Unidentified victim #328

[schara01]

Good morning,

This is my first post so please advise if I need to post elsewhere but I just had a quick question. I am fascinated by the stories of the 3rd class passengers as well as the identification of victims. I am confused as to the identity of body #328. Many sources (including her page) say that it is the body of Hileni Jabbur (Zabour) but other sources do not have her name listed. Were they able to identify her body at the time they found it, or was it determined at a later date? How did they determine that it was her body if the personal affects listed do not give much of a hint as to her identity? I hope my questions make sense, thank you for reading. I'd appreciate any guidance as to where I can look up some more information about how they came to this conclusion. Thank you!

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Welcome to the forum.

This is an excerpt from Hileni Zabour's ET bio:

Miss Zabour lost her life in the sinking. Her body, was possibly that recovered on 10 May 1912. by the steamship Minia (#328). The body now rests in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

After almost 4 weeks in the water, identification might have been difficult and so some uncertainty prevailed. But they might have assumed that it was indeed the body of Hileni based on the clothing, which is well described as you can see. Since they took the body back to Halifax, it is possible that one or more of the surviving Syrian-Lebanese passengers helped with the identification. The Genealogy site identifies the body buried in Halifax as that of Hileni Zabour.

Interestingly, the text in her ET bio says her body was recovered by the Minia while the summary states it was the collier Montmagny; but the number is #328 in both and perhaps that was the reason for the confusion. The Genealogy site mentions Montmagny as the recovery ship, which is more likely to be correct because that ship returned to Halifax only on 23rd May 1912. The Minia had been back on 6th May but Hileni's body was not recovered till 4 days later.

 

[schara01]

Welcome to the forum.

This is an excerpt from Hileni Zabour's ET bio:


After almost 4 weeks in the water, identification might have been difficult and so some uncertainty prevailed. But they might have assumed that it was indeed the body of Hileni based on the clothing, which is well described as you can see. Since they took the body back to Halifax, it is possible that one or more of the surviving Syrian-Lebanese passengers helped with the identification. The Genealogy site identifies the body buried in Halifax as that of Hileni Zabour.

Interestingly, the text in her ET bio says her body was recovered by the Minia while the summary states it was the collier Montmagny; but the number is #328 in both and perhaps that was the reason for the confusion. The Genealogy site mentions Montmagny as the recovery ship, which is more likely to be correct because that ship returned to Halifax only on 23rd May 1912. The Minia had been back on 6th May but Hileni's body was not recovered till 4 days later.

Thank you, Arun, for your kind reply. What you say makes sense. I had also seen some photos taken by the CGS Montmagny that appears to have Miss Zabour's body at the time it was collected, along with the other 3 bodies they found at that time, and even they reference it as "possibly Hileni Zabour".

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Thanks for that link. The pictures are rather graphic and disturbing, in case others want to read the monograph.

What I would like to know is, after it had been in the water for almost a month, how did they know that the body was that of a young Syrian-Lebanese girl? Did she have any religious or other markings to suggest it was Hileni Zabour? Of course, the ET bio mentions 'dark' skin, golden brown hair and specific clothing, which might have given a clue to one or more of the surviving Syrian-Lebanese passengers who had met Hileni on board, particularly that Sunday (and so known what she had been wearing). I'd like to know if there is more information about how the identity was considered.

I checked the ET list of other Syrian-Lebanese female victims of the disaster who were within Hileni's age group. None of their bodies were recovered and/or identified

1. Malakah Ata Allah (18)
2. Saiide Barbara (18)
3. Maria Caram (18)
4. Thamine Zabour (19 - Hileni's sister)
5. Zahie Khalil (20)