RMS Titanic and Dr William Minahan Mystery Cache

History

RMS Titanic was a passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. One of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, she was built between 1909–11 by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. She carried 2,223 people.

Her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as over a thousand emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere seeking a new life in North America. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins. She also had a powerful wireless telegraph provided for the convenience of passengers as well as for operational use. Though she had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Due to outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people – slightly more than half of the number travelling on the maiden voyage and one-third her total passenger and crew capacity.

After leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland before heading westwards towards New York.[2] On 14 April 1912, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles (600 km) south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm (ship's time; GMT−3). The glancing collision caused Titanic's hull plates to buckle inwards in a number of locations on her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea. Over the next two and a half hours, the ship gradually filled with water and sank. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly filled. A disproportionate number of men – over 90% of those in Second Class – were left aboard due to a "women and children first" protocol followed by the officers loading the lifeboats. Just before 2:20 am Titanic broke up and sank bow-first with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water died within minutes from hypothermia caused by immersion in the freezing ocean. The 710 survivors were taken aboard from the lifeboats by RMS Carpathia a few hours later.

The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life and the regulatory and operational failures that had led to it. Public inquiries in Britain and the United States led to major improvements in maritime safety. One of their most important legacies was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today. Many of the survivors lost all of their money and possessions and were left destitute; many families, particularly those of crew members from Southampton, lost their primary bread-winners. They were helped by an outpouring of public sympathy and charitable donations. Some of the male survivors, notably the White Star Line's chairman, J. Bruce Ismay, were accused of cowardice for leaving the ship while people were still on board, and they faced social ostracism.

The wreck of Titanic remains on the seabed, gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784 m). Since its rediscovery in 1985, thousands of artefacts have been recovered from the sea bed and put on display at museums around the world. Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history, her memory kept alive by numerous books, folk songs, films, exhibits and memorials.

Passengers

Titanic's passengers numbered around 1,317 people: 324 in First Class, 284 in Second Class and 709 in Third Class. 869 (66%) were male and 447 (34%) female. There were 107 children aboard, the largest number of which were in Third Class.[95] The ship was considerably under capacity on her maiden voyage, as she could accommodate 2,566 passengers – 1,034 First Class, 510 Second Class and 1,022 Third Class.

On 4/14/2012, I went to a CQD: A Titanic Event, GC3E6QH and the name I drew was Dr. William Minahan, from Fond Du Lac, Wi. What are the odds of a person on the Titanic that died was from this area. Only 333 bodies were ever recoverd and his body was number 230.

Dr William Edward Minahan, 44, was born on 20 April 1867, the son of Irish immigrants William B. Minahan and Mary Shaughnessy. He later became a well known physician in Fon du Lac, Wisconsin.

Minahan boarded the Titanic at Queenstown as first class passenger (Ticket No. 19928, £90), together with his wife Lillian and sister Daisy. They occupied cabin C-78.

Will's last words to his wife and sister were report to be "be brave."

Dr Minahan died in the sinking, his body was recovered by the MacKay Bennett (#230):

The body was forwarded to V. J. Minahan (probably his brother Victor), Green Bay, Wisconsin on May 2, 1912. He is buried at Green Bay.

The above coordinates should bring you to his grave site but the final is at W 44 AB.CDE W088 FG.HIJ. Not everything you need to solve can be found at the grave site. You may need to do some homework. AB is the total number of steps to his grave (+11). CDE is the full blocks of stone exposed (+491). Do not count the block if it is somewhat buried and do not count the roof. FG is the age of his wife at death (-85). HIJ is the year she died (-1754)

The cache container is not in contact with any gravestones, monuments, or other memorials. Please respect the area. Also, take care to replace the cache so that is it not readily visible to the casual passerby. Premission was granted by Mary Lemirande - Manager at Woodland Cemetery.

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