| Albert Caldwell was a passenger on the RMS Titanic. Join: Titanic Project Discuss: titanic |
Contents |
Albert was born in Iowa to William and Fanny Gates Caldwell in 1885.
"United States Census, 1900,"[1]
"United States Census, 1920,"[2]
He married Sylvia Harbaugh in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Sep 1, 1909.
"Colorado Statewide Marriage Index, 1853-2006,"[3]
The couple went to Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand) where they were teachers in Bangkok Christian College for Boys. Their son, Alden Gates Caldwell, was born in Bangkok, and in later years, Alden found himself unable to obtain a birth certificate and had no official proof of his American citizenship.
In April 1912 they were returning to their home in Biggsville, Illinois.
Many years later Albert Caldwell wrote his own account of his family's experience. It relates how they traveled through Europe and at Naples saw a sign in the hotel advertising the sailing of the new White Star liner Titanic. He said they were unable to make a reservation there so they travelled on to London and got tickets by waiting in the White Star office for a cancellation. They boarded the Titanic in Southampton as second class passengers (ticket number 248738, £29).
"It was a carefree and happy throng that sailed with the Titanic on her first and last voyage... The rhythmic beat of her propellers would, as a matter of fact, not cease until the narrow Atlantic had been crossed. The weather was ideal and the sea was calm. Everyone was having a good time... The table were piled high with all the luxuries and delicacies that one would desire. All were interested in the record speed that we were making. No mention was made of the icebergs." Caldwell recalled the hymn servive held on the Sunnday night in the second-class dining led by Ernest Carter. According to Albert he spoke on the subject "Perils of the Sea."
"How little did that happy group, who with reverent thoughts, were worshiping God, realize that within a few hours the majority of them would meet him," Mr and Mrs Caldwell retired to bed at 10 pm but were awakened by the sound of the collision and the sudden cessation of the throbbing engines. Going up on deck a sailor told them about the iceberg but said there was no danger to the ship. The Caldwells returned to bed but were awakened a second time by someone pounding on their doors, yelling "Everyone on deck with your life belts."
Putting on his clothes, Albert was clearly not alarmed as he left his best suit hanging on the wall and several U.S. gold pieces at the bottom of a trunk. Albert and Sylvia then walked up on deck, little Alden wrapped in a blanket. On the deck a great throng of people had gathered. There was no panic, and when the order came to fill the lifeboats, women and children first, passengers were initially reluctant:
"They felt that it was safer to stay on the big ship. She could not sink. Consequently, the first lifeboats left the ship half filled with women and children who were practically forced into them. I did not want to trust the lives of my wife and baby to a tiny life boat and be lowered into the ocean, and wo we like many others held back." A stoker coming up from below was in a far better position to tell him the truth: water was gushing into the holds and the Titanic was sinking. Mrs Caldwell got into lifeboat 13, Alden was tossed to Steward Frederick Ray in the stern and Mr Caldwell stepped into the bow as the boat was lowered. From the safety of the boat they watched as the great ship sank:
"At first, she seemed unharmed but, as we looked toward the bow of the ship, we could see that the lower line of portholes extended down into the water. The lights on the Titanic burned until a few minutes before she sank. She tipped, headfirst, lower and lower into the water, until all that we could see was the stern of the boat outlined against the starry sky. She hung as if on a pivot and then, with a gentle swish, disappeared from sight. "For a moment all was silence and then, across that waste of waters, wafted a sound that will ever ring in my ears, the cries of those perishing in the icy water. They did not drown for they could not withstand the cold water and died, one by one, from exposure." After their rescue by the Carpathia, the Caldwells resided in Illinois.
In 1930, Albert and Sylvia were divorced. Albert later married Jennie Whitley Congleton in Richmond, Virginia in 1936
"Virginia, Marriage Certificates, 1936-1988,"[4]
Albert Caldwell died on 10 March 1977.
Notes 1. Raymond Milton Caldwell died 28th April, 1990 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. 2. Jennie Congleton Caldwell died 22nd November, 1980
Burial:
Pinewood Memorial Park
Greenville, Pitt County,, North Carolina, USA
References and Sources: Pittsburgh Post, April 18 1912, Article Contract Ticket List, White Star Line 1912 (National Archives, New York; NRAN-21-SDNYCIVCAS-55[279]) New York Herald, April 19, 1912 The Daily Reflector (Greenville, NC), April 12, 1998 Albert Caldwell (1965) They said that the Titanic could not Sink
Credits: Charles Caldwell, USA Michael A. Findlay, USA Phillip Gowan, USA Claudia McCann, USA Rob Ottmers, USA
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Albert is 27 degrees from Zendaya Coleman, 35 degrees from Sting Sumner, 23 degrees from Josh Brolin, 31 degrees from Timothée Chalamet, 25 degrees from José Ferrer, 25 degrees from Frank Herbert, 22 degrees from Richard Jordan, 27 degrees from David Lynch, 23 degrees from Virginia Madsen, 28 degrees from Charlotte Rampling, 35 degrees from Patrick Stewart and 28 degrees from Denis Villeneuve on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
C > Caldwell > Albert Francis Caldwell
Categories: RMS Titanic | 2nd Class Passengers on Titanic | RMS Carpathia | Survivors of the Titanic