Sidney Leslie Goodwin
Encyclopedia
Sidney Leslie Goodwin was a 19-month-old English
boy who died during the sinking of the RMS Titanic. His unidentified body was recovered after the sinking by the Mackay-Bennett, and for decades referred to as the unknown child; the body was identified as that of Goodwin in 2007. He is the only member of his family whose body has been recovered and subsequently identified.
Sidney Leslie Goodwin was born on 9 September 1910 in Melksham
, Wiltshire, England. He was the youngest child born to Frederick Joseph Goodwin and his wife Augusta (née Tyler). He had older siblings named Lillian Amy, Charles Edward, William Frederick, Jessie Allis, and Harold Victor.
. Thomas wrote to his brother, telling him about the opening of a power station there. It has been speculated that the famed Schoellkopf Hydroelectric Power Station (station A), due to open in 1912, would have been Frederick's employer had he lived. Frederick, a compositor, packed up his wife and six children, Lillian, 16; Charles, 14; William, 11; Jessie, 10; Harold, 9 and Sidney, 19 months, to prepare for the move. They booked third class passage on a small steamer out of Southampton
, but due to the coal strike that year, the voyage was cancelled and the family was transferred to the RMS Titanic. The family boarded the Titanic in Southampton as third-class passengers.
Not much is known about the family's activities during the voyage, except that the family may have been separated by sex in opposite ends of the ship, Frederick and his older sons in the bow, and Augusta with Sidney and the girls in the stern. Harold Goodwin also met and spent some time with Frank Goldsmith. Frank Goldsmith survived.
By the time the family received a warning about the iceberg collision, all the lifeboats had been launched. The entire family perished in the sinking.
In his book, The Night Lives On, historian Walter Lord
devoted a chapter ("What Happened to the Goodwins?") to the family, using the fact that the Goodwins were English to challenge the White Star Line
's implication that such high numbers of third class passengers perished because they could not understand the English language
.
The body of a fair-haired toddler was the fourth pulled from the ocean by the recovery ship CS Mackay-Bennett, on 17 April 1912. The description read:
The sailors aboard the Mackay-Bennett, who were very upset by the discovery of the unknown boy's body, paid for a monument and he was buried on 4 May 1912 with a copper pendant placed in his coffin by recovery sailors that read "Our Babe." Before 2002 (when he was first, though mistakenly, identified through DNA testing) he was known simply as "The Unknown Child". The body, identified as that of a child around two years old, was initially believed to be that of either a two-year-old Swedish boy, Gösta Pålsson; or a two-year-old Irish
boy, Eugene Rice, two other fair-haired toddlers who perished in the disaster.
initially identified the body as Eino Viljami Panula
, a 13-month old Finnish baby, based on dental records; however, Canadian researchers at Lakehead University
in Thunder Bay
discovered a test on the child's HVS1, a type of mitochondrial DNA
molecule, did not match the Panula family. DNA extracted from the exhumed remains and DNA provided by a surviving maternal relative helped positively match the remains to Goodwin, and the re-identification was announced on 30 July 2007.
Although the bodies of two other children, both older boys, were recovered, it was Sydney Goodwin who came to be a symbol of all the children lost in the disaster. He is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia
. A pair of his shoes were donated to Halifax's Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
in 2002 by the descendants of a Halifax police officer who guarded the bodies and clothing of Titanic victims.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
boy who died during the sinking of the RMS Titanic. His unidentified body was recovered after the sinking by the Mackay-Bennett, and for decades referred to as the unknown child; the body was identified as that of Goodwin in 2007. He is the only member of his family whose body has been recovered and subsequently identified.
Early life
Melksham
Melksham is a medium-sized English town, lying on the River Avon. It lies in the county of Wiltshire.It is situated southeast of the city of Bath, south of Chippenham, west of Devizes and north of Warminster on the A350 national route. The 2001 UK census cited Melksham as having 20,000...
, Wiltshire, England. He was the youngest child born to Frederick Joseph Goodwin and his wife Augusta (née Tyler). He had older siblings named Lillian Amy, Charles Edward, William Frederick, Jessie Allis, and Harold Victor.
RMS Titanic
Frederick's brother, Thomas, had already left England and was living in Niagara Falls, New YorkNiagara Falls, New York
Niagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 50,193, down from the 55,593 recorded in the 2000 census. It is across the Niagara River from Niagara Falls, Ontario , both named after the famed Niagara Falls which they...
. Thomas wrote to his brother, telling him about the opening of a power station there. It has been speculated that the famed Schoellkopf Hydroelectric Power Station (station A), due to open in 1912, would have been Frederick's employer had he lived. Frederick, a compositor, packed up his wife and six children, Lillian, 16; Charles, 14; William, 11; Jessie, 10; Harold, 9 and Sidney, 19 months, to prepare for the move. They booked third class passage on a small steamer out of Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, but due to the coal strike that year, the voyage was cancelled and the family was transferred to the RMS Titanic. The family boarded the Titanic in Southampton as third-class passengers.
Not much is known about the family's activities during the voyage, except that the family may have been separated by sex in opposite ends of the ship, Frederick and his older sons in the bow, and Augusta with Sidney and the girls in the stern. Harold Goodwin also met and spent some time with Frank Goldsmith. Frank Goldsmith survived.
By the time the family received a warning about the iceberg collision, all the lifeboats had been launched. The entire family perished in the sinking.
In his book, The Night Lives On, historian Walter Lord
Walter Lord
John Walter Lord, Jr. , was an American author, best known for his documentary-style non-fiction account A Night to Remember, about the sinking of the RMS Titanic.-Early life:...
devoted a chapter ("What Happened to the Goodwins?") to the family, using the fact that the Goodwins were English to challenge the White Star Line
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
's implication that such high numbers of third class passengers perished because they could not understand the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
The unknown child
The sailors aboard the Mackay-Bennett, who were very upset by the discovery of the unknown boy's body, paid for a monument and he was buried on 4 May 1912 with a copper pendant placed in his coffin by recovery sailors that read "Our Babe." Before 2002 (when he was first, though mistakenly, identified through DNA testing) he was known simply as "The Unknown Child". The body, identified as that of a child around two years old, was initially believed to be that of either a two-year-old Swedish boy, Gösta Pålsson; or a two-year-old Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
boy, Eugene Rice, two other fair-haired toddlers who perished in the disaster.
Identification and re-identification
The American PBS television series Secrets of the DeadSecrets of the Dead
Secrets of the Dead is a PBS television series produced by Thirteen/WNET New York. The show generally follows an investigator or team of investigators exploring what modern science can tell us about some of the great mysteries of history...
initially identified the body as Eino Viljami Panula
Eino Viljami Panula
Eino Viljami Panula was a young Finnish boy who died during the sinking of the RMS Titanic. From 2002 to 2007, he was believed to be "The Unknown Child", the name given to the remains of a small boy recovered after the disaster.- RMS Titanic :Eino was traveling with his mother, Maria Emilia Panula...
, a 13-month old Finnish baby, based on dental records; however, Canadian researchers at Lakehead University
Lakehead University
Lakehead University is a public research university in Thunder Bay, and Orillia, Ontario, Canada.Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', or 'LU', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate and graduate programs and a medical school.The school has more than 45,000...
in Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
discovered a test on the child's HVS1, a type of mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...
molecule, did not match the Panula family. DNA extracted from the exhumed remains and DNA provided by a surviving maternal relative helped positively match the remains to Goodwin, and the re-identification was announced on 30 July 2007.
Although the bodies of two other children, both older boys, were recovered, it was Sydney Goodwin who came to be a symbol of all the children lost in the disaster. He is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Fairview Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a Canadian cemetery that is perhaps best known as the final resting place for over one hundred victims of the sinking of the RMS Titanic...
. A pair of his shoes were donated to Halifax's Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a Canadian maritime museum located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia.The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a member institution of the Nova Scotia Museum and is the oldest and largest maritime museum in Canada with a collection of over 30,000 artifacts...
in 2002 by the descendants of a Halifax police officer who guarded the bodies and clothing of Titanic victims.