Samuel Burrowes was the Chief Engineer of the SS Adela. Born in County Cork in 1857, he moved to Dublin with his wife Amelia and their eight children around the turn of the century. While Amelia was a Roman Catholic, all the children were raised in the Church of Ireland tradition, as was their father.
The family initially lived at Nottingham Street, North Strand, a respectable middle class address, and would afterwards move to nearby Clonliffe Road. Amelia died in 1914. During the Great War three of their sons joined the armed forces.
When the SS Adela was struck by the torpedo, the Captain, the chief engineer and a number of crew-members scrambled into a lifeboat. It is believed that a total of eight men survived up to this point. Unfortunately, three of these would be washed overboard, and four would die of exposure. It has been passed on in the family that Samuel did survive to reach shore, but died shortly afterwards.
Samuel James Burrowes was 50 when he died in the attack on the SS Adela. His address was listed as Palmerston Road, Dublin.
