Joseph LaRoche, had gone from his native Haiti, to France, to study. He was from a wealthy family, and was the nephew of the president of Haiti. While there, he met and fell in love with a young French woman, named Juliette. She had dark features, for a Caucasian, so many people apparently thought she was a light skinned black. When they decided to move to Haiti, they booked passage on the Titanic. They could afford to travel first class, but ended up traveling second class. One version is that it was because the powers that be would not allow a black man to travel first class, and another thing that said that it was because the first class dining room would not allow children. The Laroches had two beautiful little daughters, Simonne and Louise, and Juliette was pregnant.
Joseph put his pregnant wife and two daughters in a life boat, and went down with the ship. Like most of those who died that night, his body was never recovered. Juliette never recovered very well from losing him and never remarried. It is a sweet, but very tragic, love story.
Source: Not verifiable.
Joseph would have been from Haiti's Mulatto Elite and thus would have been mixed-race himself. As far as we know, his wife was totally French and thus his children were predominately white (multiracial white).
ReplyDeletehttp://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/titanic-passenger-facing-discrimination-sought-better-life-for-family-147283625.html
Photo of Laroche Family
http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/laroche-family.html
"Ebony" is one-dropping as usual and trying to find "racism" against the Laroches on The Titanic when no evidence exists for it:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_8_55/ai_62685041/?tag=content;col1
http://www.titanic1.org/people/louise-laroche.asp
http://www.geni.com/blog/profile-of-the-day-joseph-laroche-373985.html
I would love to research this when I have the time. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThere are many tragic stories that have surfaced from horrors of April 14, 1912. Racial discrimination should not have been one of them.
ReplyDeleteKendall, let us know what you discover about the La Rouche Family, please. I know you are a very busy person and I truly appreciate the work that goes into doing research. Let Susan know if you need help and I will dig in with you. I love a good mystery.