Children Carl Wilburn (d. 1994) | Name Mary Wilburn | |
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Born May 17, 1883 ( 1883-05-17 ) Southwark, London, England Spouse(s) John A. Wilburn (m. 1915-1972) (his death) Died July 29, 1987, Syracuse, New York, United States | ||
Mary Wilburn (nee Davies) (May 17, 1883 – July 29, 1987) was the longest-lived survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.
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Aboard Titanic
Born in Southwark, England on May 17, 1883, Davies, aged 28, boarded the RMS Titanic at Southampton, England as a second-class passenger and was travelling to visit her sister, Elsie F. Langford, on Staten Island, New York.
She was asleep in her cabin when the collision occurred. She was awakened and told that there was no danger; so she returned to bed, only to be called again in a few minutes and told to get up on the highest deck, that the ship was sinking. She hurriedly dressed and then helped Lucy Ridsdale, her cabin companion, who was in the lower berth to do so; she was afflicted by a club foot. They then made their way to the boat deck.
Two men assisted her into Lifeboat 13 and it was lowered. She remembered that the weather was clear, the water was calm, and a beautiful full moon lit the entire ocean for miles around. She stated that there was very little suction as the ship sank.
She said that it was early in the morning when the RMS Carpathia hove in sight and pulled them aboard. She was numbed from the waist down and practically unconscious from exhaustion and cold.
Life after Titanic
Davies returned to England a few months following the disaster when the White Star Line, the company which owned the Titanic, offered her a free fare. She returned to the United States in 1913 where she worked as a cook. In 1915 she married John A. Wilburn, by whom she had a son, Carl. John died in 1972 and Carl in 1994. When she died she was survived by her son, two grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.
Death
Davies died on July 29, 1987 in Syracuse, New York at age 104. She was the longest-lived Titanic survivor, and one of only about 30 that were alive when the Titanic's wreck was discovered in 1985.