whose headstones bear only

numbers. In recent years, with the advance of science, some of the

remains of the bodies were identified by DNA tests and the names were

added to the gravestones. However, there remain many nameless graves

which could be of the Keghetsi youth who had escaped Turkish

persecution only to die on the Titanic.

THE TWO SURVIVORS

Looking at the list of passengers by class, it was noticeable that

most of the 1st class passengers were able to go on the lifeboats, and

survived the sinking of the Titanic. Very few of the 710 passengers

from the third class survived the disaster. However, many male

passengers from the 3rd class were let on the lifeboats to man the

oars. The following information about the two Armenians who survived

is provided by the Titanic records.

a) Name: Mr. David Vartanian

Date of Birth: April 15, 1890

Last residence: Keghi, Turkey

Class: 3rd class passenger

Port of embarkation: Cherbourg, France

Ticket Number: 2658

Ticket price paid: #7, 4 shillings, 6 dimes

Destination: Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Mr. Vartanian was one of the 47 survivors who had escaped on Lifeboat

#13, although he claimed he was on board a collapsible boat. He

arrived in New York City on board the rescue ship The Carpathian on

April 18, 1912.

The records describe Mr. Vartanian as a 22 year old from Turkish

Armenia, the son of Azadia Vartanian and Sierma Agoyan. A laborer,

Vartanian lived in Oror township of Keghi. He was married to Bajer

Vartanian who stayed behind in Keghi. After disembarking in New York,

Vartanian, along with the other Armenian survivor Mr. Krekorian, left

for Canada where he worked for a few years. Later he moved to

Pennsylvania, and then to Michigan where he married again and had a

son and two daughters. He passed away in Detroit in August 1966 aged

76.

b) Name: Neshan Krekorian

Date of Birth: May 12, 1886

Last residence: Abosknak, Turkey

(note: the town could be Akkonak in Moush province)

Occupation: General laborer

Class: 3rd class passenger

Port of embarkation: Cherbourg, France

Ticket Number: 2654

Ticket price paid: #7, 4 shillings, 7 dimes

Destination: Brantford, Ontario, Canada

According to one source, Krekorian did not have a ticket for the

Titanic and had to bribe a travel agent in Marseilles to get on

board. When the Titanic hit the iceberg, Krekorian managed to make his

way up to the deck just as Lifeboat #10 was being lowered down. He

jumped for it and landed on the boat, saving himself. The boat carried

28 other passengers and 2 able seamen. After landing in New York City,

he left for St. Catherine's, Ontario (Canada), married Persa Vartanian

in 1924 and had 4 children. Krekorian worked all his life on an

assembly line at General Motors Automobile Company. He died in

St. Catherine's in May, 1978 at the age of 92.

Kerkorian had related his story as the following:

It started with a muffled bang. Krekorian, 25, heard a crash at about

11:40 p.m. as water began seeping into the watertight compartments

near the steerage area where third-class passengers were staying.

Kerkorian continued: "In a minute there was chaos and confusion.

Women

rushed hither and thither and then the lights went out and we were all

left in the dark. Everybody seemed to lose their heads and just stand

about and shriek. The lights flickered back and steerage passengers

relaxed a little." They slipped on their life jackets and Krekorian

dressed warmly. As it turned out, some of the European and Middle

Eastern immigrants in the lower sections may not have had a chance. By

law, the steerage passengers were separated from others presumably to

prevent the spread of infectious disease. Iron locks hindered their

escape. Several locked doors had to be axed-open by Krekorian and

others as they struggled to the outside decks. On deck, the scene was

calm at first, but over the next two hours, things deteriorated. When

the passengers realized there weren't enough lifeboats to go around,

panic spread. Fathers and older males gave comforting words to their

shrieking families who were separated from them and directed to the

lifeboats. As the head of the ship nosed into the Atlantic, it was

obvious the end was near. Crew members dealt harshly with male

passengers trying to save themselves. Krekorian had claimed later that

in that chaos there was no law of the sea that women and children

could go first. He saw some throwing women and children overboard

because there wasn't enough space for everybody. The crew shot men who

leapt into these lifeboats. (Titanic: The Canadian Story by Alan

Hustak).

Of course many stories were told about the men, especially those in

the 3rd class who survived the disaster. There was even a headline in

one of the newspapers which read "Armenian Who Dressed in Women's

Clothes to Get off Titanic." Kerkorian denied it and according to

witnesses he actually used a rope to leap into lifeboat #10 and save

himself.

In addition to these Armenians, the Toronto Star ran an article on

April 19, 1912 entitled "Poor Peasant and Multi-Millionaire Together

in Death," in which it mentioned yet another Armenian who died with

the sinking of The Titanic. According to this article, Mr. Nardji

Narsini, an Armenian peasant, kissed his pregnant wife, placed her in

one of the lifeboats and said to her: "Maria, perhaps we never meet

again, but some day you tell our child how I died." Nardji lost his

life, and his wife Maria became the ward of charity as soon as she

disembarked the rescue ship The Carpathia. The article continued,

"Maria Narsini lost everything she had in the world: the linens she

had made against the day of her marriage, the feather bed lining -

they were her marriage dot - and Nardji had saved up $100 in addition

to the price of the steamship tickets, and this too was lost."

However, these two names (or similar sounding names) do not appear on

either the passenger lists or the crew lists of The Titanic. It is to

be noted that the ship's records do state that their lists are

incomplete.

It is ironic that these Armenians fled from a nightmare thousands of

miles away only to face a new disaster. What happened to the families

they had left behind when the Turkish army entered the Armenian

villages and began massacring the innocent? These young men were

hoping to settle down in Canada and bring over their families. Mampre

Der Zacarian had a wife and a child. Haroutyun Der Zakarian left

behind a wife and three sons. Sarkis Mardirossian left behind a

pregnant wife and a son. David Vartanian, one of the survivors, was

married when he left Keghi, but years later he remarried when he

settled in America. Had he received news that his wife did not survive

the terrible massacres perpetrated by the Turks in the province of

Erzeroum? Would these victims have survived the Genocide had they

stayed in their towns with their families?

With such stories, it is distressing to know that one can find an

Armenian anywhere in this world.

Groong Note: This article remains archived on our website at:

http://www.groong.org/orig/kp-20070205.html