Two Titanic people in same cemetery

D

Dennis Foley (Tophatter)

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Arthur Keefe's remains are at St. Mary's Cemetery in Rahway, NJ. His gravestone reads "Arthur O'Keefe (not Keefe), lost in Titanic disaster 4/15/12". My mother, whose family is buried there and who has walked the cemetery, swears there is a second Titanic person laid to rest there. I once tried to find this second person but weather hindered me from getting far along. As cemeteries go, this one is about the smallest I've ever seen and it would be ironic if not one but two Titanic people are there. Anybody got any dope on this? Thanks.
 
Dear Dennis,

The body of Mr. O'Keefe was never recovered so he is not buried in Rahway, New Jersey. The inscription was undoubtedly a memorial to him.

I don't know who the other person might be. Do you recall if the person survived or not? The only Titanic victim whose body was recovered and buried in New Jersey was John Starr March of Newark. He was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Hillside, NJ. Of course, there are a number of cemetery memorials to those victims from NJ whose bodies were not recovered. A number of survivors yet to be traced so there is a possibility that the person to whom you make mention was rescued. Surprisingly, a few survivors had their Titanic affiliation engraved on their headstones.

I know of several Titanic passengers and crew who share the same cemetery. Almost all of them, of course, are found in the large cemeteries in the Boston, New York and Philadelphia areas. Cemeteries such as Woodlawn, Green-Wood (in New York), Mount Auburn (Boston), and Laurel Hill (Philadelphia), contain over 10 Titanic connections each.

Michael Findlay
 
Hi,
This is the first time I've ever posted on a message board, hopefully this is helpful. The message is a general one about two survivors in the same cemetery (from a small city).

My great-grandmother was Thelma Thomas, mother of Assad Thomas (Wilkes-Barre, PA). Her daughter, Sarah Ann Thomas (later Sarah Thomas Shupp), was my dad's mother.

I believe that Thelma and Assad are both buried in St. Mary's cemetery in Wilkes-Barre (the catholic section. I think the adjoining section is also called St. Mary's, but it is protestant.)

It has been about three years since I've been there, so perhaps Michael Findlay (contributor of the Thelma, Assad, and Charles entries) could confirm. BTW, great articles.
 
Dear Lee,

Nice to hear from you. I visited several members of your family back in 1986 in Wilkes-Barre, and also took a ride to St. Mary's Cemetery in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania (a small community on the outskirts of Wilkes-Barre) to see their graves.

Your great-grandmother and uncle are both buried in the Thomas family plot at the top of the hill. I was interested to read Thelma's headstone with the inscription "Survivor of Titanic Ship."

By the way, there are three Titanic survivors buried in St. Mary's. George Borek, who died in Wilkes-Barre in 1979, is also buried there but near the entrance gates if I remember correctly. George was aboard the Titanic with his mother and older brother, and all were saved. George's mother died in Lebanon not long after the disaster, and his brother William died in Pittsburgh in 1975. The Boreks and the Thomases were distantly related cousins.

The ET does not have biographies on the Moubarek (later Borek) family but I'm sure material will be available on this family very soon.

Your family was so very helpful during my visit with them many years ago, and answered all my questions. They also provided wonderful photographs of Thelma and Assed and were very interested in their family history.

If I can be of any help to you, please don't hesitate to contact me at [email protected].

Regards,

Michael Findlay
 
I was born and still do live in staffordshire approx 5 miles from captain smith my family name is ward,i have an uncle called arthur,my brother is called john,my grandfather was william,all three names are on the crew list of titanic.no relation as far as i know but very odd,dont you agree?
steve
 
Aha, Karin, maybe that's it!! My mother's Aunt Mamie spent her last years in a nursing home in Paterson, NJ, and is likely buried in Paterson (she's definitely not buried in Rahway) since she had no immediate family other than my mother and her sisters. I'm sure my mother would have attended her funeral (she died in the 60s and I was in the Navy at the time and did not attend)--and maybe she saw Joughin's gravestone there, which might have some mention of Titanic, and later confused it with the cemetery in Rahway. I guess that's my next question--does anyone know if Charles Joughin's gravestone makes note of Titanic? In the meantime, I will check with my mother to see if she remembers if Aunt Mamie is buried in Paterson. Thanks one and all!! Dennis
 
Hi Dennis,

Charles Joughin's grave does not make any mention of his Titanic connection. It is a rather modest stone, set in the ground, inscribed with his full name, and the years of his birth and death.

Joughin is buried in a single grave, and a short distance from his second wife.

Hope this helps.

Mike Findlay
 
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