Miss Lillian W. Bentham

Miss Lillian W. Bentham, 19,1 was born in Holley, N. Y. Her mother was Mary J. Bentham, her father had died prior to 1912.2

Lillian had been one of a party of 11 visting Europe.3 The group included her godfather William J. Downton, Peter David McKane, Peter Renouf, Lillian Renouf, Clifford Jefferys, Ernest Jefferys, Herbert Denbury and Emily Rugg.

Whilst she was away her family moved to Rochester, N. Y. 4

Lillian boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger. She held ticket number 28404, price: £13. 5

After the collision on 14 April 1912 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, Herbert Denbury, rushed to her stateroom and told her to hurry on deck did she accept the seriousness of the situation.6

Miss Bentham was rescued in lifeboat 12.7 She recalled seeing the ship break in two as it sank. 8

Her mother could not come to meet her off the Carpathia as her brother had contracted Typhoid fever, but eight friends did come, among them the widow of William Downton.9

Lillian married Mr John Black in 1918.10 They lived at 11 Kay Terrace, Rochester, N. Y.11

Lillian Bentham, c. 1950s
(Courtesy of Craig Sopin, USA)

Lillian Bentham died on 15 December 1977. 12

References and Sources
1. i. Names and Descriptions of British Passengers Embarked at the Port of Southampton, 10 April 1912 (PRO London, BT 27/780B). Note: Spells name 'Lilian', age given as 19.
ii. List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States Immigration Officer At Port Of Arrival (Date: 18th-19th June 1912, Ship: Carpathia) - National Archives, NWCTB 85 T715 Vol 4183. Age given as 19.
iii. Times-Tribune (Rochester, N.Y.), 1962, 50 Years After: A Memory of the Titanic. Note: Age given as 17.
iv. Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York), 15 April 1931, Rochester Woman Tells of Titanic Sinking in 1912. Note: Age given as 17. 2. Times-Tribune op. cit.
3. i. Democrat and Chronicle op. cit.
ii. Times-Tribune op. cit.
4. Times-Tribune op. cit.
5. i. Contract Ticket List, White Star Line 1912 (National Archives, New York; NRAN-21-SDNYCIVCAS-55[279])
ii. Names and Descriptions ... op. cit.
6. i. Democrat and Chronicle op. cit.
ii. Times-Tribune op. cit.
7. Peter Engberg-Klarström, Correspondence with Editor
8. Democrat and Chronicle op. cit.
9. Times-Tribune op. cit.
10. Democrat and Chronicle op. cit.
11. Times-Tribune op. cit.
12. Albion Advertiser, 7 April 1999, Tale of Holley's Titanic survivor vivid after 87 years

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