Mantūrah Būlus Mūsà Franjīyah was a passenger on Titanic.
Background[]
Mantūrah Duwaihī was her birth name. She stemmed from Zghartā in Syria, part of the Ottoman Empire, which is now Lebanon. She was born to parents with a Maronite Christian background. When she was older, Mantūrah was married to Būlus Mūsà Franjīyah. From their bond, three children were born: In 1893 they had a girl named Mary. The other children were Peter and Lilian.
Her sister or sister-in-law, named Franjīyah had migrated to the USA and was now named Frangie Frangie. She wanted to start a business. Mantūrah was invited to help her so she packed up and left home, with Troy, Michigan as destiny as her sister had settled there. Her children and husband stayed behind. She was a cousin of Thamīm Tannūs, who traveled to Beirut from Hardīn in large group of other Syrians with her brother-in-law Charles Thomas and her child As’ad Tannūs. Somewhere along the way, they came across eachother and were soon on a ship to Marseilles, France. There, they still had to go across France to get to the North.
Titanic[]
On April 10, a ship was available for them in Cherbourg. This was a new, luxurious liner of unrivaled size. With the ticket she had she could join the Titanic in Third Class. Mantūrah was likely in her fifties when she boarded this ship. Another Syrian woman was also sleeping in her cabin. It’s not unlikely that this was Thamim who had her baby As’ad with her.
On the night of April 14, an iceberg brought Titanic’s seemingly effortless Maiden Voyage to a premature end. Her lookouts couldn’t see the large mass before it was too late and the Titanic couldn’t get around it in time. On her starboard side, she had gotten parts of her hull dented and cracked, small gashes let the water through. The sewater rose quickly. It was not the collision that woke up Mantūrah. That was when she heard loud noises and people shouting in the hallway moments later.
On April 15, the situation had worsened fast. The Titanic’s captain now began evacuating the passengers. He knew the ship was going to sink within a few hours. Mantūrah was able to get to the Boat Deck, but very late. Not knowing what to do due to the language barrier, she did manage to get access to a lifeboat, which one is not confirmed but it may very well have been Collapsible C. Some sailors made gestures she could understand. It is said that she was thrown, expecting to get wet, while landing in the boat instead. This saved her life from the tragedy but gave her a bit of a headache. When the clock struck 2:20 A.M, Titanic had settled to the ocean. Many died that night, but fortunately for Mantūrah, she was safe.
After the sinking[]
The occupants of the boats had to wait for a while until a resuce ship appeared on the horizon. It was the RMS Carpathia and she looked after the survivors. As everyone was picked up, they for Titanic’s original destination: New York.
After the ships’s arrival on the 18th of April, she was staying in Saint Vincent Hospital for a while. From there, a telegraph was sent to her family in Troy. On April 25, New York’s Women Relief Committee gave her $50 as Mantūrah hadn’t been able to take any of her items with her and lost just about everything she had with her, including clothes. Later she was given $100 by a charity, not sure which.
She was greeted in Manhattan by Georges Joseph Nohra, who was the husband of her niece Dora Nohra (née Franjīyah). He had come to bring her to Troy. Once she was there, an interview was conducted with her, which had to be translated. With an attorney, she filed a lawsuit against the White Star Line, requesting $5000, as she became an inhabitant of the town, changing her name to Mantora Moussa.
Later life[]
Within due time, Mantora was living in Troy with her daughter Mary. Her husband was still back in Zghartā and remained there. Mary found love with a former Syrian who had migrated here to: He was James Caram, who was from Ehden. Mantora moved in with them, helping to raise their next-of-kin.
The young pair meanwhile changed address two times in the 1920s. First they relocated to Gloversville in the state of New York, next it was Springfield, Massachusetts. Mantora was absent during those years. When she knew her husband was getting phyiscally weaker, which was around 1921, Mantora turned around to go to Zghartā and looked after him. It’s likely that she stayed their for the rest of her life, even after she became widowed in 1925, losing Būlus Mūsà.
Her time of passing is not certain, but it is believed to be around 1944.