I Must Get on That Ship

As one might expect, the Titanic’s classes generally reflected the three main classes and held a diverse group of passengers and personalities. From the upper echelons of 1^st class to the steerage passengers, the people that populated the famous ship all had their own lives and stories.

The 1^st class aboard the Titanic was made up of some of the wealthiest and most famous people of the age. This upper class consisted of people with inherited wealth, and included some of the oldest families in Britain and the United States, many of them titled aristocrats who were ennobled between the 14^th and early 19^th centuries.

The estimated combined income of first class passengers was over $500,000,000.

These individuals, due to their prestige, moved in a very small tightknit group. It is no surprise that they all had the same idea to make the maiden voyage of the largest ship in the world. Due to the exorbitant prices of the amenities they enjoyed aboard passenger ships, 1^st class passengers could remain relatively isolated from the other passenger classes. This group of individuals largely vanished with the Titanic’s sinking. The following are some of the first class passengers of most renown:

·         Isidor and Ida Straus

         Isidor was a German-born American businessman and co-owner of Macy's Department Store with his brother Nathan. He died with his wife, Ida, in the sinking of the Titanic. In 1871, Isidor Straus married Rosalie Ida Blun. Isidor and Ida were a devoted couple, writing to each other every day when they were apart. Isidor served as a U.S. Congressman from January 30, 1894, to March 3, 1895, as a Democratic representative to New York's 15th congressional district. Also, Straus was president of The Educational Alliance and a prominent worker in charitable and educational movements, very much interested in civil service reform and the general extension of education.

Once it was clear the Titanic was sinking, Ida refused to leave Isidor and would not get into a lifeboat without him. Although Isidor was offered a seat in a lifeboat to accompany Ida, he refused seating while there were still women and children aboard and refused to be made an exception. Eyewitnesses described the scene as a "most remarkable exhibition of love and devotion."

·         John Jacob and Madeline Astor

   An American businessman, real estate builder, investor, inventor, writer and a prominent member of the well-known Astor family. One of the richest passengers aboard the Titanic, Astor was thought to be among the richest people in the world at that time, with a net worth of over 2 billion by today’s standards. At the age of 47, John married 18-year-old socialite Madeleine Talmage Force. While traveling, Madeleine became pregnant, and wanting the child born in the U.S., the Astors boarded the RMS Titanic on her maiden voyage to New York.  Following the impact with the iceberg, Astor helped his wife, with her maid and nurse, into a lifeboat. He then asked if he might join his wife but the officer told him men were not to be allowed to board until all the women and children had been loaded. After the boat was lowered, Astor is said to have stood alone. He was last seen alive on the starboard bridge wing, smoking a cigarette.

·         Benjamin Guggenheim and Mrs. Leontine Aubart

o   Guggenheim was an American businessman. He inherited a great deal of money from his father. Due to business concerns, he grew distant from his wife and was frequently away from their New York City home. Mr. Guggenheim boarded the Titanic with his valet and his mistress, Mrs. Leontine Aubart, (a 24-year-old French singer.) Mr. Guggenheim was lost in the sinking, but Mrs. Leontine Aubart managed to board lifeboat No. 9, and survived.

  

·         John, Marian and Jack Thayer

John Borland Thayer Jr. was an American cricket player and later a Pennsylvania Railroad vice president. Thayer, with his wife and son had been in Europe as guests of the American Consul

General in Berlin, Germany. The family boarded the Titanic as first-class passengers. They had been preparing for bed when the collision with the iceberg occurred. As the ship sank, Thayer made sure his wife and maid boarded lifeboats. His 18-year-old son, Jack, dove from the sinking ship and was able to swim to an overturned collapsible boat, where he also survived. However, Thayer Sr. made it clear that he had no intention of boarding a boat, and he remained on the Titanic as it went down.

              George, Eleanor, and Harry Widener

o   George Dunton Widener was an American businessman responsible for the running of the Philadelphia Traction Company, overseeing the development of cable and electric streetcar operations. In 1883, he married Eleanor Elkins, the daughter of his father's business partner. In 1912, Widener, his wife, and their son Harry traveled to Paris, France, with original intentions to find a chef for Widener's new Philadelphia hotel, The Ritz Carlton. The Wideners booked their return passage on RMS Titanic. After the ship struck an iceberg, Widener placed his wife and her maid in a lifeboat. The women were rescued but Widener and his son Harry perished on the Titanic.

·         Edith Corse Evans

  Edith Corse Evans was a prominent American socialite. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a wealthy family. A long-time resident of New York, unmarried Edith was a member of The Colonial Dames of America and a descendant of Andrew Hamilton. Edith boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg to return home from a visit to her cousins in Paris. When the lifeboats were first lowered, Edith and friend Caroline Brown missed the opportunity to get to one in time. Another was prepared to set off at 2:09 am, which they reached. It has commonly been reported that there was not enough room for both Edith and Caroline in it so Edith persuaded Caroline to get in because Caroline had children. Edith went down with the ship. She was one of only four women to die in first class.

·         Archibald Butt

    Archibald Willingham DeGraffenreid Clarendon Butt was an American journalist and United States Army officer. Butt was a popular figure in D.C. social circles, and made numerous important acquaintances during his time in the capital. Archibald became one of President Theodore Roosevelt's closest companions. Following a six-week vacation to Europe, Butt booked passage on the RMS Titanic for his return to the United States. Archibald was playing cards on the night of April 14 in the first-class smoking room when the Titanic struck an iceberg. Butt's actions while the ship sank are largely unverified, but many accounts of a typically sensationalist nature were published by newspapers after the disaster. He perished aboard the Titanic and his body was not recovered.

Second-Class Passengers:

The second-class passengers included industrialists, professionals, businesspeople and shop owners. Typical jobs included accountants, architects, solicitors, social workers, teachers and doctors. The Middle Class found it distasteful to display their money conspicuously, instead preferred to invest it, especially in property.

A second-class ticket aboard the Titanic would cost around $1200.00 (adjusting for inflation)

Members of the middle class were often politically and socially engaged, were regular churchgoers, and held political office. Education was very important to the middle classes; parents made every effort to ensure their children get a university education; going to great lengths to get their children into good state or grammar schools. The following are some of the second-class passengers and the characters they inspired in the musical Titanic:

·         Ethel Beane (Alice Beane) and Edward Beane (Edgar Beane)

o   Ethel Louisa Clarke and Edgar Beane were a British dressmaker / furrier and a bricklayer from Norwich, England. The neighbors were married in early 1912. The couple made plans to settle in New York, where Edward had spent a few years before his return to England, to marry. They boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers. On the night of the sinking, Ethel and her husband managed to escape in lifeboat 13, Mr. Beane being one of a very few number of second class males who survived. Ethel gave birth to a stillborn baby on January 13, 1913 so it is likely she was pregnant on board the Titanic.

·         Charles Valentine Clark and Caroline Neville (Based on Ada Maria Winfield)

o   Charles and Ada were a British married couple from the south of England. The couple boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers and were destined for San Francisco, California. Charles died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. His wife survived and returned to England where she remained for the rest of her life.

Third-Class Passengers:

The Goodwin family, a third class family aboard the Titanic
that was entirely lost.

Third-class passengers included working class people who were typically manual laborers, such as agricultural, mine, and factory workers in car factories, steel mills, coal mines and textile mills. They would have left school as early as possible and were not able to afford higher education. The third-class passengers on the ship boarded during a significant social upheaval in history and many of them desired to immigrate to more opportunities in the United States. Many of the immigrants aboard the Titanic were Irish men and women. The following are some of the third-class passengers and the characters they inspired that appear in Titanic:

·         James “Jim” Farrell

o   Mr. James Farrell was an Irishman bound for New York City from Cloonee, County Longford, Ireland. He boarded the Titanic at Queenstown. While aboard it appears, he was acquainted with several others from County Longford: Kate Gilnagh and Kate Mullin. On the night of the sinking, James and his Longford compatriots stayed together during the evacuation. When the women in the group were attempting to cross a barrier to a higher deck a crewmen prevented them from doing so. James intervened and the crewman complied and the group passed through. James died in the disaster.

·         Catherine “Kate” Mullins

o   Miss Catherine "Kate" Mullin was an Irishwoman that boarded the Titanic at Queenstown. She was destined for New York City and while aboard shared a cabin on E-deck with three other Longford girls, Kate Gilnagh and sisters Margaret and Catherine Murphy. On the night of the sinking, Kate and her roommates had been in their cabin when another acquaintance, Longford’s James Farrell, knocked on their door and told them to get dressed as something was amiss, the engines having stopped. Kate was rescued in lifeboat 16 with Kate Gilnagh and the Murphy sisters. The last she saw of James Farrell was him kneeling by his suitcase reciting the Rosary. She later wrote to her father describing her experiences and related how her boat was packed with over 50 persons and how the screams of those left behind had haunted her.

Before boarding the vessel, third class passengers were given a health inspection to check for disease, lice and other infections

·         Kate McGowan (Based on Katherine Gilnagh)

o   Miss Katherine Gilnagh, known as Kate, was an Irishwoman that boarded the Titanic at Queenstown. On the night of the sinking Kate and other steerage passengers had been enjoying a party in the communal third class areas. The four girls dressed and headed out to the upper decks, after hearing something was amiss but found their way to the lifeboats impeded by crewmen blocking their way and being determined to keep the steerage passengers in their place. Spying a boat close by, she made a run for it but a crewman, again, held her back, telling her it was full. Crying out that her sister was in the boat, the crewman relented and let her pass. Years later, Kate recounted that the magnitude of the disaster unfolding at the time escaped her and she naïvely thought that this was the regular way to make it to America.

·         Kate Murphey (Base on Catherine Murphy)

o   Miss Catherine Murphy was an Irishwoman from Longford, Ireland. She and her sister Maggie made plans to emigrate to New York City where their sister Annie lived. Catherine and Maggie boarded the Titanic at Queenstown. Her sister later recalled crewmen blocking their way up to the upper decks and recalled seeing lifeboats leaving the ship only partially full. She also reported scuffles breaking out between some third class men and crewmen determined to keep the steerage in their place whilst she saw women and children deep in prayer nearby. Kate, her sister and the two Kates from Longford were rescued in lifeboat 16, alongside an interloper, Thomas McCormack.

A 3rd class steerage ticket aboard the Titanic.

Early Warnings

With such a varied and economically diverse group of passengers aboard the Titanic, one may have expected some incidents of note. Instead, the first three days of passage were met with no serious issues, aside from a little cloudy weather. On the 14^th of April, the Titanic crossed a cold weather front with strong winds and waves of up to 8 feet. These died down as the day progressed until, by the evening of Sunday, April 14^th, it became clear, calm and very cold.

Titanic received a series of warnings of drifting ice in the area from other ships around Newfoundland. Although the ship was not trying to set a speed record, timekeeping was a priority, and Captain Smith declared in 1907 that he "could not imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that."