Albert Sylvanus Hunt was a trimmer onboard the Titanic.
Background[]
Albert Sylvanus Hunt came into this world on the 26th of February, 1889, as one of many children born to Isaac Hunt and Harriett Rusher.He had 4 brothers and 3 sisters, many of which were older. The eldest was Gertrude Elizabeth in 1878. Next was Beatrice Fanny in 1879. The following three children were sons. The first was was George, he appeared in 1881. Second was Thomas, born in 1884. Before Albert, in 1886, Silvester was born. Albert’s younger siblings were Emily Rose and James Isaac. They were born in 1893 and 1897 respectively. Albert had the nickname ‘Ginger’.
Harriett had died by 1900. Albert gave the yes-word to his bride, Elizabeth Ellen Hebb, in 1909, on the 30th of October. The first child sprung from their union in 1910: Alfred William. Albert was a seafarer in 1911, so absent from home. He expanded on his sea career. Soon, greater things were in store for him.
Titanic[]
Albert had previously worked on the Majestic in April 1912, before switching to the Titanic, aged 22. Albert joined her before the delivery trip in Belfast on the 6th of April. By then, his older brother Tom was also onboard. He was a Fireman. Then there was Albert’s brother-in-law who worked as a trimmer like Albert. He was William Albert Hebb, the brother of his wife Elizabeth.
On April 14, it was a night of disaster for the deemed unsinkable Titanic. It was the perfect storm, in a figurative way of how everything that could go wrong, went wrong. A calm, flat sea was deceiving for the evening watch, who did not notice an iceberg until it was too late to get around her. They attempted a port manouvre with the engines backwards, but she shit the berg on her starboard side, which left gashes and dents in the hull below sea level. The steamer was now taking on water, a lot.
The situation had the captain and shipbuilder Thomas Andrews worried out of their wits. On April 15, at midnight, the two had discussed the damage Titanic had, on the bridge, after which Andrews had to tell with pain in his heart, that the Titanic was not really unsinkable and just had 2 hours to stay afloat. The Titanic’s captain didn’t know how to process what he just heard but he went on to tell his crew that they must now ready the lifeboats.
The fataly wounded ship fired flares to attract attention while her wireless operators sent out distress calls.
Albert and his brother-in-law helped to ready Collapsible C. A story goes that they jumped in during the lowering process, after having prevented other men from entering, another rendering said they were fortunate enough to get to the overturned Collapsible B and hold on. Whichever was true, they made it through the night. Many others did not. They perished from hypothermia. The same fate was bestowed upon the poor Thomas Hunt, who was the only one of the three to die. He reportedly clung on the side of Collapsible B or was half on it, but he could not bear the circumstances and his body gave up, he slid down and was gone, which created room for others. Maybe Thomas is the reason Albert was stil alive that night.
The Titanic was gone at 2:20 A.M, two hours and 40 minutes after the iceberg got in her way.
Albert, William and all other survivors had to wait a few hours before help came. As Carpathia, a ship that had responded to Titanic's pleas for help, hurried to the disaster scene with all her might, she couldn’t get there before 4:00 A.M. It was not till 8:30 A.M that the occupants of the last lifeboats were on board the savior ship.
Captain Rostron then set course for New York. The former Titanic crew and passengers soon could feel relief as well as the steady ground underneath their feet at April 18.
Later life[]
Still an employee of the White Star Line, Hunt continued to work for them in July 1912. He was then a crew member of the Oceanic.
Albert and Elizabeth brought forth no less than 12 children. They had Alfred William before the Titanic, but he was soon met by several brothers and sisters. There was one, who was born in 1912, but it’s unsure if that was before, during or after Albert survived the sinking of the Titanic. His name was Thomas. His brother’s name was Frank James, who in 1913. His younger sister was Rose Harriet, being born in 1914. In 1918, there was another daughter, named Beatrice Elizabeth. She was the older sister of Elsie, born in 1920. George Thomas became their fourth son in 1921, preceeding Jessie May who was next in 1923. In 1925, Frederick was conceived. Then it was the turn of Gewendoline in 1926. Robert Henry joined the Hunts in 1928 while Evelyn Joan had the honor of being the twelfth child, in 1929.
On March 23, 1949, Albert Sylvanus Hunt took his last breath. His heart failed at the age of 60.
His wife lived without him for another 28 years.