Miss Annie Kelley Last Woman to Leave Sinking Ship, She Says

Miss Annie Kelley, 17 years old, a sister of Miss Beatrice Kelley, 303 Eugenie street, arrived in Chicago last night and told of her escape from the sinking Titanic. She declared she was the last woman to leave the ship. An officer seized here and thrust her into the last boat as it was being loaded. Other members of her party, Mr. and Mrs. John burked, and Burke’s sister, Mary Burke, perished. Miss Kelley said that at the last moment Mrs. Burke refused to leave her husband behind and turned away from the lifeboat.

“I am positive I was the last woman to leave the ship,” said Miss Kelley. “There was a crowd of us standing on the second deck with water nearly to our knees. The crew ordered me into the boat and told others to wait and take the next, which would be launched immediately. There was no next boat and those people drowned.

“I was standing with the Burkes and they tried to get Mrs. Burke to enter the lifeboat. She turned to her husband and saw that he intended to remain.

“’I’ll not leave John,’ was all she said, and then they seized me and put me in the last seat and lowered us to the sea.”

Chicago Daily News, Tuesday, April 23, 1912, p. 2, c. 3: