R.M.S. Titanic 3rd Class Passenger Carl Olof Jansson.
Mr Carl Olof Jansson, 21, was born 17 May 1890 the son of Alfred Jansson and Charlotta Svensson, Vadened, Korsberga, Hjo, Västergötland, Sweden. He had four siblings Erik Manstedt (new name after emigrating to USA), Vitalis, Hanna and Ossian. Carl Olof Jansson was a socialist and an active party of the Labour movement. He had been working as a carpenter for the Eriksson brothers workshop in Örebro, Sweden. Carl decided to emigrate, although he did so without permission from the Swedish authorities. He bought tickets and legal papers in Copenhagen and was accompanied by fellow Socialist and Swede August Wennerström together with Gunnar Tenglin amongst others. They remained together on the Titanic which they boarded at Southampton. He paid £7 15 shillings for his one way ticket. He boarded the Titanic as a third class passenger under ticket number 350034.
He was woken by the collision and hurried up to deck, he was in such hurry that he had forgotten to put an any shoes. Up on deck he saw nothing and first he thought he would see the iceberg somebody had mentioned to him but it was too late. So he went back down to put on some proper clothing. His cabin was one of those that was fast being filled with water.
"Then I run down to my cabin to bring my other clothes, watch and bag but had only time to take the watch and the coat when water with enormous force came into the cabin and I had to rush up to the deck again where I found my friends standing with lifebelts on and with terror painted on their faces. What should I do now, with no lifebelt and no shoes and no cap" Jansson remained onboard until the end and then swam to the water filled collapsible lifeboat A.
In New York he was brought to the Salvation Army's Cadet School and was given $25 from the Salvation Army assistance committee. On 24 April he travelled via Chicago with Oscar Hedman and Anna Sjöblom from Finland. He initially settled in Swedeburg, Nebraska and then in Wahoo, a town to the south of Swedeburg. He continued to work as carpenter, but he never returned to Sweden. He married Edith Syverson on 3 May 1923. He became very good friends with the Saville family, a friendship which lasted a number of years. Carl sadly passed away in March 1978 in Wahoo, Nebraska at the age of 88. The silver ring which he wore on the Titanic was bequethed to the Saville family and can be seen in the exhibition.
R.M.S. Titanic 1st Class Passenger Lt Commander Garfield Stevens
Leutenant Commander Garfield Stevens boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10th, 1912, under White Star Line 1st Class ticket number fifty. Lt. Commander Stevens was only onboard the Titanic during her cross channel voyage from Southampton to Cherbourg. During his onboard activities he took the opportunity to explore the great ship and had much praise for the Titanic. Enjoying lunch in the spacious 1st Class Dining Room he acquired a silver sugar dish as a souvenir of his voyage on history’s famous ship as well as the baggage label he had obtained while Titanic was leaving Southampton, which can be seen in the exhibition today.
After his voyage on Titanic, Lt. Commander Stevens rose through the ranks and became a senior engineer on Titanic’s sister ship Olympic. He had a lucrative and very successful career with the White Star Line. The silver sugar dish and baggage label from the Titanic which we have in the exhibition are a tribute to Lt Commander Garfield Stevens and the Titanic.
Edith Haisman- Titanic 2nd Class Passenger.
Born Edith Brown, 27th October 1896, Cape Colony, South Africa. Wh en Edith was fifteen her parents, Thomas and Elizabeth (née Ford) Brown, decided to emigrate to Seattle, Washington to establish a new life and new hotel business. They traveled to Southampton, England for the transatlantic crossing. They were originally booked on another ship but were transferred to Titanic due to a coal strike. When Titanic collided with the iceberg, Captain Smith gave orders to abandon ship, the family went up on deck, Edith and her mother got into lifeboat 14, her father remained on deck, Edith could recall him standing on deck smoking a cigar and drinking brandy. He waved and said “I will see you in New York”. Sadly Thomas Brown did not survive the sinking. After the tragedy Edith and her mother returned to England and to South Africa for a time. Edith later married Frederick Thankful Haisman in 1917 and they had 10 children.
In 1996 Edith celebrated her 100th Birthday becoming one of the longest-lived Titanic survivors. On display in the exhibition are a number of artifacts from the personal collection of Edith Haisman, including a bottle of champagne given to her for her 100th birthday, which she personally signed.
