As'ad Tannūs as a baby
As’ad Tannūs was a just a baby when he was a passenger on board Titanic.
Background[]
As’ad Tannūs was born 8 November 1911 in Hardīn in Syria, the Middle East, which was under Ottoman rule. Nowadays it's Lebanon. He was the son of Iskandar Tannūs and Thamīm Tannūs (née Kouri) who had married in 1910. His father was a fruit seller and he had gone to the United States soon after his birth, following the example of his brother Bashīr Tannus who had emigrated prior, who was now named Charles Thomas as a naturalised citizen. Iskander Tannūs became Alexander Thomas.
Charles was sent back to in 1912 to pick up Thamīm and As'ad and bring them to Alexander. As'ad was just an infant of 5 months, when he, his mother and her brother-in-law set about on their journey for Beirut. In Beirut, there was a ship that would take on passengers that were going to Marseilles in the South of France. From Marseilles, the three had to go northbound.
Titanic[]
Thamīm, uncle Charles and As'ad boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as Third Class passengers on the evening of April 10. They had ticket number 2625, which cost £8 10s 4d.
There was trouble for Titanic on the night of April 14, as the ship couldn't get by an iceberg without damaging her hull. The iceberg had been so close when it was sighted, that there was no time to prevent a contact. This resulted in damage below the waterline and the Titanic was flooding with seawater very quickly. The collision woke up Charles. He went immediately to see Thamīm and he knew right away something was wrong. He also understood that they were expected to go up on deck.
As’ad and his mother became separated during the late hour because Thamīm was taken to a boat against her will and was lowered before his uncle could hand him over. Therefore, Charles carried the baby to another lifeboat, deemed to have been lifeboat 16. He begged for the child to be rescued and a woman took it upon herself to take the child into the lifeboat with her. It could have been Violet Jessop, but there's no certainty as the lifeboat number is not established either. There's other belief that states that he must have been in Collapsible D.
Uncle Charles had not made it off the ship alive. His death was inevitable when the Titanic went down with her stern in the air, breaking in two after the stress became too much. Titanic was gone at 2:20 A.M.
After the sinking[]
As'ad was nursed by Edwina Celia McKenzie Trout when they waited for rescue to come. Help was on the way but it would take a while for her to get there after Titanic sank. At 4:00 A.M, the Carpathia came. Both As'ad and her mother were picked up. Edwina could comfort and assure the mother who had been in total panic over losing her baby. Mrs. Trout found her and gave As'ad back. Thamīm couldn't be happier or more grateful.
The Carpathia's arrival in New York on April 18 was met with a lot of attention and crowds. The Titanic disaster had taken its toll on As'ads mother who really buckled under the stress, panic and . Mother and child spent some time in Saint Vincent Hospital, she had to be there for weeks. Soon enough, Alexander came to New York to fetch them.
Later life[]
The family in Wilkes-Barre were fortunate enough that they could continue as a whole. His mother led a busy life. It looks like As'ad had nine siblings later. He had a sister, Sadie in 1914, then a brother, Edward in 1916, followed by Sarah Ann in 1919, Helen in 1921, Joseph in 1923, Mae in 1925, Peter in 1927, Marjorie in 1930 and Jean in 1932. As'ad, sadly enough, would not ever meet Jean.
Although As’ad was lucky enough to escape the sinking of the Titanic alive, he still died young. He was only 19 years old when he died on June 12, 1931. It must have been a severe illness.