Name
Lifeboat from Titanic
Lifeboat to Carpathia
Confidence Level
Yarred, Miss Jamila
D?
D? 2.00
Yarred, Master Elias D?
D? 2.00


Titanic Commutator Vol 12, No 1; "Titanic Passengers in Jacksonville, Florida" by Edward A. Mueller.
    "Jamila remembers standing on the deck - panic stricken - while water started to engulf the deck. Some man then put her aboard the lifeboat. 'The lifeboat was swept against the side of the ship and my right leg was squeezed between the ship and the boat, however, my leg was only bruised.'
    Jamila remembers the remainder of the night as being full of horror for her. She had been in water up to her neck on the Titanic, but managed to get blankets once in the lifeboat. The water was calm but very cold. 'Many people froze during the night. Next morning it was foggy, but we could see the dead bodies, trunks and luxuries floating on the water.' The lifeboat she was in had drawn away from the ship not long before it went down with a 'thunderous explosion as the Titanic's boilers encountered the cold see water. My ears hurt with the noise.' "

Paraphrased from The Times-Union, Jacksonville, Tues., Jan. 20, 1998: (Jamilia had changed her name to Amelia by this time, Elias to Louis):
    "Sophie and Margaret, Amelia's daughters recounted memories that their mother, Amelia, had said her prayers and had gone to bed, when she felt a big bump and heard shouting. She grabbed her younger brother, Louis, and pulled him down a dark corridor filled with panic-stricken passengers. Water quickly filled the corridor as Amelia sadly remembered, remaining below, the five hundred dollars that her father had given her for the trip. On the deck, hysterical passengers scrambled for lifeboats. 
    An older man, who saw Amelia struggle to keep her younger brother, Louis, from jumping from the top deck into the frigid water, climbed a ladder and carried him down, placing him into a crowded lifeboat. The stranger returned for Amelia, around whose neck the water was now lapping, and placed her into what she believed was the last lifeboat. Later, from newspaper photographs, Amelia believed that she recognized the kind stranger: John Jacob Astor."

Awake Magazine, 1981, account by Elias:
    "We had steerage-class tickets, meaning we could go up to the second-class deck. But those on second-class and steerage could not pass through a guarded gate that led to the first-class upper deck. However, we were told it would be wise to get to the first-class upper deck in order to have a better chance of getting into a lifeboat. The only way this could be done was to climb an iron ladder from the steerage deck below up five or six decks to the lifeboats above. This we did with much difficulty, for it was hard for my sister to climb the iron ladder. But with help from others we made it.
    What a sight! Most of the lifeboats were gone. The crew was permitting women and children only to board the lifeboats-there were not enough for everyone. We saw women crying, not wanting to leave their husbands; husbands begging their wives and children to hurry and get into the lifeboats. Amid this complete pandemonium and mass hysteria stood my sister and I, two immigrant children, unable to speak English, frightened beyond belief, crying and looking for help.
    The last lifeboat was being loaded. A middle-aged gentleman was with his very young, pregnant wife. He helped her into the lifeboat, then looked back to the deck and saw others wanting to get aboard. He kissed his wife good-bye, and, returning to the deck, grabbed the first person in his path. Fortunately, I was there in the right place at the right time and he put me into the lifeboat. I screamed for my sister who had frozen from fright. With the help of others, she also was pushed into the lifeboat.        Who was the gallant man who performed this kind act? We were told he was John Jacob Astor IV. At that time he was 45 years old and his wife, Madeleine, was 19. They were traveling to the United States because they wanted their child to be born there. Many newspaper stories were written that told how John Jacob Astor gave up his life for a young immigrant. The Astor family records indicate that, according to Mrs. Astor, Mr. Astor had words with a crewman who tried to prevent him from helping his wife into the lifeboat. He did so anyway. And, as I said, he kissed her and, returning to the deck, began helping others into the lifeboat.
    I was happy to be in the lifeboat, but I still had a feeling of sorrow for the ones left on the Titanic. Looking back at that big, beautiful ship, I could see it from a different perspective and, with some of the lights still on, I could see the size and beauty of the ship. In the stillness of the night and with sound traveling so well over water, we could hear the band playing on deck and people singing 'Nearer My God to Thee.' The crew rowed away from the ship as far as they could. There were fears that a suction would develop when it made its final plunge into the ocean depths. That did not happen, nor was there an explosion as some thought there would be. The waters were unusually calm that night and it was a good thing, for most of the lifeboats were loaded down with people."

The family believed that Jamila and Elias were rescued thanks to the efforts of John Jacob Astor, whom they identified from newspapers after the sinking. What can be said is that a man, a stranger, assisted the children into the boat. Prior to that Elias had wanted to jump, indicating that the sea was not that far below. This would indicate one of the last forward boats, which would include collapsibles C and D, but also boat 4, in which it was known that John Jacob Astor had placed his wife.

Questions were asked about the accuracy of the account in Awake! The account appears to have been written by a third party, based on Elias' recollections.

Jamila said that her leg was squeezed between the ship and the lifeboat. The group has determined that collapsible D would have been hanging away from the Titanic at the point it was filled and lowered. Collapsible C had to be pushed away from the hull of the ship as it was lowered; according to Quartermaster Rowe and Frank Goldsmith. The group debated the possibility that Jamila trapped her leg at boat 4. This boat had been tied to the ship to enable filling, on account of the list forcing the boat away from the hull. The group discussed the possibility that, at some point, Jamila trapped her at this boat, perhaps as it was released, ready to be lowered, but we ended up discounting this.

We have enough accounts now to know that at least inside the family, they thought it was Astor, though that is not a guarantee. We also know that Maude Sincock, for certain in Collapsible D, related seeing a brother and sister in her boat. If we look at #4, the Astor boat, we don't see a (obvious) brother and sister The pieces, though admittedly shaky, do fit. It's not proof, but it does fit.

Without more evidence it is difficult to ascribe the siblings to a single boat with any degree of confidence, but we did lean toward Collapsible D.