Charles Hanus was born in Bohemia, Austria, (now part of the Czech Republic), in October 1869, the son of Carl, also known as Charles, and Julia Hanus (née Kutz). His father had brought Charles and his siblings to the United States of America around 1878, and it is believed that his mother had died prior to then.
The family settled in Iowa, where Charles got a job as a teenager on a farm. He later became a farmer in his own right, owning land in Iowa and Minnesota.
On the 28th June 1899, he married Mary Grenaghan, an Irish immigrant, in Omaha, Nebraska. The couple had no children, and lived on their farm in Jackson township, Crawford County, Iowa.
In the spring of 1915, Charles and Mary Hanus decided to travel to Mary’s ancestral home in County Mayo, Ireland, and consequently booked third class passage on the May sailing of the
Lusitania from New York to Liverpool. Travelling with them was Mary’s brother, Michael Grenaghan, who was also a farmer in Iowa.
Having left Iowa sometime in April, they arrived at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York port on the morning of 1st May 1915, in time for the liner’s scheduled 10.00 a.m. departure. Having boarded, with ticket number 168815, the trio had to wait for the liner to depart as she did not actually leave the berth until just after mid-day. This was because she had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Liner
Cameronia which the British Admiralty had requisitioned for war service as a troop ship at the end of April.
Then, six days out of New York on the afternoon of 7th May, and within sight of the coast of southern Ireland, the
Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20. At that time, she was only about 250 miles away from her home port.
Unfortunately, both Charles and Mary Hanus were killed as a result of this action and as neither of their bodies was ever recovered from the sea and identified at a later date, neither has a known grave. Charles Hanus was aged 45 years, although his age was given as 37 at the time of the disaster. Michael Grenaghan did survive.
Charles Hanus died intestate, but a probate court in Minnesota granted possession of his property in that state to his father, who was stated at that time to be aged 86 years!
In the initial list of those on board the Lusitania published by The Cunard Steam Ship Company in March 1915, their surname was correctly stated, however, in a revised list, dated February 1917, and now held at The Public Record Office in Richmond, Surrey, the couple’s surname is spelled as Hames, which is incorrect!
Nebraska Marriage Records 1855 – 1908, 1880 U.S. Federal Census, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, 1905 Iowa State Census, 1910 U.S. Federal Census, Cunard Records, Minnesota Wills and Probate Records 1801 – 1925, Denison Review, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/2/39, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.