These Titanic survivors had Virginia ties

Titanic lifeboats make their way toward the Carpathia. (Bain News Service photograph collection/Library of Congress)

By Amie Knowles

April 15, 2026

Did you know there were Virginians aboard the Titanic when the ship sank in the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912?

Virginia-born banker, farmer, and state legislator Robert Daniel was in his early 20s when he jumped from the sinking ocean liner and lost consciousness. Daniel later married Titanic survivor Eloise Hughes Smith.

Leah Aks and her infant son, Philip “Filly” Aks, boarded the Titanic to reunite with Sam Aks, who moved to Norfolk in 1911. By April 1912, Sam had saved enough money to purchase passage for his wife and son to Virginia.

At age 15, Celiney Decker from Lebanon was a newly married immigrant bride. Her husband did not survive. Leah Aks and Decker lived only a few blocks from one another in Norfolk, though they didn’t meet until 1951.

Amie Knowles

Amie Knowles is Dogwood's newsletter editor. She has been in journalism for 10 years, winning multiple awards from the Virginia Press Association for news and feature content. A lifelong Virginia resident, her work has appeared in the Martinsville Bulletin, Danville Register & Bee, and NWNC Magazine.

Have a story tip? Reach Amie at [email protected]. For local reporting in Virginia that connects the dots, from policy to people, sign up for Amie’s newsletter.

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CATEGORIES: LOCAL HISTORY

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