A Connection with the Titantic

James H. Bracken and wife, Addie Greathouse

            James H. Bracken, Ohio County, has a unique story as he was one of the over 1500 people who perished in the sinking of the famous RMS Titanic in April of 1912. His body was lost at sea, so he has no place of burial and I don’t believe that there was ever a death certificate issued for him. James had a wife and a 160 acre land claim in Lake Arthur, New Mexico. There are various stories as to why he was in London, but the ships records stating that he had been residing in Southampton for about a month and that he was a stock man. Given his livelihood, I believe that meant live stock. His wife stated that he would have had about $3000-$4000 cash in his possession on his return home.

James H. Bracken

• Born: 08 Sep 1882 in Beaver Dam, Ohio County, Kentucky
• Married: Addie Greathouse about 1907 in Texas
• Died: 15 Apr 1912
• Age: 29 years, 7 months, 7 days
• Buried: Lost at sea
• Cause of Death: Ship wreck
• Parents: William B. Bracken and Sarah A. Morris

Addie Greathouse

• Born: 09 Jun 1881 in San Saba County, Texas
• Married: James H. Bracken about 1907 in Texas
• Died: 31 May 1969 in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
• Age: 87 years, 11 months, 22 days
• Buried: Rose Hill Cemetery in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
• Cause of Death: A Sudden Myocardial Infarction due to ASHD
• Parents: Archibald Donahue Greathouse and Sarah Ann Jackson

I’m not sure what happened to Addie, but at the time of James’ death she was invalid with no hope of ever recovering. It seems as though her mother was tending to her needs while her husband was overseas. It is very sad to me that the informant on Addie’s death certificate was the Red Cross. It appears she died alone in a nursing home without family or friends. Most likely she was put there after her mother passed away or could no longer care for her as she needed.

Sources:

1. Year: 1900; Census Place: Justice Precinct 2, Hale, Texas; Roll: 1641; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 28; FHL microfilm: 1241641.
2. Year: 1910; Census Place:  Lake Arthur, Chaves,  New Mexico; Roll: T624_913; Page:  1A; Enumeration District: 0027; Image:  832; FHL microfilm:  1374926.
3. Encyclopedia Titanica – 2nd Class Passenger, James H. Bracken
4. Encyclopia Titanica – Red Cross Committee Report
5. Death Certificate of Addie (Greathouse) Bracken
6. Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Agreements and Crew Lists, Series III: Titanic. BT 100/259 and 100/260. The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England.
7. Ancestry.com. UK, RMS Titanic, Deaths at Sea, 1912 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Registers and Indexes of Births, Marriages and Deaths of Passengers and Seamen at Sea. BT 334/52 and 334/53. The National Archives, Surrey, England.
8. Ancestry.com. UK, RMS Titanic, Outward Passenger List, 1912 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and Successors: Outward Passenger Lists. BT 27/776 and 27/780. The National Archives, Surrey, England.
9. Find A Grave Memorial# 64026190 – Addie C. Greathouse Bracken

Source:  Beth’s Blog