January 27th, 1891 - September 29th, 1982

She is a Aquarius.

Hannah Riordan was born in Glenalougha, Killeen, Co Cork, Ireland to Peter Riordan (July 23rd, 1868), both Cork farmers who had married in Kingwilliamstown (modern-day Ballydesmond), Co Cork on July 21st, 1868. She had 6 known siblings: Ellen (August 4th, 1887), Julia (April 27th, 1889), Maria (May 17th, 1892), Hanora Mary (May 18th, 1894), James (March 27th, 1896), and Eugene (December 3rd, 1897).

Her mother fell ill with pneumonia and died on June 24th, 1899 at the age of 30; her father never remarried and the remaining family appear on the 1901 census living at Glenalougha, Killeen, Co Cork and by that stage her maternal grandmother Julia O'Connor (born 1827) had stepped in to help care for the family. By the time of the 1911 census Hannah was described as a single domestic servant and still living with her widowed father and siblings then at Shanavoher in Killeen, Co Cork.

Aboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912:
Hannah boarded the RMS Titanic at Queenstown as a 3rd class passenger. Her destination was Lexington Avenue, New York City where Ellen lived. Ellen was holding a position she had found for Hannah as a domestic worker. Travelling with Hannah were several others from the Kingwilliamstown, Cork area, among them were Patrick O'Connor and Daniel Buckley, Bridget Bradley, Patrick Dennis O'Connell, Nora O'Leary, and Michael Linehan. It's likely she shared a cabin with her fellow Cork girls. Whilst aboard she became acquainted with several other Irish passengers, including Sligo-born John Meehan.

On the night of the sinking, Hannah recalled Meehan escorting her to a lifeboat, telling her not to worry about him as she was a strong swimmer. Patrick O'Connor and Meehan were among the lost. Coming off the RMS Carpathia in New York it was stated she was headed to Ellen at Washington Street, New York.

After The Sinking/Later Life/Death:
Hannah remained in New York for the rest of her life and only returned to Ireland once for a visit in the 1920's, her father died that same decade when he passed away on February 28th, 1927. She worked as a domestic maid and was naturalized as a US citizen on May 10th, 1928 in Manhattan. In her application she is described as a maid, standing at 5'9 and weighing 150 lbs, with brown hair, grey eyes, and a fair complexion, at the time she was living at East 72nd Street in New York City. On St Patrick's Day (March 17th, 1936) Hannah was married in St Anselm's Church in the Bronx to John "Jack" Spollen (September 11th, 1899), also an Irish immigrant who hailed from Kings County (Modern-day Co Offaly) and who was the son of James Spollen and the former Margaret Galvin.

Shortly after their marriage Hannah and John moved to Whitesbro Street in Utica, New York but they later returned to the Bronx and lived the rest of their lives there. The couple had no children and appeared on the 1940 census as residents of Hoe Avenue in the Bronx when Spollen was described as a houseman in a hotel. Hannah rarely spoke about the RMS Titanic disaster in later life and refused to grant interviews to newspapers or gelebsion journalists or even discuss it with family and friends.

A devout Roman Catholic for the rest of her life, family recall Hannah as a kind and loving stereotypical Irish matriarch figure who dressed modestly, but, despite well-advanced years as an American, not only retained her dark, almost black hair but also her native Cork accent. Hannah died in the Bronx on September 29th, 1982 at the age of 91. Her widower John died less than a year on April 4th, 1983 and they are buried together in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

Sources:
www.encyclopedia-titanica.org

Rest In Peace Hannah Riordan.