John M. Feeney
Member
Hi, all: I'm puzzled. In the book "Titanic Voices" (pp. 205 & 207-9) there are no fewer than *four* photos -- three specifically so captioned -- of Titanic's crew members around Washington with "Senator Cary". (This is at least a misnomer in title. William J. Cary was a member of the House of Representatives, not a Senator.)
This same Congressman Cary apparently on April 23 signed a Member's Pass (pp. 197 & 206 in the book) for George Symons, and presumably for other crew members as well so that they could sit in the Visitor's Gallery of the House of Representatives. The pass is signed: "Wm. J. Cary", "M.C. (Member of Congress?) from 'Wis'(consin)".
(Note: On page 197 of "Titanic Voices", the pass is correctly captioned as "issued ... by Congressman William Cary." In the U.S., "Congressman" as a form of address is applied to members of the House of Representatives; "Senator" is strictly reserved for members of the Senate. A Senator would not normally be referred to as "Congressman"; and a Congressman would NEVER be called "Senator".)
Anyway, presumably Congressman Cary offered to serve as a tour guide of sorts, showing the crew the sights around the District of Columbia.
But strangely, not even Wyn Craig Wade mentions this man -- and Wade was generally *very* thorough in his coverage of those behind-the-scenes stories. There's not a trace of Cary's name in the Hearing transcripts at T.I.P., and "Titanic Voices" itself only features those photos and captions -- no text portions (judging from Bill Wormstedt et al.'s excellent index to that work).
So the question is: Who WAS this guy? Was he simply a congressional colleague who took it upon himself to show the men around town? Does anyone know of his role in the Titanic Hearings, if any? Or was he just a "nice gentleman" who found time to take the crew touring?
ALTERNATELY, is it possible that the man in the photo is NOT actually "Senator Cary" at all? (I wonder if it couldn't in fact be Albert Carroll, the former Michigan Sheriff, or Edward O'Donnell, the deputy U.S. Marshall -- those "Michigan Minutemen" Wade referred to, both of whom were monitoring and mingling with the crew in Washington. If this were the case, I can easily see the possibility of confusing Sheriff Carroll with "Senator Cary", the man who signed the pass.)
Personally, I think the man in the photo looks a lot more like a sheriff than a legislator. Curiously, though, Congressman Cary himself *was* previously a sheriff!:
(http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000218)
Any insights here, O illustrious troupe?
Cheers,
John
This same Congressman Cary apparently on April 23 signed a Member's Pass (pp. 197 & 206 in the book) for George Symons, and presumably for other crew members as well so that they could sit in the Visitor's Gallery of the House of Representatives. The pass is signed: "Wm. J. Cary", "M.C. (Member of Congress?) from 'Wis'(consin)".
(Note: On page 197 of "Titanic Voices", the pass is correctly captioned as "issued ... by Congressman William Cary." In the U.S., "Congressman" as a form of address is applied to members of the House of Representatives; "Senator" is strictly reserved for members of the Senate. A Senator would not normally be referred to as "Congressman"; and a Congressman would NEVER be called "Senator".)
Anyway, presumably Congressman Cary offered to serve as a tour guide of sorts, showing the crew the sights around the District of Columbia.
But strangely, not even Wyn Craig Wade mentions this man -- and Wade was generally *very* thorough in his coverage of those behind-the-scenes stories. There's not a trace of Cary's name in the Hearing transcripts at T.I.P., and "Titanic Voices" itself only features those photos and captions -- no text portions (judging from Bill Wormstedt et al.'s excellent index to that work).
So the question is: Who WAS this guy? Was he simply a congressional colleague who took it upon himself to show the men around town? Does anyone know of his role in the Titanic Hearings, if any? Or was he just a "nice gentleman" who found time to take the crew touring?
ALTERNATELY, is it possible that the man in the photo is NOT actually "Senator Cary" at all? (I wonder if it couldn't in fact be Albert Carroll, the former Michigan Sheriff, or Edward O'Donnell, the deputy U.S. Marshall -- those "Michigan Minutemen" Wade referred to, both of whom were monitoring and mingling with the crew in Washington. If this were the case, I can easily see the possibility of confusing Sheriff Carroll with "Senator Cary", the man who signed the pass.)
Personally, I think the man in the photo looks a lot more like a sheriff than a legislator. Curiously, though, Congressman Cary himself *was* previously a sheriff!:
(http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000218)
Any insights here, O illustrious troupe?
Cheers,
John
