Sa'īd Antūn Nakid

Mr Sa'īd Antūn Nakid was born in Ihdin, Zaghartā, al Batrūn, Lebanon on 6 July 1891.¹

He was the son of Antūn Nakid and Cattur "Kate" Habīb (b. 1853) ². He was married at a young age to Wadi'ah Muawwad (b. 1892) who was from the same village. Their first child Mariayam was born around the Spring of 1911.

His mother lived in Waterbury, Connecticut at 31 Bridge Street where she was described on the 1910 census as a peddler. Sa'īd decided to settle there with his young family. To reach their destination they boarded Titanic at Cherbourg as third class passengers (ticket number 2653 which had cost £15, 14s, 10d).

He and his family entered what he described as "one of the last" boats to leave the ship.

Sa'īd, for fear of being discovered, lay under cover in the bottom of the boat for what he estimated was close to five hours and did not see the final throes of the Titanic. He did hear the cries of those drowning, accompanied by the sobs of the women in the lifeboat.

Arriving aboard Carpathia, Sa'īd recalled being wrapped in warm blankets and receiving fine treatment from the passengers and crew of that vessel. Upon arrival in New York he, his wife and daughter were taken care of in St Vincent's Hospital and was also given clothing and money ($62.30). His mother, who had been unaware that her son and his family were travelling aboard Titanic, hastened to New York to meet them.

Sa'īd and his family settled in Waterbury, Connecticut, Anglicising their surname to "Nackid". Further tragedy was to strike when their daughter Mariayam died on 30 July 1912 as a result of meningitis. She was the first person among the 712 Titanic survivors to die.

Sa'īd later worked as a labourer in a brass mill and his WWI draft registration describes him as of medium height and build with blue eyes and black hair. By 1920, at the time of the census, the family were residents of 52 Bridge Street in Waterbury, later moving to Pemberton Street. He and his wife went on to have five children in their new homeland: Thomas (1913-1962), John A. (1917-1966), Catherine (1921-1954), Anthony Thomas (1923-2001) and Frederick R. (1926-1988).

Sa'īd died in Waterbury on 30 December 1926, aged just 35, as a result of tuberculosis and only months after welcoming his youngest child Frederick on 8 May that year. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Waterbury. His widow died in 1963, having never remarried, and she was buried with him.

His last surviving child, Anthony, died in Waterbury on 25 February 2001 and he still has a large number of descendants living in the Waterbury area.

Courtesy of Michael A. Findlay, USA