A Genealogy Link to Titanic

I’m a big podcast fan and naturally gravitate towards the content which is genealogy or history focused. I am currently listening to “Titanic: Ship of Dreams” by Noisier, which is expertly narrated by actor Paul McGann. The podcast covers the whole story of the Titanic; the bits you already know about, and the bits you maybe didn’t. If you’re at all interested in this most famous maritime disaster, it’s worth a listen.

We all know the headline stories of Titanic – over 1500 lives lost when the “unsinkable” ship hit an iceberg and sank. However, as the podcast covers in the first episode, Titanic claimed her first victim before she even slid into the water. James Dobbin, a shipwright employed by Harland and Wolff and on the slipway to witness the launch, was fatally injured when one of the supports holding the ship in place collapsed. Much has been written about the people who were passengers on board the ship, far less about James Dobbin. So what can we find out about him in the records?

Genealogy Research - James Dobbin

The "Big Fish" in Belfast

The Titanic launch, and James Dobbin’s fatal injury, was on 31 May, 1911. Reports at the time tell us that James was 43 when he died, was married to Rachel, and they had a 17 year old son, who was also called James and the family lived in Memel Street in Belfast.

 The 1911 Irish census was taken on 2 April 1911, a couple of months before. The family were found at 25 Memel Street in East Belfast. This street is no longer there, having been destroyed in the Blitz in 1941. It was right on the banks of the Laggan, just across the river from the “Big Fish”, if you’re familiar with the city, and 5 minutes’ walk from the H&W shipyard. James, aged 41 was listed as a shipwright, his wife Rachel Louise was 39, and their son James, aged 17, was working as an apprentice plumber. All three were born in Belfast, and James and Rachel had been married 19 years by 1911. 10 years before, at the time of the 1901 census, the family was at 36 Beechfield Street in East Belfast. This street has survived, and is not far from where Memel Street was. James again gave his occupation as a shipwright, and although his employer is not stated, it can only have been H&W. James, his son, was aged 7 and at school.

There are no Irish census returns before 1901 so what else can we quickly use to look for the Dobbins? Well, we know that James and Rachel married around 1892, probably in Belfast if that’s where both were from originally. We also know from the census that they were Church of Ireland (protestant) so we won’t find them on Catholic church records.

Finding their marriage was straightforward using the Irish records site for births, marriages and deaths. James Dobbin and Rachel Louisa Boyd were married on 3 February 1892 in the parish of Ballymacarrett, the same part of Belfast where they later lived. Ages are not given – James and Rachel are just listed as “of full age” which means over 21 when they married. James gave his occupation as a labourer. Fathers’ names are also given on Irish marriage certificates, so we also know that James Dobbin’s father was also James and he worked as a labourer too, and Rachel’s father was George Boyd, who was a carman, or carter.

Finally, I searched for births for James, Rachel and their son. James junior was born on 5 May 1893 at home in Belfast, and you can see his birth record here. Rachel Louisa Boyd was born around 1872 based on her ages stated on the census, and we know that her father was George. There are however no matching births for Rachel in the records. There are only 2 babies called Rachel Boyd(e) born between 1870 and 1875, neither is in Belfast, and neither has a father called George. Further research needed!

James Dobbin, based on his ages on the census, was born around 1870. James was actually born on 10 June 1867 in the same parish of Ballymacarret, Belfast, and his birth record is here. His father was James Dobbin, a labourer and his mother was Annie Dobbin, formerly Clarke. This fact would let us research further back on James’ line, looking for the marriage of James Dobbin to Annie Clarke, or the birth of other children who would be siblings to James. Annie Dobbin registered her son’s birth with X – she could not read or write. James was born at Grove St, again in the same small area of East Belfast where he lived his whole life.

Irish research can be challenging but is not impossible and you never know what connections you might find in your tree. If you are interested in finding out whether you have any connections to Belfast, Titanic or Ireland in general, get in touch. I’d love to help.