She was told they couldn't go back to rescue swimmers because there the boat was full. The moaning and calling for help were awful, she later described the cries in the water: 'finally it was almost like an hymn, you could hear' which continued for what she thought was two or three hours. The lifeboat was close to the Titanic when it sank. As late as half past twelve in the night Annna had been listening to music.Īnna was rescued, probably in lifeboat 15Īs they pulled away from the ship Anna heard loud explosions and saw the lights, which had until then been burning brightly, go out. She recalled that generally the Finns did not panic and that many had gathered in 'the music room' on the deck to listen to music. The language barrier - she spoke no English - made the situation more difficult for her. They could hear the band playing although Anna was unable to identify any of the tunes. It was, she said, pure chance that they emerged on the boat deck. He didn’t stop to argue with them but the doors were closed and chained behind them to prevent others from coming up.'We were not told what had happened, and had to do our own thinking.' Maria had lost a teenage son to drowning back in Finland.Īs they made they way towards the deck a seaman tried to bar their way but Anna and her party refused to obey. She returned to the cabin and saw Maria Panula dressing her sleepy and crying children in a hopeless and panicky state: 'We will never get away from here alive', 'Do we all have to die by water?'

No one hurried to get dressed or go up on deck. The brother of one of the women came to their cabin and told them that something was wrong and that they should wear warm clothing and put on their life jackets: 'Get up or soon you will be at the bottom of the ocean.'Īnna was not scared, but others were and she said some of them fainted. Anna thought that there was something wrong with the engines. Anna, who was woken by the collision, described it as like a shudder. The women were all in the room when the Titanic struck the iceberg. She shared a room with Maria Panula, her children and neighbour Sanni Riihivuori.

Anna mailed a letter to her sister on 3 April 1912 from Hangö (also spelt Hanko) - a port and the Southernmost town in Finland - stating that she and about 100 other Finns were about to sail from there to make connections with the Titanic (Mrs Lundi received the letter on April 18th).Īnna boarded the Titanic in Southampton and travelled in third class. A brother, Matt Turja, lived in Conneaut, Ohio. Between this and another marriage Heikki had 21 children in total.Īnna was tempted to America by promise of a job with John Lundi the husband of her half-sister Maria in Ashtabula, OH. Miss Anna Sofia Turja, 18, was born on 20 June 1893 and grew up in Oulainen, Oulu, Finland, the daughter of Heikki Turja and Sanna Hakala. Disembarked Carpathia: New York City on Thursday 18th April 1912.Destination: Ashtabula Ohio United States.First Embarked: Southampton on Wednesday 10th April 1912.Departure from the port of Hanko aboard SS Polaris of the Finland Steamship Company on.

Īnna Turja kertoo Titanicin uppoamisyöstä Īnna Sofia Turja, born 1893, servant from Oulainen got passport no.156 forAmerica on. Oulainen parish Children's Book 1891-1900 page 126 Oulais no.4 Heikkilä.

Iina turja