Thornton Davidson (31) from Montreal, PQ boarded the Titanic at Southampton
with his
wife Orian Davidson, her father Charles Melville Hays, and mother Clara Hays.
They
were returning to their home in Montreal, PQ after a holiday in Paris.
Thornton Davidson died in the sinking.
Mrs Thornton Davidson (Orian Hays) (27) from Montreal, PQ boarded the Titanic
at
Southampton with her father Charles Melville Hays, her mother Clara Hays, and
her
husband, Thorton Davidson. They were returning to their home in Montreal, PQ
after a
holiday in Paris.
Orian and Clara were rescued in Lifeboat 3
but both their husbands were lost.
Mme Berthe de Villiers, from Belgium boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg. She
was
travelling to New York, NY. She was rescued in lifeboat 6. , from Belgium boarded
the Titanic at Cherbourg. She was travelling to New York, NY. She was rescued
in lifeboat 6.
Mrs Frederick Charles Douglas (Suzette Baxter), 27, boarded the Titanic at
Cherbourg,
she was travelling to Montreal, PQ. She was rescued in lifeboat 6.
Mr Walter Donald Douglas (50) from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Deephaven, MN boarded
the Titanic at Cherbourg with his wife Mahala Douglas (48) and their maid Ms
Berthe LeRoy.
With his brother George, Douglas had founded the family starch works in his
native
Cedar Rapids that later became Penick & Ford. Their father, George, had
started
Quaker Oats.
Described as a ''Captain of Industry,'' Walter Douglas had amassed a fortune
of at least $4 million in various Cedar Rapids industries and branched out into
the linseed oil
business in Minneapolis. With his new wife, Mahala, he'd built a mansion on
bluffs
overlooking Lake Minnetonka that was said to be a copy of a French palace. Douglas
retired on Jan. 1, 1912, and the couple took off on a three-month tour of Europe
to find
furnishings for their palatial retreat.
According to later reports Walter Douglas, dressed in his finest, helped lower
the last
lifeboat of survivors off the Titanic. It was reported that he refused to leave
the ship
while others remained, saying it would make him 'less than a man.'
Mr Douglas's died in the sinking, his body was later recovered by the cable
ship MacKay Bennett the crew of which recorded the following information about
him:
| NO. 62 - MALE - ESTIMATED AGE, 55 - HAIR GREY CLOTHING - Evening dress, with "W.D.D." on shirt. EFFECTS - Gold watch; chain; sov. case with "W.D.D."; gold cigarette case "W.D.D."; five gold studs; wedding ring on finger engraved "May 19th '84"; pocket letter case with $551.00 and one £5 note; cards." FIRST CLASS NAME - WALTER D. DOUGLAS, Minneapolis |
Mr Douglas's body was brought back to his hometown of Cedar Rapids, where he
is
buried alongside his wife in the Douglas family mausoleum at Oak Hill Cemetery.
Mrs Walter Donald Douglas (Mahala Dutton) (48) from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and
Deephaven, MN, USA boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg with her husband Mr Walter
Donald Douglas (50) and her French maid Miss Berthe LeRoy.
After the collision, as the lifeboats were loaded Mahala begged her husband
to come
with her but he refused saying it would make him 'less than a man.' or 'No,
I must be a
gentleman.'
Mahala and Ms LeRoy escaped the sinking ship in Lifeboat
2. After several hours adrift, during which Mrs Douglas handled the boats
tiller, they drew along side the rescue ship Carpathia. As they did so Mrs Douglas
supposedly screamed.'The ship is gone, All of them are gone.' or 'The Titanic
has gone down with everyone on board' before being silenced by Fourth Officer
Boxhall.
After the disaster Mrs Douglas testified at the American Senate inquiry.
From her mansion alongside Lake Minnetonka, Mahala lived out her life as an
internationally prominent socialite until her death at the age of 81 in 1945.
She, is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery, Cedar Rapids, MN alongside her husband.
Sir Cosmo Edmund Duff-Gordon, 49, of 5 Alfred Place, London, SW7 and also of
Maryculter, Kincardineshire was born on July 22, 1862 the son of Cosmo Lewis
Duff-Gordon.
Cosmo Duff-Gordon was educated at Eton and in 1896 he became the fifth Baron
of his family estate (the baronetcy having been created in 1813). In 1900 Duff-Gordon
married Lucille Wallace Sutherland the eldest daughter of Douglas Sutherland.
'Lucille' who was the fashionable designer with a couture firm of which Duff-Gordon
was a director, her designs being espescially fashionable in London, Paris and
New York in the 1910s.
Cosmo Duff Gordon was a proficient fencer and represented britain at the 1908
Olympics.
Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff-Gordon boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg with ticket
11755
(£39 12s) having booked staterooms A-16 and A-20.
On the night of the sinking they approached First officer William McMaster Murdoch
who was supervising the loading of the Emergency Lifeboat 1. Sir Cosmo asked
if he
and his wife could get in and Murdoch replied that he would be glad if they
would. A few
minutes later at 1:10 am Lifeboat 1 was lowered
containing only 12 people of whom 7
were crew members.
After the sinking Leading Fireman Charles Hendrickson asked those in the lifeboat
whether they ought to go back to help the people swimming in the water but Lady
Duff-Gordon warned they might be swamped by people trying to get on board. Several
of the men agreed that it would be dangerous to go back. Eventually Hendrickson
was
persuaded by Charles Henry Stengel's suggestion that they should head for a
light that
could be seen in the distance. So the twelve survivors set off while hundreds
more were
left dying in the water.
As they rowed and the cries of swimmers began to die down tempers began to fray
among those in the boat. They were still rowing towards a light but it got no
nearer and
hailing other boats brought no result. Stengel continually shouted directions
until
Duff-Gordon eventually told him to keep quiet.
Meanwhile, Fireman Robert Pusey complained to Duff-Gordon that they had lost
all their belongings (their 'kit) 'and that, in all probability, their pay would
end when the ship sank, so the wealthy passenger offered all the men five pounds
on their return. This was a pledge he would honour on board the Carpathia. Later
Sir Cosmo would appear before a packed British Inquiry to defend himself against
the accusation that he had bribed the men to secure his escape from the Titanic
and that they were thus encouraged not to return to the scene of the sinking
to rescue swimmers.
Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon died on April 20, 1931.
Lady Duff-Gordon (Lucille Wallace Sutherland), 48, of 5 Alfred Place, London,
SW7 and Maryculter, Kincardineshire was the wife of Sir Cosmo Edmund Duff-Gordon
and a
popular coutuière of the period.
The Duff-Gordons boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg. Accompanying them was Lady
Duff Gordon's maid Ms Laura Mabel Francatelli. Lady Duff-Gordon and Ms Francatelli
travelled under the same ticket #17485 which cost £56 18s 7d, the party having
booked cabins A-16 and A-20.
On the night of the sinking First officer William Murdoch supervising the loading
of
Emergency Lifeboat 1. Cosmo asked if he and
his wife could get in and Murdoch replied that he would be glad if they would.
A few minutes later at 1:10 am boat 1 was lowered, it contained only 12 people
including 7 crew members.
After the sinking Leading Fireman Charles Hendrickson asked those in the lifeboat
about going back but Lady Duff-Gordon warned they might be swamped by people
trying to get on board, several of the men agreed that it would be dangerous
to go back. Eventually Hendrickson was persuaded by Henry Stengel's suggestion
that the head for a light they could see in the distance. So they set off leaving
hundreds dying in the water.
The Making of History
| Owners | A
Grand Design | Construction | Sister
Ships - Olympic and Britannic
|
| Strict Segregation | Outdated
Lifeboat regulations | The Aura of Invincibility
|
| Launch | Specifications
|
Leaving for the New World
| Southampton | Southampton
- The New York and a Near Miss | Cherbourg
| Queenstown |
Provisions |
Passenger Lists
| First Class | Second
Class | Third Class |
Alphabtical list | Crew
| The Band |
Lifeboat Lists
| Lifeboats 1- 3 | Lifeboats
4 - 6 | Lifeboats 7-9 | Lifeboats
10-12 | Lifeboats 13 -16 |
Collapsibles |
Aftermath
| American Inquiry |
| Causes - An extract from February 1995 Edition
of Popular Mechanic |
Facts and Figures
| Harland and Wolff's 101 Answers to
the most asked questions about the RMS Titanic |