The Penasco Couple

[Victoria Carter]

Does anyone have any information on the Penasco couple or where i can find some pictures?

Thanks--Victoria

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Hello Victoria,

See: Titanic Women and Children First by Judith Geller.
There are several pages on the couple including a photo of Victor and one of Pepita [Maria] "in later years".

 

[Arun Vajpey]

See: Titanic Women and Children First by Judith Geller.
There are several pages on the couple including a photo of Victor and one of Pepita [Maria] "in later years".

I have Geller's book but it is back in our second home in India and so cannot check the reference till this coming November. So, I'll be grateful if you could post that picture and the relevant excerpt from the book.

In On A Sea Of Glass, there is just one mention about the Penasco couple - a quote from survivor Emma Bucknell who was rescued on Lifeboat #8, same as Maria Penasco. Emma said that Maria was crying hysterically as she got on board the lifeboat and her young husband was held back by other men. The Countess of Rothes, also on the same lifeboat, is later supposed to have said that she put her arms around the distraught young Spaniard and tried to comfort her.

There are a few interesting articles about the manner in which Maria (often referred to by her middle name Josefa), who was only 22 years old at the time of the tragedy in which she lost her husband, was able to remarry. (Presumably under the then Spanish law), Maria Josefa could not remarry for another 20 years since her husband Victor's body was never found. Victor's stepfather was previously related to President Canalejas through the former's own first marriage to the President's sister and so Victor's mother reportedly used that influence to orchestrate a 'funeral' for her son. They "bought" the body of an unidentified victim of the Titanic disaster and claimed that it was Victor and thereby obtained a Death Certificate which showed that he was buried at Fairview Cemetery, Halifax. Maria Josefa remarried in 1918 to Baron of Río Tovía, with whom she had three children, dying in 1972, when she was 83.

Sources: Titanic Passengers & Crew Research Blog (July 6th 2012) and "Honeybeelullaby" from Tumblr (April 12th 2018).