Argene Genovesi on her wedding day, February 20, 1912.
Argene Genovesi del Carlo was a passenger on Titanic.
Early life[]
Argene Genovesi was born on November 6, 1887 in Montecarlo in the province of Lucca. Tuscany, Italy. Her father was Agosto Genovese, also a native of Montecarlo.
On January 20, 1912 she became engaged to Sebastiano del Carlo and precisely one month later they were married in Lucca, Italy. By April, they had determined to seek a new life in a new land for their honeymoon.
Sebastino had decided to come to Madera in California, America because his new brother-in-law, Nello Barsotti, had found him a job in his bakery. Nello had married Eugenia Genovesi, Argene’s sister. The prospect of having another sister close by thrilled the local couple. A third sister, Carolina Genovesi Malanca and her husband, John, lived in Fresno. When news came of the impending arrival of the del Carlos, the Barsottis prepared for a reunion that never came. Sebastiano was looking for a voyage from Genova to California, where Argene’s sisters were living, to start a new beautiful life.
Titanic[]
Their original vessel they had planned to sail on was full, so he purchased two tickets to take passage on Titanic in Second Class. They boarded her on April 10 in Cherbourg. Argene wasn’t really happy about the ship. She knew that there were something wrong and she was right. While she was on the Titanic she was pregnant and felt seasick. She remained in her cabin for a large part of the voyage.
About twenty minutes before midnight on April 14, 1912, Argene heard a loud noise and felt a shudder. She called for Sebastino to find out what had happened. When he reached the main deck, he discovered the ship's predicament and hurried back to the cabin.
Without much conversation, Sebastino lifted his wife in his arms and carried her topside. There, as the crew gently placed her in what must have been lifeboat 11, he kissed her and told her not to worry; he assured her they would be reunited very soon. As the lifeboat was lowered, Sebastino waved her goodbye with Argene in tears.
After the sinking[]
The widowed Argene Del Carlo with a sister/nun at the San Raffaele Home for refugees
Sebastiano died as the ship foundered while Argene was rescued by the Carpathia. As in a possibly apocryphal story, when the boat was lowered a baby was given to her, which she held in her custody for the time being. It was reported that on the Carpathia, the mother of this child wanted to have it back, but an Italian woman, allegedly Argene, claimed it as her own. Captain Rostron was summoned to make a Solomo's decision. The story goes that the baby, Philip Aks, had a birthmark which the woman did not know, so she had to hand the baby to his mother Leah Aks. It had been alternatively suggested that the child had been circumcised and that the immigrant woman was unaware of this.
After she arrived in America she had only her clothes as all her belongings had gone down with the ship, while her husband had all the money. She stayed there for a month in a church. It belonged to the Italian Saint Raphael Society and after caring for her they arranged for her repatriation.
Sebastino’s body was recovered by the MacKay-Bennett a few weeks after Titanic went down. Argenia was asked to identify the body. She remembered that he was still clothed in his dark, tweed suit and wrapped in his gray overcoat. There were also the personal effects that he had taken with him from the ship: a gold watch and chain; a pair of diamond and gold earrings; a gold chain locket; a silver watch and chain; a knife; a pin; a pocketbook and papers along with $5 in notes and 37 francs.
Mrs. Del Carlo's destination, as recorded by the immigration officer, was Chicago however she soon returned to Italy on the Cretic on May 18th 1912. Argene was pregnant at the time of the voyage on Titanic. Perhaps this explains her sickness. It was a baby girl. She was born on 14 November 1912 and was named Maria Salvata. Technically, Maria was the youngest survivor of the Titanic disaster.
The shock waves of the Titanic disaster reverberated around the world and was felt strongly in Madera. Eugenia Genovesi Barsotti and her husband, Nello, grieved over Argene’s loss, and over the years, all of the Barsotti children in Madera learned the story of how fate stepped in to keep their aunt and uncle from coming here to start a new life.
Later life[]
Argene's daughter Maria Salvata del Carlo, interviewed on Italian television as she's Titanic's youngest survivor.
On April 4, 1935, Argene was remarried in Altopascio, Lucca. Her new husband was Antonio Oreste Casata. During World War II, her daughter Maria Salvata lost her home when it was destroyed during the barbaric allied bombing of Italy, but she managed to save the photo of her parents' wedding.
Argene Genovesi Casata died on 8 October 1970 in Altopascio, Lucca. She was buried at the Cimitero Comunale in Altopascio.
After the famous movie was made about Titanic in 1997. Maria Del Carlo became well-known as she was interviewed by national television and newspapers in 1998.