MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery

Subject: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: Mike Sharecropper Madigan
Date: 25 Jul 04 - 01:03 AM

Maggie Madigan, originally from Askeaton,Co. Limerick Ireland, survived the sinking of the Titanic April 14/15,1912. But of the 705 survivors, she's the ONLY one historians have no accuracte positive knowledge of as to where she lived, who she really married, and where she died. I wrote a song about her and a woman named Karen Thomas (from Ohio in the USA) who attended a TITANIC Exhibit in Cleveland Ohio. Karen was given an entrance ticket to the exhibit with a replica White Star Line ticket for "Maggie Madigan" and that set the ball in motion with Karen looking for info about Maggie Madigan. She came upon my humorous jest in a "Madigan" genealogy forum web site that said Maggie was my great great aunt who left me 800 thousand dollars as an inheritance. I presented this story and song at a Song Writer's Circle in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, and from there it went to CBC radio provincially and nationally. Only after I had written the story did I find out 8 months later that my great grandfather was ALSO born in Askeaton Ireland!!! Now the quest for the truth about her being related is underway. If interested, have a listen to my song and story at my trio's web site at www.thesharecroppers.net or drop into the famous Askeaton web site at www.askeatonbynet.com. Find the box for Maggie Madigan, enjoy the story. The bottom line...a Global TV 13 episode show called "Past Lives" is interested in doing an episode on this story and the quest to know what ever happened to Maggie Madigan,Titanic survivor.
Can you help in that quest? Do you know any Madigans from Askeaton and/or Ireland who have said that they were related? Let me know at [e-mail]
Thanks...Mike Madigan in western Newfoundland, Canada
The song is on our 3rd cd "Home,Boys!"..as a bonus song!

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: mg
Date: 25 Jul 04 - 02:00 AM

Cool. My father had a friend in Longview, Washington USA...his name was Pat Blessington and he struck me as old inthe 50's...but maybe he wasn't all that old..he had white hair though. My father told me, in front of Mr. Blessington, that he had been on the Titanic..he had been emigrating from Ireland and he was about 14, and he lost his memory and they had to write to Ireland to find out who he was....I don't think this was a joke or anything. But I have mentioned it before and people looked on the lists of survivors and didn't see his name...any ideas? mg

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Jul 04 - 02:18 AM

Here's an idea: maybe dear old dad was full of shit!

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: Big Mick
Date: 25 Jul 04 - 12:49 PM

And the reason for your very poor manners is what, GUEST?

Good luck on your search, Madigan.

Mick

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: open mike
Date: 25 Jul 04 - 09:08 PM

do you have any idea as to her birthdate?
if it is possible to find out how old she
was when the Titanic sailed, it might be
poeeible to find eveidence of her existance
thru genealogy sources. Good Luck!

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 25 Jul 04 - 11:10 PM

Birthdate 1890, first name Margaret, from Askeaton, Co. Limerick, age 21. Address she gave in NYC known (brother, friends). Seemingly no trace beyond that. This is all that seems to be in the records associated with those tracing Titanic survivors (see web sites). Limrick County

A record of a Margaret Madigan at Troy, NY, seems to be of someone else. Not much to go on. I'm sure the Madigan who started this thread is aware of these few facts. The name is not uncommon, so which is "the real Margaret" becomes a problem.

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 26 Jul 04 - 03:20 AM

The trouble with searching for the Titanic passengers is that the records weren't very well kept. There were people on it that weren't on the manifest, there were people on the manifest who never made it on board and (particuarly crew) people on the manifest who 'jumped' or left the ship at the first port of call, so weren't on the fatal leg of the voyage. We will never know an accurate and detailed list of exactly who was on board and who died. The only reasonably accurate list is of the survivors. And even that has errors, children who were too young to know their names and so had to be matched up with the manifest or claimed by relatives.

We've have a family legend that a relative was on board and it turns out (from the crew lists) that there WAS a hosptial steward with the same name. Trouble is, he gives his birthplace as Lewes, in Sussex. The family were a good 80 miles further west, in Dorset. There is a family with the same surname in Lewes, but no record of him being born there. If he was from Lewes, how come WE had the family legend?? And if he did die on the Titanic, where is the record of his death? So far, I've not been able to track one down.

My late father used to work with a man who had been rescued from the Titanic, at the age of 5. He was lucky, his mother made it through as well. His father, grandfather and uncle, along with his uncle's wife and children, didn't. He said all he remembered was it being very dark, wet and cold and that he was given some chocolate by a sailor who wrapped him in a blanket.

Good luck with your searches though.

LTS

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jul 04 - 08:16 AM

I have a list of the passengers on the Titanic which I downloaded from the Internet, stored away somewhere. I cannot guarantee that it is 100% accurate. It does include passengers who embarked at Queenstown (now Cobh), Co. Cork.

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: Mike Sharecropper Madigan
Date: 28 Jul 04 - 12:30 AM

Thanks for the info so far. yes I am aware of most of it ...but every now and then something new comes up. I do now have a picture of maggie but even that has it's mystery about it. I'll reveal more later.

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: GUEST,Mike Madigan
Date: 30 Jul 04 - 08:19 AM

Just seeing if anyone is responding! So far a few things have happened with the TIS Titanic International Society...the story is there too. Tks..Mike

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: GUEST,RUSS HAIDINGER
Date: 22 Nov 04 - 05:18 PM

MY MOTHER - MARGARET MADIGAN -WAS BORN IN NEW YORK CITYON JUNE 26, 1923 AND GIVEN UP FOR ADOPTION. THE TITANIC "MAGGIE" WOULD HAVE BEEN 32AT THAT TIME. FAMILY LORE SAID SHE WAS UNWED AND GAVE THE BABY UP. COULD IT BE TRUE?

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: Big Mick
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 11:14 AM

WHY ARE YOU YELLING???

Mick

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: GUEST,jennifer Keefer
Date: 26 Apr 05 - 08:56 AM

i would like to know why the only thing about her is that she was a third class passenger on the Titanic I would like to know more about her because I am doing a project about her. I think she would be a good person to do it on

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: Brían
Date: 26 Apr 05 - 09:46 AM

I'll print this thread and show it to a friend at the local historical society. I am not good at this type of research. There is an index of missing persons from ads posted in the Boston pilot. Has anyone tried that?

Brían

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: Dave (the ancient mariner)
Date: 26 Apr 05 - 11:30 AM

Anyone trying to research crewmembers might get some assistance from the research section of this site.
http://www.mna.org.uk/
Yours, Aye.Dave

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: Brían
Date: 27 Apr 05 - 11:23 AM

The Boston Pilot newspaper printed a "Missing Friends" column with advertisements from people looking for "lost" friends and relatives who had emigrated from Ireland to the United States from October 1831 through October 1921. I didn't find anything, but maybe someone else might find sime information. Hear is a link: Information Wanted.

Brían

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: mg
Date: 22 Jan 09 - 01:37 AM

http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/4732242-35/story.csp

This is a link to a story about Pat Blessington's daughter..I have said for years he was a surviver of the Titanic and my father knew him.

google Titanic and Blessington..there is another link to a film reviewer who met him and said someone did a radio show about him.
To recap: he was on the Titanic about age 14, lost his memory and they had to write back to Ireland to see who he was. He does not seem to show up on Titanic lists, but he could have been adopted, or any other number of scenarios.

I would love to see his obituary. Maybe I can find it..

Longview Washington...I would guess died in 70s? Could be longer though. mg

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: Barry Finn
Date: 22 Jan 09 - 02:01 AM

Did I just hear recently that the last known survivor had just died?

Barry

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 06:08 PM

We have to get on this Pat Blessington story because I do not even know if his only daughter is alive..however, he had numerous brothers and sisters..like 20 or so...he was from Longford? Acua? Arva? His daughter said the amnesia story was not right...that they wrote to Ireland but he knew who he was and apparetnly some of the brothers and sisters met the ship...he got on the Carpathia? somehow I believe..the main rescue ship. This was one of the most saintly people I have ever met and of course people can have false memory syndrome but I think this is the truth..which is always stranger than fiction. mg

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 10:06 AM

refresh!

Love a good mystery.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 12:52 PM

I've been involved with Titanic historical research for more than 40 years. At this point, nearly everything is net-accessible, as are the experts doing the work. Steerage passengers are notoriously hard to trace. Post your info requests _everywhere_...cast a wide net!

Unfortunately, essentially all people who had direct association or contact with Titanic are gone. She is beyond the range of human memory. She has become a song, like Lady Franklin's Lament.

s.

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 10:29 PM

I wish people who visit and offer such interesting comments would go ahead and join Mudcat and keep the conversation going. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Jan 12 - 01:13 PM

Meet maggie madigan

Her story is now a stream of 1s and 0s. We will never really know her, but with the use of our internal, personal mythology, we might understand how she may have felt about tragedy and survival.

...dark was the night, cold was the ground

http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/margaret-maggie-madigan.html

http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/maggie-madigan-irish-immigrant.html


s.

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 01 Jan 12 - 04:04 PM

Although it was possibly less common by 1915, genealogical research by my favorite "her" (mostly in Ellis Island records) has found that booking ship passage under assumed names was quite common, especially for females travelling alone. Our findings of "confirmed" disguises suggest that, although instances of the practice were known at those earlier times, the practice quite probably was even more common than what was then suspected. (Or that "her" ancestral family included a lot of "liars" (?))

A fairly common ex post facto explanation was that a female wanted to accompany "her male friend" but for some reason the couple was unable (even discreetely?) to be married before "getting out of town." She might use a name-disguise to reduce the odds of being caught and detained by "family" or others. Her male friend likely would not need to disguise who he was (perhapsbecause those who might object might be happy to see him gone?). In a few cases, a married couple who had not declared their marriage might need to continue the concealment in the old land, with the expectation of announcing it at sea or after debarking.

This is not to suggest the likelihood that "Maggie" might have been someone else prior to boarding; but it is something to be considered as "at least possible." By looking beyond the ship manifests at evidences of persons indentifiable in census records, church accounts, newspaper reports, and wills and deeds occasionally one can find some who "disappeard to unknown places," and who may be "connected" to a person otherwise known to have been on the ship. This is an extremely difficult kind of research to actually do, with any real likelihood of success; but even a few clues can at least eliminate one guess so you can guess again.

It's a lot easier to confirm such connections with some knowledge of at least one of the persons involved, which doesn't appear to be the case for Maggie.

For a successful voyage, there is often a marriage shortly after arrival that "proves the case," once bits and pieces from other evidences are filled in. The Titanic changed lots of people's plans, so that sort of evidence is probably unlikely in Maggie's case.

John

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Jan 12 - 06:46 PM

uhhhhh...

check my links...maggie has a real story...

s.

Subject: RE: MaggieMadigan-TITANIC Survivor mystery
From: Amos
Date: 01 Jan 12 - 09:34 PM

The summary of her life, nicely told.