I found this article in our local Sunday paper this morning. Apparently there were more similarities between Jack Dawson and the mysterious J. Dawson who actually worked on the Titanic than was thought. Not only because of the ship and their names, but each left a broken hearted woman to mourn them.

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Joseph Dawson, 23, joined the Titanic's crew just weeks before the ship's maiden voyage. He worked below decks in the engine room. He signed up hoping for a better life after his family was torn apart by his devotion to a woman they shunned. He was a catholic and she was a protestant, and at the turn of the century that was enough to make their love forbidden. They ignored the condemnation and married, but an old photograph shows the depths of division. Her image has been torn from the picture, leaving only a brief inscription on the back from Joseph proclaiming her beauty. Joseph drowned in the freezing water as the famous liner sank... and while his wife was not aboard, whe too was left as heartbroken as Rose when the White Star sent her a letter revealing his fate. Joseph's family is still piecing together the fragments of his life and have yet to discover the name and background of the beautiful wife. But to Cecilia Whellighan, from West Kirby, in Britain, Leonardo DiCaprio was playing her beloved Uncle Joseph. The 64 year old grandmother has not seen the film and was unaware the name Jack Dawson had been chosen for one of the lead characters. She found out after hearing a member of the British Titanic Society discussing the mystery of J Dawson on a radio program. Joseph's ship union book identifies him as being employed in the Titanic's engine room as a trimmer, shifting coal from the bunkers to the furnace. The next step in solving the mystery was to authenticate documents and pictures Mrs Whelligan has held on to since the death in 1972 of her mother Margaret, Joseph's sister. Mrs Whelligan's daughter, Moira, was amazed when she heard of Leonardo Dicaprio playing a young Titanic victim called J. Dawson. She said " We grew up knowing that Joseph was among the crew who battled to save the ship as it sank. He was actually probably one of the first to die because his job meant he was working at the very bottom of the liner when it struck the iceberg."

-- Lianne (liannegraham@one.net.au), October 25, 1998

Answers

I want to know if yu can send me some information cause I very interested in this article.

Thank You

-- Saundus Elder (saundus@yahoo.com), April 05, 2001.

im din research k

-- jake dalaya (jakedalaya@hotmail.com), August 24, 2001.

i am the son of moira and i can get u any info that u want. just email and ask me

-- tom whelligan-fell (tomwellfell@hotmail.com), July 01, 2002.