Encyclopedia Titanica

Ernst Gilbert Danbom

Ernst Gilbert Danbom
Ernst Gilbert Danbom

Ernst Gilbert Danbom, 34, was born in America on 26 October 1877, the son of Augusta Danbom. He had five siblings.

Ernst was a farmer and emigrant recruiter from Stanton, Iowa. He was married to Anna on 30 November 1910 and they made a one year honeymoon trip to Sweden, where their son Gilbert was born. Ernst had a commission from the White Star for emigrants he recruited and he had quite a lot of cash when he left Sweden. It was meant that the family could eventually settle in Ernst's fruit farm in Turlock, California.

The Danbom family boarded the Titanic at Southampton with Alfrida and Anders Andersson and Anna Nysten who was the only survivor. However, every one of them reached the boat deck where Anna Nysten told that she had seen the Andersson family.

Only Ernst's body was found. On the body was found $276 cash and $30 in gold.

NO. 197. - MALE. - ESTIMATED AGE, 40. VERY FAIR AND MOUSTACHE.

CLOTHING - Black overcoat; dark suit; white pleated shirt; black boots.

EFFECTS - Wedding ring, marked "S. B. T. E. G. D., June 6, 10"; gold watch and chain; knife; keys; opal and ruby ring; fountain pen; bracelet; ladies watch and chain; knife; 3 memo books; solitaire diamond ring; scissors; U. S. A. naturalization papers; cheque $1315.70. Security Bank, Sioux City; pocketbook; jewel case; pin; $266.00 in notes; $30.00 in gold.

THIRD CLASS (3) TICKET No. 347080.

NAME - E. GILBERT DANBOM.

Ernst's body was brought to Halifax and sent to Stanton where he was buried at Mamrelund Cemetery, Montgomery County, Iowa (section 1A, plot 51573).

References and Sources

White Star Line (1912.) Record of Bodies and Effects (Passengers and Crew S.S. "Titanic") Recovered by Cable Steamer "MacKay Bennett" Including Bodies Buried at Sea and Bodies Delivered at Morgue in Halifax, N.S. Public Archives of Nova Scotia, Halifax, N.S., Manuscript Group 100, Vol. 229, No. 3d, Accession 1976-191, 76 pp., unpaged. (#197)
Claes-Göran Wetterholm (1988, 1996, 1999) Titanic. Prisma, Stockholm. ISBN 91 518 3644 0
Alan Ruffman, personal communication, 8 May 2002
Des Moines Register, 1 May 1912

Research Articles

The search for geneaological data relating to the Palaeo-DNA Project

Newspaper Articles

Chicago Record-Herald (21 April 1912) Iowa Family Drowns

Images

A goodbye photo of Anders Andersson (and family) Anna Nysten, Ernst Danbom (and family) and extended family and friends. Photo taken circa 5 April 1912, Kisa, Sweden

Miscellaneous

Sandi Krawchenko Altner (2011) Titanic's Unknown Child
A small pair of brown shoes have provided the determining factor in deciding the true identity of Titanic's Unknown child.
Search archive online

Comment and discuss

  1. Linda Adams

    I have posted some other information about this family under the Andersson thread, as Sigrid Danbom and Alfrida Andersson were sisters. This is a photo of the Danbom family
    : Reply

  2. Linda Adams

    I have found out an interesting tidbit about this family from a member of my family who is more closely related to them than I am. Apparently Sigrid Danbom had a son born on March 3 1905 in Sweden (possibly out of wedlock). His name was Theodore, he was known as Teddy and he was raised in Winnipeg Canada as the son of Sigrid's sister, Susannah Zachrisson. He died on March 4 1930 and it is unknown whether he ever learned that Sigrid Danbom was his mother.
    : Reply
  3. Laleh Taslim

    Laleh Taslim

    Oooh, at last a thread about the Danbom family. I'm not swedish myself, but i live in Sweden in a town quite close to where they stayed when they were here for honeymoon and where little Gilbert was born. The "village" they were in is called "Horn". The first time i read the passengerlist i was chocked when i saw how many people that had died. But when i saw "boy, 4 months" i became really sad. It felt like it was something special about that little child. I thought to myself that i had to find out who he was. I found out his name and then did some research about him and his family. I was really surprised when i read that they were swedes and came from nearby. And that made me feel so close to them in a way. I would really love to visit the house they lived in while in Sweden and visit the place they took this portrait, but i can't. The fact that Sigrid had another son surprised me too..Didn't know that.
    : Reply

  4. Hildur Panula-Heinonen

    Is there any other information about where they lived? Also is there any thing on Theodore, such as why he died so young?
    : Reply
  5. Laleh Taslim

    Laleh Taslim

    To Hildur, There are information about where the Danbom family lived, but i've found it in swedish.. Maybe i could translate some for you? I've not searched for Theodore yet. If you just give me some time, i'll try to give you some more information. Say, are you the relative to the little finnish boy whos body was found 1912 but wasn't identified until a couples of years ago?
    : Reply
  6. Laleh Taslim

    Laleh Taslim

    First of all, here's a link to portraits of the Danbom family just before their doomed journey on Titanic: I believe that they lived in Långebro that is a very small neighbourhood in Kisa that is in the region of í–stergötland. But they were there only to visit their family. Other than that was that they were moving back to Stanton after their visit, right? I think that's about all there is about their stay in Sweden.
    : Reply

  7. Hildur Panula-Heinonen

    Yes, Eino Panula was a distant relative of me. Say i was taught Swedish in school, (it's mandatory in Finland, old rules...) and titanic norden site is my friend Maritha's site.
    : Reply
  8. Laleh Taslim

    Laleh Taslim

    Sorry for your loss! Yes, i've heard that in some places in Finland, the people are tought to speak swedish. í„r du bra på svenska? How cool of your friend to start the nordic titanic site! Good job! About the Danbom family. I remember that i've read one letter (on the Internet of course)from i think it was Sigrid Brogren that she sent to her family in Horn, describing their journey to Southampton. It was about them being seesick but having a good time and so on. The language in the letter was original. The had done nothing to change the language, fortunately. And i recall that i also, somewhere, read what the Brogren/Danbom family did on their last day in Sweden (the day before they went for the Titanic). They all got together and had a little godbye party, sang songs etc. And that Sigrid wrote something biblic in her diary the same day that they died. But the problem is that i can't find those sites!
    : Reply
  9. Laleh Taslim

    Laleh Taslim

    I think it's kind of strange that Sigrid had a child before she was married. Was she raped maybe? 'Cause she was religious, wasn't she? It would be strange for religious people back then to have kids out of wedlock. It must have been the reason why she left her son to her sister. Right?
    : Reply

  10. Hildur Panula-Heinonen

    Well, no i am not any part Swedish and i live in Helsinki, which is mainly Finnish, apart from Immigrant languages that fill the air. I learned Swedish in school, because everywhere in Finland we must learn Swedish. It has to do with the old reasons, such as Sweden once ruling over Finland. As for Sigrid having Theodore, well maybe she fell in love, but had Theodore before engagement or marriage, and then things went sour and she was left unmarried and with child. It may have been a mercy plea to have her sister take the child, as her sister was married and with family, therefore it would look normal, whereas Sigrid would have a bit of explaining to do when it would come to marriage and explaining why she had a child out of wedlock. It would make her look bad. I wonder if Ernst knew she had a son Theodore? Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    : Reply
  11. Laleh Taslim

    Laleh Taslim

    Oh Okay..I think it's a bit annoying that you HAVE to learn swedish. It should be optional. Yeah, maybe she went through falling in love and then going through a bitter ending. These things were quite complicated and harder those times. I think she always felt bad about it even if she perhaps was not to blame, but had no other choises. If she lived in our time, then she would not have to let anyone else raise him because of shame and such (if her situation allowed it of course) Linda Adams have relatives that would know about the Danbom family. It would be really interesting to know more about them and certainly about the Theodore situation. Happy Halloween to you to
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  12. Melinda Laura Varju

    Oooh Little Gilbert was soooooo cute! ALL of the Titanic's children were sooooo cute! Sorry I REALLY love babies and children. Wow, about Thedore, I didn't even know! I wonder how the little child looked, in 1912 for example. I would have still kept my baby Teddy no matter what. But then again, he would have died with them but still. Best to be all together all the time. At least that's how I feel. Maybe she missed little Teddy, I wonder if Anna Sigrid thought, even in a spur of the moment about Teddy, that his Mommy is going to die. Sad...But maybe the situation was too panicky. But I would have thought of my little son.
    : Reply

  13. Hildur Panula-Heinonen

    I wonder if Theodor ever knew that a) his real mother, and b)that she and his baby brother pershed? I really think on that alot and always wondered...
    : Reply
  14. Laleh Taslim

    Laleh Taslim

    Maybe they never told him to protect him from beeing devastated from the facts that Anna was his real mother and that she and his half-brother was killed in that accident. But, maybe they told him anyway because they thought that he had the right to know..
    : Reply

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Titanic Passenger Summary

Name: Mr Ernst Gilbert Danbom
Age: 34 years 5 months and 20 days (Male)
Nationality: American
Occupation: General Labourer
Embarked: Southampton on Wednesday 10th April 1912
Ticket No. 347080, £14 8s
Died in the Titanic disaster (15th April 1912)
Body recovered by: Mackay-Bennett (No. 197)
Buried: Mamrelund Cemetery, Stanton, Iowa, United States

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