William Kearney |
|
|---|---|
 | |
| Biological Information | |
| Full name |
William John Kearney |
| Nicknames |
William John Carney (misspelled name) |
| Gender |
Male |
| Born |
January 5, 1881 |
| Death |
April 15, 1912 |
| Cause |
Perished on Titanic |
| Background Information | |
| Family |
Charles Kearney (father) Eliza Jane Harris (mother) |
| Romances |
None |
| Hometown |
Newport, Monmothshire, Wales |
| Religion |
Christian |
| Titanic Statistics | |
| Boarded |
Southampton |
| Destination |
New York, U.S.A. |
| Occupation |
Lift Attendant |
| Class |
Titanic Crew |
| Fate |
Drowned in one of the Titanic's elevators |
| Production | |
| Classification |
Historical Character |
| Portrayal |
Sean Nepita |
William John Kearney (misspelled as William John Carney)was one of the lift attendants on the RMS Titanic.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
William Kearney was born in Newport, Wales January 5 1881. He was baptised in St Paul's Church, Newport on January 1881. He was the eldest of eight children born of a Welsh father, Charles Carney (b. 1854 in Newport), a pilot seaman, and an English mother, Eliza Jane Harris (b. 1854 in Ilfracombe, Devon). William appears on the 1881 census as a 4-month-old infant, residing with his parents at 40 Capel Crescent, St Woollos; by 1891 the expanding family had relocated to 6 Alfred Street, St Woollos and the 1901 census shows them residing at 43 Robert Street, Newport. His father had died aged 40 in 1895, not long after the birth of his youngest sibling Ivor, and he had now become a breadwinner in the household, listed on the 1901 census as a shipyard labourer alongside his brothers Bertie and Reginald. The 1911 census shows the family still residing at 43 Robert Street but William was by then described as a boilermaker's helper at the docks. Exactly when he went to sea is not clear but he worked for a time aboard Majestic, operating out of Liverpool.
RMS Titanic[]
When he signed-on to the Titanic, on April 6th, 1912; he gave his address as 11 Cairo Street, West Derby Road, Liverpool. His last ship had been the Majestic. As a first class lift attendant he received monthly wages of £3 15s.
Character history[]
When Rose DeWitt Bukater was searching for Jack Dawson, he refused to use the elevator, saying it was closed. Rose, however, pushed him aside and told him to run the elevator down, using force.
They made it to E deck but when Kearney saw that water was flooding it he went back up, leaving Rose behind.
All the lift attendants died in the sinking, and it can be presumed he also died in the sinking.
Behind the scenes[]
He was portrayed by Sean Nepita.