July 28th, 1890 - November 1st, 1970

She is a Leo.

Catherine "Kate" Mullin was born in Rhyne, Cloonee in Co Longford, Ireland to Thomas Mullin (1846 - 1919), a farmer, and Mary Duignan (1847 - 1916) who were married in Ainbegs Roman Catholic Church in Drumlish in their native Co Longford on February 14th, 1871. She was the youngest of 9 children and her siblings were: Michael (April 28th, 1872), Patrick (February 28th, 1874), Mary Anne (December 22nd, 1876), Rose (April 1st, 1879), John (August 9th, 1881), Eliza (October 6th, 1883; later O'Flynn), Bridget (July 7th, 1885; later Thompson), and Thomas (July 26th, 1887).

She grew up in a Roman Catholic household. Kate and her family appear on the 1901 census of Ireland living at Rhyne, Clonee and by the time of the 1911 census at another house.

Aboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912:
Kate boarded the RMS Titanic at Queenstown as a 3rd class passenger. She was destined for New York City where she had a sister, whilst aboard she shared a cabin Q161 on E-deck with 3 other Longford girls, Kate Gilnagh and sisters Catherine and Margaret Murphy. On the night of sinking Kate and roommates had been in their cabin when another acquaintance, Longford James Farrell who came from the same parish as Kate, knocked on their door and told them to get dressed as aomething went amiss, the engines having stopped. The 4 girls did as they were bid and and upon trying to find a way to the higher decks found their way impeded by physical barriers or crewmen redirecting them elsewhere.

When one crewman tried to block their way James Farrell intervened, shouting at the crewman to let the women through. Intimidated by this atrapping Irishman, the crewman relented and let the group through. Kate was rescued, probably with Gilnagh and the Murphy sisters (the exact boat number is uncertain). The last she saw of James Farrell was him kneeling by his suitcase reciting the rosary. She later wrote to her father describing her experiences and related how her boat was packed with over 50 persons and how the screams of those left behind had haunted her.

After The Sinking/Later Life/Death:
Landing in New York following their rescue by the RMS Carpathia, Kate was described as a 20-year-old unmarried domestic and was headed to the home of her sister Mrs. Murray at East 50th Street, New York. Assisting financially for the loss of her belongings, Kate later garnered employment as a domestic in her new home. She was married in Manhattan on January 2nd, 1916 to labourer Martin Kearns (April 5th, 1898), son of John Kearns md Margaret Larkin who had migrated from his native Co Galway in 1910. They had 4 children: Margaret "Peggy" (born 1918), Mary (born 1919; later Dormer), Eileen (born 1922; Wall), and John Thomas (born 1925).

The family spent 2 decades living in the Bronx, New York, their 1920 address being Miller Avenue and their 1930 address at St Anne Avenue. By the time of the 1940 census they had relocated to Queens, New York and living at 65th Street in that borough—where they would live for many years—where Martin Kearns was by then working at the docks. Kate never cared to remember the Titanic disaster and it's not clear if she ever returned to her native Ireland. Both her parents remained in Ireland and died within a few years of her leaving, her mother passing away on August 13th, 1916 from bronchitis and her father died on September 3rd, 1919 from influenza.

The loss of Kate's son Joseph in 1944 in the sinking of his troopship at the age of 19 took an especial toll on Kate in later years and for the most part she remained silent on the topic of Titanic but did, a few rare occasions speak about it to family or the local media interviewed for the 50th anniversary of the sinking, she simply thanked God for her survival but stressed she didn't want to be reminded about that awful event. Kate died in Queens, New York on November 1st, 1970 at the age of 80; following a mass at Sebastian's Roman Catholic Church she was buried in St Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx. Her death notice made no mention of her ties to Titanic. Her widower Martin died in Queens at September 27th, 1976 and they are buried together.

Sources:
www.encyclopedia-titanica.org

Rest In Peace Catherine Mullen.