Oscar Woody

[Alicia Windsor]

Hi everyone,

I stumbled across this article on wral.com while searching for news on my other obsession, Raleigh native Clay Aiken.

I did not know there was a Titanic exhibit at the Museum of Natural Sciences, now I have even more motive to visit Raleigh. It's wonderful that the museum recognized Woody, the postal carriers of the Titanic are some of my favourite unsung heroes. There is also a picture of Woody at the link.

Museum Honors Roxboro Man Who Died On Titanic

POSTED: 7:46 p.m. EST November 24, 2003
UPDATED: 7:59 p.m. EST November 24, 2003

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Monday was Oscar Scott Woody day.

It was proclaimed as such to honor a Roxboro native who died on board the Titanic.


Oscar Woody died while trying to save the mail. He was one of five sea postal carriers killed that night.

Monday, at the Titanic artifact exhibit in Raleigh, a commemorative envelope was unveiled and dedicated in Woody's honor.

A special postal stamp recognizes his efforts, and several of his belongings are part of the exhibit at the Museum of Natural Sciences.

From http://www.wral.com/news/2662124/detail.html

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Hi Alicia,

Thanks for posting that.

It's great to see that Oscar Woody has not been forgotten.

Best regards,

Jason

 

[Chris Dohany]

Nice to see a different photograph of the man as well. Thank you for the link.

 

[M.A.S.]

• "Clerks John Starr March and Oscar Scott Woody had 15 years of experience with the U.S. Railway Mail Service, and may have been members of the Railway Mail Association, which was organized as a mutual insurance concern in 1897. (In 1917 it would declare itself a labor union by affiliating with the American Federation of Labor, the AFL.)
• The postal clerks were celebrating Oscar Woody’s 44th birthday in their private dining room several decks above their work area when Titanic collided with the iceberg. They rushed to the mail room and began trying to move the registered mail — 200 bags’ worth — to a higher deck.
• Among the five clerks, only Woody’s and March’s bodies were recovered. March’s pocket watch was found to have stopped ticking at 1:27, suggesting that it wasn’t immersed until about two hours after the clash with the iceberg."

Titanic Postal Clerks | American Postal Workers Union

apwu.org