José Neto Jardim ¹ was born on 27 July 1890, in Lombo das Laranjeiras, Calheta, Calheta, Madeira Island, Portugal, the son of António Gomes Jardim and Maria Rodrigues Neto.

He worked as an agricultural labourer and was married on 25 July 1910 in Calheta to Maria de Sousa Carreira ² They had a daughter, Maria, born on July 6, 1911 in Lombo do Salão.

In early 1912, José decided to emigrate to the United States of America, where he was joining his older brother and an aunt at New York. His wife and daughter would later join him. Before he left, José asked his wife to take a photograph with their daughter and send it to New York. As soon as José left, Mrs Jardim went to Funchal with little Maria and took a photograph. This photo was never sent, and today is still in the possession of the family.

José was granted a passport (#411) on 11 March 1912 by the Civil Government of Funchal. He travelled from Madeira Island to England, and boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a third class passenger (ticket number SOTON/O.Q. 3101305, £ 7,1 s), together with his friends Manuel Gonçalves Estanislau and Domingos Fernandes Coelho. José died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified.

Sometime in late April 1912, Mrs Jardim was embroidering with some friends under a fig tree, when she suddenly found a living limpet stuck to her needle. This was immediately taken for a bad omen. Four hours later, she received a telegram, stating that her husband had perished in the sinking of the Titanic. She had already heard news of the sinking, but had never imagined her husband could be one of the victims. Mother and daughter would later receive a compensation of 400 Portuguese escudos (200 each).

Mrs Jardim later remarried to Francisco Freitas Amaral, had five more children, moved to Brazil and died there in old age. José's daughter, Maria Neto Jardim, stayed in Madeira Island, where she married to Manuel Pinto Figueira, and had children. In 1994, her daughter showed her a newspaper article on her father and the other Portuguese Titanic passengers. While reading the article, Maria Neto Jardim grieved on the fact that she did not meet her father, nor have a photo of him. She died in Calheta, on 14 March, 1995, aged 83. Her family is still living in Madeira Island.