Mr Thomas Francis McCaffry, 46, was born 5 February 1866, not in Ireland as often stated, but at Three Rivers, Quebec. He was of Irish-Scots descent, the son of James McCaffry and Mary Ann Campbell, and he was raised in Montreal with his two sisters, Annie and Mary Eva.
He began his career as a junior at the Union Bank of Canada in Three Rivers before becoming a clerk in Montreal in 1885. He rose through the ranks until he was sent west to manage the Union Bank in Neepawa, Manitoba. In 1897 he moved to Winnipeg to manage another branch; there he befriended Thomson Beattie. They would travel together to the Agean in 1908, and to North Africa in 1910 as well as, ultimately, on the Titanic.
In 1900 McCaffrey resigned his job to go to Vancouver where he managed the gold assay office opened by the Dominion Government. In 1907 he left to became manager of the newly opened Vancouver branch of the Union Bank.
In early 1912, he and Beattie left with John Hugo Ross on the eastward crossing of the Franconia, and they spent the next few months touring the middle east and Europe.
The party arrived in Cairo about 10 February where they visited a hospitalized friend before taking a side trip up the Nile to Luxor and Aswan. They left Cairo on 23 February and headed for Naples.
McCaffry and his frineds booked first class passage on the Titanic, which they boarded when the ship touched at Cherbourg on the evening of 10 April. McCaffry and Beattie shared cabin C-6 (Ticket No. 13050, £75 4s 10d). C-6 was a forward cabin whose window looked out directly upon the base of an electric crane.
Both McCaffry and Beattie were almost certainly on the roof beside the last available raft, Collapsible A, when the Titanic began its slide. Beattie made it into the boat; McCaffry didn't. His body was later recovered by the MacKay Bennett (#292).
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NO. 292 ? MALE ? ESTIMATED AGE, 53 ? BALD HEAD, LIGHT MOUSTACHE CLOTHING ? Dress suit; brown overcoat; "T.C.Mc" on drawers. EFFECTS ? Purse; knife; pocketbook; three studs; gold chain; locket; watch; pencil; sleeve links; pearl cuff-links; £10 in notes; 40 lirae; 19s; other coins. NAME - THOMAS McCAFFRY |
The body was delivered to E.E. Code on May 2, 1912, and sent to Montreal he he was buried in Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery. His large granite tombstone was paid for by the bank.
Courtesy of Michael A. Findlay, USA
Documents
Record of Bodies and Effects (#292)
References
Contract Ticket List, White Star Line 1912 (National Archives, New York; NRAN-21-SDNYCIVCAS-55[279])
Record of Bodies and Effects: Passengers and Crew, S.S. Titanic (Public Archives of Nova Scotia)
Alan Hustak (1999) Titanic: The Canadian Story. Véhicule Press. ISBN 1 55065 113 7
Unidentified Newspaper, 25 April 1912, Article
Contributors
George Behe, USA
Alan Hustak, Canada
Diane Lapierre, Canada
Comment and discuss
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Just walked past his grave today. I went there on purpose years ago, but today I was on my now-daily walk in the cemetery (I live across the street from it) and I was taking a new route. Although I wasn't purposely looking at the tombstones, something made me turn my head as I passed this one --= and my eye went straight to his tombstone. "Damn," I thought, "I've been here before!" but I frankly can give no reason as to why i was suddenly moved to turn my head and look directly at this tombstone . . . odd.
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It's me again (the below is another alias). I have walked by Thomas's grave now hundreds of times and every time I do I think of him and pay my silent respects. I wonder what he would have done had he known this would be his destiny, or indeed, what he thought about as he drowned that night, freezing and alone. My respects, Thomas!
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