William Lahtinen
William Heikinpoika Lahtinen was a Finnish-American priest who died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. He was one of the most famous Finnish American preachers.
Early life[]
William Lahtinen was born on April 23, 1876 in Viitasaari, Finland. His father was Heikki Peura and his mother was Fredrika Karlsdotter Lohilahti. He and his family also lived in Salla and Taivalkoski later.
William had done service in the army as a young man.
He moved to the United States in June 1903, taking passage on the Campania. His new home was in Cokato, Wright County, Minnesota. He had a farm there. On 15 October 1904 he married Anna Amelia Sylfvén, who was born in the United States to Finnish-American parents. In 1905, he began as pastor of the Apostolic Lutheran Church in Lestadio, in Cokato, Minnesota. He and his spouse would adopt a child from Sint Paul, Minnesota, who was born on 29 September 1907. Her name was Martha Agnes. Lahtinen was officially a US citizen on December 5, 1910. Meanwhile, a house would be built for the couple while they resided in a rented house north of Brooks Lake. The church had no parsonage. A few miles from there, the Stroberg family had a farm where they also stayed.
At the last sermon that William preached before the departure something happened which was confirmed by many who were present at the time. In the congregation there was an elderly lady, who had a special gift of clairvoyance ascribed to her. After the last "Amen’ was said, she stood up and begged the pastor not to make this trip across the ocean. She warned of great sorrow and imminent disaster. After a moment of stunned silence in the crowd, the lady began to be sharply criticized for her prediction.
In September 1911, William and Anna Lahtinen returned to Finland for a short time. The purpose of their trip was to pick up Anna's 17-year-old protege Lyyli Karoliina Silvén from Tornio, a relative who also wanted to move to the United States. Lyl would be taken care of by the couple. However, Martha Agnes had suffered from mengitis which caused her death on the 10th of March.
William, Lahtinen, his wife Anna Amelia Lahtinen-Silfvén and their adopted daughter Agnes Martha Lahtinen
Titanic[]
William, Anna and Lyl came aboard the new liner, Titanic, on 10 April in Southampton. They traveled in Second Class. Lyyli would have her own cabin, shared with another young woman and fellow Fin, Anna Maria Sinkkonen.
After the Titanic collided with the iceberg on the night of April 14, Lyyli had woken up, and was worried, unlike her cabinmate. She went to see the Lathinen pair and returned to Anna when she had heard the news about the iceberg.
She and Anna were then forcefully removed from her cabin by a steward. They stuck together and went up to the Boat Deck. There, Anna Lahtinen and Lyl Silvén had already gotten in a separate lifeboat when Anna decided she would rather stay with her spouse on the sinking ship so she left the boat, meaning that both perished. According to the story, William Lahtinen calmly smoked a cigar when the ship sank. Lyl Silvén, on the other hand, was saved. It's unclear which lifeboat it was. It is believed to be lifeboat 16 or lifeboat 12. They were not able to find the Lahtinen's bodies for identification later.
In 1914, his mother Fredrika received £50 from a charity fund.