Mathilde Lefebvre (4 May 1899 – 15 April 1912) was a French fatality of the Titanic disaster on 15 April 1912. She traveled with her mother, brother and two sisters as Third Class passengers.
Biography[]
Mathilde Lefebvre was born in 4 May 1899. Her mother was Marie Daumont and her father was Franck Marie Joseph Lefebvre.
In 1910, her father had emigrated with his pre-marital children Marie, Franck and Celina from France to the United States and worked in a mine in Iowa. From there, he brought over his wife and his other four children (Mathilde (12), Jeanne (8), Henri (5) and Ida (3) from Liévin. The family embarked on the Titanic in Southampton on April 10 as Third Class passengers. They all perished in the sinking of the Titanic.
Mathilde's body was never found.
Message in a bottle[]
Was this really Mathilde's note?
In 2017, a glass bottle containing a note was found on a beach in Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick, on Canada's Bay of Fundy. The note was written in French, dated April 13, 1912, and signed by Mathilde Lefebvre. The text states that the bottle was thrown into the sea in the middle of the Atlantic and that the writer hopes to arrive in New York in a few days. The seeker of the bottle is requested to inform the Lefebvre family in Liévin.
The note says: 'I am throwing this bottle into the sea in the middle of the Atlantic. We are due to arrive in New York in a few days. If anyone finds her, tell the Lefebvre family in Lievin.'
These objects were examined by scientists at the University of Québec in Rimouski. The bottle markings and the chemical composition of the bottle glass are compatible with early 20th century manufacture. C14 dating of the cork, paper and ink also failed to disprove authenticity. However, all these analyzes do not rule out counterfeiting, as it is possible that an old bottle, cork and paper may have been used.
On the basis of the sea currents, one would expect that the bottle would wash up in Europe, but the location in Canada cannot be completely excluded on the basis of the sea currents. Another element that was examined is the handwriting. For this there was no comparative material from Mathilde Lefebvre available. But experts say the handwriting used seems too personal for a 12-year-old and too far removed from the handwriting that was taught in French schools at the time.