William Carbines was a Second Class passenger aboard the RMS Titanic. He was traveling with one of his friends, William John Berriman. Both men died in the sinking.
Early Life[]
William "Willie" Carbines was born in early 1893 - his exact birthdate is unknown but was likely around spring - in St. Ives, Cornwall, England. His parents were Nicholas Wallis Carbines Sr. (1856-August 29th, 1944), a 37-year-old farm laborer, and Jane Wedge Paynter (1864-1955), 29 years old. Both of his parents were also natives of St. Ives; they married in 1884 in Penzance, England. The family were Protestant Christians.
Nicholas and Jane had a large total of fifteen children, three of whom would die in infancy. William was the fifth child born to his parents. His surviving siblings were Nicholas Wallis Jr. (December 29th, 1885-August 29th, 1944), John Paynter (July 15th, 1887-March 6th, 1923), Robert Richards (June 9th, 1889-November 25th, 1938), Elizabeth Humphreys (born 1891-1984), Jane Paynter (1895-1995), Annie (March 11th, 1897-1975), Thomas (1900-1990), Lillian (January 16th, 1902-November 15th, 1969), Mary (1903-1995), Richard (born 1907-1944), and George Bryant (born 1909-June 24th, 1912).
At the age of eight, William first appears on the 1901 English census at his parent's home in St. Ives. His father, 45, was working as a farm laborer, while his mother, 37, was unemployed. All of his siblings were in school except for Nicholas Jr., 16, a gardener, and Thomas, an infant.
The next time William would be officially recorded was a decade later on the 1911 census. He was eighteen years old, had left school, and was working as a general laborer. William's father Nicholas Sr. was no longer employed as a farm laborer, rather a mason's laborer. Multiple of his siblings had left home by 1911, including Nicholas Jr., John, Robert, Elizabeth, and Jane. All of his other siblings, minus infant George, were in school. Two of his older brothers, John, 23, and Robert, 21, had left England for Houghton, Michigan, United States. There, they found work as miners. Nicholas Jr. had also left for America but was not employed as a miner and was living in Akron, Ohio.
Around 1912, William decided he wanted to follow in his older brother's footsteps and move to America. He made plans with a friend of his, William John Berriman, to emigrate to Houghton, the residence of his brothers John and Robert, to find work in the mines. It has been speculated that William Berriman (born in early 1889) may have been in a relationship with William's younger sister, Annie. However, seeing as he was 23 and she was 15, it is highly unlikely that they were ever romantically involved. The two friends made plans to sail aboard the RMS Titanic to get to America.
On the Titanic[]
The two Williams left their hometown of St. Ives, Cornwall, England for Southampton where they boarded the Titanic on April 10th. William held Second Class ticket 28424, which had a price of £13, or £1,519 today. After a near collision with the SS New York, while leaving the harbor, the liner headed towards Cherbourg, and then Queenstown the next day. After these two additional stops, the Titanic headed out towards the open ocean.
During his time aboard the Titanic, William and Mr. Berriman would have shared a cabin anywhere from D, E, F, or G Deck. Their days at sea would be spent walking around, playing deck games, and socializing on the Second Class Promenade, reading, relaxing, writing, and talking in the Library, smoking, discussing politics, playing cards, and drinking with other male passengers in the Smoke Room, taking their meals in the Dining Saloon, and getting a shave or haircut in the Barber Shop if they so pleased. The men likely enjoyed the superior amenities of Second Class and making new acquaintances during their voyage across the Atlantic.
What exactly happened to Mr. Carbines and Mr. Berriman is not known for certain. However, it can be assumed that they were awoken by their bedroom steward or their fellow passengers and made their way up to the Boat Deck or one of the Second Class public rooms. When they did make it to the Boat Deck, they probably ended up on the port side with the majority of their fellow Second Class passengers. In the end, both William Carbines and William Berriman would die in the sinking of the Titanic. Mr. Carbines' body, unlike Mr. Berriman's, was recovered by the CS Mackay-Bennett from the water a few days after the Titanic sunk beneath the waves. His body was numbered as number 18 and given the following description:
"NO. 18. - MALE. - ESTIMATED AGE. 20. - HAIR, BROWN
CLOTHING - Dark suit; white shirt with green stripe; knitted socks; black boots.
EFFECTS - Watch; silver chain and charm; photographs; 8s 1d. in coins; pipe; knife.
SECOND CLASS TICKET.
NAME ON LETTER - Mr. W. CARBINES, Higher Stennack, St. Ives."
His brothers John and Robert traveled to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to identify their little brother's body. William's body was placed aboard the RMS Oceanic so he could be buried in his hometown of St. Ives. He was buried in Barnoon Cemetery in St. Ives on May 30th. Over 500 people paid their respects at his funeral. 19-year-old William never married or had any children.
The Carbine Family[]
Later that same year, another death would occur in the Carbines family. The youngest child his parents, George, would pass away on June 24th as a toddler. He is buried in the same cemetery as William.
William's parents would remain in the Cornwall area for the rest of their lives. His father passed away in Penzance on August 29th, 1944, at the age of 88. His mother would live a few years later until she died in 1955 aged 91 in St. Ives.
Eleven years after his death, John, one of his older brothers who was living in America, died in 1923. Both Nicholas Sr. and Robert would return to their home country of England in the 1930s. Robert would pass away in 1938, followed by Nicholas in 1944.
An additional three siblings would leave England for America after William's death. Thomas in 1920, Annie in 1922, and Jane sometimes after them. All three would go to Detroit, Michigan, but only Annie would remain there for the rest of her life - she died in 1975. Both Thomas and Jane would leave Michigan for the Southern state of Florida, where they would both pass away in 1990 and 1995. Excluding George who died as a child, only siblings Elizabeth, Lillian, Mary, and Richard would remain in England for their whole lives.