.
 |
A tiny pair of shoes which has
been found 90 years after the
Titanic went down, has helped to
identify one of the the vicitims of
the sinking who was previously
just an "Unknown child".
Eino Viljami Panula, a 13 month
old child from Finland, has been
identified by extracting DNA from
his body and that of someone
who was thought to be a relative
of his.
The son of Juha and Maria Panula
boarded Titanic with his mother
and four brothers at South
Hampton. They were on the way to join their father
in Coal Centre,
Pittsburg, Pennsylvaia. None of |
traveling family members would make it to Pennsylvania.
They would all be victims in the sinking of Titanic
Having been one of the first of the bodies to be
recovered, Eino was a small, fair hair child. The discovery of his body
touched the soldiers in
such a way that when the body was not claimed by
any relatives, they
took the small childs coffin to Fairview Lawn Cemetary
in Halfax and
they paid for a momument to be placed there in
the childs memory. His was the only burial service to be held on May 4,
1912 at this cemetary.
In July of 2002, about 91 years after his March
10, 1911 birth, the
remains of Eino were positively identified. Magda
Schleifer who was 68
years old, told a story of her Grandmothers sister
who had, along with
her sons, died in the Titanic tragedy. Magda was
asked to give a small
sample of her blood so that DNA tests could be
done on the remains of
the unknown child, she agreed to help by having
the test done.
When the grave was opened, all that remained was
a small wrist bone
and three teeth. Inside the coffin was a small
copper pendant which
which had been inscribed with the words "Our Babe".
It is thought that
the soldiers had it put there. The small bone was
enough to do the DNA testing and FINALLY the unknown child was given a
name. Eino Viljami Panula had been identified.
An eyewitness account by a Titanic survivor who
related a story to
Magda's Grandmother says that Maria Panula and
her son Eino had
been given the opportunity to board one of the
lifeboats and Maria did not accept because she didn't want to leave any
of her sons behind.
Magda and her family have decided to leave Eino's
remains where they
are. Magda says "The child has been looked after
here, his memory lives in Halifax. Why change that?"
No longer is Eino listed as:
NO. 4 - MALE - ESTIMATED AGE, 2 - HAIR, FAIR
CLOTHING - Grey coat with fur on collar and cuffs;
brown serge frock; petticoat; flannel garment; pink woolen singlet - brown
shoes and stockings.
NO MARKS WHATEVER
PROBABLY THIRD CLASS
After checking the lists on my site, I didn't find
any mention in any of
them of this family. I have added them to the list
of the third class
passengers and the list of Titanic's victims. |
