Anna Nysten's Letter to Her Parents

Anna Sofia Nysten

Third-class passenger

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I am now with my sister Klara, who is married. They have it so nice and good. Their son, who is married, lives in a big house nearby. He met us at the train and drove us up here. They are so kind to me, so you must not think that I suffer although I happened to have a difficult voyage.

I can hardly describe how it happened. There was terrible screaming and groaning, but you and I ought to thank God that I am alive. I managed to get into a lifeboat because I don't think it was my time to die. I'm supposed to experience more of the world.

You have probably read in the newspapers about what happened, but I can tell you a little. The boat hit an iceberg at about 12 o'clock between Sunday and Monday. I can hardly describe how it happened. There was terrible screaming and groaning, but you and I ought to thank God that I am alive. I managed to get into a lifeboat.

There was a terrible jolt, so we nearly fell out of bed. But then they said that it was serious, so the passengers calmed down until the ship began to sink, and the deck was full of people. You can imagine how it looked. I can hardly describe it. Oh, how horrible it was when everything went dark. When the ship went down we were not far away and we were almost sucked under.

We heard awful rumbling and noise when the boat sank. We sat in the lifeboat from 1:30 until 6:30 in the morning, but fortunately the sea was calm. You can imagine how happy we were to see the steamer Carpathia close in on us and we could come aboard. They were so good to us. We received blankets and coffee and brandy as much as we wanted. But there was still much groaning and crying because most of us had lost a dear relative. It was hardest for those who had lost family members. Many became hysterical.

Now, however, I am at my destination and feel quite well. I hope that you have not worried too much about me because I'm all right. All who were with me after the disaster received everything they needed. I received a nice coat and under garments. I had my money on me, and just think how amazing, I had my food basket with me. 1 No one except me had anything in them.

Curator's note: The translation, spelling, punctuation, and footnotes have been preserved from the source, provided by Anna's granddaughter, Marianne Lorenz of Iowa to Lilly Setterdahl.