Mrs Miriam Kantor was born in Vitebsk, Russia (now Belarus) on 10 August 1887.1 She and her husband Sinai Kantor boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second-class passengers. They bought ticket number 244367 for £26 and probably travelled with Israel Nesson whose ticket was numbered consecutively.
Mrs Kantor survived the sinking; she was rescued by the Carpathia, albeit in which lifeboat is unknown, although boats 10 and 12 have been suggested as possibilities. Her husband was lost.
Mrs Kantor and her husband were both believed to be university graduates and it was recorded by the Red Cross that she intended to pursue studies in dentistry.
After arriving in New York, it is unclear if she joined her family at their intended address 1735 Madison Avenue, Manhattan, or as indicated on the Carpathia immigration list, to the home of her uncle, Mr Berman, in Boston, Massachusetts.
She later received her husband's effects, including his Hebrew pocket watch, retrieved from his body which had been recovered and brought to New York for burial.
On 24 June 1912, whilst a resident of 63 East 118th Street, Manhattan, Mrs Kantor (as Mary Kantor) declared her intention to become a US citizen; she was described as standing at 5’ 4”, weighing 150lbs and with brown hair and eyes and a dark complexion. She stated her last foreign residence as Vitebsk, Russia (now Belarus).
Miriam's later whereabouts remain a mystery but in 2018 her husband’s Hebrew pocket watch was offered for auction reportedly by a 'direct descendant'.
In Brian Ticehurst s book "Titanic Memorials World-wide Sinai Kantor is briefly mentioned:"Second class passenger 34 years old. Buried at Mount Zion Cemetery, Queens, N.Y." The Mount Zion Cemetery in Maspeth, N.Y. kindly sent me a picture of his gravestone. It is a jewish cemetery. The letters on the gravestone seem to be in hebraic,russian language, inpossible for most people to understand. In Hermann Soldner s book "RMS Titanic Passenger and crew list" also Miriam Stenitchav Kantor is mentioned. A survivor with question marks with regard to when she was born and when and where she...
Hello Arne, - Here is my complete printout on Mr. Kantor it might help you: Kantor, Mr. Sehua. Missing. Aged 34 years. Of Moscow Russia, en route to 1735 Madison Avenue, New York. To study medicine. Was also a commission agent and was importing several trunks of valuable furs, he was a university graduate. (From: Mansion House Titanic Relief Fund Booklet, March 1913) Number P. 64. Kantor. Widow and father received a grant of £100. Insurance claim C64. Life $50,000. Property $2,200 filed by his wife. Annual income $2,500. Body recovered number 283. Male. Estimated age, 36. Very...
Of the Kantors I have little information, although I was recently in touch with a relative of 2nd class victim Israel Nesson, an electrician who travelled in company with Sinai and Miriam. It might be prudent to re-establish contact with the relative in the hope that further light might be shed on the couple. The Russians aboard the Titanic were, by all accounts, an elusive bunch, with the few survivors leading seemingly nebulous lives post-1912. Arne - I would be fascinated to see the photograph of Mr. Kantor's headstone. If you could provide the web address for the cemetery, I would...
Hi Arne, Mr. Kantor is buried at the Mount Zion Cemetery in Queens, New York. Maspeth is a district in the borough of Queens, New York. Did you take notice of the inscription on Mr. Kantor's stone? Interestingly, Mrs. Kantor saw to it that the inscription on his stone read that he was a victim of the Titanic disaster. Of all the victims who were buried in New York City, and the surrounding boroughs, only Mr. Kantor, Mr. Chapman and Mr. Van der hoef have mention of the Titanic on their markers. As you may know, Mrs. Kantor isn't buried with her first husband but up until her...
Dear Brian, In addition to your excellent summary of Mr. Kantor, I would like to add that Mr. Kantor was going to study medicine at the North General Hospital on Madison Avenue in Manhattan - located in East Harlem secton of Manhattan. Dr. Henry Frauenthal was active with this particular institution for many years, and his ashes were held at this location for many years. The North General Hospital was originally the Hospital for Joint Diseases (a field Dr. Frauenthal was a specialist in) but this particular unit was later relocated to Southern Manhattan where it operates today as the...
Thank you Brian, Ben and Michael for interesting inputs. I got the letter from Mount Zion Cemetery, Maspet. It is probably this office which keeps the records for both cemeteries (Queens and Maspet) As I wrote the inscription on the stone is probably in Russian language. I was not able to read Titanic, 1912 or something like that on the picture. Interesting to be reminded about Dr. Henry Frauenthal. I have with interest read the peculiar story of his ashes kept on the hospital for so many years. I had never heard of anything like that before. Have any of you looked at the homepages of the...
In "Roots Key" a magazine issued by Jewish Genealogical Society, Los Angeles Summer/Fall 2005 there is an article about the couple Kantor. Obviously the magazine is read by many Jews. Perhaps one of the Jewish readers know what happened to Miriam Kantor in later life? I sent the picture of the inscription to the Jewish Society. They answered me that the inscription was wrong. The grave belonged to another Jew.