I am a descendant of Henry Allen (not to be confused with William Henry Allen, a 3rd class passenger). I have managed to piece together some of his story and that of his widow and 7 orphaned children. I was also lucky enough to be able to visit his grave in Halifax last week....possibly the first family member to visit him in 100 years. Poor sod!
I know he was a stoker, but don't know which boiler room he was in, and hence don't know how it was he made it to the deck and then into the water. He had 3 pairs of trousers on, which suggests he had an inkling he would end up in the cold water. He had ID on him. He was picked up by the Mackay-Bennett on the 3rd day of their search, by which time they did not have enough canvas to bury him at sea. When they did get more canvas, I'm guessing that lowly stoker Henry didn't get buried at sea because 1) he had been identified; 2) possibly he was in good condition (relatively speaking).
My questions are:
is there a list anywhere of which boiler rooms each stoker and trimmer worked in? Henry's brother-in-law Robert Reid was a trimmer, whose body was not recovered. Any information on him?
I have never been able to trace Henry's widow (Robert's sister), Cecilia or any of the 7 children. They appear on the Relief Fund register. They lived in French Street, Southampton. Does anyone know anything of Cecilia or the 7 Allen children or any direct descendants. My granny (Henry's cousin's daughter), who grew up in the same Southampton slums, thought they had emigrated to the US, with financial support from rich American survivors. I have not seen any such stories for other widows. Has anyone else?
Thanks in advance.
Howard Kallender.
I know he was a stoker, but don't know which boiler room he was in, and hence don't know how it was he made it to the deck and then into the water. He had 3 pairs of trousers on, which suggests he had an inkling he would end up in the cold water. He had ID on him. He was picked up by the Mackay-Bennett on the 3rd day of their search, by which time they did not have enough canvas to bury him at sea. When they did get more canvas, I'm guessing that lowly stoker Henry didn't get buried at sea because 1) he had been identified; 2) possibly he was in good condition (relatively speaking).
My questions are:
is there a list anywhere of which boiler rooms each stoker and trimmer worked in? Henry's brother-in-law Robert Reid was a trimmer, whose body was not recovered. Any information on him?
I have never been able to trace Henry's widow (Robert's sister), Cecilia or any of the 7 children. They appear on the Relief Fund register. They lived in French Street, Southampton. Does anyone know anything of Cecilia or the 7 Allen children or any direct descendants. My granny (Henry's cousin's daughter), who grew up in the same Southampton slums, thought they had emigrated to the US, with financial support from rich American survivors. I have not seen any such stories for other widows. Has anyone else?
Thanks in advance.
Howard Kallender.
