Miss Mārīyā al-Ba’qlīnī: A Young Titanic Survivor’s Journey

Who was Mārīyā al-Ba’qlīnī?

Miss Mārīyā al-Ba’qlīnī, also known as Maria Catherine Baclini, was a 5 (five) year-old third-class passenger who survived the sinking of the Titanic. Born on September 21, 1906, in Al Shwayr, Syria (now part of Lebanon), Mārīyā’s journey on the ill-fated ship would become a remarkable story of survival and resilience.

Early Life and Family Background

What was Mārīyā’s family like?

Mārīyā was born into a Syrian-Lebanese family:

• Father: Sulaymān Dāwūd al-B’aqlīnī (born 1878), a pharmacist
• Mother: Laṭīfah al-Haj Qurbān (born 1888)
• Sisters:
  • Ūwjīnīyā al-Ba’qlīnī (born 1908)
  • Hilānah al-Ba’qlīnī (born 1909)

Why did Mārīyā’s family decide to emigrate?

In late 1908, Mārīyā’s father left their village with a neighbor, Najīb Qiyamah, fleeing potential religious persecution. His initial plan was to establish a pharmacy in New York. However, he first spent time in San Cristóbal, Venezuela, before entering the United States on June 7, 1910. By 1912, he had established a dry goods business and saved enough money to bring his wife and daughters across the Atlantic.

The Journey to Titanic

How did Mārīyā and her family end up on the Titanic?

The family’s journey to America was not straightforward:

1. Departed from their village to Beirut
2. Sailed from Beirut to Marseille
3. Traveled from Marseille to Cherbourg

At Cherbourg, Mārīyā was discovered to have conjunctivitis, preventing their travel due to contagion concerns. This delay led them to board the next available ship - the Titanic.

Titanic Voyage Details

Mārīyā was traveling with her mother, two younger sisters, and a teenage neighbor, Adāl Najīb Qiyāmah, whom her mother was chaperoning.

Fate During the Disaster

How did Mārīyā and her family survive the sinking?

On the night of April 14-15, 1912, Mrs. Baclini managed to navigate her way to the upper decks with her three young children and Adāl Najīb Qiyāmah. The group of five was able to enter a lifeboat and escape the sinking ship.

The al-B’aqlīnī family is a rare example of a larger third-class family group surviving intact.

Mārīyā had few memories of her time on the Titanic, which she didn’t care to discuss later in life. However, she did recall gunshots being discharged when she was boarding her lifeboat.

Life After the Titanic

What became of Mārīyā after surviving the Titanic?

After the disaster, Mārīyā and her family settled in Brooklyn, New York. By 1930, she was working as an unmarried department store manager. On November 1, 1934, she married George C. Khanisur, a New York native of Lebanese parentage who worked in a newspaper printing press.

The couple had one child:

• Joyce Gail (born August 30, 1937)

They lived at 1730 East 27th Street in Brooklyn, which Mārīyā listed as her address when applying for US citizenship in August 1941.

Legacy and Family

Mārīyā al-Ba’qlīnī passed away on June 27, 1982, at the age of 75 (seventy-five). She was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York, under an elaborate headstone. Her husband George followed her in death on July 27, 1996, at the age of 94 (ninety-four).

How did Mārīyā’s survival impact future generations?

Mārīyā’s daughter Joyce married Anthony Joseph Genovesi, a lawyer and Democratic politician who served as a member of the New York State Assembly. They had five children: Lara, Joseph, Anthony, Mark, and Elena.

In a notable achievement for the family, Mārīyā’s granddaughter Lara was recently sworn in as a justice of the New York State Supreme Court, continuing the family’s legacy of public service and resilience that began with their remarkable survival of the Titanic disaster.