Augustus Henry Weikman
Augustus Henry Weikman was a survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic and a barber onboard this ship.
Augustus Henry Weikamn was born to Charles Weikman and his wife on 17 February 1860 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He had 2 elder sisters and one older brother. Father Charles was a carpenter.
In 1884 he wed Mary Hendricks. Tragically their first daughter died soon after birth in March 1885. He and Mary got 4 children later.
Career[]
During that period he was a barber on land. Presumably he carried his profession overseas when White Star Line had employed him around 1892. In 1912 he would go on and work on Titanic in the First Class Barber Shop and was paid a shilling a week. He relied on tips from First Class passengers for his wages.
Sinking[]
When the Titanic hit the iceberg, he was in the barbers reading and he felt a slight jar, but said it didn't feel serious. When he went to check he saw G-Deck flooding and he knew the ship was in trouble. He assisted Bruce Ismay in launching and loading the lifeboats, and after several lifeboats, he went back to his room and put an old suit on "to avoid spoiling his new uniform." He came back to see Ismay climb in Collapsible C.
During the sinking, Weikman fell into the water and began to swim away from the ship. An explosion on the ship threw him further away, where he then saw a raft constructed out of deck chairs tied together nearby. He climbed on board.
When the ship went under, he scanned the area and saw a lifeboat 600 feet away. The chair raft was not large enough and his legs and feet were still in the water, so he figured he'd have a higher chance of survival if he boarded the lifeboat. He paddled to the side to see the boat had very few people onboard. He climbed aboard. It would turn out to be Collapsible A. Some of the people in the boat were already dead, probably from exposure, but he survived and was rescued by the Carpathia along with all other remaining passengers in the lifeboats, where he was found to be partially conscious. He has claimed to have seen the break-up of the ship taking place.
On board the Carpathia, he found himself in a steerage dining room surrounded by people who didn't speak English. His feet were found to be frozen. He searched his pockets and found a £1 dollar bill, which he kept as a souvenir of the event.
He died on 7th of November, 1924.