Samuel Joseph Scott is a catch boy who was in the construction of the Titanic and was lost when he fell from 60 feet and fractured his skull
Biography[]
Before he moved out into a different lodge, Scott lived in Templemore Street, by Newtown. He stayed with his mother Jane and 6 of her children that were with them as well. Scott showed a lot of independence and stability for a 15 year old boy, and had a career he enjoyed. Being a catch boy was hard work, but Scott was good at his job.
Around the time Titanic was being built, he had recently moved out of 104 and into 70 as a lodger, which was on the same side of the street where his mother lived.
A lot of riveters were younger; Harland and Wolff couldn’t afford experienced workers, and ended up hiring mostly inexperienced and low-paid 13 and 14 year olds.
Many believe Scott loved his work and loved the possibility that he was able to aid in the construction of the biggest ship of all time during that era.
During construction, Scott was on a ladder above the open hull of Titanic. He lost his footing and fell with no one to see him. Scott tumbled down an impressive 60 feet and damaged his skull. With no one to see him go, the way that the inspectors uncovered what happened was through the testimony of a riveter who saw him laying motionless and bleeding out of his head. They ruled his death as being due to a fracture of the skull.
After his death[]
Sam Scott's grave
He was certainly of the first victim of the Titanic tragedy. 7 more men died after Scott, but those who buried them put him into an unmarked grave. A total of 246 injuries were recorded during the building of Titanic. To cover Scott’s death, 16 shillings were given to his family but that could only cover his burial, not his headstone. With the sheer size of Titanic, the causality rate was considered low since so many men worked to build the giant ship. During that time, especially with the looser and not as serious laws for labourers at the time, Scott’s death became mostly overlooked. Scott died in 1910, and the Titanic sailed, completed a few years after. While on her maiden voyage, Titanic would strike an iceberg and then sink, taking with over 1,500 lives.