William Spanhake - Crewman not listed

[Sue Bryant]

When I was a child, I had a neighbor who had been employed in the engine room on the Titanic when she sailed. He just happened to be on deck taking a break, when the ice berg was hit. Several years ago, my mother sent me a news article featuring him, and a man who was from the mail room. My neighbor's name was William Spanake. He was ordered to man a life boat, hence, he was among the survivors. I recently saw the Titanic exhibit, and there was no sign of his name, nor have I seen him mentioned on any sites I have looked into, concerning the Titanic. I've asked my mother to try and find that article, since it seems that his name has been lost in the shuffle. Where would be the best place to go to look further into this, and IF I am able to get a copy of this article, who would I send it to to set the records straight?

 

[Michael H. Standart]

I hate to break it to you, but I can't find the man listed anywhere. As extensively researched as the passenger/crew listings are, about the only thing that can mean is that the man wasn't there. Bogus Titanic survivors are as thick as fleas

You didn't by chance get the name mixed up?

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

 

[Bill Wormstedt]

Personally, I would like to see the documenation on William Spanake. Yes, it may turn out he was not on the Titanic - but it is worth it to see what info is available.

 

[Sue Bryant]

I will send you a copy of the article if my mother is able to find it. If my memory serves me right, there was a picture of Mr. Spanake, and the man from the mail room included in the article. Mr. Spanake's son is still alive, and is very close friends with my family. I spoke to my mother last night, she is going to talk to him, and see if he can supply any more information, photos, or personal papers .
I may have misspelled the last name, I am not sure. But, it is pronounced as I spelled it. I wondered if it was possible he was working on another ship owned by White Star, and transferred to the Titanic to fill in for someone, or to assist in running the ship, therefore not listed in any records of the crew.
As a child, I remember photo's of Mr. Spanake, and framed news articles in a local restaraunt. Unfortunately, the restaraunt burned down 10-15 years ago. I have no idea if anything pertaining to him was salvaged.

 

[Sue Bryant]

I was given a bit more info. on Mr. Spanhake. According to his son. Just before the Titanic sailed, Mr. Spanhake was a member of the german army. He wanted out, so he went AWOL, and fled to America aboard the Titanic. As he was trying to get away from the german army, it is probable he boarded the Titanic under an assumed name, so he would not be caught. His son that I am getting this info. from was not born yet, so he is not aware of all the details. IF infact Mr. Spanhake DID board the Titanic under an assumed name, his son is not aware of it.

 

[Dave Gittins]

One problem is that Spanhake is obviously not a German name. It may be adapted from German, as many immigrant's names were changed in the US by accident or design.

Maybe Henning could suggest a German original but my own bet is that the man was just a other teller of tall tales.

 

[Amanda_spanhake]

When I was a child, I had a neighbor who had been employed in the engine room on the Titanic when she sailed. He just happened to be on deck taking a break, when the ice berg was hit. Several years ago, my mother sent me a news article featuring him, and a man who was from the mail room. My neighbor's name was William Spanake. He was ordered to man a life boat, hence, he was among the survivors. I recently saw the Titanic exhibit, and there was no sign of his name, nor have I seen him mentioned on any sites I have looked into, concerning the Titanic. I've asked my mother to try and find that article, since it seems that his name has been lost in the shuffle. Where would be the best place to go to look further into this, and IF I am able to get a copy of this article, who would I send it to to set the records straight?

He was a crewman, thank you sue. His name was william spanhake he was my great grandfather.

 

[Amanda_spanhake]

I hate to break it to you, but I can't find the man listed anywhere. As extensively researched as the passenger/crew listings are, about the only thing that can mean is that the man wasn't there. Bogus Titanic survivors are as thick as fleas

You didn't by chance get the name mixed up?

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

Hes not hard to find if you had the correct spelling of his last name.

 

[Amanda_spanhake]

Hes not hard to find if you had the correct spelling of his last name.

Personally, I would like to see the documenation on William Spanake. Yes, it may turn out he was not on the Titanic - but it is worth it to see what info is available.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

A newspaper clipping doesn't count as documentation. A sign on in the crews list as well as the Certificate of Continuous discharge would.
If perchance, the name is mis spelled, give us the correct spelling and show it to us in the crews list.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

A newspaper clipping doesn't count as documentation

Absolutely. Newspaper articles apart, there are actual epitaphs on gravestones for people who were never on the Titanic but shown as victims or survivors. I researched into one of them - Alan McRae - a sailor who died in Panama 5 days before the Titanic even sailed out of Southampton and yet a gravestone in Aldinga, a town in South Australia, commemorates him as a Titanic fireman and victim.

Another man named Walter Belford claimed to be a surviving "Chief Night Baker" on the Titanic and was accepted as such for several decades till shown to be a fake. Belford is mentioned in several Titanic works, including the respected A Night To Remember by Walter Lord and yet he was neither a crewman on the ship nor was there even a position called "Chief Night Baker" on the Titanic.

So, unless this man Spanhake or Spanake changed his name before boarding, he is just one of those people who was never on the Titanic.

There is a whole list here on ET of supposed victims and survivors of the Titanic disaster. If they had all been on board, the Titanic would not have needed an iceberg to collide with in order to sink.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

I decided to look into this and came up with a bit of relevant information about William Spanhake.

The following is an entry on the Facebook page of an American writer named John R McCarthy. I have e-mailed Mr McCarthy that I would be looking into information about William Spanhake based on the entry in his Facebook page and requesting more information.

I have also emailed the Woodstock Public Library for more information in case they were Mr McCarthy's source.

John R McCarthy is at Woodstock Public Library District.​

https://www.facebook.com/WriterJohnRMcCarthy/posts/pfbid02xHC4mbYPAhBBvhVDmRShh8uFjLsdhbAjCzCGepoM9PDBj9MCjehv4HipLBBVbUFzl?__cft__[0]=AZVGGPRzuKyaUxmJKS8oakjw0WbE_-kSxj28pN38bkG4BRNvmAZ8CwKxv7TPs4pUc7mFsZjhZ7VbzD4rjfGGiOoAkAZZwa-hoxMlSfWrWsLqsPLQ7mVFJyT0FpEBcqg23AW6HRXqdmgkWfkU3ECy63FK9BrsTTdtV3FNwB29cVbjs6pddH7xum1euX15FoXeldI&__tn__=,O,P-R
· Woodstock, NY, United States ·

From the Woodstock NY Library
A couple more photos. The first is a carved wooden horse that was originally intended to be in a carousel at the yearly library fair. The carver, Bill Spanhake, was paid $200 in 1954 to carve six. Spanhake survived the sinking of the Titanic due to chance. He had been working in the engine room but had taken a break and come topside. He was instructed to man one of the lifeboats and therefore survived by being in the right place at the right time.
Gertrude Robinson, the head of the library fair, had to break the bad news to Bill that insurance wouldn't cover the carousel and so most of the carved horses were auctioned off. Local Woodstock artists painted the horses before the auction. Maud and Miska Petersham painted this one, which the library committee bought for $100 and placed it in the children's room. The children placed their choices for a name in a hat, and the youngest child in attendance pulled out the name "Peter". Four of the other horses are unaccounted for at this time. Seems like another mystery for me.
The two pictures are of Hervey White and his wife Vivian Bevans. Hervey was one of the people that helped turn Woodstock into the artist community it became. I can't do him justice in a small post. Look him up. Vivian eventually left him and took the kids because she didn't want to live the life of a starving artist.
#library #theDeadTreeStrolls #libraryhunter

PS: I have checked and confirmed that a Facebook entry is not presumed as private and can be shared as along as there is the correct reference to the original poster.

According to the entry on Find-a-Grave (which also shows that newspaper clip), William Spanhake was born in Easton, Pennsylvania and rests in peace at Woodstock Cemetary in New York. That would make him an American national; the entry on McCarthy's page says he was "working in the engine room" at the time and was ordered into a lifeboat when he came topside.

Is there a list of any American sailors working in the Engine Room of the Titanic?

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Is there a list of any American sailors working in the Engine Room of the Titanic?

No. A majority of them were from Southampton, while several were from Belfast. There was no William Spanhake aboard the Titanic; it is a tall tale and needs to be put to rest already.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

There was no William Spanhake aboard the Titanic; it is a tall tale and needs to be put to rest already.

Quite right. There was a William Spanhake born in Pennsylvania in 1881 and he spent a few years in Germany. But he never was on the Titanic in any capacity and spent most of his later life in Woodstock, NY, where he Rests in Peace at the local cemetery. The only "Titanic connection" came in his obituary in the Kingston Daily Freeman on 16th January 1977, but that's a mistake.

I just finished speaking to William Spanhake's grandson Chris Spanhake. Chris admitted that when he was a youth his grandfather told him tales about being on the Titanic but his manner during the conversation suggested that Chris himself was not convinced. Reportedly, when that obituary appeared in the Kingston Daily Freeman (January 16th 1977), a couple of THS members disagreed with it right then.

Yes, it is indeed a tall tale.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

One problem is that Spanhake is obviously not a German name.

Actually, I discovered that it is a German surname but not a common one. The German version is spelt with two 'n's ie S-P-A-N-N-H-A-K-E