Nova Scotia Archives
RMS Titanic Resource Guide
Fatality Reports
In the days immediately following the loss of the Titanic, Fatality Reports were created for 328 individuals whose bodies were recovered at the site of the disaster. These files form a unique sub-set within the records of the Medical Examiner for the City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth (RG 41, Series C, Vols. 75, 76 & 76A) held at the Nova Scotia Archives.
The circumstances behind the creation of these records were unique. The bodies were retrieved from the open ocean. Documentation was necessary to record distinguishing physical characteristics of individual bodies and to keep track of personal papers, clothing and other items found on them. The objective was to identify each individual and then ensure that next-of-kin were contacted and the body and/or effects delivered to them.
Each Fatality Report includes a foundation document (i.e. the Medical Examiner's record) listing physical characteristics and belongings, followed in the file by any other documents generated during disposition of the body and its effects. Some files contain only the foundation document, while others are extensive.
The handwritten annotations scrawled by various hands, the check-marks and deletions, and the occasional label or business card pinned to the pages are all silent reminders of the confusion and immense distress that marked the loss of the Titanic and its human cargo.
Managing the bodies and belongings, plus communicating with those most closely concerned, was the responsibility of the Provincial Secretary's Office in Halifax. The correspondence in each file is therefore either addressed to or signed by Frederick F. Mathers, the Deputy Provincial Secretary, or occasionally by George Murray, who was both the Provincial Secretary and Premier of Nova Scotia at the time.
Only 209 bodies were brought in to Halifax. The other 119 files in the Fatality Reports are for individuals buried at sea, and are identified as such. No files are known to have been created for bodies recovered by the CGS Montmagny or the SS Algerine. Each Fatality Report presented here is also linked electronically to the corresponding entry for that individual in the 'List of Bodies'.
Results 1 to 15 of 328 from your search:
Rossmore Abbott
Status: Identified
Number: 190
Gender: Male Age: 22 Hair: Fair
Remarks: Listed as third class passenger. Embarked Southampton.
Disposition: Buried at sea.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 76 no. 190
Joseph Francis Ackerman
Status: Identified
Number: 205
Gender: Male Age: 44 Hair: Dark
Remarks: On crew list as J. Akerman, Victualling Department.
Disposition: Buried at Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, N.S.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 76 no. 205
Mauritz Adahl
Status: Identified
Number: 72
Gender: Male Age: 30 Hair: Light
Remarks: Listed as third class passenger. Embarked Southampton.
Disposition: Buried at sea.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 75 no. 72
John Adams
Status: Identified
Number: 103
Gender: Male Age: 28 Hair: Light
Remarks: Listed as J. Adams, third class. Embarked Southampton.
Disposition: Buried at sea.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 76 no. 103
William Ale or Ala
Status: Identified
Number: 79
Gender: Male Age: 35 Hair: Dark
Remarks: Listed as Wm Ali, third class. Embarked Southampton.
Disposition: Buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Halifax, N.S.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 75 no. 79
Pedro Ale or Ali
Status: (previously unidentified)
Number: 104
Gender: Male Age: 38 Hair: Dark
Remarks: Wore gray suit, also plain ring, left on finger. Effects include gold engraved ring and memo book. No further aids to identification.
Disposition: Buried at sea.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 76 no. 104
Henry Allen
Status: Identified
Number: 145
Gender: Male Age: 35 Hair: Light
Remarks: On crew list as H. Allen, Engine Department.
Disposition: Buried at Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, N.S.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 76 no. 145
Hudson J. Allison
Status: Identified
Number: 135
Gender: Male
Remarks: Listed as first class.
Disposition: Forwarded to Montreal, May 1st, care of G. E. Clark.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 76 no. 135
Owen George Allum
Status: Identified
Number: 259
Gender: Male Age: 17 Hair: Dark
Remarks: Instructions, N.Y. Office, wire, May 2nd.
Disposition: Forwarded May 4th to Boston, to connect with Arabic for Liverpool, May 7th.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 76 no. 259
Albert Karvn Andersen
Status: Identified
Number: 260
Gender: Male Age: 33 Hair: Dark
Remarks: Listed as Albert Anderson, third class. Embarked Southampton. Later identified from effects.
Disposition: Buried at Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, N.S.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 76 no. 260
Thor Andersen Olsvigen
Status: Identified
Number: 89
Gender: Male Age: 25 Hair: Light
Remarks: Listed as Thos. Anderson, third class. Embarked Southampton.
Disposition: Buried at sea.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 75 no. 89
Walter Y. Anderson
Status: Identified
Number: 146
Gender: Male Age: 40 Hair: Light
Remarks: On crew list as W. Anderson, Victualling Department.
Disposition: Buried at sea.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 76 no. 146
Ramon Artagaveytia
Status: Identified
Number: 22
Gender: Male Age: 60 Hair: Grey
Remarks: Instructions, N.Y. Office, letter, April 23rd., first class.
Disposition: Claimed by Alfred Metz Green, Uruguayan Consul, to be forwarded to South America, via New York.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 75 no. 22
H.W. Ashe
Status: Identified
Number: 34
Gender: Male Age: 34 Hair: Dark
Remarks: On crew list as H. Ashe, Victualling Department.
Disposition: Buried at Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, N.S.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 75 no. 34
Carl Asplund
Status: Identified
Number: 142
Gender: Male Age: 35 Hair: Fair
Remarks: Instructions, N.Y. Office, letter, April 30th., third class. Embarked Southampton.
Disposition: Forwarded to Mrs. Selma Asplund at Worcester, Mass., May 3rd.
Reference: Medical Examiner, City of Halifax and Town of Dartmouth Nova Scotia Archives RG 41 vol. 76 no. 142