Elin Matilda Hakkarainen (March 20th, 1888 - January 2nd, 1957) was a Third Class passenger of the Titanic. She escaped the sinking in lifeboat 15.
Early life[]
Mrs. Elin Matilda Dolk was born on 20 March 1888 in Helsinki, Finland. She was the daughter of Charles Dolk and Eva Vilhelmina Andersson. She had two known siblings: Charles (b. 1886), and John Edward (b. 1891).
She had first emigrated to USA in 1907, where she worked as a maid in Quincy, Masshachusetts. She was later engaged to Pekka Pietari Hakkarainen (b. 1884), a Finnish-American steelworker from Monessen, Pennsylvania. They moved to Finland, where they had their wedding in Helsinki on 15 January 1912. They stayed in Finland for a while, until it was clear that Pekka might be enlisted to the Russian Tsar's Army so they fleed and had made plans to return to the USA before the wedding took place. They wanted to go to Monessen.
On April 3, Elin and her husband were passengers of the SS Polaris which left from Hankö, a ship that took many Finnish emigrants to England. Many of them would later. The SS Polaris was stationary at Copenhagen before reaching Hull in England on April 7. From there on, they traveled to Southampton.
They actually wanted to aboard the Mauretania, but they changed at the last second to go with the Titanic instead.
On the Titanic[]
The couple boarded the Titanic at Southampton as Third Class passengers (ticket number 3101279, cost £15, 17s).
On the night of April 14, Titanic had come across an iceberg, which was directly in her path and she couldn't avoid it. Elin and Pekka were in their cabin and felt the strong vibration caused by the collision. Pekka got up to investigate while Elin returned to sleep again. When she was awakened again later, Pekka hadn't returned yet and some of her acquaintances arrived at her cabin to rouse her.
Elin didn't have time to get dressed properly and just grabbed a handbag and lifejacket. They hurried into the corridor but all the stairway gates were locked. She noticed steward John Edward Hart coming to collect a group of steerage passengers and guided them to the Boat Deck, Elin followed this group.
A woman almost fell between the boat and ship's side in the 1997 film. This may have been based on Elin's story.
Elin tried to find her husband on deck, but an officer came up and told her that there was space for one more woman in lifeboat 15. The boat was being lowered and Elin almost fell between the boat and the ship's side, before someone grabbed her and pulled her in safely.
Elin never saw Pekka again as he became a victim after Titanic sank. His body was never found. At dawn, the RMS Carpathia arrived to pick up the survivors and most of the lifeboats from the sunken vessel. She had responded to the call for assistance by the Titanic's marconists. She came as fast as she could but was too far away to aid Titanic before she sank. The Carpathia then set course for New York to take the survivors there. The rescue ship made it to New York on April 18. After disembarking, Elin Hakkarainen was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital. In a few days time she felt good enough to resume her journey to Monessen, Pennsylvania.
Elin later received £50 in compensation for the loss of her husband.
Later life[]
Elin Matilda Hakkarainen in later years.
For a while, Elin lived in Hancock County, West Virginia and remarried to Emil J. Nummi on 10 April 1917. He was also a Finn, born in Turku in 1851. Elin gave birth to their only child, Gerald Emil on 20 October 1920. The family lived at 729 Parkman, Warren until the rest of Elin's life.
Elin watched the 1953 film 'Titanic' and also assisted Walter Lord in his research for 'A Night to Remember'. She also watched the TV adaptation of this book twice. The disaster had clearly affected her, as she never wanted to talk about it at home but she was willing to give some interviews for a few journalists.
Elin died on 2 January 1957 following a stroke. It was reported that the evening before her death, she had spent most of her time knitting and reading A 'Night to Remember'. She was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Warren. Her husband outlived her.