The Story of the Only Black Family on Titanic

(Image credit: Marie Williams/Quora)

There have been several movie adaptations of the tragedy that befell the RMS Titanic on the early morning hours of April 15, 1912. But none of these adaptations have included the story of one of the actual passengers on the Titanic, Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche.

Laroche was a young 24-year-old Haitian engineer who boarded the RMS Titanic with his French wife, Juliette Lafargue, and their two daughters, Simonne and Louise.

On the night the Titanic had struck the iceberg, Laroche had felt the impact, and immediately went to check on his wife and daughters. He placed all their family's valuables inside a coat and put it on his wife.

When the ship began to sink, Juliette and Simonne got on one of the lifeboats. Laroche then rushed to make sure that his second daughter Louise also made it onto the same lifeboat as her mother and sister. After all three had boarded the lifeboat, Laroche's last words to his wife were: "Here, take this. You are going to need it (referring to the coat). I'll get another boat. God be with you. I'll see you in New York."

Unfortunately, Joseph Laroche died along with the Titanic. His body was never recovered. His wife and daughters struggled upon landing in America. However, they were able to go back to France, where Juliette gave birth to a son, whom she named Joseph Lemercier Laroche.