Sara Elizabeth and John Chapman

S

Sheila Pearce

Guest
I have previously used the message board,but have been off line for a few months owing to a house move. Mr John Henry Chapman was my gr.uncle. He & his wife lost their lives on their honeymoon vogage.I have postcards sent from Queenstown to my mother& my aunt, also some of the effects noted in the records. My new e mail address is [email protected]
 
Hello, Sheila. I have read about some stories about your great uncle and aunt. Do you still have the postcards now?

- Hydie
 
Hi, Sheila!

Nice to see you here again! :)

I'm still plugging away on my project and would like to thank you once again for your kindness and for all the help you've given me in the past.

Take care, my friend.

Sincerely,

George
 
Hi All,

Did anyone in the UK watch "Country File" on BBC TV on Sunday morning? (Sounds off topic, but it's not). John Craven , the presentor, was in St. Neots in Cornwall and was interviewing a local historian and she took him to the memorial to Sara Elizabeth and John Henry Chapman. She told the story of what happened prior to the sinking. According to her John had left Sara in the UK while he went to the USA or Canada because Saras' mother was ill, anyway Saras mum died and he came back to the UK to take her back accross the pond on the Titanic. Now here is the rub, as the ship was sinking (according to the historian) Sara was taken off in one of the lifeboats and saved, no number for the lifeboat was given. Anyway she supposidly made it to the Carpathia safely but on hearing of her husbands death she threw herself into the sea and drowned.

I've never heard this one before and I don't believe it, but has anyone else heard this story and is there any truth in it what so ever?

Best Wishes and Rgds

Dennis
 
I had the TV on in the background and wasn't paying any attention to the prog until I caught the word 'Titanic', and then of course I started listening! The real story can be found in the recollections of Emily Richards. As a fellow Cornishwoman, she had made friends with the Chapmans and they, along with Emily's family, waited as a group until boat 4 was loading. When it became clear that her husband would have to stay behind, Sara made the decision to stay with him. So there's a kernel of truth in the TV version, but only insofar as Sara chose to die with her husband rather than live without him.
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Cheers Bob,

That is what I had read had happened, but when you hear a story from a reputed historian it's got to make you think.

Again thanks Bob

Best wishes and Rgds

Dennis
 
>>That is what I had read had happened, but when you hear a story from a reputed historian it's got to make you think.<<

I see it also made you stop and check things out for yourself. Always a wise move as even the very best historians can make a mistake.
 
My parents and I think They were desendants from us. I think they stayed together too late and were crushed by the funnel when it fell as depicted in ANTR as anyone would know that the Chapmans were portrayed
 
Matthew,

Unless they had children before they married it seems unlikely that your family could be descended from John and Sara Chapman. I understand they were on their honeymoon. You might however be related to them through other family members.

Unfortunately the URL links on this web-site are not presently working, so I cannot see who received monies from the MANSION HOUSE TITANIC RELIEF FUND or read the PROBATE REPORT for John's death.
 
The honeymoon couple in ANTR (the Clarkes) were 'composite characters', there to represent all of the 2nd Class (and all of the young couples) on board. They weren't intended to represent any particular real people, though Mrs Clarke's refusal to be separated from her husband with the comment "We started out together and we'll finish together" were taken from Lightoller's recollection of an American couple on the boat deck. But even if the Clarkes had been based on the Chapmans, their death scene came from the screenwriter's imagination rather than any factual account of the sinking. No doubt some people were killed by the falling funnel and that might have included the Chapmans, but it's far more likely that they died in the water from exposure, like hundreds of others.
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Hello Bob
You wrote, 'American couple.'
I also thought that however, someone pointed out that western, which was the exact word used, meant western England.
 
Hallo, Michael. Lightoller's words were "evidently from the Western States". Over here we don't have States. We would refer to 'the West country' or perhaps 'the Western Counties'.
 
Hello Bob,
Well this theory came from an English researcher who told me said that. Odd that another Englishman would not catch the 'states' thing unless that term sometimes used in certain parts of the country. I have an English friend that uses the word 'lawyer' and another who uses 'soliciter'.
 
Well, Michael, I can only assure you that we don't have any Western States over here, and I'd be amazed if any English person would assert otherwise. Thanks to Hollywood, the Americanisation of standard English is well advanced, but it's still selective. We haven't yet got round (not gotten round, note
Smile
) to calling our pounds dollars or our counties states. Not in the West country nor in any other part of England I have live in over the past nearly 60 years. 'Lawyer', by the way, is as traditional a term here as in the US, but we rarely use the word 'attorney', which I believe has more currency on your side of the Pond.
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