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Message |
    
Brittany Perera
Member
Username: brittany08
Post Number: 6
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, September 4, 2003 - 4:29 am: | 
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Does anyone have any information on Constance Willard? I have already read her biography on the site, but any additional information would be extremely helpful. Thank you.
Brittany  |
Andrew Maheux
Member
Username: joseph
Post Number: 414
Registered: 12-2000
| | Posted on Thursday, September 4, 2003 - 6:50 pm: |
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Brittany,
There is a bit of info on her in the book, Titanic: The Great lakes Connections including a different photo.
Andrew M. |
Mike Herbold
Member
Username: mikeh
Post Number: 394
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, September 6, 2003 - 1:44 am: |
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Andrew:
I've been by Ms. Willard's simple house in a nice old section of Riverside, California. Tried to locate her ashes at Evergreen Cemetery, which is only a few blocks down the road from where she lived, but, even with the cemetery director's help, never could find a record of it. Appears her ashes may have been left with relatives.
Thanks for the info about the Great Lakes Connection book. For some reason I never got around to buying it. Now I will. Can I ssume it has some things about the Crosby family also? |
Jason D. Tiller
Member
Username: jtiller
Post Number: 1554
Registered: 12-2000
| | Posted on Monday, September 8, 2003 - 8:38 pm: |
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Hi Mike,
Their is a lot of good information on the Crosby family in the book. I have a copy of it and I would recommend it!
Best regards,
Jason
"to be happy is to be contented in your own mind"...Harold Godfrey Lowe
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Brian Ahern
Member
Username: brian_ahern
Post Number: 50
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 9, 2003 - 5:19 am: |
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Does anyone know if Constance ever had any sort of career? I've always been interested in knowing what sort of life she led, since she's a rather shadowy figure in accounts of the voyage and sinking. And it's always struck me as strange that a 20-year-old girl was travelling alone in 1912. Wouldn't have been considered proper in many quarters. At least I assume she was alone. The only other Duluthans on board were the Silveys, and I've never seen any record of Constance knowing them.
Any thoughts?
Brian Ahern
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Ben Holme
Member
Username: benedict
Post Number: 550
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 9, 2003 - 5:36 pm: |
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Hi Brian,
Miss Willard was apparently travelling in the company of the Carter family of Philadelphia. Constance's aunt, anxious that her neice would be returning to Duluth alone, solicited the help of William Carter, who agreed to allow the 20 year old to accompany them on the return journey from London and across the Atlantic. Craig Stringer's excellent CD "Titanic Poeple" provides more detail on this. Strangely, neither Constance of the Carters mentioned eachother in later acounts, although they undoubtedly departed the sinking liner together on boat #4.
Both Constance Willard and Alice Silvey were particularly sparse on meaty details in their brief accounts of the sinking (the ones that I've found, at least). Hence, we have little record of the shipboard actions and movements of these three Duluth residents. However, I would imagine that Constance would have at least recognised the Silveys who were promient in Duluth.
Best Regards,
Ben |
Peter Engberg-Klarström
Member
Username: peter
Post Number: 88
Registered: 4-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 9, 2003 - 7:47 pm: |
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Dear Ben, I have seen the suggestion that Miss Willard left the ship in boat No 4, but her own story certainly doesn't match No 4 at all; from her story it can be assumed that she left in a boat more towards the stern, possibly No 10. But I don't really know. She is indeed rather sparse with details....
Peter |
George Behe
Member
Username: georgeb
Post Number: 790
Registered: 8-2000
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 9, 2003 - 9:08 pm: |
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Hi, Ben!
>Strangely, neither Constance of the Carters
>mentioned each other in later acounts,
I have an interview with Miss Willard in which she described how Mr. Carter later told her about his own experiences on Collapsible C. (Carter said that Mr. Ismay regretted the presence of the Chinamen on his boat when so many "fine, valuable men" were being left behind.)
Ironic, eh?
All my best,
George |
Peter Engberg-Klarström
Member
Username: peter
Post Number: 89
Registered: 4-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 9, 2003 - 9:29 pm: |
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Hello George. Did she hint at what boat she actually was in herself? |
Brian Ahern
Member
Username: brian_ahern
Post Number: 51
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 5:13 am: |
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Thanks for the replies.
That's very interesting, Ben. I've never seen her name linked with the Carters' and wouldn't have guessed at it. I suppose her aunt must have befriended the Carters in Europe.
Thanks again,
Brian
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George Behe
Member
Username: georgeb
Post Number: 791
Registered: 8-2000
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 9:48 am: |
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Hi, Peter!
She said she "must have been in the eleventh or twelfth boat lowered" and that the boat wasn't very crowded. I'm afraid that leaves a lot of latitude for various interpretations.
All my best,
George |
Peter Engberg-Klarström
Member
Username: peter
Post Number: 90
Registered: 4-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 1:20 pm: |
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Hello again, George. That is exactly the kind of information I wanted; I just can't see her in No 4, and she said in another interview that there were seven men and several children as well as about 20 women, which to me didn't sound much like No 4, particularly when she never mentions crewmen dragged out of the water or tying up with other boats or rescuing men from an overturned collapsible and so on. Thank you!!
By the way, I don't think I have got your e-mail address....???
Best regards,
Peter |
Ben Holme
Member
Username: benedict
Post Number: 552
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 1:27 pm: |
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Hi Peter,
Interesting. I, too, had originally accepted boat #10 for Miss Willard, that is until the story of the Carter acquaintance surfaced and made me re-think things. However, if there is no account of her presence in boat #4, and perhaps more crucially, there is no mention of the "stepping through the window" incident, then I would agree that boat #10 is a safer option. Like Mrs. Futrelle and Mrs. Holverson, she's a tricky one to assign, boat-wise. I know George had what struck me as very interesting thoughts on the mystery of Mrs. F's boat.
Hi George,
Fascinating insight into Ismay's thoughts during the night on collapsibe C! Carter's another whose accounts of the sinking seem to be harder to locate than most. Seems he really landed Ismay in it, in the same manner in which Charles Stengel didn't help Sir Cosmo's case in boat #1. Interesting stuff.
Hope you're both keeping well.
Best,
Ben
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Brian J. Ticehurst
Member
Username: briantice
Post Number: 40
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 7:50 pm: |
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Brittany,
I have just added the newscutting below to Miss Willards site - I think it came from Mark Baber some time ago here it is along with my printout on her:
WILLARD, Miss Constance. Saved in Lifeboat number 4. London address: C/o White Star Line, 1, Cockspur Street, London, S.W. UK.
Died 25th April 1964, and is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery, Riverside, California.
From Hibbing (Minn.) Daily Tribune, April 23, 1912)
Miss Willard Tells Of Wreck
Girl Well Known Here, Who was on the Titanic has reached St. Paul.
St. Paul, Minn. - April 23 - Miss Constance, the 20-year-old daughter of David Willard, formerly of Duluth, has arrived at the home of her sister, Mrs. Hope McCall, on South Avon street, after the most trying week of her life, since a week ago Sunday night, when the Titanic struck. Except for a little fatigue Miss Willard is entirely well and was able to give a full account of her experience.
Miss Willard said there was no searchlight aboard the Titanic. She overheard a man ask an officer about this lack, the first day out. The officer, whose name she did not know told the man it was intended to have the searchlight installed in New York.
Miss Willard was without any relatives or near friends on the boat, the Carter family, with whom she was travelling, being new acquaintances who had promised her aunt in England to look out for her on the trip over. Her first real breakdown or feeling in any way akin to fear did not come, she said, until after she was aboard the Carpathia.
I hope that helps?
Best regards
Brian J. Ticehurst - Southajpton UK |
George Behe
Member
Username: georgeb
Post Number: 793
Registered: 8-2000
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 8:46 pm: |
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Hi, Peter!
>By the way, I don't think I have got your e-mail >address....???
You're luckier than other people. :-)
My ET member profile contains my email address. (Just go to one of my messages and click on my name to reach the profile.)
Hope you're well, old chap.
All my best,
George |
Martin Williams
Member
Username: martin_williams
Post Number: 514
Registered: 3-2007
| | Posted on Monday, February 11, 2008 - 2:21 pm: |
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I have a particular fascination with the William E. Carters (rather worryingly, I even dreamt of Lucile Carter a couple of nights ago!) and I dimly recall having once read of some sort of connection between them and the enigmatic Miss Willard.
Interestingly, therefore, it was purely by chance that I today stumbled upon some information which sheds light on their relationship. Miss Willard's aunt, referred to in a post above, appears to have been one Mrs F.J. Mackey, whom 'The New York Times' of 16 August, 1900, called 'so prominent in English Society'. Mr Mackey was an expert polo player and was on the American team during a tournament at the ultra-smart Hurlingham Club. Mrs Mackey, too, was acclaimed as 'the best woman four-in-hand' in the country and I conclude that it was these horsey pursuits that brought them into contact with William E. Carter who, as we know, was a polo enthusiast himself and who, together with his elegant wife, attended all the premier equestrian events on both sides of the Atlantic. The Mackeys had a home in Mayfair, 5 Carlos Place (just off one of the most perfectly preserved late Victorian streets in London) and also maintained a country seat, Beauchamp Hall, near Leamington Spa. This was fashionable hunting country - as we know, Billy Carter was riding out with the Melton during the winter season of 1911/12 - and it is probable that he and Lucile were entertained at some point during their stay in England by the Mackeys at Beauchamp, where many house parties took place. In the immediate aftermath of the 'Titanic' disaster, the rather unlikely source of 'The Leamington Spa Advertiser' revealed that Constance Willard had herself visited her uncle and aunt at Beauchamp that same winter - charmingly, she seems to have attended the Warneford Hospital Ball with them, which strikes me as a rather 'parochial' event to be graced by such glamorous Americans! It follows, therefore, that Mrs Mackey thought it natural to place her young and single niece under the care of the Carters for their return trip to the States aboard the 'Titanic' three or four months later. |
Brian Ahern
Member
Username: brian_ahern
Post Number: 575
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - 9:27 am: |
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Interesting, Martin! I knew, from this thread, that the Carters were acquainted with Constance's aunt, but I had no idea the aunt was so well-placed. I had always wondered if the Carters had been cornered into escorting some hayseed across the Atlantic and if they were less than thrilled about it. I wonder how far their 'care' of Miss Willard extended. Did she dine with them? Was she much in their company, or did they merely check to make sure her dining companions, etc were not objectionable?
Needless to say, I don't expect anyone to have the answers. |
Martin Williams
Member
Username: martin_williams
Post Number: 515
Registered: 3-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - 11:38 am: |
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Hi Brian
Yes, I too was slightly surprised to learn that Constance Willard, from a relative backwater like Duluth, had connections with Society high-flyers like the Mackeys and the Carters. Then again, she obviously had SOME reason to be in Europe in the winter of 1911/12 and all the sources seem to agree that she had been visiting her aunt in England. That a provincial paper like the 'Advertiser' should remark on her presence in Leamington around that time seems proof positive that Mrs Mackey was the aunt in question - and my hypothesis that she met the Carters during that hunting season appears to me a very likely scenario.
The escorting of unattached women on ocean voyages was seemingly a very standard practice. The Lamson sisters were all married ladies, and much older than Constance, but Colonel Gracie didn't hesitate to place himself at their collective disposal. And Mrs Candee was positively BEATING off gentlemen who wished to 'protect' her. I see no reason why the Carters wouldn't have been happy to keep an eye on Constance. The responsibility was probably not very great (at least, not until the ship started to sink!), just a case of having acquaintances there for her to call upon, should the need arise. For the sake of propriety, having the Carter connection - however loose it actually was - known among the other passengers might also have served to deter potential predators.
Judging from the small photograph on her ET profile, which I think was taken just after the Great War, Constance looks like a very self-assured (maybe even self-satisfied) young lady, more than capable of taking care of herself. I imagine she was able to keep herself entertained, since first-class was filled with late-teens and twenty-somethings (the honey-mooning Marvins, Snyders, Smiths etc, besides Jack Thayer, Helen Ostby, Georgette Madill and Dorothy Gibson) and she could have mingled freely with any of them. I'd love to know in which boat she made her escape...if she WAS travelling with the Carters, then No. 4 would be the best bet but it seems that Nos. 8 and 10 have also been mooted. Of course, that doesn't mean very much - the Lamson sisters were somehow separated during the sinking, with Mrs Appleton and Mrs Cornell leaving in No. 2 and Mrs Brown, famously, remaining aboard until the very last minute.
Interesting, though, that Constance never married in later life. |
Martin Williams
Member
Username: martin_williams
Post Number: 516
Registered: 3-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - 1:32 pm: |
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It appears that Florence Mackey (nee Day) was the sister of Constance Willard's mother, Cora. From the scanty sources available on-line, I gather that they originally hailed from Minneapolis and, at one point, Mr Day employed his son-in-law David, Constance's father, in his lumber business. Evidently, this was a highly lucrative enterprise, since Florence was eventually married off to the millionaire Frank Mackey of Chicago and thereby launched into a glittering social milieu.
Mr Mackey played polo at the most fashionable grounds with sundry Phippses, Whitneys, Vanderbilts and Belmonts and, during the frantic summer season of 1907, his wife entertained the likes of Lord and Lady Kilmorey, Lord and Lady Craven, Lady Amherst, Mrs Bradley Martin, Mrs Ronalds and Mrs Ian Malcolm (Lillie Langtry's illegitimate daughter by Prince Louis of Battenberg) at a splendid dinner dance in London, to which she wore a silver gown and a crown of diamonds and turquoise. There are also references to her dining at the Ritz with Lady Paget, attending a royal garden party at Windsor Castle and mingling with some exceedingly illustrious personages at Mrs Whitelaw Reid's ball at Dorchester House.
Evidently, she was quite the right sort of aunt to have! |
Martin Williams
Member
Username: martin_williams
Post Number: 531
Registered: 3-2007
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 - 4:13 pm: |
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...quite the right sort of aunt indeed. By chance, I've just come across what I take to be a tantalising reference to Constance Willard in the Society columns of 'The New York Times' for March, 1912. It seems that Mrs Frank Mackey organised a 'brilliant' dinner and dance for 'her niece' (who SURELY must be Constance?) at the house she was renting in London from Princess Dolgourouki and those taking part in the cotillion included Mrs Hwfa Williams, Lady Cunard and - interestingly - Ava Astor, the Colonel's first wife. |
Martin Williams
Member
Username: martin_williams
Post Number: 612
Registered: 3-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - 2:25 pm: |
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I've finally nailed a definite reference to Constance Willard in the Society columns of the 'New York Times' during the spring of 1912. Pretty much as I suspected, she was indeed the niece of the very well-connected Mrs Frank Mackey and it was she who was the guest-of-honour at a grand cotillion her aunt had organised at the house she had rented in Mayfair and which was extensively reported in the press on 24 March. The cream of that year's debutantes, chaperoned by their mothers, were in attendance and Constance would have been introduced to some very well-bred gels indeed - Ladies Marjorie and Diana Manners, with the Duchess of Rutland; Monica Grenfell, with Lady Desborough; Violet De Trafford, with Lady De Trafford; Lady Cunard; Lady Paget; and so on. The cotillion favours were purchased from Lady Sackville's Working Girl's Association and included small framed pictures, fans and opera glasses.
What is interesting is that, even at this glittering event, it was observed by Mrs Mackey's guests that 'she did not seem to be in a normal condition of health' and, the very next day, she became gravely ill with what was described as a 'brain fever'. Mr Mackey was then in the States and, although he was cabled directly, he arrived in England to find that the situation had deteriorated alarmingly. Temporarily rallying from her first complaint, Mrs Mackey ultimately died from pneumonia in a nursing home on 16 May. What strikes me as odd is that, during such a crisis, Constance did not remain with her aunt in London - instead leaving town just a fortnight later for her journey home on the 'Titanic'. One can only imagine that (wrongly, as it turned out), Mrs Mackey's symptoms were deemed to have improved sufficiently for Constance's services and company to be no longer required. Perhaps the original intention had been that Mrs Mackey would accompany her niece across the Atlantic herself but, because of her condition, she decided to entrust her to the Carters instead?
(On a wholly separate note - is there a moderator lurking who might read this and be able to transfer this thread to the 'Biographical - 1st Class' section where it perhaps more rightfully belongs? It seems a pity to leave poor Constance sitting here, all on her own!)
[Moderator's Note: This thread, originally posted in another subtopic, has been moved to here. JDT] |
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