Arun Vajpey
Member
William Henry Törnquist : Titanic Survivor
I remembered Tornquist after reading a post about August Johnson (Johansson) recently and looking up the details on ET. Those two men, along with William Cahoone Johnson Jr., Lionel Leonard, Alfred Carver and Thomas Storey were employees of the American Line who were to return to the US on board the Philadelphia, but that trip was cancelled due to the coal strike. So, the six men were taken on board the Titanic as 3rd Class passengers and travelled on the same ticket 370160. Of the lot, only Tornquist survived. It has been a very long time - close to 30 years - since I heard Tornquist's name mentioned and that was at a BTS Conference in the 1990s.
His bio is quite interesting with odd coincidences. He was born in Sweden as Johan Vilhelm Henrik Tornquist and while still a teenager moved to the USA in 1904, becoming a naturalized US Citizen in 1909 and anglicizing his name to William Henry Tornquist. He became a seaman and in 1912 travelled to Britain as a Quartermaster on board the New York, the same ship that almost collided with the Titanic just as the latter started on its Maiden Voyage with Tornquist on board among others. He was the only survivor - likely on Lifeboat #15 - from the group of 6 American Line crewmen who were all travelling on the same ticket. After returning to the USA, he continued as a seaman and reportedly travelled widely and became a very popular figure in several countries including disparate countries like India, Argentina and New Zealand, eventually becoming a Captain.
Another odd coincidence in Tornquist's life was that in New York he befriended two apparently attractive young Australian women, Lottie and Henrietta Freeman and ended up marrying both of them, albeit 22 years apart. He first married Lottie in 1919 and had a son from her; Lottie died in 1939 and 2 years later Tornquist married sis then sister-in-law Henrietta, a divorcee who brough her own son from the previous marriage into Tornquist's family.
I remembered Tornquist after reading a post about August Johnson (Johansson) recently and looking up the details on ET. Those two men, along with William Cahoone Johnson Jr., Lionel Leonard, Alfred Carver and Thomas Storey were employees of the American Line who were to return to the US on board the Philadelphia, but that trip was cancelled due to the coal strike. So, the six men were taken on board the Titanic as 3rd Class passengers and travelled on the same ticket 370160. Of the lot, only Tornquist survived. It has been a very long time - close to 30 years - since I heard Tornquist's name mentioned and that was at a BTS Conference in the 1990s.
His bio is quite interesting with odd coincidences. He was born in Sweden as Johan Vilhelm Henrik Tornquist and while still a teenager moved to the USA in 1904, becoming a naturalized US Citizen in 1909 and anglicizing his name to William Henry Tornquist. He became a seaman and in 1912 travelled to Britain as a Quartermaster on board the New York, the same ship that almost collided with the Titanic just as the latter started on its Maiden Voyage with Tornquist on board among others. He was the only survivor - likely on Lifeboat #15 - from the group of 6 American Line crewmen who were all travelling on the same ticket. After returning to the USA, he continued as a seaman and reportedly travelled widely and became a very popular figure in several countries including disparate countries like India, Argentina and New Zealand, eventually becoming a Captain.
Another odd coincidence in Tornquist's life was that in New York he befriended two apparently attractive young Australian women, Lottie and Henrietta Freeman and ended up marrying both of them, albeit 22 years apart. He first married Lottie in 1919 and had a son from her; Lottie died in 1939 and 2 years later Tornquist married sis then sister-in-law Henrietta, a divorcee who brough her own son from the previous marriage into Tornquist's family.
