Anthony Abbing

Biography
Mr. Anthony Abbing was born on Wednesday, May 11th, 1870 in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. He was the son of Gerhard Heinrich Abbing (1835 - 1882) and Catharina Ising (November 7th, 1844 - November 2nd, 1917), who were German immigrants. Anthony had five younger siblings; Mary Anna (January 30th, 1873 - August 5th, 1934), Louise (February 17th, 1874 - January 16th, 1952), Catherine (1876 - June 27th, 1957), John Joseph (February 7th, 1879 - August 18th, 1934) and Bernard George (1882 - February 13th, 1963).

When he was only twelve years old, Anthony experienced the loss of his father, Gerhard. Since he and his siblings were still very young, Catharina, his mother, had to find work as a washerwoman to support the children until they could support themselves. The family lived in St. Bernard, where Anthony eventually found work as a blacksmith. In 1908, the single man accepted a contract that sent him to work in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa where he stayed for three whole years.

In 1912, he was ready to get back home in St. Bernard. He booked passage on the brand new R.M.S. Titanic as a third class passenger. His ticket was number 5547, which cost him £7 11s. He had originally booked on another ship but missed it. On Wednesday, April 10th, 1912, he boarded the ship in Southampton. His cabin must have been in the ship’s bow. There is absolutely no mention of his presence on board in any of the survivor’s testimonies. Therefore, it is believed that on the night of the sinking, Anthony got locked down in steerage with other third class men where he drowned. Never having the slightest chance to save himself. His body, if recovered, was never identified.

Anthony had sent a letter saying that he should arrive on April 15th, 1912 aboard another ship. So, when the ship arrived without Anthony and that rumors about the sinking of the Titanic started to circulate around, his mother knew something went wrong and that her son was gone along with the infamous wreckage. A death notice appeared in the newspaper in his memory. His mother and siblings filed for administration on his estate in Hamilton County, Ohio, United State. His mother, who was deeply affected by the loss of her oldest son, gathered all her children for a family portrait in case another one was taken away from her suddenly. The family also paid for a memorial headstone in his honor that is located at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in St. Bernard. The grave is in section 30, lot 164.