Second Class Passengers
Click on your Titanic passenger’s name below to read their story, and then explore the lives of other passengers on the ship. Use the links on the left to see what happened to passengers in the other classes.
Mrs. Hannah Abelson, Age 28
Mrs. Hannah Abelson was born around 1884 in Russia. Hannah worked as a dressmaker. She married Samuel Abelson, who worked as a bookkeeper, and the couple had no children.Hannah and Samuel traveled from Europe, their final destination being New York City, where a brother of Samuel lived. On their way to America they stayed at Paris, where a brother of Hannah’s was living.
Hannah and Samuel boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as second class passengers on April 10, 1912.
Survived: Hannah was rescued in Lifeboat 10. However, her husband Samuel, died in the sinking.
After her rescue, Hannah attempted to send a Marconi telegram to her brother in Paris. The message, however, was never transmitted, because the operators could not cope with the number of telegrams.
Mr. Frank Thomas Andrew, Age 27
Mr. Frank Thomas Andrew was born as Thomas Francis Gribble in Perranarworthal, England in the closing months of 1885. He was the son of James Andrew (1841-1913), a butcher and farmer, and Joanna Eslick (1847-1893), both Cornwall natives. His parents were not married as his mother was already married to Tobias Gribble. Tobias worked in South Africa in the Cape of Good Hope and while the marriage had dissolved, they were not divorced and while Tobias was away, Joanna began a relationship with Frank’s father. Frank later took his father’s name.Frank was married on July 4, 1908 to Rhoda Tripp (b. 1887). Frank and Rhoda settled in Cornwall and had one daughter, Lucy (b. 1908). Frank worked as a tin miner.
Frank boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger and was bound for the mining region of Houghton, Michigan.
Died: Frank died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified.
His father James died less than two years after him in 1913. Frank’s widow, Rhoda had been pregnant at the time of the Titanic disaster and she gave birth to a daughter whom she named Clara (b. October 11, 1912). Rhoda was remarried in 1913 to Thomas James Penaluna (1883-1955), a stonemason, and had seven more children. Rhoda continued to live in Cornwall and died on April 26, 1967.
Frank’s daughter Lucy was married in 1928 to Leslie Hitchens (1906-1935) and had two sons. She died in Penzance in 2001. What became of Frank’s daughter Clara is not clear, although it is believed she married in the late 1930s.
Mr. Edgar Samuel Andrew, Age 17
Mr. Edgar Samuel Andrew was born in Argentina, on March 28, 1895. He was the son of English parents, Samuel and Annie Andrew, from Yorkshire.On May 5, 1911, Edgar arrived in New York from Argentina to visit his brother Alfredo. He would then go on to study in Bournemouth, England. A year later he was invited by Alfredo to attend his wedding in the United States and, eventually, stay for a working position in his fiancée’s company.
Edgar was supposed to board the Oceanic but due to a coal strike he was forced to change his ticket and go aboard the Titanic instead. Edgar arrived in Southampton and boarded the Titanic as a second class passenger. On the afternoon of that same day, while on their way to Cherbourg, Edgar bought a postcard in the barbershop, which was sent to his brother Wilfred.
Died: Edgar died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified. The postcard he sent his brother has remained in the family.
In April 2001, RMS Titanic Inc. salvors in possession of the Titanic wrecksite claimed to have found a suitcase belonging to Edgar and are in the process of restoring its contents.
Mrs. Florence Agnes Angle, Age 36
Mrs. Florence Agnes Angle (née Hughes) was born in Radford Semele, England on March 8, 1876. She was the daughter of George Hughes (b. 1844), a shepherd, and Sarah Ann Hawkins (b. 1839).Florence trained to be a nurse and as of 1901 was working as an asylum nurse in the Warwickshire County Asylum for Lunatics in Hatton. Florence was married in late 1906 to William Angle (b. 1881), a tile maker. They emigrated on November 24, 1906 to Manhattan. The couple had no children.
Florence and her husband returned home to England in late 1911 to visit relatives. For their return to New York they booked passage aboard Titanic. They boarded at Southampton as second class passengers.
Survived: Florence survived the sinking, escaping in Lifeboat 11, but her husband William was lost.
Florence continued to New York where she spent time recuperating due to various respiratory ailments. She later garnered work as a housekeeper. Her time in New York proved brief and she returned home to England in November 1912.
Florence never remarried and later settled in Leamington Spa, England. She died in a nursing home in Leamington August 20, 1969.
Mr. John Ashby, Age 57
Mr. John Ashby was born in Balham, England on June 29, 1854. He was the son of James Ashby (1818-1898) and Sarah Ann Arlette (1820-1904). His father was a gardener and his mother worked as a laundress. They were married on April 1, 1844 and had at least nine children.John married Emma Keely in 1881 in Suffolk, England, and had three children. John and his family emigrated in 1889 to Brooklyn, New York where John worked as a packer. In 1912 the family moved to New Jersey.
John had been working in a cravenette factory and was injured in accident. The factory sent him to England to recuperate and he was returning to his family in New Jersey when he booked a second class passage on Titanic. He boarded at Southampton.
Died: John died in the sinking. Contrary to contemporary newspaper accounts, his body was never recovered.
His widow Emma never remarried and later lived with their daughter, Lucy. She is believed to have died in Union City, New Jersey sometime in the 1930s.
Mr. Charles Robert Bainbrigge, Age 22
Mr. Charles Robert Bainbrigge was born in St. Andrews in the Channel Islands on October 19, 1889.Robert had visited the United States in 1905 with his sister Ethel, who married and remained there, settling in St. Paul, Minnesota. Robert visited again in 1909, but stayed to work as a horse trainer for Savage’s International Stock Farm. He returned to his native Guernsey in early 1912 to visit his widowed mother. Robert had intended returning to Minnesota earlier aboard Olympic but delayed his trip so that he could travel on Titanic instead.
He boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Died: Robert died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. His mother received a grant of £85 from the Titanic Relief Fund and she is believed to have remained living in Rohais Manor up until her death in 1929. His sister Ethel remained living in St. Paul, Minnesota and later had a son named Charles William after her late brother. She died on June 16, 1956.
Mrs. Ada E. Balls, Age 36
Mrs. Ada E. Balls (née Hall) was born in London, England on May 9, 1875. She was the youngest daughter of William Henry Hall (b. 1831), a painter, and Laura Susan Powell (b. 1831).Ada was married in 1896 to Martin Luther Balls (b. 1867), a wheelwright from Norfolk. The couple had two sons. However, by 1901 the couple were living apart, and early the following year, her husband died. She then worked as a live-in parlor maid to a wealthy stockbroker.
Ada’s sister Emily had married the Reverend Robert Bateman and emigrated to the United States. Rev. Bateman had returned to England to visit relatives in his native Bristol and Ada agreed to accompany him back across the Atlantic.
Ada and Rev. Bateman boarded the Titanic in Southampton as second class passengers.
Survived: On the night of the disaster Ada, a deeply religious woman, along with her brother-in-law, Reverend Bateman, had organized a prayer meeting near the second class dining room. Ada then retired to bed and slept through the ship’s impact with the iceberg until her brother-in-law arrived at her cabin, escorted her to the boat deck, and assisted her into one of the aft port lifeboats, reportedly throwing his neck tie to her as the boat was lowering. Reverend Bateman died in the sinking.
It would be over a year before Ada was reunited with her sons in May 1913. They settled in Baltimore, Maryland. Ada was remarried around 1925 to William R. Perrine (b. 1865), a widower and native of Maryland. They lived in an apartment complex in Baltimore where he was the manager. Widowed in 1955, Ada went to live in Narraganset Avenue, Massachusetts where her son Martin was the pastor of the Berkshire Full Gospel Church.
In her advanced years Ada battled leukaemia and died in the Maryland Masonic Home for the Aged in Cockeysville, Maryland on October 1, 1967. She was buried beside her husband in Oak Lawn Cemetery, Baltimore.
Mr. Frederick James Banfield, Age 28
Mr. Frederick James Banfield was born in Helston, England on February 29, 1884. He was the son of James Martin Banfield (b. 1859), a printer’s compositor, and Ellen Berdinner (b. 1852), a housemaid.Fred was married in Plymouth on September 22, 1907, to Cecilia Elizabeth Avery Carder (b. 1887). The couple later had a child who died in infancy. Not long after his marriage Fred departed England to work as a mining engineer at the Montana Mine, San Remo, Nevada. On December 15, 1911 he visited his wife in England on a three month vacation. For his return to the United States, he was headed to Houghton, Michigan, where his brother William John lived, to start work at the Isle Royale Mine there.
He boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Died: Fred died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. There is a memorial to him on the family gravestone in Helston, Cornwall. His mother died in 1930.
During Fred’s three month vacation to visit his wife, she became pregnant. It is not clear if Fred knew he was to be a father again but on November 15, 1912 Cecilia gave birth to a son, also named Frederick James. Cecilia was remarried in 1914 to Henry Charles Alonzo Thomas (1883-1958), a wood worker, and they had four children. She lived the rest of her life in Plymouth and died there on January 8, 1977.
Fred’s brother William was later married and had three sons, the youngest of whom, born in 1922, was named after his late uncle. He remained living in Houghton, Michigan and died in 1930.
Reverend Robert James Bateman, Age 52
Reverend Robert James Bateman was born in Bristol, England on October 14, 1859. He was the son of Charles Bateman (1823-1909), a currier (leather worker), and Esther Beck (1823-1891).Robert became a stonemason and, a deeply religious man, also dabbled with Methodist mission work. He was married in early 1880 to Emily Jane Hall (b. 1860) and they had a total of seven children. The family later emigrated around 1889 and settled in Toronto, Ontario before entering the United States, living in various states including Missouri, Tennessee and Maryland.
Robert had returned to England to visit relatives in his native Bristol and he encouraged his widowed sister-in-law, Ada Balls, to accompany him back across the Atlantic. They boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Died: On the night of the disaster, alongside his sister-in-law Ada Balls, Robert had organized a prayer meeting near the second class dining room. When informed of the disaster, Robert went to Ada’s cabin and escorted her to the boat deck. He assisted her into one of the aft port lifeboats, reportedly throwing his neck tie to her as the boat was lowering.
Robert died in the sinking and his body was subsequently recovered by the cable-laying vessel Mackay-Bennett. On May 6, 1912 his remains were forwarded to his widow in Jacksonville and he was interred in the Evergreen Cemetery, Jacksonville on May 12, 1912.
His widow Emily later moved to Baltimore and kept in close contact with her sister, Ada. She remained in Baltimore for the rest of her life, living with her married daughter Grace and her family, and passed away on October 12, 1953.
Mr. Henry James Beauchamp, Age 44
Mr. Henry James Beauchamp was born in Bishopstoke, England in late 1868. He was the son of Dan Beauchamp (b. 1847) and Mary Ware (b. 1842). The two were unmarried when Henry was born and they later wed in early 1869. The couple went on to have three more children.Henry was married in Pocklington, East Yorkshire on August 13, 1899 to Harriet Neta Dales (b. 1874). The couple settled in London and had two sons: William and David. Henry worked as a head steward in a London club.
Henry boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912 as a second class passenger together with Percival Sharp. Their reason for traveling and exact destination is unknown.
Died: Henry died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, never was identified.
His widow Harriet was never remarried and later moved to Crosby near Liverpool. She died in 1954.
Miss Marion Louise Becker, Age 4
Miss Marion Louise Becker was born in Guntur, India on December 28, 1907. She was the daughter of Allen Oliver Becker (b. 1872), a Lutheran pastor originally from Michigan, and Nellie Elizabeth Baumgardner (b. 1876), a native of Ohio. Her parents had married in Ohio on September 20, 1898 and shortly after settled in India where her father worked as a missionary. She had two surviving siblings: Ruth Elizabeth (b. 1899) and Richard (b. 1910).In early 1912 her younger brother Richard fell ill and upon the advice of physicians the family were encouraged to return to the United States where he had better chance of survival. Marion, her mother, sister and brother left her father behind in India. For their Atlantic crossing, the Beckers boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Survived: On the night of the sinking Marion’s mother, Nellie, had gathered her three children and headed to the upper decks where they waited for a time in one of the public rooms before braving the cold out on the open deck. Marion and her brother were bundled into Lifeboat 11 by a crewman and followed by their anxious mother. Her sister Ruth escaped in the following Lifeboat, number 13.
Marion and the rest of her family survived the sinking and eventually made it to America. Marion’s father joined the rest of the family in America in 1913.
Marion never married. However, she lived with her partner, Alta Johnson (b. 1913), and worked as a waitress in Denver, Colorado. Marion’s relationship caused a permanent rift between her and her mother.
Marion later lived in Glendale, Los Angeles, California and died there on February 15, 1944 after battling tuberculosis. She was buried in a family plot in Oakland Cemetery, Princeton, Illinois. Her mother refused to attend her funeral.
Mrs. Nellie E. Becker, Age 35
Mrs. Nellie E. Becker (née Baumgardner) was born in New Lexington, Ohio on June 19, 1876. She was the daughter of John Albert Baumgardner (b. 1851), a photographer, and Clara L. Fulton (b. 1856), who married in Ohio in 1875.She was married on September 20, 1898 to Allen Oliver Becker (b. 1872), a Lutheran pastor and a native of Berrien, Michigan. The couple soon left America and settled in India where Allen worked as a missionary.
In early 1912 Nellie’s youngest child Richard fell ill and physicians encouraged her to return to the United States where he had better chance of survival. Therefore, Nellie and her three children left India with her husband remaining behind. For their Atlantic crossing, the Beckers boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Survived: On the night of the sinking Nellie had gathered her three children and headed to the upper decks where they waited in one of the public rooms. While waiting to board a lifeboat, Nellie was concerned at how cold it was and instructed her older daughter Ruth to return to their cabin for extra blankets. Before Ruth had the chance to return Mrs. Becker’s two younger children were thrown into Lifeboat 11 and the frantic mother scrambled to join them, calling out to Ruth to get into the next boat, which she did. Aboard the rescue ship Carpathia she spent several hours hunting the decks for her daughter Ruth and they were reunited later that day.
Nellie would later claim $2,184.20 against the White Star Line for loss of property. Once in America, she and her three children settled in Benton Harbor, Michigan, until her husband’s arrival from India the following year. Family later recalled that Nellie’s personality was erratic after the sinking and she would become emotional whenever discussing the disaster. Her relationship with her older daughter Ruth was said to be strained and she became totally estranged from her daughter Marion, who was a lesbian. On Marion’s death in 1944, Nellie refused to attend her funeral. Nellie became a widow on March 19, 1956 when her husband died.
Nellie died following a heart attack in Berrien, Michigan on February 15, 1961. She was buried in Oakland Cemetery, Princeton, Illinois. She left her estate to her son Richard, who had not been responsible financially, and left her daughter Ruth out entirely. To add insult to injury, she named Ruth as executor of the estate, meaning that although she would get nothing from her mother, she was charged with the responsibility of seeing to it that her brother got everything.
Mr. Lawrence Beesley, Age 34
Mr. Lawrence Beesley was born in Wirksworth, Derbyshire on December 31, 1877. He was the son of Henry Beesley, a bank manager, and his wife Annie Maria.Lawrence was educated first at Derby School, where he took a scholarship, and afterwards at Caius College, Cambridge, where he was a scholar and a prizeman. In 1903 he took a ‘First Class’ in the National Science Tripos. Then in 1904, after two years of experience in teaching at Wirksworth Grammar School, he moved to Dulwich College to work as a science master.
According to contemporary reports he had resigned his position to go for a vacation in the States, and to visit his brother in Toronto. At this point he was a widower with a young son.
Lawrence boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Survived: Lawrence was in his cabin reading when the collision occured. He only noticed a slight heave of the engines and the regular dancing movement on his mattress seemed to stop. Lawrence stopped a steward to ask what had happened but was advised that it was nothing.
He went up to A Deck while the boats were being loaded but then decided to return to his cabin. As he did so he noticed a strange sensation as he descended the stairs; the stairs seemed to be level, but his feet did not fall quite where they should. He donned his Norfolk jacket, stuffed some books into his pockets and then headed back to the A Deck. When he returned, he found that men were now being allowed to board Lifeboat 13. He boarded the boat. Quick action was also needed when they eventually reached the water; they were unable to cut the falls and drifted under the path of Lifeboat 15, which had started to descend. The falls of Lifeboat 13 were eventually cut and the boat drifted away from the ship.
Lawrence watched as the Titanic sank deeper; he observed the lights blink and then go out for good. After the ship was gone he tried to comfort a crying baby by tucking a blanket under its toes when he discovered that he and the lady holding the baby, Sylvia Mae Caldwell, had mutual friends in Clonmel, Ireland.
After his rescue Lawrence wrote a successful book, The Loss of the SS Titanic, about his experience. He attended the filming of A Night to Remember and famously attempted to remain on the ship as the sinking scenes were filmed.
He died on February 14, 1967.
Miss Lillian Winifred Bentham, Age 19
Miss Lillian Winifred Bentham was born in Holley, New York on July 23, 1892. She was the daughter of Henry Bentham (b. 1860) and Mary Jane Smith (b. 1865), both natives of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. She had two siblings: Walter (b. 1886) and Daisy (b. 1888).Lillian had been one of a party of 11 visiting the Channel Islands. The group included her godfather William Douton, Peter and Lillian Renouf, Clifford Jefferys, Ernest Jefferys, Albert Denbuoy and Emily Rugg. While she was away her family moved to Rochester, New York.
Lillian boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger for her return to New York.
Survived: After the collision Lillian did not think the Titanic would sink even though she knew that the passengers were being taken off in lifeboats. Only when one of her party, Albert Denbuoy, rushed to her stateroom and told her to hurry on deck did she accept the seriousness of the situation. Lillian was rescued in Lifeboat 12. Her lifeboat later assisted the men who had managed to stay alive by balancing atop the overturned Collapsible B. Her godfather, William, died in the sinking.
She would later console a freezing Cecil Fitzpatrick, an Irish crewman rescued from the overturned collapsible. She wrapped her fur coat around the young man, probably saving his life. In gratitude for her help, Cecil gave Lillian a Scout whistle from his belt. He had blown it all night in an effort to call another boat to their aid.
Upon reaching New York aboard Carpathia, her mother could not come to meet her as her brother had contracted Typhoid fever.
Lillian was married on September 1, 1917 to John Smellie Black (b. 5 May 1890), a native of Airdrie, Scotland. The couple would have no children. They continued to live in Rochester for the rest of their lives and Lillian would later give several interviews in local media regarding her experiences.
Lillian passed away on December 15, 1977.
Mr. James Hollen Bracken, Age 30
Mr. James Hollen Bracken was born on September 8, 1881 in Beaver Dam, Kentucky. He was the son of William B. Bracken and Sarah Ann Morris.James was married in 1907 to Addie C. Greathouse and he worked as a house carpenter. The couple would have no children. In 1910, they were attempting to patent the N ½ of the SW ¼ of Section 2 and the N ½ of the SE ¼ of Section 3 in Township 13 South, Range 25 East of the New Mexico Meridian, for a total 160 acres. In 1912, James was working as a stockman and sailed to Europe on a buying trip, staying in London at the end of his time abroad.
James boarded the Titanic as a second class passenger for the return home.
Died: James died in the sinking and his body was never identified.
Afterwards the American Red Cross established a trust fund for James’s wife Addie, who was living on the New Mexico homestead with her elderly mother. There had been no life insurance and Addie told the Red Cross that James had been carrying between $3,000 and $4,000 in cash. Family members would later state that Addie had refused to take the Red Cross money.
Addie received the title for the land she and James were trying to patent on June 25, 1913 from the Roswell, New Mexico General Land Office. Addie then went to live with her sister Lilly Boyd and her family in El Paso, Texas in 1918. A few years later she moved on to her sister Belle Greenwood’s family home in Carbon, Texas. Later on, she was estranged from her family.
Addie died from myocardial infarction on May 31, 1969 at Fort Worth, Texas. The informant on her death certificate was the American Red Cross. She was buried in the Shannon Rose Hill Memorial Park in Fort Worth.
Mr. William Theodore Ronald Brailey, Age 24
Mr. William Theodore Brailey was born in Walthamstow, England on October 25, 1887. He was the son of William Richard Brailey (1863-1931) and Amy Jane Greenwood (1870-1941). He had three sisters. His father, William, worked in various capacities, including insurance superintendent and clairvoyant.By 1911 William and his family resided in London and he worked as a pianist and professor of music. He was at one time a member of the Pier Pavilion Orchestra before joining a music college. He was reportedly engaged to be married to a young woman from Southport.
William traveled on the Titanic in second class as one of the eight-strong orchestra and he embarked at Southampton on April 10, 1912.
Died: William and all his colleagues in the orchestra were lost in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified.
Mr. Roger Marie Bricoux, Age 20
Mr. Roger Marie Bricoux was born in France on June 1, 1891. He the son of Marie-Rose and Leon Bricoux. His father was a member of the prestigious Monte Carlo Casino band in Monaco.Roger’s love of music and the arts won him a place at Mozart’s alma mater in Italy where he won first prize for his cello playing. By 1910 he was playing-for-pay with small bands and hotel orchestras and on the cruise ship Carpathia. From there, Roger was chosen as one of eight musicians to sail on Titanic’s maiden voyage. Before going to sea, Roger may have had a relationship with an English domestic servant named Adelaide Kelsall that resulted in the birth of a daughter. All Adelaide told her parents was that the father was a cellist about to join the Titanic.
Roger boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912 in the second class.
Died: All of the musicians onboard the Titanic perished with the ship.
Miss Amelia Mary Brown, Age 18
Miss Amelia Mary Brown was born in London, England on August 18, 1893. She was the daughter of Frank Brown (b. 1862) and Esther Tilbury (b. 1860). Her father worked as a printer compositor and she had one sibling, a brother named Sydney (b. 1900).Amelia, known as Millie, was hired to be a cook by the wealthy Allison family of Montréal and she and their chauffeur George Swane were to accompany the family to Canada. Millie and George were booked as second class passengers on Titanic while the Allisons would travel in first class.
Millie boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger. She shared a cabin with Amelia Lemore, Elizabeth Nye and Selina Cook.
Survived: On the night of the sinking Millie was reluctant to rise from her bed despite the warnings from her roommates and George Swane. She only rose when Selina Cook exclaimed that she was surely the only person on the entire ship still in bed. Millie was rescued in Lifeboat 11.
Millie’s employers, the Allisons, were lost in the sinking and she later returned to England.
Millie was married in 1931 to James Edward Barrow (b. 1886), a native of London, and they settled in Surrey. James Barrow died on July 30, 1965. Amelia outlived her husband by over a decade and she died on June 30, 1976.
Miss Edith Eileen Brown, Age 15
Miss Edith Eileen Brown was born on October 27, 1896 in the Cape Colony, South Africa. She was the daughter of Thomas William Solomon Brown and Elizabeth Catherine Ford. Edith’s father was 20 years older than her mother and a successful hotelier at Cape Town, South Africa. However, his business had declined and the family decided to make a new start in Seattle, where Edith’s aunt Josephine lived.She boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger together with her parents.
Survived: Edith was rescued by the Carpathia in Lifeboat 14. Edith’s father placed his wife and daughter in Lifeboat 14 and stepped back, smoking a cigar and awaiting his fate. He died in the sinking.
Together with her mother, Edith stayed briefly at the Junior League House in New York. Then they traveled to her aunt, Mrs. Josephine Acton, in Seattle, Washington. From there they went back to South Africa, where Edith lived with relatives in Cape Town. Her mother moved to Rhodesia after she remarried.
In May 1917 Edith met Frederick Thankful Haisman. Six weeks later they were married on June 30, 1917. In August 1918 she gave birth to a son. In the end the couple would have 10 children.
Edith died on January 20, 1997.
Mr. Kurt Arnold Gottfrid Bryhl, Age 25
Mr. Kurt Arnold Gottfrid Bryhl was born on March 2, 1887 in Ulricehamn, Sweden, to Edvard Gottfrid and Ida Jenny (née Gustafsson) Lustig.Kurt worked as upholsterer (or decorator/ wallpaper man) in Skara. Both Kurt and his half-sister Dagmar Bryhl changed their last names to their grandmother’s for reasons unknown. Kurt decided to emigrate to America and traveled with his half-sister and her fiancé Ingvar Enander. They were destined for St. Rockford, Illinois where their uncle lived.
They boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers. Kurt acted as interpreter for the group.
Died: Kurt died in the disaster and his body was not recovered. His half sister, Dagmar, survived, but lost her fiance. She, completely distraught, traveled back to Sweden and died in August 1969.
Miss Kate Buss, Age 36
Miss Kate Buss was born in Sittingbourne, England on December 28, 1875. She was the daughter of James Buss and Elizabeth Hannah Brown. Kate was the 3rd of 7 children.Kate lived the early part of her life working in the grocer’s shop owned by her brother, Percy James, in the small village of Upper Halling, close to Sittingbourne. She was engaged to Samuel Willis of San Diego, California and they planned to marry in America. Kate prepared her trousseau and wedding presents to take with her to America.
She booked passage on the Titanic and joined the ship at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Survived: Kate had retired and lay in her bunk reading a newspaper when the collision occurred. She thought it sounded like a skate on ice. She waited and listened to the engines reversing; when they stopped she went out in the hallway and then onto the deck. On deck there was little activity but she met Douglas Norman who told them the ship had hit an iceberg. They looked over the rail at the well deck where people were congregating, some with their belongings. As the boats were loaded, Kate turned away; she couldn’t bear to watch the evacuation. A little while later she got into Lifeboat 9. But Douglas Norman was prevented – despite Kate’s protests – from boarding.
When the boat reached the Carpathia she was the last to leave the lifeboat as she was frightened of heights and didn’t like the thought of climbing the rope ladder up to the deck. When the Carpathia reached New York, Kate was taken to the Junior League House, a hostel for women. Kate applied to the American Red Cross for relief and was awarded $250.
Kate eventually reached San Diego where she and her fiancé, Sam, were married on May 11, 1912. They had a daughter, Sybil, and after their retirement moved to Pasadena to be closer to her. After Sam’s death in 1953, Kate followed her daughter to Oregon, where her son-in-law was a minister. She was never able to discuss the Titanic disaster without being emotional. She died on July 12, 1972.
Mr. Reginald Fenton Butler, Age 26
Mr. Reginald Fenton Butler was born in Portsmouth, England over the summer months of 1886. He was the son of William Francis Butler (b. 1852) and Susannah Haryott (b. 1853). His father was a hotel proprietor and licensed victualler. They were married in Portsmouth in 1877 and had four known sons.Reginald’s mother died in 1894 and his father was remarried two years later to Charlotte Frances Allen (b. 1857). His father died on April 5, 1904 followed by his stepmother Charlotte on January 7, 1909. Reginald’s brother Edgar therefore took over the ownership duties of the Granada Hotel. By this time, Reginald had become a mechanical engineer. He was unmarried.
Reginald boarded the Titanic in Southampton on April 10, 1912 as a second class passenger. The reason for his trip is unknown.
Died: Reginald lost his life in the sinking and his body was later recovered by the Mackay-Bennett and buried at Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia on May 3, 1912.
His estate, worth £742 was administered to his brother Edgar on July 27, 1912. Edgar, who was married with a family, died in Guildford, Surrey on January 21, 1945.
Father Thomas Roussel Davids Byles, Age 42
Father Thomas Roussel Davids Byles was born in Shelton, England on February 26, 1870, to Louisa Davids and Alfred Holden Byles. Byles’ father, the Reverend Dr. Alfred Holden Byles was a congregational Minister and a successful businessman.In 1889 Thomas went to Balliol College, Oxford and converted to Catholicism. The following year he went to work as a Master at St. Edmund’s College. Thomas was ordained a priest on June 15, 1902 and worked as a rector in Essex.
Thomas’s younger brother William also converted to Catholicism and moved to America where he fell in love with Katherine Russell. When they planned to marry, William asked his brother to officiate at the ceremony. Thomas was initially scheduled to travel on another White Star liner but switched at the last minute to the Titanic where he boarded at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Died: On the morning of the sinking Father Byles held the Catholic mass with second class passengers in their lounge and afterwards with the third class passengers for whom he delivered a sermon in English and French.
After the collision, by many accounts, Father Byles was a hero till the end, helping the third class passengers up the stairs, into the boats, hearing confessions and praying with those that had been unable to escape. Some newspapers reported that he was offered a seat but refused. Father Byles died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified.
His brother William did not reschedule his wedding to Katherine. They had another priest perform the ceremony and then went home, changed into mourning clothes, and returned to the church for a memorial mass.
Later that year Katherine and William traveled to Europe where they had a private audience with the Pope, who declared Father Byles a martyr for the Church.
A door installed by his brothers at the Roman Catholic Church in Chipping Ongar, Essex, stands as a memorial. A memorial photograph of him also hangs there.
Mrs. Karolina Byström, Age 40
Mrs. Karolina Byström (née Jonsson) was born on February 11, 1872 in Högbo, Sweden. She was the daughter of Isaak Jonsson and Lisa Jansdotter. She first came to the United States in 1891.Karolina (who had anglicized her name to Carolina Johnson) was married on July 8, 1899 in Manhattan to Louis Byström. Louis was born circa 1872 in Sweden and had come to the United States in 1890. Louis worked in a carpenter’s shop. Louis and Carolina appear to have separated and divorced after 1910. By 1916 she was calling herself a widow, although Louis was still alive. In 1912, Carolina returned to Sweden to visit relatives.
Carolina traveled from Göteborg, Sweden, arriving in Hull, England on April 5, 1912. She then journeyed on to Southampton to board the Titanic as a second class passenger.
Survived: Carolina survived the disaster and is listed on the passenger list created on the Carpathia as “Mrs. Caroline Bystrom.” She would later claim $350 from the White State line for her lost luggage.
On July 23, 1924 in Manhattan, Caroline was married to Per Berggren, a watchmaker, and the two lived in New York.
Master Alden Gates Caldwell, Age 10 months
Master Alden Gates Caldwell was born in Siam on June 10, 1911. He was the son of Albert Francis and Sylvia Mae Caldwell. His parents met while attending Park College in Missouri and were married in 1909. The couple went to Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand) under the auspices of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions where they were teachers at the Bangkok Christian College for Boys. While there they retained their American Citizenship, although Alden’s birth was not registered at the American Consulate, giving him no proof of American citizenship.The family decided to move home, and bound for Biggsville, Illinois, they booked passage on the Titanic. The family boarded the Titanic in Southampton as second class passengers.
Survived: Alden’s mother got into Lifeboat 13 and then Alden, who was wrapped in a blanket, was tossed to Steward Frederick Ray in the stern. Alden’s father stepped into the bow as the it was lowered. Alden Caldwell was the baby that passenger Lawrence Beesley spoke of as crying incessantly in his lifeboat until someone noticed his feet were exposed. As soon as the feet were covered the crying ceased.
Alden Gates Caldwell graduated from the University of Illinois, class of 1934, and received a Masters Degree in chemical engineering. He never married and lived most of his life in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He was a chemical engineer and worked for the Leigh-Portland Cement Company for almost 33 years. He spent much time trying to prove his citizenship status in preparation for his retirement in order to receive social security benefits.
Alden retired to Largo, Florida in 1977 (after his father’s death) and spent the remainder of his life traveling between his winter home in Florida and summer cottage in Stone Lake, Wisconsin. He loved to golf and fish.
When Alden’s father Albert passed in 1977, fellow Titanic survivor Frank Aks attended his funeral. Both had met several years earlier. It was at the funeral that Frank met Alden for the first time. Until that time, Frank believed that he had been the youngest survivor, his birthdate being June 7, 1911. Alden jokingly told him after the funeral that he was born on June 10, 1911 – thus making him at least the younger of the two. However, neither of them was the youngest! Frank eventually did meet the youngest survivor of the Titanic, Millvina Dean, who was two-months-old at the time of the sinking, at a reunion of survivors in 1988.
Alden died on December 18, 1992 in Largo, Florida.
Miss Clear Annie Cameron, Age 35
Miss Clear Annie Cameron was born in Pendleton, England on March 8, 1877. She was the daughter of Harry Arthur Cameron (1846-1899) and Annie Chiles (b. 1845). Her father was a tailor and married her mother in 1870. Besides Clear, they had three other children.Clear worked as a house servant. By 1912, even though Clear was relatively comfortable, owning her own motorcar at one point, she decided that life in England was not enough and she and her friend Nellie Wallcroft decided to emigrate to the United States where there were more opportunities.
The women were initially booked on another liner for their crossing, but the coal strike forced their passage to Titanic. Clear and Nellie boarded at Southampton as second class passengers.
Survived: On the night of the sinking Clear and her friend Nellie went to bed at around 10:30pm. Feeling especially tired that evening she soon fell asleep but was awakened by Nellie exclaiming “Clear, what’s that!?” Clear dismissed her but Nellie insisted that she had nearly been thrown from her bunk; soon the two ladies realized that the engines had stopped. Clear, however, was indifferent and lay down again to sleep when she heard a man’s voice shouting something about an iceberg. This encouraged her to get up and dressed and she instructed Nellie to do the same. As they were preparing themselves a steward came to their door, advising them to get up on deck.
Arriving on the boat deck Clear and Nellie saw two young officers running around shouting orders. They got into Lifeboat 14 and during the fragile craft’s descent to the ocean Clear described the scene of Fifth Officer Harold Lowe brandishing his pistol to deter men from jumping into their boat from the passing decks. When the lifeboat was about two miles from Titanic Clear described the ship breaking in two. She later helped row the boat during the night.
Arriving in New York, Clear soon found work as a maid with a Mrs. Nelson Henry whom she described as “Society Lady.” Mrs. Henry was the leader of the Women’s Relief Committee and Clear remained in her employ for around six months. She never enjoyed New York, finding it overly expensive, and could not get accustomed to the ways of her new home. She later worked for a Mrs. McCawley in Haverford, Pennsylvania, a city which she found much more to her liking.
Clear was married in Philadelphia on April 29, 1914 to Ernest William Francis, an English butler over a decade her junior. Having never enjoyed her experience much in America, Clear and her husband left the United States in December 1914. The couple settled in Surrey, England but had no children. It is not certain if Clear and Nellie Walcroft maintained contact.
Clear died on February 2, 1962 and was cremated. Her ashes were scattered across the Keats Garden in the Woking St. John Crematorium, Surrey.
Mr. William Carbines, Age 19
Mr. William Carbines was born in early 1893 in Nanjivey near St. Ives, England. He was the son of Nicholas Wallis Carbines (b. 1857), a farm laborer, and Jane Wedge Paynter (b. 1864), St. Ives natives who were married in 1884 and went on to have fifteen children, twelve of whom survived infancy.William, known as Willie, was an unmarried general laborer. His two brothers Robert and John had previously emigrated to Calumet, Michigan and worked there as miners; another brother, Nicholas, lived and worked in Akron, Ohio. In 1912, Willie decided to join them.
Willie boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger with his friend William John Berriman.
Died: Willie died in the sinking and his body was recovered from the sea by the cable ship Mackay-Bennett. His two brothers identified him. He was interred in his grandparents’ (William and Anne Carbines) grave, in the Barnoon Cemetery, St. Ives on May 30, 1912 where over 500 mourners paid their respects.
Both William’s parents continued to reside in St. Ives; his father passed away in 1938 and his mother in 1955.
His brother John died in Michigan in 1923 and his other brothers living in America, Robert and Nicholas, both returned to England. Robert died in 1938 and Nicholas in 1944. Another brother, Richard, later joined the Royal Air Force during World War II and was killed in action on April 17, 1944.
Mr. Sebastiano Del Carlo, Age 29
Mr. Sebastiano del Carlo was born in Capannori, Italy on March 11, 1883. He was the son of Luigi del Carlo and Clemente di Pego.He was married on February 20, 1912 to Argene Genovesi in her home town of Montecarlo, Lucca. At some point, Sebastiano and Argene decided to travel to California, perhaps as a honeymoon. Argene was pregnant with the couple’s first child.
The newly married couple boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg on April 10, 1912 as second class passengers.
Died: Sebastiano died in the sinking. His body was recovered by the Mackay-Bennett. Among his possessions was a gold watch and chain, a pair of earrings and a gold chain locket.
His body was forwarded to Boston on April, 30, 1912 for shipment to Italy on board the Cretic.
Sebastiano’s wife, Argene, later gave birth to a daughter, Maria Salvata, on November 14, 1912. Maria Salvata married Guido Triboli in the 1930s and the couple had two children, one named Sebastiano.
Reverend Ernest Courtenay Carter , Age 54
Reverend Ernest Courtenay Carter was born in Compton, England on February 17, 1858. He was the son of George Carter (b. 1813) and Catherine Courtenay (b. 1827).In 1880 Ernest went to St John’s College, Oxford. He graduated with a BA in 1884 and from 1885 to 1888 he was Assistant Master at Godolphin School in London. In 1888 he took Holy orders. Ernest moved to the East End of London to be vicar of St. Jude, Whitechapel, a largely Jewish community. Between 1910 and 1911 he was president of Sion College, a London-based college, guild of parochial clergy and almshouse.
He was married in 1890 to Lillian Hughes (b. 1867), herself the daughter of a clergyman. The couple had no children.
Ernest and his wife boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Died: On the evening of April 14, Ernest presided over a hymn service for about a hundred passengers in the second class dining saloon. After the ship had struck the iceberg, it is believed that the Reverend Carter and his wife Lillian made their way up to the boat deck. They were offered a space on a lifeboat together during the evacuation. Instead, they chose to remain behind and Lillian refused to leave her husband. They both died in the sinking and their bodies, if recovered, were never identified.
A brass memorial tablet dedicated to the couple was later unveiled in St Jude’s Church, Whitechapel.
Mrs. Lillian Carter, Age 45
Mrs. Lillian Carter (née Hughes) was born in London, England on March 3, 1867. She was the daughter of Thomas Hughes (1822-1896) and Ann Frances Ford (1826-1901). Her father was a committed Christian socialist reformer and involved with various co-operatives and early trade unions and was elected to Parliament as a Liberal for two terms. He was married in 1847 to Northampton-born Ann, who was the daughter of a minister.Lillian was married in Chester in 1890 to Ernest Courtenay Carter (b. 1858), a clergyman originally from Berkshire. The couple first lived at the Vicarage in Chieveley, Berkshire before they settled in London to work at St. Jude’s Vicarage in Whitechapel. They had no children.
Lillian and her husband boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Died: On the evening of April 14, Ernest presided over a hymn service for about a hundred passengers in the second class dining saloon. After the ship had struck the iceberg, it is believed that the Reverend Carter and his wife Lillian made their way up to the Boat Deck. They were offered a space on a lifeboat together during the evacuation. Instead, they chose to remain behind and Lillian refused to leave her husband. They both died in the sinking and their bodies, if recovered, were never identified.
A brass memorial tablet dedicated to the couple was later unveiled in St. Jude’s Church, Whitechapel.
Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth Chapman, Age 30
Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth Chapman (née Lawry) was born at Tremorcome, England in the Spring of 1882. She was the daughter of William Henry Lawry (b. 1848), a farmer, and Emma Hill (b. 1849) who had married in 1880. She had three siblings.Sarah’s father died in 1891 and her mother never remarried; she died on April 10, 1910 and Sarah went to live with her brother Charles. For many years Sarah had been corresponding with a childhood sweetheart John Henry Chapman, who lived in Spokane, Washington. The two became engaged and were wed.
When it came time for John to return to his home in Spokane, the couple boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers. They were to stop by and visit Sarah’s brothers in Wisconsin on their way to Washington.
Died: On the night of the sinking, Sarah and her husband John waited on the deck together as the evacuation was taking place. Sarah was boarding Lifeboat 4 when she realized that her husband would not be allowed to accompany her. She stepped back off the lifeboat and joined her husband.
Sarah and her husband both died in the sinking. Sarah’s body, if recovered, was never identified, but the body of her husband was recovered and buried at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Among his possessions was her handbag and their marriage certificate.
The couple are remembered on a family headstone in St Neot’s Cemetery.
Sarah’s brother William remained in the United States and became a naturalized citizen in 1928, settling in Wisconsin for the rest of his life. He was married and raised a family and died in 1959.
Her brother Charles also remained in the United States where he worked as a farmhand in Oregon, Wisconsin. He died in 1934.
Miss Rachel Julie Cohen Christy, Age 25
Miss Rachel Julie Christy was born as Rachel Julie Cohen in Lewisham, England in early 1887. She was the daughter of Moreno Cohen (b. 1856) and Alice Frances Jones (b. 1860) and went by Julie. After her father died in 1890, Julie’s mother worked as a nurse to try and support the family, but unable to care for her children, put them in care. For a time Julie and her sister, Amy, were inmates at an infant orphan asylum in Wanstead, Essex. Her mother remarried in 1902 to Frederick Alexander Christy (b. 1846), an importer of textile spinning machines. Frederick died less than a year later, but Julie and her sister adopted the name Christy as their own.Julie boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger with her mother and sister, Amy Jacobsohn, and brother-in-law, Sydney Jacobsohn. They were traveling to Montréal, Québec.
Survived: Julie, her mother and sister, Amy, survived the sinking. They were rescued by the Carpathia in Lifeboat 12. Amy’s husband died.
Together with her mother and sister, Julie returned to England on board the Megantic on May 11, 1912.
Julie was never married and seemingly spent her last days living in the Mostyn Hotel in London. She died on October 30, 1931.
Reverend Sidney Clarence Stuart Collett, Age 25
Reverend Sidney Clarence Stuart Collett was born on January 8, 1887 to Reverend Mawbey Ernest and Ann Collett. Sidney was commonly known as Stuart, because his uncle was also named Sidney. Stuart was ordained into the Baptist ministry in 1909. He was the last except one of his immediate family to emigrate from England, his parents having moved in 1910.He had originally intended to book passage on the St. Louis, but was too late in booking to secure a berth. He then attempted to sail on the Philadelphia, but that voyage was canceled due to the coal strike. His passage was then moved to the Titanic. He boarded in Southampton as a second class passenger. With him were Miss Marion Wright and Miss Kate Buss, two women traveling alone to meet their fiancées in America.
Survived: On Sunday evening, Stuart, along with Marion Wright and Kate Buss, participated in a hymnal service held in the second class dining saloon. Stuart stated that when the collision occurred, he had been in bed for about ten minutes. He described feeling “two heavy throbs, just as if we had hit something, rebounded, and then hit it again by going forward.” He donned clothing and a lifebelt and went to find Marion and Kate.
Stuart assisted Marion and Kate into Lifeboat 9. “The ladies stepped into the boat, then the officer, with drawn revolver, said to me, ‘Well, what of you, where are you going?’ To which I replied I have these young ladies in my charge and felt it my duty to take care of them. ‘Get in’ said the officer and a moment later the boat was lowered.”
After disembarking from the Carpathia, Stuart was met by his father and mother at the New York Central Station.
Just a year after surviving Titanic, Stuart was disfigured in a hazing incident. He was attending Denison College in Granville, Ohio. Family would later describe to the press how Stuart was having difficulty fitting in at the college and in early June 1913, six masked students, led by Kent Pfeiffer of St. Paul, Minnesota, held Stuart down and branded his forehead with nitrate of silver. Acid used to remove the nitrate stain further disfigured him. The incident was investigated by the British Embassy.
Stuart eventually married and returned to London. He died there on May 6, 1941 and was laid to rest in the Hendon Cemetery in London.
Mr. Charles Valentine Clarke, Age 29
Mr. Charles Valentine Clarke was born in Cosham, England on February 14, 1883 and was aptly named for that day. He was the son of Harry Clarke (b. 1857) and Jane Emma Hall (b. 1859). His father was a brewer and dairyman and the couple had four children.Charles first worked as a clerk for missionaries, but later followed in his father’s footsteps and became a dairy vendor. He was married on June 29, 1908 to Ada Maria Winfield (b. 1884), a resident of Netley. The couple had no children. In 1912, they decided to visit Ada’s sister who lived in San Francisco.
Charles and his wife boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912 as second class passengers.
Died: Charles’s wife Ada survived the sinking, escaping in Lifeboat 14. However, Charles died and his body was not recovered.
Ada elected not to continue to San Francisco and returned to Britain on board the Celtic on April 25, 1912. She never remarried and remained close to her parents, later living with them in Southampton. She died there on February 8, 1953 and is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard, Weston Lane, Southampton.
Mrs. Ada Maria Clarke, Age 28
Mrs. Ada Maria Clarke (née Winfield) was born in Netley, England in early 1884. She was the daughter of Menel John Winfield (1852-1932) and Maria Gallon (1855-1943) who had married in 1878. Her father was a general laborer and the couple had five daughters.Ada worked as a kitchen maid in Hampshire in the employ of a wealthy family. She was married on June 29, 1908 to Charles Valentine Clarke (b. 1883), a dairyman and native of Cosham, Hampshire. The couple had no children. In 1912, they decided to visit Ada’s sister who lived in San Francisco.
Ada and her husband boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912 as second class passengers.
Survived: Ada survived the sinking, escaping in Lifeboat 14. Her husband, Charles, died.
Ada elected not to continue to San Francisco and returned to Britain on board the Celtic on April 25, 1912. She never remarried and remained close to her parents, later living with them in Southampton. She died there on February 8, 1953 and is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard, Weston Lane, Southampton.
Miss Marjorie Lottie Collyer, Age 8
Miss Marjorie Lottie Collyer was born in Leatherhead, England on January 28, 1904. She was the daughter of Harvey Collyer (b. 1880) and Charlotte Caroline Tate (b. 1881), both Surrey natives who had married in 1903.Her parents had been active in their church in Leatherhead but decided to move to Bishopstoke, Hampshire where their minister from Leatherhead, the Reverend Sydney Sedgwick, had moved. Her father was a bell ringer and sexton at their new church, St Mary’s, and he also ran a grocery store in the town. The family then decided to emigrate to Payette, Idaho where several family friends had settled several years prior and were prospering as fruit farmers.
Marjorie and her parents boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Survived: Marjorie and her mother, Charlotte, escaped from the sinking in Lifeboat 14. Her father, Harvey, perished.
Marjorie and her mother did not settle in the United States as planned and returned to England. Her mother was remarried in 1914 to James Ashbrook Holme, a licensed victualler. Marjorie’s mother died in 1916 and her stepfather in 1919 and Marjorie, now an orphan, was taken in by her uncle Walter Collyer, a gamekeeper. She lived with his family on a farm in Surrey. Her time there was not a happy one but she remained there until she was married.
Marjorie married on December 25, 1927 to a London-born mechanic named Royden Bernard Bowman Dutton (b. 1901). Marjorie and Roy settled in Chilworth, Surrey and, while there is suggestion that they had one child who died in infancy, there is no known record for this child.
Marjorie was widowed on February 28, 1943. She never remarried and continued to live in Chilworth where she worked as a doctor’s receptionist. During the 1950s she corresponded with Walter Lord during his research for A Night to Remember and was a special guest at one of that book-turned-film’s screenings in London alongside several other Titanic survivors.
Marjorie died following a stroke on February 26, 1965.
Mrs. Irene Corbett, Age 30
Mrs. Irene Corbett (née Colvin) was born in Payson, Utah on August 6, 1881. A Mormon, she was the daughter of Levi Alexander Colvin (1857-1928), a farmer, and Mary Alice Curtis (1858-1940). Her father was a county official and a Bishop in the Church of Latter Day Saints. She had five siblings.She was married on December 11, 1905 to Walter Harris Corbett (b. 1883), a farmer, and they had three children. Irene made plans to travel to London in the winter of 1911 to study midwifery against her husband’s wishes.
Irene’s parents received a letter from her on April 15, 1912 in which she said she would take passage on the Titanic with several Mormon elders. In the end, however, the other Mormon passengers did not travel and Irene traveled alone. She boarded the Titanic in Southampton as a second class passenger.
Died: Irene Corbett was one of fourteen ladies traveling in second class that were among the lost. The reasons for her remaining behind on the ship to meet her fate are not known and her body was never recovered. She is commemorated in a memorial in Peteetneet Academy, the elementary school where she taught.
Her widower Walter Harris Corbett was remarried on November 11, 1914 to a woman named Annie Dean. However, he died less than three years later when he was involved in a mining accident.
Now orphens, Irene’s children Mack and Kady were taken in by their maternal grandparents and her son Walter lived with his paternal grandparents. Walter was married in 1933 to Annie MacKay and had at least one child. Kady was married to Paul Ward (1909-1995) and she died in Nevada in 1973. Mack Colvin was married in 1932 to Grace Lora Perschon (1911-2007) and he died in Salt Lake City in 1976.
Mrs. Mary Emma Corey, Age 32
Mrs. Mary Emma Corey (née Miller) was born as in Pennsylvania in August 1879. She was the eldest daughter of John Alexander Miller and Sarah Jarrett, and she had eight siblings.Mary, known as Mamie, later worked as a school teacher, teaching at Westlake School. She was married on August 26, 1911 in Ontario to Percy Coleman Corey (b. 1874). Mary moved to Burma where her husband was working as a superintendent at a petroleum company. She became pregnant while in Burma and decided to return to Pennsylvania to have her baby.
She boarded the Titanic in Southampton as a second class passenger and was traveling with Mrs. Claire Karnes, also a resident of Pittsburgh, whose husband Frank worked for Percy Corey. Claire was also pregnant.
Died: Both Mary Corey and her friend Claire Karnes became two of only fourteen women traveling second class to die. Their reason for not leaving Titanic is unknown.
Mary’s widower Percy later returned to the United States and was remarried in 1914 in Los Angeles, California to Hazel Eugenia McDaniels. That marriage was also brief and he was married again to an English woman, Florence Agnes Snell (1887-1971) and they had two daughters, both born in Burma: Margaret and Patricia.
Percy died in San Luis Obispo, California on April 3, 1960.
Mr. Alfred Fleming Cunningham, Age 22
Mr. Alfred Fleming Cunningham was born in Belfast, Ireland over the closing months of 1890. He was the son of James Cunningham (b. 1854) and Elizabeth Brooks (b. 1860) who married in 1885. He had five known siblings.Alfred lived with his widowed mother and siblings in Belfast. He was an apprentice ship’s fitter and as of 1912, unmarried. Alfred was one of the nine-strong “guarantee group” of Harland and Wolff employees chosen to oversee the smooth running of the Titanic’s maiden voyage. He boarded at Belfast in the second class.
Died: Alfred, like the rest of his counterparts, died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified.
His brother Robert later lost his life while serving in the Merchant Service aboard SS Castlebar which was sunk on March 13, 1918.
Alfred’s mother lived in Belfast for the rest of her life and she died on November 29, 1922. She is buried with her husband in City Cemetery, Belfast.
Master John Morgan Davies, Age 8
Master John Morgan Davies was born in St. Ives, England on July 31, 1903. He was the son of Robert Davies (b. 1843), an insurance agent and Agnes Nicholls, née Friggens (b. 1861) who had married in 1903. His mother had had a previous marriage in 1886 to Richard Henry Nicholls (b. 1867) and had three children from that marriage.John lived in St. Ives with his widowed mother (his father having passed away in 1910) and half-siblings. His half-brother Richard Nicholls and his wife had emigrated to Kearsarge, Michigan. A short while later, John’s mother Agnes decided to take the rest of her family to join them in America. To raise the necessary funds the family sold all their belongings in St. Ives.
John, his mother, and half-brother Joseph Charles boarded Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Survived: John and his mother, Agnes, both survived the sinking, possibly in Lifeboat 14. His half-brother Joseph was lost.
Upon arrival in New York John and his mother were given a train ticket, $5 in cash and a lunch box by the White Star Line. They left New York by train heading for Mohawk, Michigan.
John and his mother settled in Hancock, Michigan. His mother was remarried in 1921 to an English-born fire-fighter named Richard Edwards. She died in 1933.
John was later married to Leona Uren (b. 1911) and the couple had one son, Francis, and a daughter, Beverly. The family later moved to Detroit where John worked in a drug store. He and his wife were divorced in November 1951. Likely as a result of his divorce, John took his own life (barbiturate poisoning) on December 16, 1951. He was buried four days later in Lakeview Cemetery, Calumet, Michigan, where his mother was buried.
Miss Mary Ann Charlotte Davis, Age 28
Miss Mary Ann Charlotte Davis was born in London, England on May 18, 1883. She was the daughter of Henry Davis (b. 1855), a general laborer and later a carman, and Eliza Gill (b. 1853), who were married in 1876. Mary was one of seven surviving children.Mary worked as a domestic servant and cook for wealthy families. She later recounted working for a “titled lady” who ran a home with 22 servants, including an Italian cook with whom Mary did not get along. After this experience, Mary decided to emigrate to New York where she had several siblings.
She boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912 as a second class passenger. Whilst onboard she shared a cabin with an elderly nurse, Lucy Ridsdale.
Survived: After being awakened by a steward, Mary made her way up to the boat deck, assisting her cabin mate, Lucy Ridsdale, who had a club foot. On the way a sailor ran by, hitting Mary painfully in the shoulder with his life jacket. It was then she realized she and Lucy were not wearing any so she retreated back to her cabin to fetch them, leaving Lucy to carry on. By the time she reached the boat deck Lucy was already in a Lifeboat 13 which was beginning its descent. An overzealous crewman saw her and threw her into the boat, already a few feet down, and she landed awkwardly in the bottom of the boat, striking her knees painfully.
Arriving in New York aboard Carpathia, Mary was met by her sister and brother-in-law.
Mary married John Archibald Wilburn (b. 1891), a painter and decorator and native of New York. Their only child, a son named Carl, was born on July 16, 1915. Her husband later served in the American Navy during World War I and he ran a hardware store in his native Tottenville before becoming a machine operator. Mary was an active Red Cross Volunteer for many years. Her husband died on April 23, 1972. She then entered a nursing home in Syracuse, the Loretto Geriatric Centre, but continued to give interviews for interested Titanic enthusiasts and newspapers even when she was over 100 years old. By the time the wreck of the Titanic was discovered in 1985 she was 102 years old.
Mary died on July 29, 1987 aged 104 years. As a Titanic survivor she became the one to hold the record for longevity of life. Mary was buried with her husband in White Chapel Memory Gardens in DeWitt, New York.
Mr. Albert Joseph Denbuoy, Age 25
Mr. Albert Joseph Denbuoy was born in St. Sampson in the Channel Islands on April 24, 1886. He was the son of Alfred Louis Denbuoy (b. 1858) and Selina Nicolle (b. 1862) and they had married around 1881 and went on to have fourteen children.Albert, known as Bert, and his family lived in St. Sampson where his father worked as as a mason and his mother was a grocer. Later, Bert’s father was a fruit grower and Bert was his assistant. Bert was unmarried and a keen footballer.
Bert boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger together with his friends, brothers Clifford Jefferys and Ernest Jefferys. He was traveling to Elizabeth, New Jersey, to stay at the home of Peter and Lillian Renouf, the latter being the Jefferys brothers’ sister. The Renoufs were also on board.
Died: Bert is believed to have been in the smoking room with Peter Renouf and the Jefferys brothers when the collision occurred. Aware of the unfolding disaster he went to the cabin shared by Emily Rugg and Lillian Bentham to alert them of the danger and later accompanied them to the boat deck.
Bert died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified.
Mrs. Ada Julia Elizabeth Doling, Age 34
Mrs. Ada Julia Elizabeth Doling (née Bone) was born in the Isle of Wight on September 9, 1877. She was the daughter of William Bone (b. 1847) and Julia Sarah (b. 1852).In 1898 Ada married John Thomas Doling. He was the manager of the Atlantic Hotel in Southampton.
Ada was traveling to New York to visit her mother Julia, her mother having emigrated to New York in 1905 with other members of Ada’s family. She boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger with her husband John’s sister, Elsie Doling.
Survived: Ada and Elsie were rescued by the Carpathia. On board she tried to send a telegram to her husband in Southampton, but it was not transmitted because of the operators’ workload.
Ada and Elsie returned to England on board the Philadelphia on May 11, 1912. During the first World War the port of Southampton to Commercial shipping closed, and the Hotel her husband, John, managed closed in 1916. The building then became offices for British American Tobacco.
Ada later had five children with her husband: John Thomas, William, Reginald, Victor and Ida Julia Augusta.
Ada’s husband John died April 1, 1938. Ada died in Southampton on April 11, 1962.
Miss Elsie Doling, Age 18
Miss Elsie Doling was born on October 30, 1893 in Southampton, England. She was the daughter of John Doling (1855-1941) and Augusta Lucretia Parker Boyce (1856-1923). Her parents had thirteen children.Elsie was accompanying her sister-in-law Ada Doling to New York. Ada was married to her brother, John. Ada was visiting her mother, Julie, who lived in New York. Elsie and Ada boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Survived: After their rescue by the Carpathia, Elsie and Ada returned to England on board the Philadelphia on May 11, 1912.
On November 6, 1920 Elsie married an Indian Doctor, William St. Alban Hendricks (1877-1966) in Bombay, India. They would have four children: John (b. 1923), Gerald St. Alban (b. 1925), Clara (b. April 1927) and Elizabeth Mary (b. 1933).
She died on March 3, 1972.
Master Marshall Brines Drew, Age 8
Master Marshall Brines Drew was born in Greenport, New York on March 30, 1904. He was the son of William John Drew (b. 1864) and Annie Eliza Brines (b. 1871). Marshall’s father was English and his mother was American. His father had emigrated to the United States around 1886 and operated a successful marble monument business with his younger brother, James.Marshall’s mother Annie survived less than a few weeks following his birth. His father, William, was unable to care for his son, and delegated that responsibility to his childless brother James and his wife Lulu. Young Marshall grew up in Southold, New York and called his aunt Lulu “mother.”
James, Lulu and Marshall had traveled in the autumn of 1911 to visit relatives. Their return journey to America was on board the Titanic which they boarded at Southampton as second class passengers.
Survived: On the night of the sinking, Marshall’s uncle James had been up on deck. Following the impact with the iceberg, James returned to the cabin, instructing them to dress and put on their lifebelts. He escorted Lulu and Marshall to Lifeboat 10, bid them goodbye and stepped back into the crowd. James died in the sinking. He is commemorated in the Ashaway Cemetery, Ashaway, Rhode Island in a monument carved by his brother and Marshall’s father, William.
Marshall fell asleep in his lifeboat to awaken to the sight of dozens of icebergs for miles around and soon saw the Carpathia steaming in to their rescue. He also recollected his excitement at scaling the side of their rescue vessel, a feat many others seemed to fear. Upon his arrival in New York he was met by his father. Marshall returned to Southold, New York with his aunt Lulu and his father. He would lose his father to tuberculosis in 1917 and aunt Lulu was remarried to Richard Opie. Marshall soon went to live with Lulu’s parents, the Christians.
Gifted with an artistic flair, Marshall became a graduate of Pratt Institute in New York in 1928 and attended Columbia University, later becoming an art teacher in Brooklyn public schools until his retirement. He was married to a Connecticut-born woman named Mary (b. 1912) and they had a daughter, Bette Elizabeth (later Wible), on March 27, 1937. Following his retirement Marshall continued to teach art and host art events and was a talented photographer of natural life and an expert in origami.
Marshall gave countless interviews about his experiences on Titanic and befriended many Titanic enthusiasts over the years.
Marshall died on June 6, 1986. He is buried in River Bend Cemetery, Westerly, Rhode Island and on his headstone is a depiction of the Titanic. The inscription reads ‘Teacher, Artist, Friend – Survivor of the Titanic Disaster April 15, 1912.’
Miss Asuncion Durán i Moné, Age 27
Miss Asuncion Durán i Moné was born in San Adrian, Spain in 1885.She worked as a domestic servant and had been visiting her father Ramon Duran in Barcelona. From there, she was going to the home of Tomas Benedicto in Havana, Cuba with her sister, Florentina.
The sisters, Asuncion and Florentina, boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg on April 10, 1912 as second class passengers.
Survived: Asuncion and her sister, Florentina, survived the sinking in Lifeboat 12. They were rescued by the Carpathia and taken to New York. Once recuperated, they continued their travel to Havana, Cuba.
Her sister Florentina married fellow second class passenger Julian Padron Manent. They lived together in Cuba, and the couple had no children. Florentina died in 1959 and was buried in Colon Cemetery, Havana.
Mr. George Floyd Eitemiller, Age 25
Mr. George Floyd Eitemiller was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania in November 1886. He was the son of George M. Eitemiller (b. 1849), a telegraph operator, and his wife Cecilia May Winton (b. 1858). George had one sibling, a brother named Frank Winton (b. 1878).George had been working abroad as a European representative of a Cincinnati automobile company. His local address prior to joining the Titanic was the Bonnington Hotel in London.
George was headed to Detroit on business when he boarded the Titanic in Southampton as a second class passenger.
Died: George died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified.
His mother Cecilia is believed to have died within a few years of him and his father moved to Kansas City, Missouri to be near his surviving son Frank. What became of him thereafter is uncertain.
George’s brother Frank worked in the nickel industry and was married twice, firstly in 1903 to Blanche Cromwell Patterson (1875-1962) before he divorced and married Estelle Sarah Tuthill (1883-1956). He had one child from his second marriage, also named Frank Winton (1924-1987). He later worked in the hotel industry and lived at different times in Missouri and Pennsylvania before settling in Toledo, Ohio where he died on October 8, 1934.
Mr. Ingvar Enander, Age 21
Mr. Ingvar Enander was born on December 26, 1890 in Sweden. He was the son of wholesale dealer Axel Wilhelm Enander and his wife Hilda Elisabeth Bohle.Ingvar was engaged to be married to Dagmar Jenny Ingeborg Bryhl. His plan was to continue his studies in the United States, but as neither he nor Dagmar had mastered English, his soon-to-be brother-in-law Kurt, who was also emigrating to America, acted as interpreter for them. Upon their planned arrival in the States, Ingvar, Kurt and Dagmar were to join the Bryhls’ uncle Oskar Lustig in Rockford, Illinois.
Ingvar boarded the Titanic at Southampton with his fiancé Dagmar and her brother Kurt Bryhl. They traveled as second class passengers.
Died: Ingvar died in the sinking, his body never identified. His fiancee, Dagmar survived. Ingvar had placed Dagmar’s red slippers into his Ulster pocket. She had forgotten her shoes and Ingvar delivered them to her before she was lowered into the lifeboat.
The parents failed to sue White Star until it was too late.
Mr. Joseph Charles Fillbrook, Age 18
Mr. Joseph Charles Fillbrook was born in Truro, England in early 1894. He was the son of William Fillbrook (b. 1868), a mason, and Catherine Vincent (b. 1866). They were married in 1893 and had six children, of whom Joseph was the oldest.Joseph worked as a house painter, having been apprenticed as such since leaving school. Joseph’s uncle George Fillbrook (b. 1882), also a housepainter, had immigrated to Michigan in 1906 and settled in Houghton where he lived with his wife and children. He encouraged Joseph to join him and sent the money necessary for his passage.
Joseph boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Died: Joseph was lost in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified.
Joseph’s parents continued to live in Truro; his father died in 1941 and his mother in 1950. His last surviving sibling, John, died in Truro in 1986.
Miss Annie Clemmer Funk, Age 38
Miss Annie Clemmer Funk was born on April 12, 1874 in Bally, Pennsylvania. Her ancestors were Mennonite immigrants from Germany, who settled there in the late 1700s. Her father was deacon at the local Mennonite church for 25 years.Annie had dreamed of being a missionary since her youth and in November 1906 was sent to India as the first single female Mennonite missionary to go overseas. She learned Hindi and in July 1907 opened a one-room school for girls. In March 1912, she received a telegram informing her that her mother was very ill. Deciding to return to America, she journeyed to Liverpool where she was supposed to board the Haverford. However, because of the coal strike the ship was laid off. Annie changed to the Titanic and boarded at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Died: On the night of the sinking, Annie was woken by the stewards, dressed and went on deck. She was about to enter a lifeboat, when a woman came from behind, pushing her aside by calling: “My children, my children.” As the last seat was gone, Annie had to step back.
In memory of Annie, the school she had founded in Janjgir, India was named the Annie C. Funk Memorial Girl’s School and a memorial was erected at the Hereford Mennonite Church Cemetery in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Harry Gale, Age 38
Mr. Harry Gale was born at Rising Sun, a small hamlet near Harrowbarrow, England in 1874. He was the son of Elijah Gale, who worked as a tin miner, and Maria Gale. He had three siblings and the family lived with his grandparents, Thomas and Rebecca Sandercock. Harry worked as a miner.Harry’s younger brother Shadrach had moved to Idaho Springs, Colorado in the early part of the century. Shadrach had returned home to visit his family and encouraged Harry to go to Colorado with him where they were to work as miners. Harry agreed and they booked passage on the Titanic, bound for Colorado.
The brothers boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Died: Harry and his brother Shadrach were lost in the sinking. Their bodies, if recovered, were never identified.
Harry and his brother have a memorial in the Calstock Churchyard in Cornwall. Shadrach had been a member of Woodmen of the World in Colorado and the membership erected a memorial to him in Idaho Springs.
Miss Ethel Garside, Age 39
Miss Ethel Garside was born in Liverpool, England on March 13, 1873. She was the daughter of Joseph Frederick Garside (1846-1920), an engineer, and Mary Ellen Farrimond (1847-1922), who had married in 1870 and had six children. Ethel was the second oldest.Ethel worked as a nurse and this would take her across the Atlantic several times. She was visiting her parents in Essex before her return to New York when she boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Survived: Ethel survived the sinking. She was rescued by the Carpathia in Lifeboat 12. On the Carpathia she tried to send a telegram to her father but it was never transmitted due to the workload of the telegraphist.
In New York Ethel received assistance from the Red Cross, who noted that she had lost clothing, including her uniforms, and was suffering severely from shock and exposure, resulting in hospital care. They gave her $400. Ethel later made a claim for her lost property against the White Star Line for $502.46, which included the loss of 14 nurses dresses and a fitted surgical bag.
Ethel never married. She did not let her experiences on Titanic deter her from traveling and she continued to be a seasoned traveler for the rest of the decade and into the 1920s She resettled in her native England and spent her last days living in West Kirby.
Ethel died in the Red Rocks Nursing Home in Hoylake on March 25, 1953. She was cremated at Landican Crematorium and her ashes were scattered on the Memorial Garden.
Mr. William Gilbert, Age 47
Mr. William Gilbert was born in Polladrass in 1865. He was the son of Thomas Gilbert and Elizabeth Gilbert (née Williams). His father was a miner who spent much of his working time in America, mainly in and around Butte, Montana.At the age of 10 William was apprenticed to a Mr. Joyce of nearby Breage as a joiner and wheelwright. However, William, like his father, decided to seek work in Butte and subsequently secured employment there in a joinery shop. William returned to Cornwall on January 1, 1912 for a three month vacation to visit his mother and brother.
William was due to return to America in the March of 1912 but stalled his return to wait for the maiden voyage of the Titanic. William traveled to Southampton and embarked on Titanic on April 10, 1912. He was traveling in second class.
Died: William was lost in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified.
Twenty-four days after his death, his brother’s wife gave birth to his nephew, who was named William in memory of his uncle.
Mr. Frederick Edward Giles, Age 21
Mr. Frederick Edward Giles was born in Sithney, England in the second half of 1891. He was the son of William Harvey Giles (b. 1853), a farm laborer, and Mary Cornish Andrewartha (b. 1855) who were married in 1878. He was one of eight surviving children.Frederick worked as a bus driver and his younger brother Edgar, with whom he lived, was a cab driver. The Giles boys were well known in Porthleven for their singing. In 1911 Frederick’s elder brother William immigrated to America and a couple of years later Frederick and Edgar decided to join him there and work for him.
For their journey both Frederick and Edgar traveled on Titanic, boarding at Southampton as second class passengers. They had been due to travel on Oceanic but the coal strike had forced the change to Titanic.
Died: Frederick and his brother, Edgar, both died in the sinking. Their bodies, if recovered, were never identified.
Their father did not see out the year and died in the latter months of 1912. Their mother died in 1937.
Master Viljo Unto Johannes Hämäläinen, Age 7 months
Master Viljo Unto Johannes Hämäläinen was born on August 29, 1911, in Kiihtelysvaara, Finland to William and Anna Hämäläinen. Viljo’s father had previously emigrated to the United States, settling in Detroit, Michigan, and had sent for his family to join him.Viljo boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger on April 10, 1912 with his mother Anna and a young woman named Marta Hiltunen who was presumed to be a friend of the family.
Survived: Viljo and his mother, Anna, were rescued in Lifeboat 4. Their friend, Marta, died in the sinking.
The day after they arrived in New York, Anna took Viljo and they left immediately for Detroit. What became of him thereafter is unclear.
Mr. William H. Harbeck, Age 45
Mr. William H. Harbeck was born in Toledo, Ohio in September 1866. He was the only known child of John S. Harbeck (1836-1921), a stave sealer, and Margaret Milligan (1841-1885). William was married on February 16, 1886 to Catherine “Katie” Stetter (b. 1863).William was a well-known cinematographer who earned his reputation in 1906 filming the aftermath of the earthquake in San Francisco. He sailed for Europe on February 27, 1912 to take films for later presentation in the American theatres. William had completed his business and was returning by way of Amsterdam to London to sail home on the Titanic.
William was possibly hired by the White Star Line to film the maiden voyage. He boarded the vessel at Southampton and was traveling not with his wife, but with Henriette Yvois, a 22-year old model William had met in Paris.
Died: Both William and his mistress Henriette died in the sinking. When his body was recovered it was found clutching a purse belonging to Henriette, and he was identified by his membership card in the Moving Picture and Projecting Machine Operators Union.
When William’s wife, Catherine, came from Toledo to claim the body in Halifax she was almost turned away as an imposter because authorities told her Mrs. Harbeck had drowned with her husband. Catherine took the body back to Toledo for burial in Toledo’s Woodlawn Cemetery.
Catherine never remarried and remained in Toledo for the rest of her life, living with her son Stanley. She died on May 18, 1940 and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery with her husband.
Miss Annie Jessie Harper, Age 6
Miss Annie Jessie Harper was born on January 3, 1906 in Scotland. She was the daughter of John Harper (b. 1872), an evangelical pastor, and Annie Leckie Bell (b. 1866). John and Annie had married in 1903 and Annie, also known as Nana, was their only child. Nana’s mother died following complications arising from her birth on January 8, 1906. Nana’s cousin, Jessie Wills Leitch, stepped in to help take care of baby Nana as John Harper worked and preached throughout Britain, Ireland, and North America.Her father later became pastor of the Walworth Road Baptist Church in London. Following a successful meeting series in November 1911 in Chicago, Rev. Harper had been invited back to Moody Church to conduct a second series of revival meetings.
Nana, her father and her cousin Jessie boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Survived: Nana’s own recollections were sparse but she later recalled sitting on her cousin Jessie’s knee as she watched the Titanic sink and she later recalled the noise of those struggling in the water. Jessie and Nana were rescued in Lifeboat 11 but her father John, was lost in the sinking.
Nana, now an orphan, returned to England and was apparently raised by an uncle and aunt in London. In 1921 she performed the opening ceremony of the Harper Memorial Baptist Church in Glasgow, which was dedicated to her father’s memory. During her upbringing, however, discussion of Titanic was discouraged by her family.
She later worked at Riglands Bible College in London and it was there that she met Philip Roy Pont (b. 1903). The pair were married in London in the closing months of 1934 and they had two children: Gordon and Mary. The family moved to Scotland around 1936 where Philip was the pastor at a Baptist Church in Denny. Philip retired in around 1984 and they settled in Burnside, Lanarkshire.
Nana, known more frequently as Nan in her later years, continued to live in Burnside but had few memories of her time on Titanic. She therefore spoke little about that experience in her life but did keep in regular contact with the Titanic community and with fellow survivor Eva Hart who remembered playing with her on Titanic as a child.
Nan died at her home on April 10, 1986, 74 years to the day when Titanic had departed from Southampton. She was buried in Moffat Cemetery.
Mr. George Harris, Age 62
Mr. George Harris was born in March 1850 in Liverpool, England. He emigrated to the United States in 1870. He was married circa 1875 to Mary Simmons. He worked as a gardener and he and Mary had four children.Mary died on August 27, 1889 in Middleton, Connecticut and George was married again circa 1890 to Mary Jessup. However, George’s second wife Mary died on February 12, 1911 in Stamford.
After a vacation in London, George boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912 as a second class passenger.
Survived: George was asleep when the ship struck the iceberg and slept through the event, only to be awakened shortly afterward by people shouting. He made his way to the deck and was able to enter Lifeboat 15 (he thought it was Lifeboat 13). When someone asked if there were any more women, no one responded, and he climbed in. He reported that he rowed for hours. He later claimed that he could see people trying to climb over the rail separating first and second class passengers, the rail broke, and the people fell into the water. He would arrive home in Stamford on April 19, 1912.
His health suffered frequently after the sinking and George died on March 3, 1919 in Stamford. He had been living at his daughter Rachel’s home. He is buried with his second wife, Mary, in South Beach Cemetery.
Miss Eva Miriam Hart, Age 7
Miss Eva Miriam Hart was born on January 31, 1905 in London, England to Benjamin Hart and Esther Bloomfield. The couple was married in the autumn of 1900 and Eva was their only child.In early 1912, Benjamin decided to take his family and immigrate to Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he planned to open a drug store.
Eva and her parents boarded the Titanic as second class passengers on April 10, 1912 at Southampton. Eva’s father was excited about traveling on the maiden voyage, while her mother was troubled.
Survived: Eva was sleeping when the Titanic struck the iceberg. Eva’s father, Benjamin, rushed into her cabin to alert Eva and her mother, Esther. Benjamin wrapped Eva in a blanket and carried her to the boat’s deck. Benjamin placed his wife and daughter in Lifeboat 14. It was the last time Eva would ever see her father. Eva’s father perished and his body, if recovered, was never identified.
Eva and her mother were rescued up by the Carpathia and arrived in New York City on April 18th. Soon after arriving in New York, Eva and her mother returned to England and her mother remarried.
Eva was one of the most outspoken survivors concerning the Titanic‘s lack of sufficient lifeboats and of any salvage attempts of the Titanic after its discovery in 1985. Eva remained very active in Tianitc-related activities well into her 80s. In 1994, Eva wrote an autobiography, Shadow of the Titanic – A Survivor’s Story, in which she described her experiences aboard the ship and the lasting implications of its sinking.
Eva died on February 14, 1996 at her home in Chadwell Heath. A Wetherspoon’s Pub in Chadwell Heath is fittingly named ‘The Eva Hart’
Mr. Wallace Henry Hartley, Age 33
Mr. Wallace Henry Hartley was born on June 2, 1878. He was was the son of Albion and Elizabeth Hartley. As a child, he sang in the choir of his church, Bethel Independent Methodist Church.Wallace trained as a musician and had led orchestras in Harrogate and Bridlington. He was also a member of the Savage Club in Leeds. He played the violin and previously worked on the Cunard Liner Mauretania. He was offered and accepted the position of bandmaster on the Titanic. He had a fiancé in Boston Spa in Yorkshire and spent time with her in that village the week before boarding the Titanic.
Wallace boarded as a second class passenger and musician on April 10, 1912 in Southampton.
Died: Wallace led the orchestra in playing ragtime tunes after the collision. Like all of the musicians, he perished with the ship.
His body was recovered as on May 4, 1912 and was transferred from Halifax to Boston for its return to Liverpool on board the Arabic. From Liverpool the body was taken by hearse to Hartley’s boyhood hometown of Colne, Lancashire. The funeral was held at the Bethel Independent Methodist church where William had been a choirboy as a child.
Miss Alice Herman, Age 24
Miss Alice Herman was born in Galhampton, England on December 6, 1887. She was the daughter of Samuel Herman (b. 1862), a butcher, and Jane Laver (b. 1861). They were wed in early 1887 and Alice was one of two children born to the couple, with her twin sister Kate.For several years her father was the proprietor of the Britannia Hotel in Castle Cary. Although a financially comfortable family, the past year had seen a slump in their fortunes in England and it was decided that they would emigrate. Originally booked aboard a different ship, they canceled their voyage to allow more time to prepare.
Alice, her parents, sister and her father’s young employee and surrogate son George Sweet boarded the Titanic at Southampton.
Survived: On the night of the sinking Alice, her mother and twin sister Kate were in bed when the collision occurred. She reported not much of a shock. Her father, Samuel, who had been on deck, returned to the cabin and told them not to fear and to stay in bed as it was bitterly cold. He went to investigate and soon returned, ordering his wife and daughters to dress and they headed to the boat deck where the Alice, Kate and mother, Jane, are believed to have departed in one of the aft starboard boats. Alice’s father and her surrogate brother George Sweet were lost in the sinking and their bodies, if recovered, were never identified.
In New York, Alice and her family were met by her uncle Arthur Laver and his associate William David Cleland. William and Alice fell in love and were wed in 1913. They had four children: Muriel (b. 1915), William “Jack” (b. 1916), Norman (b. 1918) and Basil (b. 1920). Alice rarely spoke about the Titanic, even to her family.
Alice was later afflicted with late-onset diabetes and died from complications on March 23, 1947. She was buried in St Bernard’s Episcopal Church Cemetery in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
Miss Kate Herman, Age 24
Miss Kate Herman was born in Galhampton, England on December 6, 1887. She was the daughter of Samuel Herman (b. 1862), a butcher, and Jane Laver (b. 1861). Kate was one of two children born to the couple, with her twin sister Alice.For several years her father was the proprietor of the Britannia Hotel in Castle Cary. Although a financially comfortable family, the past year had seen a slump in their fortunes in England and it was decided that they would emigrate. Originally booked aboard a different ship, they canceled their voyage to allow more time to prepare.
Kate, her parents, sister and her father’s young employee and surrogate son George Sweet boarded the Titanic at Southampton.
Survived: On the night of the sinking Kate, her mother and twin sister, Alice, were in bed when the collision occurred. She reported not much of a shock. Her father, Samuel, who had been on deck, returned to the cabin and told them not to fear and to stay in bed as it was bitterly cold. He went to investigate and soon returned, ordering his wife and daughters to dress and they headed to the boat deck where the Kate, Alice, and mother, Jane, are believed to have departed in one of the aft starboard boats. Kate’s father and her surrogate brother George Sweet were lost in the sinking and their bodies, if recovered, were never identified.
Kate soon found love in America and moved to Portland, Oregon where she was wed on January 5, 1914 to Walter George Parsons (b. 1885), a dairy merchant originally from Surrey. The couple remained in Portland for the rest of their lives and went on to have three children: Hermione and, coincidentally, twin sons: Norman Elliott and Herman Albert. Kate became a naturalized United States citizen on February 26, 1952.
Her husband, who worked as a chef, died November 10, 1950 and Kate went to live with her daughter and her family. In later life she was a member of the Titanic Historical Society.
Kate died on January 18, 1983.
Mrs. Mary Dunbar Hewlett, Age 56
Mrs. Mary Dunbar Hewlett (née Kingcome) was born in Clifton, Bristol in 1855. In 1875 she was married to Frederick Rufford Hewlett and the couple had four children.One of her sons had moved to Lucknow in India and Mary was returning from a visit to him in early 1912 to see another son, Francis, who had emigrated to Rapid City, South Dakota. On the way to South Dakota, Mary stopped in England to visit her daughter, Mrs. E. Villiers in Hampshire.
For the journey to America she traveled second class on the Titanic, having embarked at Southampton.
Survived: Mary was rescued by the Carpathia in Lifeboat 13.
After visiting her son in South Dakota, Mary decided to return to Lucknow, India.
Mary died in Naini Tal, India of septicaemia on May 9, 1917 and was buried the next day in in Kaladhungi Road Cemetery at the foot of the Himalayas.
Mr. Lewis Hickman, Age 30
Mr. Lewis Hickman was born in Fritham, England on August 29, 1881. He was the son of Herbert and Emily Hickman and worked in a munitions factory at Fritham.After his marriage to a woman named Marie, Lewis decided to seek his fortune in Canada. His younger brother Leonard had emigrated to Neepawa, Manitoba in 1908, and had done well for himself working as a farmhand for a wealthy mixed-grain farmer, Harold Honeyman. Leonard went home to Fritham for Christmas in 1911 and persuaded the entire Hickman family of eleven to emigrate to Canada. Because of the coal strike, the shipe they planned to sail one was canceled and alternative passage was found for only three of the brothers—Leonard, Lewis and Stanley.
Due to the inconvenience, the brothers were upgraded from third class to second class on the Titanic and boarded at Southampton.
Died: As the Titanic was sinking, Lewis grabbed his brother Leonard’s coat before he went up on deck. He perished with the ship along with both of his brothers. Lewis’ body was recovered from the Atlantic, but it was misidentified as that of brother Leonard because Leonard’s membership card in the Foresters Lodge was found in a pocket.
The body was interred in Canada as Leonard until the personal effects returned to the family made his wife suspect it was actually Lewis. The inscription on the tombstone was changed.
Mrs. Eliza Hocking, Age 54
Mrs. Eliza Hocking (née Needs) was born in the Scilly Isles off Cornwall, England on April 12, 1858. She was the daughter of George Needs (b. 1824), a laborer, and Anne Pender (b. 1821). They were married in 1848 and she had six known siblings.Eliza was married in 1880 to William Rowe Hocking (b. 1854), a confectioner’s foreman, and they had five surviving children. William left for South Africa, never to return, and Eliza was remarried in 1899 to William Guy. He was abusive and when he died in 1907 she reverted her name to Hocking. Two of her sons had emigrated to the United States and Eliza decided to join them, along with her other children, grandchildren and sister.
Originally intending to travel on the Oceanic, Eliza and her family embarked on Titanic at Southampton and traveled in second class.
Survived: After the collision, Eliza went to her daughters’ cabin and shook them awake. Dressing, they left their respective cabins but had to return to fetch their lifejackets and made their way to A Deck promenade, a first class area of the ship, where they climbed through a window into a lifeboat. Eliza, her daughters, sister, and her two young grandsons were rescued in Lifeboat 4. Her son George was lost.
She was met in New York by her son Sidney Hocking, who had traveled from Akron.
Eliza never returned to England and later lived in Akron. On the morning of April 14, 1914 she was en route to visit her daughter Emily when she was found unconscious lying in the street. Brought into the hospital, she was discovered to have a large wound on the back of her head and heavy bruising to her body. It is believed she had been struck by a motorcar but it was also investigated whether she had been the victim of a violent hold-up. She died from her injuries early the following morning, April 15, 1914, the second anniversary of the Titanic sinking. She was later buried in Glendale Cemetery in Akron.
Miss Ellen Hocking, Age 20
Miss Ellen “Nellie” Hocking was born in Penzance, England on November 5, 1891. She was the daughter of William Rowe Hocking (b. 1854), a baker and confectioner, and Eliza Needs (b. 1858). They were married in 1880 and had five surviving children.Nellie’s two brothers, Sidney and George, had emigrated to the United States the previous year and lived and worked in Akron, Ohio. Her fiancé George Hambly also lived in Akron. Nellie and her mother decided the join them there and her brother George returned to Cornwall to fetch them. Also traveling with them were her sister Emily Richards and her two nephews Sibley George and William Rowe, and her aunt Ellen Wilkes.
Originally intending to travel on the Oceanic, the family embarked Titanic at Southampton and traveled in second class.
Survived: After the collision Nellie and her mother, with whom she shared a cabin, went to waken her sister Emily, noticing that something was amiss. Dressing and leaving their cabins, they were forced to return to fetch their lifejackets and made their way to A Deck promenade, a first class area of the ship, where they climbed through a window into a lifeboat. Nellie, her mother, sister, aunt and nephews were rescued in Lifeboat 4. Her brother George was lost.
She was met in New York by her brother Sidney and fiancé George who had traveled from Akron. Nellie and George married on May 14, 1913. They initially made their home in Akron before settling in Schenectady, New York sometime around 1918. They had two sons: William Jack (1916-1997) and Robert Trewlawney (1919-1973). Nellie was widowed in 1938 and continued to live in Schenectady.
Nellie died on October 14, 1963 following a heart-attack and was buried with her husband in Park View Cemetery in Schenectady.
Mr. Stephen Hold, Age 44
Mr. Stephen Hold was born in Porthoustock, Cornwall on January 24, 1868. He was the son of Stephen Hold, a Warrant Officer in the Royal Navy, and Anna Maria Hold (née Connor) of St. Mawes. He had three siblings.Stephen moved to Sacramento, California where he worked as a chauffeur for a W. H. Bradley. He returned to his home village of Porthoustock in 1909 to visit family. During his trip, on October 18, 1909, he married Annie Margaret Hill (b. 1883). They lived in Sacramento where he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and had also been a president of the Order of the Sons of St. George.
In November 1911, Stephen and Annie went on vacation to England. For their return to Sacramento they were due to sail from Liverpool, but had their passage switched to Titanic due to the coal strikes. They embarked at Southampton and traveled second class.
Died: Stephen was lost in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified. He left $4,000 in his will to his wife, Annie, who survived in Lifeboat 10. Annie returned to England and suffered from severe rheumatism as a result of the tragedy. She went on to remarry Joseph Northey Bailey.
Annie died on March 1, 1960 and was buried in the parish churchyard of St. Keverne.
Mr. Masabumi Hosono, Age 41
Mr. Masabumi Hosono was born on October 15, 1870. He was a civil servant from Tokyo. He was married and had a family. Masabumi was also fluent in English.In 1910 Japan’s Transportation Ministry sent Masabumi to Russia to study that country’s railroad system. He finished his assignment in early 1912 and, following a brief stop in London, began the next leg of his trip home by embarking across the Atlantic on the Titanic.
Masabumi was the only Japanese passenger on the Titanic. He joined the vessel at Southampton on April 10, 1912 and traveled second class.
Survived: On the night of the sinking Masabumi was woken by a knock on the door of his second class cabin. He raced outside but, as a foreigner, was ordered to the lower decks, away from the boats. He nevertheless made his way to the upper decks.
His chance of survival came when an officer loading lifeboats shouted ‘Room for two more.’ A man jumped in and Masabumi followed. Masabumi was rescued in Lifeboat 13.
Masabumi was attacked in Japan for surviving when so many others had died. His ministry fired him, Japanese papers calumnied his cowardice, textbooks cited his survival as a model of shameful behavior, and a professor of ethics denounced him as immoral.
Masabumi died on March 14, 1939.
Mrs. Ellen Truelove Howard, Age 61
Mrs. Ellen Truelove Howard (née Arman) was born in Rodbourne, England on April 14, 1851. She was the illegitimate daughter of Ann Arman (b. 1832) and her father’s identity was never revealed. Ellen was seemingly raised by her maternal aunt and uncle.She was married on May 16, 1872 to Benjamin Howard (b. 1848), a bolt maker and native of Lancashire. The couple settled in Swindon, Wiltshire and had five children. Ellen’s husband’s health had been in decline and it was decided that a sea voyage to the United States, where two of their sons lived in Idaho, would perhaps benefit him.
Ellen and Ben boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Died: Ellen and her husbant, Ben, died in the sinking. Their bodies, if recovered, were never identified.
Ellen’s estate, worth £339 was administered to her eldest son William Howard, a piano tuner, on August 30, 1912.
Her son Herbert continued to reside in Idaho. He was married to Sarah Lydia Tannehill (1898-1934), a native of Nebraska, and had several children. Following the death of his wife Herbert settled in Los Angeles where he was remarried in 1946 to Laura Adelaide Mosher (b. 1887). Sadly, he was widowed after less than a year of marriage. Herbert died in Los Angeles on August 19, 1963.
Miss Bertha Ilett, Age 17
Miss Bertha Ilett was born in Millbrook on Jersey in the Channel Islands on October 12, 1894. She was the daughter of Edward Ilett (b. 1858) and Elizabeth Hamling (b. 1856). Her father was a gardener and had married Elizabeth around 1883. Bertha was one of ten children.Bertha’s father made frequent trips across the Atlantic to supervise shiploads of cattle crossing between England and the United States. Their quarantine station was in Athenia, New York and Mr. Ilett would stay there with friends and family before returning to Jersey. Bertha’s sister Elsie had married a Danish man, Chris Olsen and started a family in Geneva, New York. Bertha decided to join her there while visiting her father and other family and friends in New York.
Bertha boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger on April 10, 1912.
Survived: On the night of April 14, Bertha had retired to her cabin and went to bed around 10 p.m. but felt no commotion or crash. Less than an hour later a woman knocked on her door expressing concern that something was amiss. The two women were assured of no danger by circulating stewards and Bertha went back to bed. A short while later a steward knocked on her door, telling her to dress warmly and head topside. She put on a heavy coat over her nightgown and with her lifejacket followed the steward. Arriving on the Boat Deck she described a calm atmosphere and was placed in Lifeboat 14. The lifeboat began to leak after a while and she was transferred to Lifeboat 12 during the night, the last to join the Carpathia the next morning.
In New York she was met by her father before traveling to Athenia where other family and friends anxiously awaited her. Bertha was married within a few years to Chris Kristen Christensen (b. 1887), a native of Denmark who had also emigrated in 1912. The couple settled in Geneva, New York and had three children: Edward (b. 1916), Phyllis (b. 1918) and Richard (b. 1926). Her husband died in 1956.
Bertha died on September 30, 1976. She is buried in Brookside Cemetery in Geneva.
Mrs. Amy Frances Christy Jacobsohn, Age 24
Mrs. Amy Frances Christy Jacobsohn was born as Amy Frances Cohen in Lewisham, England on April 8, 1888. She was the daughter of Moreno Cohen (b. 1856) and Alice Frances Jones (b. 1860) who were married in 1885. Amy’s father died in 1890 and leaft her family destitute. When her mother remarried Frederick Alexander Christy (b. 1846), Amy adopted the surname Christy.Amy was married in London on August 28, 1910 to Sydney Samuel Jacobsohn, a South African-born lawyer, and the two honeymooned in Torquay. The couple settled in London and went on to have one child, a daughter, who died at birth.
Amy and her husband boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912 as second class passengers; they were journeying to Montréal, Québec. They were traveling with her mother and sister.
Survived: Amy, her mother and sister, Julie, were rescued in Lifeboat 12, but her husband, Sydney, died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified.
Amy returned to London and was later remarried to William Fenwick. The couple had two children: Ann and Douglas. She later lived in Nairobi, Kenya before returning to England for a while. Following a period of ill health she returned to Nairobi and spent her last days in the Maia Carberry Nursing home there. She died on July 9, 1947.
Mr. Denzil John Jarvis, Age 46
Mr. Denzil John Jarvis was born on June 17, 1864 in Wales. His parent were Matthew Jarvis (b. 1841) and Elizabeth Powis. He was one of at least fifteen children born to the couple.Denzil married Margaret Burrows (b. 1869) on February 7, 1889. The couple had two sons, Denzil and Wellesley. Over the following years Denzil patented several inventions. In 1912, Denzil had to travel to New York for meetings with Henry Ford and the General Motor Company where he was presenting a prototype carburetor. Denzil was also seeking to take legal action against a manufacturing company in Grand Rapids, Michigan for patent infringement.
On April 10, 1912 Denzil boarded the Titanic in Southampton as a second class passenger.
Died: Denzil died in the disaster and his body was never recovered.
His widow, Margaret, raised a granite cross memorial in their parish church yard. Both his sons later served in World War I, and his youngest son Wellesley was killed in action in France. Margaret remarried James Wedgewood Heath, who later became mayor of Leicester. Margaret died on May 1, 1934. Son, Denzil, Jr. survived the war, but suffered from wounds and gas poisoning and died in 1961.
Mrs. Marie Marthe Jerwan, Age 23
Mrs. Marie Marthe Jerwan (née Thuillard) was born on May 28, 1888 in Switzerland. She had emigrated to America in 1909, where she met and married Armin S. Jerwan, the son of a Turkish clergyman, in July 1910. Armin was a corrector at a New York publishing house and they lived in New York City.In 1912, Marie spent several weeks visiting her relatives at Crêt-de-la-Mosse (a farmhouse) at Mont-de-Couvet, Kanton Neuenburg. She had planned to travel back to her home in New York on the Olympic, but when that vessel went back to the builder for repair she changed her mind and bought passage on the Titanic.
Marie boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as a second class passenger on April 10, 1912.
Survived: At 10:30 p.m. on Sunday evening Marie was in her cabin reading. Suddenly she felt a hard hit and first thought the engine had exploded because they stood still. Marie went on deck and stayed on deck, because she felt something was wrong. She saw the boats being readied for lowering so went back to her cabin. Marie packed, dressed, put a coat on and a hat on her head, and put some necessities in a bag and went back to the deck. She entered Lifeboat 11.
After arriving at New York Marie was brought to Sydenham Hospital. She stayed just one day. She tried, without success, to get a compensation for the loss of her property, worth $3,364.75.
Armin and Marie Jerwan had no children. Marie fought cancer for many years and died on September 14, 1974 in Queens, New York.
Mrs. Claire Karnes, Age 22
Mrs. Claire Karnes (née Bennett) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in June 1889. She was the daughter of William Findlay Bennett (b. 1867), a coal office clerk, and Bessie Barclay (b. 1867), and she had one known sibling.Claire was married in West Virginia in April 1911 to Jacob Frank Karnes (b. 1880 in Pennsylvania). They shortly traveled to Burma where her husband worked as a driller for a petroleum company. She became pregnant in Burma and decided to return to the United States to have her baby. She traveled with Mrs. Mary Corey, also a resident of Pittsburgh, and whose husband worked with Jacob in Burma. Mary was also pregnant.
Claire boarded the Titanic in Southampton as a second class passenger.
Died: Both Claire Karnes and Mary Corey became two of only a dozen women traveling second class to die. The reason for their not leaving the ship is unknown.
Claire’s husband Frank was later revealed to have died within a few days of her own death, on April 12, 1912, due to smallpox while still in Burma.
Miss Nora Agnes Keane, Age 46
Miss Nora Agnes Keane was born in Castleconnell, Ireland on March 30, 1866. She was the daughter of John Keane (1819-1885), a farmer, and Hanorah Fee (1830-1917), and had six siblings.Nora emigrated around 1880 to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and worked as a housekeeper. She was later joined by several of her siblings. Her brothers became firemen, and later she and her brothers ran the Union Hotel on Paxton Street in Harrisburg. Nora’s father had died in 1885 and her elderly mother continued to live in Ireland. Nora made several trips back home to visit her family. It was after one of these visits that she purchased a ticket back to the States on the Titanic.
Nora boarded the Titanic at Queenstown on April 11, 1912 as a second class passenger.
Survived: On the night of the sinking Nora was so nervous that she required help to dress. Nora went topside and noted the scene on deck was quite calm, with the officers having perfect control. She baorded a lifeboat and described how a male “foreigner” jumped into her lifeboat as it was being filled, hiding in the bottom of the boat and being trampled on in the dark. The interloper later proved to be a valuable asset as he helped row.
Following her arrival in New York aboard Carpathia, Nora was met by her brothers and she returned to Harrisburg. Nora never married and continued living in Harrisburg. She braved the ocean several times more to visit her native Ireland. In 1919, she returned to Ireland for good, eventually dying following complications from a broken leg on December 20, 1944. She is buried in Castleconnell.
Mr. Daniel Keane, Age 35
Mr. Daniel Keane was born in Gallowshill, Ireland on June 25, 1876. He was the son of Timothy Keane (b. circa 1831), a farmer, and Honora O’Meara (b. circa 1835) who were married around 1859. He was one of nine children.Daniel worked as a tram conductor on the Donnybrooke Line. He was unmarried. He decided to immigrate to the United States and was destined for St. Louis, Missouri.
Daniel boarded the Titanic at Queenstown on April 11, 1912 as a second class passenger.
Died: Daniel died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified.
To mark the centenary of the disaster, a memorial was unveiled to Daniel in his birthplace of Cratloe at Gallowshill. The commemorative stone was carved by his great-nephew Séamus Spaight, a retired farmer who took up stone-masonry as a hobby.
Mrs. Fanny Maria Kelly, Age 49
Mrs. Fanny Maria Kelly (née Tozer) was born in London in late 1863. She married Richard Henry Kelly, a diamond merchant, in early 1883 and their son, Richard Charles Kelly, was born a few months later.By 1901, Fanny was widowed and running a boarding house on Upper Bedford Place in London. Her son, Richard, had previously emigrated to the United States and lived in New York City. On a visit back to London to see his mother, Richard convinced Fanny to come to New York.
Under the first name Florence, Fanny boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Survived: Fanny survived the sinking. She was rescued by the Carpathia, possibly in Lifeboat 9 or 13.
Fanny returned to England, arriving in Southampton on September 22, 1912. She died on March 1, 1920 in London following complications with diabetes.
Her son Richard married M. Dorothy E. Curtis in August 1920, and emigrated to New South Wales, Australia where he died in 1948.
Mr. Johan Henrik Johannesson Kvillner, Age 31
Mr. Johan Henrik Johannesson Kvillner was born on April 11, 1881 in Sweden. He was the son of Elizabeth Olsson and her late husband who was a shoemaker and shopkeeper in Kville parish.Johan was engaged to Signe Kjellberg Föreningsgatan of Gothenburg. He lived in Trollhättan, Sweden and worked as an engineer on the Trollhätte kanalverk (a hydro-electric power station). He graduated as an engineer in 1907 and about the same time changed his name from Johannesson to Kviller. Johan got a government scholarship to study iron constructions in United States and traveled from Gothenburg on his way to New Jersey.
Johan boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Died: Johan died in the sinking. His body was found by the Mackay-Bennett. He was buried in Fairview in Halifax on May 10, 1912. His belongings, including a knife, comb, silver name plate and gold ring with the engraving of his fiancé’s name, were sent back to Sweden.
After his death the Mansion House Fund paid 1420:38 Kr on January 23, 1913 to Johan’s fiancé Signe and 874:08 Kr to his mother, Elizabeth Olsson.
Reverend William Lahtinen, Age 35
Reverend William Lahtinen was probably born in Viitasaari, central Finland on April 23, 1876. At some point, he emigrated to the United States where he was married to Anna Amelia Sylfvén, an American whose parents were of Finnish descent. The couple lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota and were in the process of building a house there.In 1912 the couple traveled to Finland to help a friend, Lyyli Silvén, prepare to emigrate to the United States. Together with Miss Silvén, they began the journey back to America.
William and Anna boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912 as second class passengers.
Died: Both Reverend William and his wife, Anna, died in the sinking. After the Titanic collided with an iceberg, Anna had initially boarded a lifeboat, but decided that she wanted to stay with her husband. Neither of their bodies were found. Lyyli, the young woman the couple was helping to emigrate, did survive. She noted that Anna had looked very nervous, while William had calmly smoked a cigar.
The Mansion House Titanic Relief Fund records show that in 1914 William’s widowed mother, Fredrika Peura, a crofter from Viitasaari, Finland received £50 in assistance.
Mr. Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche, Age 25
Mr. Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche was born in Haiti on May 26, 1886. In 1901, he left Haiti and traveled to Beauvais, France, to study engineering. Joseph met Juliette Lafargue and they were married in 1908. Simonne was born in 1909 and a second daughter, Louise, was born prematurely in 1910 and suffered medical problems.As a Haitian of African ancestry, racial discrimination prevented Joseph from obtaining a high-paying job in France. Joseph decided to return to Haiti to find a better-paying job partly to cope with Louise’s medical bills. In March 1912, Juliette discovered that she was pregnant, so they decided to leave for Haiti before her pregnancy became too advanced for travel. Joseph’s mother bought them steamship tickets on the La France, but the line’s strict policy regarding children caused them to transfer their booking to the Titanic’s second class. The family boarded at Cherbourg.
Died: After the iceberg hit Joseph woke his wife Juliette and told her that the ship had suffered an accident. He put all of their valuables in his pockets, and he and his wife each carried one of their sleeping daughters to the ship’s deck. It is not known for sure which lifeboat Juliette and her daughters boarded, although Juliette remembered a countess being in her lifeboat. There was a countess Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes, on board the ship who escaped in Lifeboat 8, so it is likely that Juliette, and daughters Simonne and Louise all escaped aboard this lifeboat. Joseph was lost in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified.
After Joseph’s death, with no reason to continue on to Haiti, the family returned to France. Juliette, who was pregnant when they sailed, gave birth to Joseph LeMercier Laroche, Jr. on December 17, 1912.
Juliette died on January 10, 1980. Neither Simonne or Louise married; Simonne died on August 8, 1973 and Louise on January 25, 1998.
Miss Simonne Marie Anne Andrée Laroche, Age 3
Miss Simonne Marie Anne Andrée Laroche was born in Paris, France on February 19, 1909. Her father was Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche (b. 1886) and her mother was Juliette Marie Louise Laroche (b. 1889). The couple were married in March 1908. She had a younger sister, Louise, who was born prematurely and had medical complications.Simonne’s father, Joseph, was a Haitian of African ancestry, and racial discrimination prevented him from obtaining a high-paying job in France. Joseph decided to return to Haiti to find a better-paying job partly to cope with Louise’s medical bills. In March 1912, Juliette discovered she was pregnant, so the family decided to leave for Haiti before her pregnancy became too advanced for travel. Joseph’s mother bought them steamship tickets on the La France, but the line’s strict policy regarding children caused them to transfer their booking to the Titanic’s second class. The family boarded at Cherbourg.
Survived: Simonne, her mother and baby sister all survived. Her father, Joseph, woke her mother, Juliette, and told her that the ship had suffered an accident. He put all of their valuables in his pockets, and he and his wife each carried one of their sleeping daughters to the ship’s deck. It is not known for sure which lifeboat Juliette and her daughters boarded, although Juliette remembered a countess being in her lifeboat. There was a countess Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes, on board the ship who escaped in Lifeboat 8, so it is likely that Juliette, Simonne and Louise all escaped aboard this lifeboat. Joseph died in the sinking of the Titanic; his body was never recovered.
With no reason to continue on to Haiti, the family returned to France. Juliette, who was pregnant when they sailed, gave birth to Simonne’s brother Joseph LeMercier Laroche, Jr. on December 17, 1912.
Mother Juliette died on January 10, 1980. Neither Simonne or Louise married; Simonne died on August 8, 1973 and Louise on January 25, 1998.
Mrs. Mary Mack, Age 57
Mrs. Mary Mack (née Lacey) was born in Harborne, England in late 1854/early 1855. She was the daughter of George Lacey (b. 1828), a coachman, and Mary Every (b. 1822).Mary was married in 1875 to John Arber and they had a daughter, Agnes Mary, in 1877. What became of John Arber is not clear; whether he died or just became estranged from Mary is not certain, but by the late 1880s, the couple was not living together and Mary described herself as “unmarried.” Mary became involved with another man, Edward Mack (b. 1841). They never wed, but Mary took his last name. Edward died in early 1912.
Mary’s daughter Agnes had married and emigrated to the United States, settling in Manhattan. Mary decided to visit her daughter, and traveling from her home in Southampton, she boarded the Titanic as a second class passenger.
Died: Mary died in the sinking. Her body was recovered by the Mackay-Bennett and was buried at sea on April 22, 1912.
Mary’s daughter Agnes lived in Manhattan up until her death on June 12, 1932. She was buried in St. Raymond’s Cemetery.
Mr. Frank Hubert Maybery, Age 36
Mr. Frank Hubert Maybery, was born in Ipswich, England on November 30, 1875. He was the son of Valentine William Maybery and Clara Susan Maybery (née Sinnock). He had four siblings. On June 10, 1907 Frank married Frances Ella Hadfield at the Greenacres Chapel, Oldham. The couple had two daughters.Frank and his siblings emigrated to Moose Jaw, Canada. The brothers went into partnership as real estate agents in Moose Jaw where they specialized in selling farm land. However, Frank’s wife Ella had a serious eye complaint and the family decided to return to England, where she could get better medical treatment. In 1911 Frank brought his family back to England. Ella was pregnant at the time.
Frank needed to return to Canada to settle his affairs so he boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Died: Frank died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified.
Frank’s wife, Ella, who was pregnant when Titanic sailed, gave birth to Frank’s third daughter, Nancy Frances, in December 1912.
Miss Violet Madeline Mellinger, Age 13
Miss Violet Madeline Mellinger was born in Walthamstow, England on February 22, 1899. Better known as Madeline, she was the daughter of Claude Leinard Deschamps Mellinger (b. 1874), a clerk, and Elizabeth Anne Maidment (b. 1870) who were married in 1895. She had four siblings.Madeline’s parents later became estranged and her father emigrated to Australia sometime before 1910, leaving her mother destitute. Madeline and her siblings had to live in a children’s home while her mother became a domestic servant to make ends meet.
In early 1912 Madeline’s mother had gained a position as a housekeeper in Bennington, Vermont on the Fillmore Farms, the estate of the Colgate family who had founded the toothpaste brand. She and her mother boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912 as second class passengers.
Survived: Madeline and her mother, Elizabeth, survived the sinking. They entered Lifeboat 14 and were later transferred to Lifeboat 12 by Fifth Officer Lowe. In an interview with the Toronto Star Madeline said she and her mother were hurled into a half empty lifeboat and she shivered in the drifting boat with the cries of the drowning all around her.
Instead of working for the Colgate family as Madeline’s mother had planned, they returned to England after the sinking. However, Madeline emigrated to Canada around 1915, settling in Toronto. She was married there on October 1, 1921 to David Daniel Mann, a banker, and they had four sons: Alex, Bill, Don and Carl.
During the 1950s Madeline related her memories to Walter Lord during his research for A Night to Remember and she later attended a Titanic Historical Society convention in the 1970s.
Madeline died on May 27, 1976 in Toronto. Her cremated remains were interred in St. John’s Ridgeway Anglican Cemetery near Welland, Ontario.
Mr. William John Mellors, Age 19
Mr. William John Mellors was born on January 14, 1893 in London, England. His parents were unmarried at the time and his last name was registered as Stacey at the time of his birth. His father William John Mellors (b. 1871) worked in London as a porter at His Majesty’s Stationery Office. He married Harriet Stacey (b. 1871) in February 1893 and the couple went on to have two more children.As of 1912, William was still living with his family and worked as a shop assistant in a trunk store. He decided to emigrate to the United States where he had secured a job in New York through his cousin, Mr. Hale. He was to work at the Richmond Country Club in Staten Island.
William boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Survived: William survived the sinking in waterlogged Collapsible A and suffered from frost-bitten feet.
After arriving in New York, he went to his cousin, Mr. Hale, who had secured a job for him, to begin work at the country club. William was married in 1920 to Juanita Veronica Sarber (b. 1894), a native of West Virginia, and they had a daughter, Virginia, the following year. They lived in Manhattan before moving to Detroit, Michigan in the 1930s where William worked as an editor for a magazine, The National Republic.
William died in Detroit on July 23, 1948.
Father Juozas Montvila, Age 27
Father Juozas Montvila was born in Lithuania, on January 3, 1885. He was the son of Kazys Montvila and Magdalena Karalevicius.Juozas studied at the Seminary of Seinai. He was ordained a priest and assigned a post as vicar in Lipskas where he secretly administered to the spiritual needs of the Uniates. As a result of this service he was seized by the Russian government and denied his pastoral vocation.
With the passage of time and the realization that he was not likely to be allowed to return to pastoral work in Lithuania, he prepared to emigrate to the United States. Juozas’s first stop would be to his brother Petras, who already lived in America.
Juozas boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger. He would say mass every day on board the ship.
Died: After the collision Father Juozas refused a place on one of the ship’s lifeboats, choosing to administer his priestly duties and offering solace to his fellow travelers. He died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. He was considered a hero in Lithuania and is currently under consideration for canonization by the Roman Catholic church.
His parents and grandparents received a grant of £130 pounds from the Titanic Relief Fund.
Mrs. Adele Nasser, Age 14
Mrs. Adele Nasser (née Achem) was born in Zahlah, Lebanon on March 19, 1898. She was the daughter of Habib Hakim and his wife Ator Achem.Adele was newly married to Nicholas Nassar. Nicholas had a tannery in Brazil, but had decided to travel back to Lebanon. After learning of the conflict between Turkey and Italy, he decided to emigrate to New York. Adele was pregnant with the couple’s first child at the time of the sailing.
She and her husband Nicholas boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg on April 10, 1912 as second class passengers.
Survived: Adele was rescued in Lifeboat 4, where she met Madeleine Astor. The two women huddled for warmth. However, Adele did not speak English to communicate with Madeleine. Her husband, Nicholas, died in the sinking.
Adele’s son, with whom she was pregnant on the Titanic, was born on December 9, 1912. The child passed away hours later.
Adele later married Albert A. Shamaley who was born on May 15, 1884. The couple had four children. Albert died in a car accident in August of 1969.
Adele died in El Paso Texas on January 20, 1970.
Master Edmond Roger Navratil, Age 2
Master Edmond Roger Navratil was born on March 5, 1910 in Nice, France. He was the son of Mr. Michel Navratil, from Slovakia, and Marcelle Navratil, from Italy. The couple was married on May 26, 1907 in England and had one other child, son Michel Marcel Navratil, Jr. The family lived in Nice, France where Michel worked as a tailor.Michel and Marcelle separated in early 1912, with Marcelle gaining custody of the two young boys. Edmond and his brother went to stay with their father over the Easter weekend, but when Marcelle came to collect them, they had disappeared. Michel had decided to take the boys with him to America. After stopping in Monte Carlo, they sailed to England where Michel purchased second class tickets under the names of Loto and Louis Hoffman.
Edmond boarded the Titanic at Southampton with his brother and father in second class.
Survived: Edmond and his brother, Michel, were rescued in Collapsible D. However, their father perished.
Aboard the Carpathia, the boys, unable to speak English, were dubbed the Orphans of the Titanic when they turned out to be the only children who remained unclaimed by an adult. First Class survivor Margaret Hays, who was fluent in French, agreed to care for the boys at her New York home until family members could be contacted.
Edmond’s mother, Marcelle Navratil, recognized her boys from newspaper stories and was brought over to America by the White Star Line. She was reunited with her sons on May 16. The three sailed back to France on the Oceanic.
In later life Edmond worked as interior decorator and then became an architect and builder. He was married. During World War II he fought with the French Army, was captured and made a prisoner-of-war. He managed to escape from the camp, but his health had suffered and he died in the early 1950s.
Brother Michel went to university where he married a fellow student in 1933. He went on to earn his doctarate, becoming a professor of psychology. The last living male survivor, Michel lived in Montpellier, near Nice, France where he died on January 30, 2001 at the age of 92.
Mrs. Elizabeth Nye, Age 29
Mrs. Elizabeth Nye (née Ramell) was born on May 27, 1882 in Folkestone, Kent, the daughter of Thomas I. Ramell (b. 1855), a coach builder, and his wife Elizabeth. Mr. Ramell was also a Salvation Army bandsman in that town and Elizabeth herself later worked for the Salvation Army in the uniform department of their New York headquarters.Elizabeth was married on December 26, 1904 to Edward Ernest Nye. The couple emigrated to New York around 1909. However, Edward died on May 22, 1911. After his death, Elizabeth decided to return home to her parents in England. By 1912, she was ready to return to the United States.
Elizabeth was supposed to sail aboard the Philadelphia but due to the coal strike in Britain the trip was canceled and she was transferred to the Titanic. She boarded at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Survived: Elizabeth was rescued in Lifeboat 11.
While recuperating on board the Carpathia, Elizabeth wrote to reassure her parents that she was safe, and to explain the circumstances of her rescue. Elizabeth suffered such exposure that she would later required an operation and was awarded $200 by the American Red Cross.
After surviving the sinking, Elizabeth married a Salvation Army Colonel, Mr. George Darby, and together they were instrumental in the organization and support of the Salvation Army in both England and America. George and Elizabeth had one child, George Ray Darby, who was born March 30, 1915 in New York.
Elizabeth died on November 22, 1963 at Asbury Park, New Jersey.
Mr. Percy Thomas Oxenham, Age 22
Mr. Percy Thomas Oxenham was born in Birmingham, England on October 4, 1889. He was the son of Charles Edward Oxenham (b. 1852), a stonemason, and Phoebe Josebury Bond (b. 1854) who married in London in 1873. Percy was one of ten children.Percy, better known as Thomas, worked as a stone sawyer. He was unmarried. At some point, his brother Charles had emigrated to the United States and settled in Hudson, New Jersey. Percy decided to join his brother and move to the States.
Percy boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912, traveling as a second class passenger.
Survived: Percy ended up in Lifeboat 13.
Following his arrival in New York Percy continued to New Jersey, settling in Hudson with his brother, where he gained employment. He was married around 1916 to a lady named Elsie (b. 1896) and together they had a daughter, also called Elsie (b. 1917). The family settled in Cumberland, New Jersey around 1924 and Percy worked at the Dorchester Shipyard.
Percy died in Vineland on April 8, 1954 and was buried in Greenwood Memorial Park, Millville, New Jersey.
Dr. Alfred Pain, Age 23
Dr. Alfred Pain, known to his family as Alf, was born in Hamilton, Canada on August 24, 1888. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Pain.In 1906, after completing his education in Hamilton, Alfred went to the University of Toronto to study medicine. He graduated from the University in 1910 and gained his medical qualification the following year. After working as a house doctor at Hamilton City Hospital, Alfred went to London to study in September 1911. While in London he was trying to work his passage back to Canada as a ship’s doctor but had no luck.
Eventually Alfred booked passage on the Titanic as a second class passenger. He boarded at Southampton. He had agreed to look after Marion Wright, who was on her way to meet her fiancé in New York.
Died: Alfred made sure to help Marion Wright, whom he had agreed to look after, into a lifeboat, but then perished with the ship.
Mrs. Lutie Davis Parrish, Age 57
Mrs. Lucinda Davis Parrish (née Temple) was born in Lexington, Kentucky on July 16, 1852. She was the daughter of William Temple and Margaret Eliot. Lucinda was better known by her nickname, Lutie.She married Samuel Edward Parrish, also a native of Lexington, on May 24, 1870, in their home town and then lived there and in Versailles, Kentucky for many years. At some point, Lutie developed a wanderlust inspiring her to travel her around the world. She was usually accompanied by her daughter, Imanita Shelley Hall, and the two traveled without their husbands. Lutie and Imanita developed a reputation for being social climbers, although both had come from working class backgrounds.
Lutie boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger with her daughter, Imanita.
Survived: Lutie and daughter, Imanita, escaped in Lifeboat 12.
After surviving the Titanic, the Parrish family lived in Missouri for a while and after World War I relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii. Lutie and Imanita continued to roam the world seemingly unaffected by their experience on the Titanic. For instance, Lutie left Hawaii in 1927 on a world tour and was gone for many months.
On July 31, 1930 she suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage at her home in Hawaii and died on August 7, 1930.
Imanita apparently continued to move around the country, living at various times in Montana, Kentucky, Missouri, Oregon, California, Washington, and Hawaii. She passed away on May 24, 1952.
Father Josef Peruschitz, Age 41
Father Josef Peruschitz was born Benedikt Peruschitz on March 21, 1871 at Straßlach-Dingharting, Bavaria. He was the son of Mathias Peruschitz and Elisabeth Peruschitz.In July 1891 he was admitted to study theology and by 1894, when he submitted his resume to the Scheyern monastery, was in his sixth semester. He officially entered on August 14, 1894 as Father Josef. He was professed as a monk on August 24, 1895. He had several teaching and educational jobs in the monastery, including mathematics, music, physical education, shorthand and prefect. In 1912, Josef was offered a position as principal at the Swiss Congregation’s Benedictine School in Minnesota.
He boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Died: Father Josef died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified. He is remembered with a plaque in the cloister at the Scheyern Monastery. It is inscribed with the words,“May Josef Peruschitz rest in peace, who on the ship Titanic piously sacrificed himself.”
Miss Kate Florence Phillips, Age 19
Miss Kate Florence Phillips, was born January 1, 1893 in Worcester, England.She worked as an assistant in a confectioner’s shop and began a secret affair with the shop’s 38-year-old married owner Henry Samuel Morley (b. 1873). Henry decided to abandon his family to be with Kate and told them he was going on a vacation to recuperate from a recent illness. Instead, Kate and Henry planned to elope in Los Angeles. They traveled under the pseudonym of Marshall and pretended to already be a married couple.
Kate and Henry boarded the Titanic, as second class passengers, at Southampton on April 10, 1912.
Survived: Kate was rescued in Lifeboat 11. Her married lover, with whom she was running away, Henry, perished with the ship.
Kate gave birth to a daughter, Ellen, on January 11, 1913, raising the possibility that the baby had been conceived on the Titanic. She fought to have Henry listed on the birth certficate as the father, but was unsuccessful.
Kate married Frederick H. Watson in Brentford in 1918, but later suffered from mental illness. She was committed to an asylum and the marriage failed, probably as a consequence of her illness. Her daughter, Ellen, was often looked after by her grandparents.
Kate died March 27, 1964 (other sources say 1958).
Miss Alice Frances Louisa Phillips, Age 21
Miss Alice Frances Louisa Phillips was born in Ilfracombe, England on January 26, 1891. She was the only child of Escott Robert Phillips (b. 1868) and Hannah Maria Knight (b. 1868) who had married in 1890.In 1911 after her mother contracted tuberculosis and subsequently passed away plans were made to emigrate to the United States. Her uncle William Phillips had already crossed the Atlantic in 1892, working as a painter, and living in New Brighton, Pennsylvania. It was here that Alice was to resettle with her father, who had secured a position as a factory foreman.
They were originally meant to travel on American Line’s Philadelphia. However, the ongoing coal strike forced the cancellation of that ship and they were transferred to Titanic. Alice and her father boarded at Southampton on April 10, 1912 as second class passengers.
Survived: Alice was rescued in Lifeboat 12. Her father, Escott, perished in the sinking.
Alice was met in New York by her uncle William and he brought her to Pennsylvania. As a result of her ordeal Alice was ill for some time but after recovering sufficiently she decided to train as a stenographer at her uncle’s workplace. After a few weeks, however, she became so homesick she returned to her relatives in England, arriving in Liverpool on November 2, 1912.
Alice was married on February 5, 1916 to Henry Leslie Mead (b. 1892). The couple had one child, a daughter named Josephine, in 1921.
Alice died from influenza, in Salford, Manchester in mid-1923.
Mr. Emilio Ilario Giuseppe Portaluppi, Age 30
Mr. Emilio Ilario Giuseppe Portaluppi was born October 15, 1881 in Arcisate, Italy. He was the son of Carlo Portaluppi and Giuseppa Portaluppi.Due to his artistic ability, Emilio was able to find work as a stonecutter in great demand. In 1903, Emilio emigrated from Italy to the United States, settling in Milford, New Hampshire where he worked as a stonemason. Shortly after arriving he was married to a woman named Enrichetta (b. 1878) and the couple had a daughter, Ines. Enrichetta and Emilio separated in 1910 and she and Ines moved back to Italy. In the autumn of 1911, Emilio traveled back to Italy for an extended visit to see his daughter.
For his return to the United States, Emilio boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg on April 10, 1912 as a second class passenger.
Survived: How Emilio survived is a mystery. Different accounts have him falling into the water and swimming for hours before being dragged into a lifeboat, to being one of the four passengers found alive in Lifeboat 14 by Officer Harold Lowe. Or, he may have simply boarded a lifeboat on the starboard side.
Emilio became an United States citizen on June 26, 1912, but returned to his family in Italy at the outbreak of World War I. He joined the Italian army and served until 1919.
Emilio died on June 18, 1974.
Miss Winifred Vera Quick, Age 8
Miss Winifred Vera Quick was born in Plymouth, Devon on January 23, 1904. She was the daughter of Frederick Charles Quick, who worked as a plasterer, and Jane Quick (née Richards) who were wed in 1902. The couple had one other daughter, Phyllis May Quick, born on July 27, 1909.The family had emigrated to Detroit in 1910 for hopes of a better life. Winifred joined her mother and sister on a visit to Plymouth to see her mother’s family in early 1912.
For their return trip to Detroit, the family boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912 as second class passengers.
Survived: Winifred, her mother Jane, and younger sister, Phyllis, were rescued in Lifeboat 11. On the night of the collision, Jane carried Phyllis wrapped in a shawl and, with Winifred in tow, struggled with lifebelts up the staircase to A Deck. There she was helped by a couple of male passengers to get Phyllis into a lifebelt and all of them into a lifeboat.
Winifred later dropped out of school and went to work for a chocolate factory, and later a bakery. At the age of 14 she met Alois Van Tongerloo who was also an immigrant. They later married and had three sons and two daughters.
Winifred died on July 4, 2002.
Mr. Peter Henry Renouf, Age 33
Mr. Peter Henry Renouf was born in St. Sampsons, Guernsey in the Channel Islands on April 27, 1878. He was the son of William Henry Renouf (b. 1845), a painter and later a fisherman, and Martha Mary Richard (b. 1850).Peter was married to Lillian Elizabeth Jefferys (b. 1882), a native of St. Peter’s Port, Guernsey, but they would have no children. The couple emigrated to the United States in 1907. They settled in Elizabeth, New Jersey and they lived with Lillian’s brother Frederick and a cousin, Charles Cann.
Peter and Lillian returned to Guernsey in 1911 to visit relatives, including his widowed father and recently widowed father-in-law. For their return to New Jersey they boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Died: Peter died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. His wife Lillian was saved in Lifeboat 12.
Lillian continued to live in Elizabeth, New Jersey and was later remarried in the 1920s to Arthur Stead (b. 1864), a butcher and widower originally from Cleckheaton, Yorkshire who had emigrated in 1910. Lillian died on July 9, 1933.
Master William Rowe Richards, Age 3
Master William Rowe Richards was born at Penzance, England on April 1, 1909. He was the eldest son of James Sibley Richards (b. 1887), a general laborer, and Emily Hocking (b. 1887) who had married in 1908. He had one younger brother, Sibley George (b. 1911). The family lived in a boarding house run by his grandmother, Eliza Hocking.William’s father James and uncle George Hocking had emigrated to Akron, Ohio. The family decided to join them in the United States and George traveled back to England to accompany them. They had originally purchased passage on the Oceanic, but due to the coal strikes, were transferred to the Titanic.
William, his mother and brother boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers. They traveled with William’s grandmother Eliza Hocking, aunt Ellen Hocking and his uncle, George.
Survived: On the night of the sinking William and his brother, Sibley, were asleep in their cabin with their mother when their grandmother, Eliza, came to alert them of the danger. The family escaped in Lifeboat 4, but his uncle, George, was among the lost. Boarding the rescue ship Carpathia, he was hoisted aboard in a sack. The same sack was later fashioned into a makeshift garment for him when he eventually made it to New York, being met there by his father.
He and his family settled in Akron, Ohio but the death of his grandmother in April 1914 perhaps compelled the family to return to England. They did so before the end of the year. Back in England, his parents had another child, a daughter named Emily (b. 1914). He and his brother Sibley reportedly became estranged from each other in later years.
William continued to live in Cornwall and on May 26, 1929, he married Edith Melva Frances Hicks (b. 1909) and they had three children. During World War II he served in the Royal Navy and was involved in the evacuations at Dunkirk in 1941. He later worked as a general manager in a smoked salmon company before retirement.
William died on January 9, 1988 following a heart-attack and was interred in Longstone Cemetery, Carbis Bay, Cornwall.
Miss Emily Rugg, Age 22
Miss Emily Rugg was born in St. Sampsons, Guernsey on December 19, 1889. She was the daughter of William Henry Rugg (b. 1868), a carter, and Rachel Selina Bougard (b. 1866) who had married in 1887. Emily was one of six children.Emily worked as a domestic servant, but was given the opportunity to leave Guernsey and work in the United States in Wilmington, Delaware where her aunt and uncle, Eliza and Frederick W. Queripel, owned a grocery store. She joined a group of other passengers traveling from Guernsey and boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Survived: Emily survived the sinking in Lifeboat 12. She later related that she had been sleeping when the Titanic struck the iceberg and that the impact had wakened her. Looking out she saw a mass of ice and she threw on a coat and headed topside where she saw lifeboats being prepared. Returning to her cabin she awakened the two women she shared a cabin with before returning to the deck where she was bundled towards a lifeboat which she described as the third from last lifeboat to be lowered.
Landing in New York aboard Carpathia she was met by her uncle Frederick W. Queripel. Emily never married, instead residing with her aunt and uncle in Wilmington.
In later years, following the death of her aunt in 1944, Emily lived with a cousin, Frederick Oliver, and his family at 1914 Delaware Avenue. She was a member of Calvary Episcopal Church for many years, being a member of the choir there, and was also a member of the Delaware Chapter Order of the Eastern Star and the Ladies of St. George.
Emily died in the Delaware Hospital on July 8, 1958 and was buried in Silverbrook Memorial Park, Wilmington.
Mr. Percival Sharp, Age 29
Mr. Percival Frederick Sharp was born in Camberwell, England on December 18, 1882. He was the son of Granville Sharp (b. 1854) and Emily Mylius (b. 1857) who were married in 1879, and he had one known sibling, his elder brother Granville (b. 1880).When his father died in 1887 his mother was unable to financially take care of her children, so Percival and his brother were inmates at St. Mary’s Orphange in Middlesex. His mother soon died and Percival was on his own. Percival’s movements over the following years are uncertain. It seems he suffered from psychiatric problems and in 1911 he was an inmate at London County Lunatic Asylum in Norwood.
He boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger together with Henry James Beauchamp. Why he was heading to the United States is unknown.
Died: Percival died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified. His companion, Henry James Beauchamp, was also lost.
His brother Granville remained in Hertfordshire for the rest of his life and died in 1939.
Miss Maude Sincock, Age 20
Miss Maude Sincock was born on April 17, 1891 in Toronto, Canada. She was the daughter of Mr. Francis (Frank) Sincock, a plumber and Mrs. Melinda Sincock, (née Hosking), a Canadian. She had 10 siblings. Her father was originally from Cornwall, England and the family moved back to Halsetown, St. Ives, Cornwall when Maude was young.Maude’s oldest sister Alice immigrated to Michigan in April 1909. Then, in October 1911, her father also immigrated to Hancock, Michigan. He worked for the Quincy Mining Company. Maude set out to join her father and sister in Michigan. Her mother and seven siblings remained at home as her mother was pregnant again and unable to travel.
Maude traveled to Southampton and boarded the Titanic as a second class passenger. She was originally scheduled for another ship, but was moved due to the coal strikes.
Survived: Maude was in bed when the Titanic struck the iceberg. She got up quickly and put a rain coat over her nightgown. She opened the door and watched people ask the steward if the Titanic was going to sink. He told them it was only a precaution. She went down the passage toward the second class elevator, only to find the lift boy gone. She then had to climb five or six decks up before reaching the boat deck. Maude got on Lifeboat 11.
Maude had to wait in New York City until the White Star line gave her money to reach Hancock. Several days later she arrived home, and was very happy to see her father and other relatives. Maude married Arling Roberts on April 2, 1918. Arling worked on the docks in Ripley, Michigan, hoisting coal and cargo. Maude worked in the telephone office of Michigan Bell Company. Maude and Arling had three children.
Maude died May 21, 1984 at the Houghton County Medical Care Facility. She is buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Houghton, Michigan.
Mr. Richard James Slemen, Age 35
Mr. Richard James Slemen was born in Landrake, England on December 16, 1876. He was the son of Landrake natives William Slemen (b. 1830), a shoemaker, and Augusta Louisa Steed (b. 1851), a dressmaker, who had married not long before his birth. He had three siblings.Richard’s father died in 1899 and his mother never remarried. Richard had to become the main breadwinner in the family so he worked as a journeyman carpenter. He was unmarried. In 1912, Richard decided to visit relatives who lived in Nashua, New Hampshire.
He embarked Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912 and was traveling second class.
Died: Richard was lost in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified.
His mother Augusta died in 1921. His brother Arthur married a woman named Lillian Clarke (b. 1888) and settled in LaSalle, Illinois where they had a daughter named Elizabeth in 1929. They later moved to Riley, Kansas where Arthur was widowed in 1979. He himself died on December 15, 1989 just days short of his 101st birthday.
Mr. George Frederick Sweet, Age 14
Mr. George Frederick Sweet was born in Castle Cary, England on April 16, 1897. He was the son of Joseph Sweet (b. 1860), a flax worker, and Anne Chamberlain (b. 1862) who had married in 1880 and had ten children.Young George soon became employed by Samuel Herman, a farmer and proprietor of the Britannia Hotel in Castle Cary. He became part of Samuel’s family, consisting of his wife Jane and twin daughters Alice and Kate. Although a financially comfortable family, the past year had seen a slump in fortunes for the Hermans and it was decided that they would emigrate. Originally booked aboard a different ship, they canceled their voyage to allow more time to prepare.
George, with the Herman family, boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Died: On the night of the sinking young George, alongside his surrogate father, Samuel Herman, saw Mrs. Herman and her daughters off in one of the lifeboats. George was probably deterred from entering a lifeboat despite his young age. He and Samuel Herman died together, George being just one day short of his 15th birthday. Their bodies, if recovered, were never identified.
Following George’s loss, his father died in 1925 and what became of his mother is not certain.
Mrs. Jessie Laird Trout, Age 27
Mrs. Jessie Laird Trout was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland on November 1, 1884. She was the daughter of George Bruce (b. 1857), a cattle farmer, and Mary Anne Booth (b. 1856), both natives of Strichen, Aberdeenshire, and she had eleven siblings.The family emigrated to North America in 1904, eventually settling in Minnesota. Jessie was married in Franklin, Ohio on March 28, 1911 to William Henry Trout (b. 1876), a brakeman for the Hocking Valley Railway. Jessie and William settled in Columbus, Ohio but had no children. William died on September 22, 1911 when he was crushed in an accident at work. While in mourning, Jessie returned to Britain to visit family, including her grandparents and sister Margaret.
For her return to Columbus, Jessie boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Survived: Jessie survived the sinking by escaping in Lifeboat 9.
She returned to Columbus and shortly married Harvey Walter Bortner (b. 1883). The couple settled in Michigan and had three children. The family made their home in Arbela, Michigan and they lived on the farm where Harvey worked.
On December 30, 1930, Jessie and her family were traveling in their car several miles from home when it struck black ice and veered off the road. Jessie panicked during the vehicle’s skid and threw herself out onto the road where the car rolled over and crushed her. Her husband and children escaped with minor injuries.
Jessie was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, Millington, Michigan.
Miss Edwina Celia Troutt, Age 27
Miss Edwina Celia Troutt was born in Bath, England on June 8, 1884. She was the daughter of Edwin Charles Troutt, a brewer and part-time cabinet maker, and Elizabeth Ellen Troutt (née Gay). Edwina went by the nickname Winnie.Winnie made her first Atlantic crossing in 1907. She was to spend nearly five years in America, first working as a waitress in New Jersey and later as a domestic servant in Auburndale, Massachusetts. She returned to her family home in Bath in 1911. However, her sister, Elsie Scholz, who lived in Massachusetts, was nearing the end of her pregnancy in early 1912 and Winnie decided to be with her for the birth. For her journey to America she was to travel on Oceanic but was transferred to Titanic because of massive coal strikes in Britain.
Winnie boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger on April 10, 1912.
Survived: When the ship hit the iceberg, Winnie left her cabin to investigate. Being told of the iceberg, she went on deck and upon seeing lifeboats being uncovered and prepared for loading she went back to inform her cabin mates. When Winnie returned to her cabin, one of her cabin mates, Susie Webber had already left. The other, Nora Keane, was still dressing. After replacing her dressing gown with a warmer coat, Winnie dealt with the nervous woman. When Nora insisted on trying to put on a corset, Winnie grabbed it from her and flung it down the narrow passage leading to their porthole. While Nora Keane would leave on Lifeboat 10, Winnie was rescued in Lifeboat 16.
Winnie also rescued As’ad Tannūs, a Lebanese baby. As she waited for her boat to be lowered, a passenger came past with his nephew. He begged for the child to be saved and Winnie took the child into the boat with her. As the boat was lowered she clutched a toothbrush, a prayer book and the five-month-old baby. While they did not meet at the time, they were connected later on and Winnie and As’ad’s mother would continue to be in touch for the rest of their lives.
It would be several months before she would fully recover emotionally. In 1916 she moved from Massachusetts to Southern California where she joined the Army Corps as an apricot picker. It was in California in 1918 that she married her first husband, Alfred Thorvald Peterson. They subsequently ran a bakery together in Beverley Hills until his death in 1944. Her second marriage was to a James Corrigan. At 79, in 1964, she married for a third time to James Mackenzie. She lived out her retirement in Hermosa Beach, California.
Winnie died on December 3, 1984 in Redondo Beach, California.
Miss Joan Wells, Age 4
Miss Joan Wells was born in Newlyn, England on February 26, 1908. She was the daughter of Arthur Henry Wells (b. 1883), a railway conductor originally from London, and Addie Dart Trevaskis (b. 1883), a dressmaker from Cornwall who had married in 1907. She had one sibling, her younger brother Ralph Lester (b. 1909).Joan’s father had emigrated to Akron, Ohio in 1910 with her maternal uncle, Adednego Trevaskis. During this time, Joan, her mother and brother were staying with her grandparents. Once they had saved enough, the family decided to join her father in America. The family had originally been booked to travel on the Oceanic but were transferred to the Titanic due to the coal strikes.
Joan, her mother and brother boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.
Survived: Joan’s mother, Addie, and her children were well asleep when the ship struck the iceberg. Addie awoke to a tremendous jolt. She heard a commotion and a friend yelled “Dress quickly: there’s some trouble I believe, but I don’t know what it is.” Addie dressed herself, Joan and Joan’s brother Ralph, but found attempts to make it to the upper decks difficult as several familiar passages were now locked. Once they reached the boat deck they were guided to Lifeboat 14, in which they departed. Addie described the boat as being so crowded that she could only stand and held her children in her skirts to keep them dry.
Upon arrival in New York Joan was met in New York City by her father, Arthur, and her uncle, Abednego, who had traveled from Akron. In America Joan gained two siblings and would live in Akron for the rest of her life. She graduated from West High School around 1924 and later worked as a stenographer at the B. F. Goodrich Co. as a private secretary. She was engaged to William F. Lachman, a teacher at Coventry High School, Akron.
A sickly lady in her adulthood, by 1933 Joan had had two major operations and two blood transfusions, one of which was from her fiancé. In July 1933 her fiancé left Ohio bound for a fishing trip in a remote part of Canada’s woods.
Joan died while William was on his trip, on July 10, 1933. Her cause of death was sepsis, with contributory causes being given as pelvic cellulitis and peritonitis. She was buried in Mount Peace Cemetery, Akron.
Miss Barbara Joyce West, Age 10 months
Miss Barbara Joyce West was born in Bournemouth, Dorset on May 24, 1911. She was one of two children born to Edwy Arthur West (b. 1875) and Ada Mary West (b. 1879), who were married in 1905. Her older sister was Constance Mariam West (b. 1907).The family decided to emigrate to Florida where Edwy could get a job in the fruit culture business. Ada was pregnant with the couple’s third child during the journey.
Barbara boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger together with her father, mother and sister.
Survived: On the night of the sinking, baby Barbara and her older sister, Constance, were carried by their father, Edwy to Lifeboat 10. After seeing them safely into the lifeboat Edwy returned to the cabin for a thermos of hot milk, and, finding the lifeboat let down, he reached it by means of a rope, gave the flask to his wife, Ada, and, with a farewell, returned to the deck of the ship. Edwy died in the sinking.
The surviving members of the family returned to England on the Celtic. Ada gave birth to the couple’s third daughter, Edwyna Joan, who was named after the father she would never meet, on September 14, 1912. Ada never remarried.
Barbara grew up and married William Ernest B. Dainton in 1952 and lived in Truro, England. She died on October 16, 2007. Her sister Constance passed away from pneumonia in 1963.
Mr. Edwin Charles Wheeler, Age 26
Mr. Edwin Charles Wheeler (known as Fred/Frederick) was born in Bath in 1886.Fred Wheeler was the personal valet to George Washington Vanderbilt (1862-1914) and had been so for about 12 years. G. W. Vanderbilt was the grandson of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, and creator of Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. At the time of the Titanic’s maiden voyage, Mr. Vanderbilt and his wife Edith had booked a first-class cabin. However, they changed their minds at the last minute and sailed on the Olympic, but sent most of their baggage along with Fred.
Fred boarded the Titanic as a second class passenger at Southampton on April 10, 1912.
Died: Fred perished in the disaster. His body, if recovered, was never identified.
It is not clear why the Vanderbilts changed their minds about sailing on the Titanic. According to a New York Times article dated April 30, 1912, they did so at the urging of Edith’s mother, but since she had died in 1883, this cannot be correct. It is possible that the Times confused Edith’s mother Susan with Edith’s sister who was also named Susan, but there is no way of knowing for sure. The Biltmore Estate Archives contains a letter from George Vanderbilt’s niece, Adele Sloane Burden, expressing her relief in learning that her aunt and uncle had changed their minds and were safe.
Mr. Charles Whilems, Age 31
Mr. Charles Whilems was born in Sunderland, England in early 1881. He was the son of a French father, Joseph Whilems (b. 1843), a glass flattener, and an English mother, Elizabeth Cornforth Hachet (b. 1848) who were married in 1885. It was a second marriage for both parents and Charles had several half-siblings. The couple went on to have four children together.After both of his parents died, Charles moved to London and was married on August 4, 1900 to Eliza Eames (b. 1878). The couple had three children. Charles worked as a glass bender, like his father. He was promoted to foreman at the Messrs. Robinson Kings Glasswork when he decided to visit relatives in Manhattan.
Charles boarded the Titanic in Southampton on April 10, 1912 as a second class passenger.
Survived: On the night of the sinking Charles was playing cards when the ship hit the iceberg. Sometime later he was instructed to put on his lifejacket and he returned to his stateroom to fetch it, waking two of his cabin mates in the process. When he told them of the situation they laughed at him and went back to sleep. Although Charles could not recall their names, he recounted that he never saw them again.
He returned to the boat deck and assisted women and children into the lifeboats before stepping into Lifeboat 9 which he described as being filled with about 55 persons. As one of the only males, Charles rowed the boat.
Charles returned to England following his ordeal and he continued to work as a glass bender. He and his wife welcomed another child in 1913.
Charles and his family later moved to Ilford, Essex. He died on February 15, 1940. His widow Eliza died just over a year later on March 28, 1941.
Mr. Charles Eugene Williams, Age 23
Mr. Charles Eugene Williams was born on July 28, 1888. Born and raised in England, he graduated from Harrow, one of the oldest schools in the country, where he served as the squash racquets coach. While at Harrow he became a professional squash player and was the World Champion in both 1911 and 1912.Charles was traveling from England to New York City to defend his world title against American squash player George Standing. The match was set for April 29, 1912.
Charles boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Survived: Charles was rescued in Lifeboat 14. Charles told reporters that he had left the squash racquet court at 10:30pm and had gone to the smoking room. When he heard the crash he rushed out and saw the iceberg. Charles said he jumped as far as he could from the side of the Boat Deck on the starboard side. He added that he had to stand in water up to his knees in the boat that finally picked him up.
Initially he was reported as dead. When he was found to have survived, his match was postponed for his recovery. When the match happened, he won and defended his title for another year. However, he lost in 1913 to his squash partner Jock Soutar.
Charles married a woman named Lois and the couple had six children. They moved to Chicago in 1924 and Charles continued to practice and complete with Soutar until he regained the World Title in 1929. He died in 1935.
Miss Marion Wright, Age 26
Miss Marion Wright was born on May 26, 1885 in Reading, England. She was the daughter of Thomas Wright and Jane Taylor. Her mother died when she was very young and her widowed father, a farmer, remarried in the late 1880s to a Miss Huntley.Marion first met Arthur Woolcott in the late 1900s on a visit to a friend who lived at West Park in Yeovil. Arthur had originally gone to America in 1907 to work as a draughtsman but had the opportunity to purchase an 80-acre fruit farm in partnership with a friend in Oregon. The farm was his by 1910. After much correspondence between Marion and Arthur, their engagement was announced.The wedding would take place in America and Arthur sent for Marion to join him.
Marion boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger.
Survived: Sources differ, but after the collision, Marion went on deck. She was assured there was no danger but the large throng of passengers hurriedly putting their lifebelts on told a different story. Marion said it was impossible to see what was happening at one end of the deck from the other and she was surprised when she heard an officer call out “any more ladies?” She went over and was able to get into a boat; she estimated there were about 35 people on board. She also recalled that it was Alfred Pain who had found her and guided her to Lifeboat 9. Marion said the boat could have held at least fifteen more.
Her fiance, Arthur Woolcott, only heard of the disaster as he was en route to New York to meet Marion. The couple was reunited and soon married. In Oregon they successfully ran their farmstead but never raised enough money to return to England. The couple had three sons, John, Russ and Bob, and eight grandchildren.
Marion’s husband Arthur died in 1961 and Marion on July 4, 1965. Both Marion and Arthur are buried in the cemetery in Cottage Grove, Oregon.