Erna Aleksandra Andersson was a passenger on Titanic.
Background[]
Erna Aleksandra Andersson was born in Kulla Bay, Ruotsinpyhtää, Loviisa, in the far south of Finland. It was a part where they spoke Swedish. Her parents were Anders Wilhelm Israelsson and Frederika Ottosdotter. As their youngest child, Erna came into this world on September 1, 1895. She was baptized on October 28.
She had 4 elder siblings: Rudolf was her only brother to be born as the first in 1889. Her sisters were Elin Cecilia and Olga Emilia, both born in 1893. Next was Edla Maria in 1894.
Erna emigrated in 1912. Her last residence in Finland was Kulla manor (Kulla Gård) in Loviisa. Erna Andersson traveled from Kulla to Hankö, where she got aboard the SS Polaris from Hankö to Hull, England. The ship left port on April 3. This vessel was carrying lots of passengers from Finland who would later embark on the Titanic in Southampton. Erna’s final destination would be New York. She was going after her brother Rudolf who had migrated to the big city a few years prior.
On the Polaris, she is said to have been in the company of other Finns that later would board the White Star Liner as well. They were Karl Alfred and Maria Mathilda Backström as well as Anders Vilhelm Gustafsson and Johan Birger Gustafsson.
Having made one sojourn in Copenhagen, the Polaris continued her voyage to Hull where she arrived on the 7th of April. Her final destination was New York City, where her brother Rudolph Andersson lived. Her ticket cost 269 Finnish marks.
Titanic[]
Erna was 17 years old when she embarked as a Third Class passenger on the new liner, which left the Southampton port after 12:00 P.M, on Wednesday, April 10th.
On April 14, something happened that would later turn into a tragic event. Titanic, the mighty new steamer, was at large speed navigating her way through an icefield when she suddenly found an iceberg, which was not visible at first, direct in her path. A port manouvre with the engines running astern couldn’t avert a collision with the massive frozen wall, which was higher than the Boat Deck. Titanic scraped some of her hull against the berg on the starboard side, which opened up small bits of steel plate underneath the waterline. Titanic was now taking on water at a good rate.
On April 15, just after midnight, the Captain of the ship had spoken to the designer, who adviced that action should be taken as the ship had only a few hours to live. Captain Smith took this analysis serious and started the evacuation. The lifeboats were readied.
Erna was most likely rescued in collapsible lifeboat D. At 2:20 A.M, Titanic sank and left hundreds of people to the mercy of the cold sea.
After the sinking[]
In the early morning of April 15, the Carpathia, a rescue ship that had answered Titanic’s call for help, was at the scene were the human tragedy had taken place. The Cunard Liner picked up most of Titanic’s boats and their occupants to take the survivors to America. She arrived in New York on April 18. Erna was soon quartered at the Union League Home together with Maria Backström. Erna then stayed in New York and worked as a maid.
Later life[]
In 1913, she returned to Finland for a visit after which she re-embarked for America. In 1918, she gave birth to a child: Elmer Johnson. It’s not certain who the father was, but there is one possible candidate, as a few years later, Erna was married to Alfred Johnson. Their wedding was on January 29, 1921 in the Bronx, New York. They settled in Michigan. It’s plausible that Elmer was born out of wedlock. Erna was a housewife and continued to live in the Bronx with her husband who was a carpenter and later a construction worker. American citizenship was officially given to Erna in 1923, but she had kept her marriage in the dark for the authorities.
It is unknown how old Erna was when she passed away