Manuel Uruchurtu Ramírez

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Uruchurtu_Ram%C3%ADrez

See below for biographical notes provided by the grandson of one of Manuel's brothers.

Children

• Amparo was baptized on 11th November 1902 and
• Jósé Armando Hermenogildo on 21th April 1907, all in Mexico City.

Uruchurtu himself was baptized on 1st August 1872 in Hermosillo as José Manuel Uruchurtu Ramirez.

He had the following siblings that I was able to find:

1. Gustavo Adolfo Uruchurtu Ramirez, baptized on 18th April 1868
2. José Manuel Uruchurtu Ramirez, baptized 17th January 1866 - obviously he died, because another one, he who was on the Titanic, was born in 1872.
3. Maria Ysidra De Los Dolores Uruchurtu, baptized on 8th June 1859
4. Maria Del Refugio Mercedes Uruchurtu Ramirez, baptized 9th May 1870
5. Alfredo Uruchurtu Ramirez, baptized on 10th January 1864 all in Hermosillo, all had the parents Mateo Uruchurtu and Mercedes Ramirez.

The above information supplied by Hermann Söldner.

Titanica

• Name: Don. Manuel Ramirez Uruchurtu
• Born: Thursday 27th June 1872
• Age: 39 years 9 months and 19 days.
• Marital Status: Single.
• Last Residence: in Mexico City Mexico
• Occupation: Lawyer
• 1st Class passenger
• First Embarked: Cherbourg on Wednesday 10th April 1912
• Ticket No. 17601 , £27 14s 5d
• Died in the sinking.
• Body Not Recovered

Manuel Uruchurtu Ramirez, 37, was born 27th June 1872 in Hermosillo, state of Sonora, Mexico the son of Cap Mateo Uruchurtu Días and Mercedes Remirez Estrella. He was batized on 1st August 1872 at the Asunción Cathedral of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.

Uruchurtu came from a well to do Mexican family. As a young man he travelled to Mexico City to study law in what today is the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and married a fellow student Miss Gertrudis Caraza y Landero, a Mexican lady of high social standing, and they had 7 children.

He settled in Mexico City with his family and started a law practice. By the time of the Porfiriato (the Dictatorship of President Porfirio Díaz) Don Manuel was a well established figure in the national, cultural and political scene. At the time of the revolution (1910) however, Don Manuel Uruchurtu was in a less than favourable personal situation since his financial status immediately put him amongst the "catrines", i.e. wealthy people with very well defined alliances with the former establishment. In 1911, Don Porfirio Díaz was exiled to France along many other former government officials on board the German liner Ypiranga. In mid-Febrary 1912, Don Manuel, now a man of 40 years of age, decided to go to France and visit his former closest friend General Ramón Corral who was a very distinguished military strategist to Don Porfirio. Manuel, after meeting with Don Ramón and probably also with Don Porfirio himself, decided that it was time to return home to his wife.

Guillermo Obregón, the son-in-law of Corral, wanted also to return to Mexico and had therefore booked a passage on the Titanic. Uruchurtu himself had booked on the France. Obregón persuaded Uruchurtu to exchange their tickets. Don Manuel got ticket No. PC 17601 (price: £27 14 s 5 d). This happened in the beginning of April in his last residence, the Grand Hotel in Paris.*

Uruchurtu boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg. He travelled alone. On April 10th he sent a postcard to his mother in Hermosillo. He wrote that the postcard shows the ship in which he travels. And he will visit her when he's back to Mexico, and he will recount the voyage.**

On the night of the sinking it is said that he had the opportunity to take a seat in lifeboat 11 but that, as the boat was about to be lowered, he noticed an English lady of the Second Class standing by the bulwark. She pleaded to be let into the boat, because her husband and little child were awaiting her. He stood up and offered his place to her, only asking her to visit his wife at Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.

Uruchurtu died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified.

Notes

• Alejandro Gárate Uruchurtu writes that Uruchrtu sates in two letters, one adressed to his wife (Gertrudis Caraza) dated MARCH 26, 1912 and sent from Paris, France, and the other one adressed to his brother in law (Luis Caraza) dated MARCH 30, 1912 and sent from Madrid, Spain, that is was his intention to sail on the Titanic.
  • His last known communication was a telegraph message adressed to his brother Remigio Uruchurtu dated APRIL 10, 1912 and sent from Cherbourg, France, which reads "EMBARCOME" (going on board).

References and Sources

• Alejandro Gárate Uruchurtu, Mexico Un Mexicano en el Titanic (Spanish, English)
• Contract Ticket List, White Star Line 1912 (National Archives, New York; NRAN-21-SDNYCIVCAS-55[279])
• Marriages, Births, Deaths and Injuries, White Star Line 1912 (PRO London, BT 100/260)

Credits

• Alejandro Gárate Uruchurtu
• Horacio Cazarin Ruiz Amargado, Mexico
• Gerardo González, Mexico
• Hermann Söldner, Germany

Biographical notes=== from Alejandro Gárate Uruchurtu - a member of the Titanic Historical Sociaty (Southampton, England) and of Encyclopedia Titanica

MANUEL URUCHURTU RAMIREZ
(in latinamerican countrys and specially in Mexico BOTH LAST NAMES ARE USE <father and mother>)

His father was MATEO URUCHURTU DIAS and his mother's name was MERCEDES RAMIREZ ESTRELLA

He had 3 brothers: ALFREDO (the oldest), GUSTAVO ADOLFO and REMIGIO (the youngest)

Date of birth (27 June, 1872)

Marital Status: MARRIED TO GERTRUDIS CARAZA Y LANDERO in January 7, 1898

They had 7 children: DOLORES (girl), AMPARO (girl), MANUEL (boy), EDUARDO (boy), ARMANDO (boy), LEON (boy) and JOSELIN (boy)

Note: Gertrudis Caraza (wife) died on January 27, 1916 and the family says that "she died of sadness or sorrow due to her lost"

Occupation - he was a Lawyer but, in 1912 he was also Federal Congress man for the fourth time and he was looking foward to become Senator of the Republic

He was also a well known writer (he wrote 5 books all in Spanish)

From 1901, he was Public Notary in the State of Sonora (in Mexico it is mandatory to be Lawyer to become Public Notary)

Note: this is a brief review of many important things that he done during his life

TRIP TO EUROPE:

He went to Europe in February 15, 1912, from Mexico to France

While he was in Europe he travelled to England (where he had meetings in the Houses of Parliament), Spain (where he also had various meetings in "Las Cortes", Spanish congress) and in France he had different meetings with the French Deputies (Congress men). Besides that he visited many friends that were exiled due to the Revolution in Mexico. Among his friends were RAMON CORRAL (former Vicepresident of Mexico and his political "godfather"), JOSE IVES LIMANTOUR (former Secretary of Treasure), PORFIRIO DIAZ MORI (former President of Mexico) among many others

COMING BACK HOME

By mid March (1912) he began to plan his trip back home. Originally he was going to travel aboard the ship SPAIGNE that was going to depart from the port of Havré (France) direct to Veracruz (Mexico) in April 10, 1912

His best and closest friend GUILLERMO OBREGON (Congress man like Manuel and son in law of the former Vicepresident of Mexico Ramón Corral) went to visit Manuel tat the Hotel (Grand Hotel, Paris) and convinced him to travel aboard the TITANIC. In this matter Obregón went to the White Star Line office in Paris, bought the tiket and he gave it to Manuel. This was comment by Obregón in 1928 to my uncle Gustavo (brother of my mother Carmen)

NIGHT OF THE 14th OF APRIL

It is well documented that Manuel was on board of BOAT NUMBER 11 (eleven), when a second class passenger lady, ELIZABETH RAMELL NYE tried to get on the boat. The officer in charge DID NOT LET HER GET IN, so Manuel stand up and, in an act of chivalry, HE GAVE HIS PLACE TO MISS ELIZABETH with only one request: "IF YOU SURVIVE AND HAVE THE CHANCE, PLEASE TRAVEL TO MEXICO, FIND MY FAMILY AND TELL THEM WHAT HAS HAPPEND HERE"

This was declared to the US Senate Inquiry Commission by Mrs EDITH ROSENBLAUM (First Class Passenger) and his action was recognized by the US Senate as ACT OF HEROISM ("United States, Congress, Senate ... 62nd Congress, 2nd Session, 20 August 1912. Document 933")

Mrs Elizabeth Ramell honoured her promise; she came to Mexico in the second half of 1915, first to Mexico City where she was informed that the widow (Gertrudis Caraza) was living in the City of Jalapa (capital city of the State of Veracruz) where Mrs Ramell went, she found the widow and told her what happend that tragic night. Witness of this interview was tha Colonel JOAQUIN PITA who commented and wrote this passage in his MEMORIES that were published in July 1948

Afterwards Mrs Ramell travelled all the way to the north of Mexico, to the city of Hermosillo (capital city of the State of Sonora) where she went to talk with MERCEDES RAMIREZ (my grand grand mother and mother of Manuel). This interview took place between the end of January or begining of February 1916

Finally please let me tell you that in 2001 I wrote an essay about Manuel Uruchurtu's life titled "CABALLEROSIDAD" (Chivalry) and I have just finished a book, co-written with Guadalupe Loaeza (one of the most well known Mexican writers and journalists) titled "EL CABALLERO DEL TITANIC" (The Gentleman of the Titanic) that is going to be presented in April 12, 2012, as part of the CENTENIAL CONMEMORATIONS. This book is in Spanish (first one to be writen in our language) and we have plans to translate it to English and French by the end of the year or begining of 2013