Hulda Kristina Eugenia Klasén was a passenger on Titanic.
Early life[]
Hulda Kristina Eugenia Löfqvist was born on March 18, 1876 in Salmunds, Stånga, Bjärges, Gotland, Sweden. Her parents were Petter Edvard Löfqvist and Johanna Sofia Helena Löfgren, both Swedes. Hulda had 3 older sisters and a younger brother. They were: Wendla Johanna, born in 1865, followed by Ida Olivia in 1868, Emma Josefina Frederika in 1872 and her brother was Peter Emil, born in 1878. Her entire youth she spent living in Salmunds.
Hulda emigrated to America on October 17, 1902 and resided in Los Angeles. She was a trained seamstress and sustained her household that way.On June 17, 1907 she was married to Karl Oskar Emanuel Klasén in Chicago. He was also a migrated Swede, a native from Flyserid, Kalmar. Her marriage was short-lived as her partner died as early as 1910. That meant she was forced to stay in Los Angeles with her brother, Peter Emil. In the summer of 1911, he had found himself a wife. She was Alice Esther Amanda Klasén, who was actually Karl's younger sister.
She had been visiting home on Gotland in late 1911 to bring her niece Hulda Veström back to America. The girl's father, Oscar Adolf Weström, was staying (according to the pastor's office in Vänge) in America, and one can assume that she would be brought to him.
Hulda traveled under the name Löfkvist, but is listed as Hulda Klasen in the list of the purchased tickets and was often confused with Klas Albin and Gertrud Emilia Klasén in many of the lists presented after the disaster.
They had tickets 350404 ( Klas Albin ), 350405 ( Gertrud Emilia and Hulda) and 350406 ( Hulda Veström ), so it means that they traveled together. They were acquianted an related in some way. Klas was Hulda’s brother-in-law as he was married to her only sister
Her own brother of course also had a connection as he was the husband of Karl’s younger sister
Initiallly there was confusion regarding the travel company. Gertrud Emilia travels on the same ticket (no. 350405, £12 3s 8d) as Hulda Klasén, but they do not appear to be related. The link was made when it turned out that Hulda niece Hulda Veström , had Los Angeles as their destination, similiar for Klas Albin and Gertrud Emilia.
Titanic[]
They traveled via Copenhagen, where they bought the tickets for the Titanic.
On board the Titanic, Hulda and Hulda Veström joined the group of Swedish Third Class passengers that were led by Edvin Lundström. They had embarked in Southampton on April 10, the day the ship set off on her Maiden Voyage after noon. Hulda was 36 years old at the time. The large group also consisted of Elina Olsson, Thure Lundström and Agnes Sandström with her 2 children, Beatrice and Margit.
On April 14, the smooth voyage turned into a nightmare when the ship, that seemed unsinkable to many, had an encounter with an iceberg on the late night. At 12:39 P.M, the iceberg was spotted but she was only less than half a mile away so couldn’t avoid it in time. The result was a scraping hull against the solid mass, which opened gashes into her body under the water line. Titanic’s captain, John Edward Smith, had investigated the damage with the ship’s builder, Thomas Andrews before starting an evacuation after midnight on April 15, when Andrews was certain that she was going to sink.
During the night that followed, Hulda didn’t find a way to get off the sinking vessel safely. She died in one of the worst maritime disasters and the same fate was bestowed onto her brother-in-law Klas, her niece Hulda as well as the young Gertrud. Neither of their bodies were recovered.
After her death[]
Her father Petter received SEK 1,787:542 (£98) and her sister 1,276:80 (£70) from the charity fund. Petter died before the process for any sought compensation could be started, and since the lawyers who handled the case found that no one else had been dependent on Hulda's financial help, or otherwise entitled to compensation, no compensation was ever paid after Hulda.