The man who faked his death on the Titanic (Pt. 1)
Mischief on the ocean liners Pt. 4
The story I share with you today on my series “Mischief on the ocean liners” has an important difference from those I have shared previously. In this story of mischief, the culprit was not actually on the ocean liner—he just pretended to be in order to fake his own death!
I mentioned in my previous post in this series a book by the author George Behe called Fate Deals a Hand that discusses the gamblers onboard the Titanic. In this book, Behe shares the story of a man named Jay Yates who went by the alias J. H. Rogers.
Yates, a known ocean gambler at the time of the sinking, had federal warrants out for his arrest for issuing false postal money orders. In order to distract the authorities who were on his trail at the time, Yates put out a notice of his death on the sinking of the Titanic.
Untraceable
The part of Yates’ story that intrigued me most was the fact that he fell completely off the historical record. He is untraceable in the U.S. census after his fraudulent death report in the newspapers in 1912, and there is no known documented record of his death.
A couple years before reading this story, I had been able to track down a relative of ours in the records who also went by an alias. I also helped a friend of mine track down the story of the tragic death of a grandparent that she had not been able to find on her own. I convinced myself that I would be able to figure out the date of Yates’ death with the tools I had used to figure out these genealogical mysteries.
I sent a message both to the author George Behe and to my friend Jill, who together with Behe, founded the club I assist with, the Titanic Book Club. Behe, being the humble person that he is, encouraged my pursuit and said that he would love to find out what the date of death was for Yates. Jill, being more realistic said, “you really think that you will be able to solve something that this expert has not been able to for years?”
I insisted to her that I knew I could do it, but Jill was right. After several days of nonstop searching, I only came up with several leads that led to frustrating dead ends (no pun intended). I have not given up on finding his date of death, but I needed to take a break to regroup until I try again. I hope that perhaps sharing some of the details of his story of mischief may lead to some feedback that may help in solving this mystery.
Who was Jay Yates?
Jay Yates was born in 1867 in Findlay, Ohio, to a father named Jacob Yates who was a respected member of his community and owned a farm. On June 11, 1885, an article from the Weekly Jeffersonian of Findlay, Ohio, reads “[o]n Saturday last Jay, a seventeen-year-old son of Jacob Yates, residing on Chamberlin’s Hill, left home, taking with him three suits of clothing. He also sold several bushels of wheat before his departure, to secure necessary funds. The boy did not like farm life very well, and it is thought he went away to some distant city to seek his fortune.”
At some point after his departure from his family, Yates began to get involved in criminal activity. In April of 1890, an article from the Shelby County Democrat of Sidney, Ohio, reads, “Jay Yates was arrested at Findlay, Ohio, for forging a note on his father for $140.”
In tracking down the whereabouts of other individuals in my prior endeavors, I had learned about the importance of both census and marriage records. I discovered that Yates was married in 1891 to a woman named Hannah Williams. In 1900, Yates was listed on the census as living with Hannah at a house in Findlay, Ohio. His occupation was listed as a hack driver, which at the time was equivalent to a cab driver that would use a horse and carriage. Hannah and Yates did not appear to have any children together according to the records.
The Titanic sank in 1912. Interestingly, there is no record of Yates in the 1910 census. He managed to evade it with both his birth name, Jay Yates, and his alias, J. H. Rogers. I do believe that if there is any record of him on the 1910 census under a different name it would be useful in tracking his activities at a later date. As of yet, I have not been able to pinpoint any additional aliases. His wife Hannah does appear on the 1910 census as head of household without her husband listed although at the time they were still married.
Yates continued to be involved in various petty crimes primarily involving him cashing fraudulent checks throughout the early 1900s. A crime occurred in 1910 that resulted in federal warrants for his arrest. In part two, we will discuss this crime as well as Yates’ fabricated report of his death on the Titanic in 1912.
I really want to find this guy. I would love to solve this mystery so I can share with Behe, he is such a nice person!
Intrigued by this mystery figure and looking forward to future posts.