Mr Daniel Warner Marvin

Mr Daniel Warner Marvin, 19, from New York, NY, was the son of Henry Norton Marvin.

Henry Norton Marvin was founder of the early motion picture production houses of American Mutoscope and the Biograph Company. The studios were situated in an old New York City "brownstone" on 14th street and Fifth Avenue. The building's previous owner was a member of the Cunard family. The film pioneer David Wark Griffith made his first films with Henry Marvin and his partner. Henry's brother was also a cameraman at the studio.

In the early years of the century Biograph had a lawsuit with The Edison Group (which was tied to Thomas Edison laboratories) over claims of patent infringment for making films using the Edison Camera. However, Henry Norton Marvin's Company had in their employ, a former employee of the Edison group who had been instrumental in inventing the camera in the first place. He developed another camera, which got around the patent restrictions, and in the meantime, the Business Manager of Biograph, a fellow named Kennedy, had purchased the rights to the Latham Loop, the process that enabled the film to run in a continuous loop behind the lens. The lawsuit resulted in an arranged Association between The Edison Group and Biograph.

Daniel's marriage to Mary Farquarson was not filmed, however, the ceremony was restaged for the camera. The London Daily Mirror reported it to be the very first wedding to be "cinematographed".

Frames from the film of the marriage of Daniel Marvin and Mary Farquarson
(Daily Mirror, May 15 1912)

Daniel and Mary boarded the Titanic at Southampton as first class passengers. They were returning to New York City from their honeymoon in Europe. They occupied cabin D-30.

On the night of the accident Daniel assisted his wife to a boat with the words "It's alright, little girl. You go. I will stay." Daniel died in the sinking, his body, if recovered, was never identified.

Among the crowds that gathered at the New York offices of White Star on April 15 1912 were relatives of both Daniel and Mary Marvin: Mrs Frank Farquarson and Mrs W.H. Marvin learnt that Mary had been saved but there was no word of Daniel Marvin.

References and Sources

The Daily Sketch (London), April 17
The Times (London), April 20 1912
The Daily Sketch (London), April 20 1912
The Daily Mirror (London), May 15 1912
Robert Morton Henderson (1972) D. W. Griffith - His Life and Work, New York, Oxford University Press

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