Rash's Surname Index
Notes for John Borland 3rd THAYER
Jack Thayer, the 17-year-old son of John and Marian Thayer, survived the Titanic sinking by swimming to an overturned collapsible lifeboat.
Traveling aboard Titanic were Haverford, Pennsylvania residents John B. Thayer, Jr., second vice president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, his wife Marian, and their 17-year-old son, John (Jack) B. Thayer III. With them was Mrs. Thayer's maid, Margaret Fleming.
The Thayers were preparing for bed when the collision occurred. After some confusion, Mrs. Thayer and her maid boarded lifeboat number 4, leaving Jack and his father on board.
According to his account entitled The Sinking of the S.S. Titanic, Jack and his parents were separated in the commotion. Jack and his friend Milton Long determined that they would jump from the ship as it was about to slide beneath the water. Long went first, sliding down the side of the ship. Jack took a moment to remove his overcoat and then jumped as far out from the ship as he could. Despite the mere seconds separating their escapes, Jack later surmised that Long fell victim to the suction of the sinking ship. Long's body would later be recovered.
Struggling against "terrific" cold and the shock that "took the breath out of [his] lungs," Jack swam "as hard as [he] could," surfacing near overturned collapsible lifeboat B. Several men were already precariously balanced atop this small boat, and they assisted Jack aboard. Twenty-eight survivors huddled together overnight "standing, sitting, kneeling, lying, in all conceivable positions, in order to get a small hold on the half inch overlap of the boat's planking, which was the only means of keeping ourselves from sliding off the slippery surface into that icy water."
In the morning, Jack and his mother were reunited aboard Carpathia. Mr. Thayer was lost with the ship and his body was never recovered.
| HOME | EMAIL | SURNAMES |
Return to The Pennocks of Primitive Hall website.
The information in this database may contain errors. If you find any questionable data, or if you have something to add my findings, please feel free to e-mail me by clicking on the "E-MAIL" link above. Thank you!
Page built by Gedpage Version 2.21 ©2009 on 07 July 2020