Wadi'ah Nakid

Mrs Sa'īd Antūn Nakid (Wadi'ah Muawwad) was born in Ihdin, Zaghartā, Lebanon on 18 November 1892.

She was the daughter of Mikhā'īl  Muawwad and his wife and she had three known siblings: Buddy, James and Michael.

She was married at a young age to Sa'īd Antūn Nakid (b. 1891) from the same village. Their first child Mariayam was born around the Spring of 1911.

Her mother-in-law Cattur Habīb Nakid lived in Waterbury, Connecticut and it was decided that she, her husband Sa'īd and their young daughter would also settle there. To reach their destination they boarded Titanic at Cherbourg as third class passengers (ticket number 2653 which had cost £15, 14s, 10d).

The family were rescued in what Mr Nakid described as "one of the last [boats] to leave the ship".

Upon arrival in New York Wadi'ah, her husband and daughter were taken care of in St Vincent's Hospital and was also given clothing and money ($62.30). Her mother-in-law, who had been unaware that her son and his family were travelling aboard Titanic, hastened to New York to meet them.

Wadi'ah and her family settled in Waterbury, Connecticut, Anglicising their surname to "Nackid" and she becoming known as Mary. 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.

In America Mary and her husband added five children to their family: Thomas (1913-1962), John A. (1917-1966), Catherine (1921-1954), Anthony Thomas (1923-2001) and Frederick R. (1926-1988). By 1920, at the time of the census, the family were residents of 52 Bridge Street in Waterbury. She would become a widow on 30 December 1926 when Sa'īd died aged just 35. Their youngest child Frederick had just been born months earlier on 8 May. She was not remarried.

The 1930 census shows Mrs Nackid and her children residing at 149 East Liberty Street, Waterbury. By 1940 she was living with her children at 524 Baldwin Street, Waterbury. Her sons John and Thomas were by now, like their father before them, working in the brass trade.

Mary Nackid spent her final days living at 184 Meredith Road in Waterbury. She died in St Mary's Hospital on 23 January 1963 following a protracted illness and was buried with her husband in Calvary Cemetery in Waterbury. Having outlived three children, at the time of her death she was survived by three sons: John, Anthony and Frederick. Two brothers, Buddy and James, were still living in Lebanon whilst her brother Michael was residing in Argentina. Her last surviving child, Anthony, died in Waterbury on 25 February 2001 and she still has a large number of descendants living in the Waterbury area.

Courtesy of Michael A. Findlay, USA