Fate was no less cruel to 48-year-old American sea post clerk John Starr March. The oldest of the American crewmembers assigned to Titanic, March appeared to carry a curse of bad luck. During his eight-year career as a sea post clerk, the ships he served on were involved in eight separate emergencies. His two adult daughters constantly implored him to seek safer work elsewhere within the postal system, especially after their mother died in June, 1911 while March was at sea. But by 1912, March had grown accustomed to the sea and was unwilling to give up his grand voyages for a less-glamorous postal position. He assured his daughters that he would never drown at sea.  But on the morning of April 15, his daughters’ worst nightmares were realized.

March’s body was recovered at sea following the disaster.  His effects, returned to his grieving daughters, included his gold watch and chain and an initial ring bearing the letter “M.” 
 
John Starr March had been a volunteer with the Middletown, New York, fire company, as well as an active member of the Port Jervis (New York) Lodge of the Elks and Odd-Fellows.

 
  This pocket watch, found on John Starr March’s body when it was recovered at sea, stopped ticking at 1:27. It is logical to infer that it stopped at 1:27 a.m. on the  morning of April 15, 1912 as a result of the sinking. As such, it strongly suggests that the  postal clerks survived the initial in-rush of water in the mail compartment around 11:40 p.m. It also supports the eye witness accounts of survivors who stated that the mail clerks were actively attempting to rescue the mail until the absolute last moments before Titanic vanished under the sea.