Name |
Lifeboat from Titanic |
Lifeboat to Carpathia |
Confidence Level |
Marvin,
Mrs Mary Graham Carmichael |
Collapsible D | Collapsible D | 2.28 |
Summary from the New York World, unknown date: The article says that Mrs. Marvin's boat contained four sailors and nine women. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (and other papers) say a little five year old French girl was given into Mrs. Marvin's charge in the lifeboat and that she cared for the girl on board the Carpathia before turning her over to the Women's Relief Committee in New York. (Could the French girl have been Berthe Mayne, and that the newspapers reduced her age to make the story more interesting?) Edinburgh Evening News, April 19, 1912: "I was in the last boat. There were only 12 persons in it, including two sailors. Later I saw one passenger with a gun in his hand fight his way to a boat and threaten to shoot anybody who interfered with him." New York Herald, April 20, 1912: "Mrs. Marvin was told to get into the last boat and declares that she was the last woman to leave the Titanic, though at the time she did not know it was the last lifeboat and believed the officer who told her that her husband would be put into another boat. Only twelve women were in her boat, although there was room for at least twelve more, and she begged that Mr. Marvin be put in the boat with her. She says he was cool and tried to comfort her by saying that he would go into a boat with some of his men friends.....'' The New York Press, April 19, 1912: "I was in our stateroom when the crash came. It was a grinding, ripping noise, and, with Dan, I hurried on deck. The lights went out and were out for about five minutes. When we got on deck we were told that the ship had struck an iceberg, but that there was no danger. We went back to our stateroom for a time, but the ship began to get deeper and deeper in the water. Finally we were told that the lifeboats were being manned and that we should go on deck. It was almost 2 o'clock when we reached the deck. Men were fighting to get into the boats. Shots were fired, and while I stood on the deck at least ten revolver shots were fired. One bullet whizzed past my cheek. Here is the mark of the powder. Finally all the boats were filled on the port side, and there was no room for me. We went to the other side of the boat just as the last lifeboat was being lowered. Several sailors saw me coming, and they yelled: 'Here's a woman: Get her.' I turned to Dan, but he said: 'You must go for your mother's sake. I'll be all right here.' Then the sailors grabbed me and tossed me into the boat just as it was being lowered. While the boat was being lowered I looked up and saw Dan. Not far away was Major Butt with an iron bar in his hand. I think it was he, for I had met him on the boat. He was fighting back a crowd of men who wanted to get into the boat. When we got into the water the sailors rowed away from the Titanic, and we could see the lights and hear the band playing. By that time the vessel was pretty low in the water. Her forward part was almost underneath and the sailors were afraid when the big ship sank that we would be pulled down. 'It was awful,' continued Mrs. Marvin, who is frail and only 18 years old. .... 'In our boat several women were compelled to row because there were not enough sailors in it. I was not one of them, however. ....' Mrs. Marvin suddenly stopped, and then recollecting something, she said: 'Just as I got into the lifeboat a little French girl 5 years old, was put in my arms. I carried her all the time in the boat. The little girl was brave, and did not cry one bit. On the Carpathia I saw the little girl frequently.' '' Possibly the French girl was one of the LaRoche girls, but there are a few things that are consistent; she was in a late boat and there were few people in it. Summary of information: They go up on deck the second time as it's approaching 2:00 a.m. The boats are gone from one side of the ship, so they go to the other. She enters what she thinks is the last lifeboat with an officer nearby. Shots are being fired. There are only three or four crewmen in it, and at least one foreign child. It seems it must be forward on the port side, and again possibly #2 or Collapsible D given how few women she believes were in it. Possibilities: #2 - about 17 people, of which we have confirmed 16 names. Collapsible D - about 20 people as lowered. Lightoller was definitely at this boat, brandishing his revolver by his own words. A QM, one seaman (Lucas), one fireman (possibly William Murdoch), one steward (Hardy). Regarding Collapsible D. Mrs. Marvin's accounts do not mention D picking up people from the other boats in Lowe’s Flotilla, nor does it mention anyone pulled into D from the sea. But still, based on this, and knowing that much of this is problematical, it seems like Mrs. Marvin might have been in Collapsible D. |