St. Catharines Standard, Canada
April 14 2006
Remembering a Titanic survivor; Family reflects as 95th anniversary
of sinking nears
Amy Lazar / Standard Staff
Local News – Friday, April 13, 2007 @ 01:00
Most of what Angeline Krekorian knows about her father’s escape from
the sinking Titanic has come from newspaper articles.
"He just never spoke about it," said Angeline, 76. "He told us the
story once and that was it."
The youngest of the late Nesham Krekorian’s three children learned
early on to keep questions about her father’s past to herself.
Still, over the years she has collected newspaper articles, magazine
stories and books, which she and her brother, George, leafed through
at her St. Catharines home Thursday, just days before the 95th
anniversary of Titanic’s sinking.
Her father was just 25 years old when the majestic Titanic sunk April
15, 1912.
He rarely recounted his journey on the ship’s maiden voyage.
However, before he died at the age of 92 in 1978, Krekorian shared
some of his memories with Alan Hudak, who wrote the book Titanic: The
Canadian Story.
In April 1912, Krekorian fled the village of Keghi, in
Turkish-occupied Armenia, with a group of friends who wanted to
immigrate to Canada.
According to one account, he made his way to Southampton, England –
though his family never got a straight answer about how – and boarded
the oceanliner as a third-class passenger.
Another account has Krekorian embarking from the first port Titanic
stopped at, Cherbourg, France. And that’s not the only mystery.
In Titanic’s List or Manifest of Alien Passengers, Krekorian is
listed as Nishan Krikorian, 27, and married.
The name of his wife is given as "Dilbar Arokian Krikorian," but it
is possible he gave his mother’s name and it was recorded by the
immigration official as his wife, since his family believes he was
single at the time.
"He had no formal training or education in English," George, 80,
said. "He picked it up, he knew how to sign his name, but for lack of
a better way to say it, he was an illiterate immigrant."
Krekorian told Hudak he remembered hearing the crash and feeling the
ship "scud back and tilt to one side" the night the ship hit the
iceberg.
Then confusion and panic set in.
Affluent passengers on the higher decks were loaded into lifeboats,
while steerage passengers were stuck on the lower levels.
"I think my father was above the engine room, but they automatically
closed all the gates," George said. "He told me there was an axe and
he had to break the door down and get up three levels."
Once he was there, the story takes a horrific turn.
He saw men watching from the deck as women and children were lowered
in lifeboats to float in the icy Atlantic.
Eventually, there was pushing and shoving as the number of boats
decreased and people realized they would have to fight for a seat.
Though it has been reported that Krekorian was a stowaway on one of
the lifeboats, the family insists he saw an opportunity and jumped at
it.
"There were two male rowers in a boat in a death grip and one went
overboard, so my dad leapt into the water and got into the rowboat,"
George said.
The records show he was on Boat 10, which was rescued about six hours
later by the Cunard line passenger steamer Carpathia.
He was among about 700 survivors who were brought to New York City
and there, he was treated for pneumonia. About 1,500 people died.
Ship owner White Star Lines gave Krekorian a ticket to Brantford,
where he stayed for a few years before moving to St. Catharines in
1918.
Krekorian found a job at McKinnon Industries Ltd., a foundry later
purchased by General Motors. He married Persa when he was 38 and they
had three children: Alice, who lives in Toronto, George and Angeline.
The siblings plan to visit Krekorian’s grave at Victoria Lawn
Cemetery to mark the anniversary in silence.
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