How did the Abbott boys go?

[RileyGardner17]

I've a fairly morbid question about something that has bothered me for years now: namely, where the Abbott boys died and if there was any seperation from their mother at all. Despite popular opinion we seem to have two conflicting accounts. The popular and often cited account stems from the Pawtucket Times, namely this cited article.

Here is the relevant part of her statement, which is described here as a statement to hospital officials, rather than press, for whatever that is worth:

“I arrived on the after-deck just as the second life boat was being lowered, I stood on the deck and saw all of the boats put off. Gene, my youngest son, was with me. Rossmore, 16 years old, was much larger and he was put back with the men... I did not have a chance to get into any of the life boats, as there was no room. There were at least seven women standing on the deck when the last boat was lowered from the rail. I saw several men get into boats without any protest. When the Titanic went down the seven women beside myself slid off into the water. I had Gene by my side at that time. Soon after we struck the water, we were drawn beneath the surface by the great whirlpool."

Such a statement forms the base of our understanding of what transpired in those final minutes. Rossmore is seperated, she's clutching Eugene, the water pulls her down and separates her from him and she never sees either of her sons again. Yet we have a parallel account from Amy Stanley, friend and cabin-neighbor to the Abbot clan. Within her letters she states (presumably told by Rosa on the Carpathia) the following:

“She told me that she would get [sic] in the lifeboat if there hadn't been so many people around. So she and her sons kept together. She was thankful that [the] three of them had stayed with her on that piece of wreckage. The youngest went first then the other son went.”

That is a very specific piece of knowledge. We can assume wreckage refers to Collapsible A here, but the detail that both boys might have been clinging to it and that Eugene died first and then Rossmore? This is a private letter, surely Stanley is making nothing up.

As a matter of fact, Stanley repeats this in a different in a different letter that she witnessed them die:

“About Tuesday I went to another part of the boat and there was Mrs Abbott whose berth was next mine on the Titanic. She was bruised very badly and in a very serious condition. She told me her boys were dead. She saw them go. She herself was picked up clinging to some wreckage, kind of a raft [Collapsible A]. Four men were taken off with her. They died after being on this boat. Mrs Abbott still writes to me. I did a lot for her, for we had to manage as best we could.”

And then we have a publication from the Salvationist magazine War Cry!, with the following:

"Mrs. Abbott, a Salvationist in uniform, was rescued after five hours drifting on a raft, during which time her two sons, aged 16½ and 13½, were drowned before her eyes."

Another note in this same piece states they died before her eyes whilst she was in Collapsible A. Therefore we have a seperate publication making a remarkably similar claim to the Stanley letter. This is written by Evangeline Booth, a high-ranker in the Salvation Army which Rosa was active in. Somehow, Booth recieved word of the tale that matches Amy Stanley's account.

So what do we think? The mainstream belief seems to fall in line with the Pawtucket Times statement. Amy Stanley's letters seems much too specific to cast doubt on. She was with Rosa mere hours after this all occurred, spoke with her, and transmitted this information within private letters with no intention of widespread press, and we have a second source making that claim that presumably is not recieving that information from Stanley, whom as far as I know did not stay with Rosa in the hospital.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

As far as is known Rhoda "Rosa" Abbott and her sons Rossmore (16) and Eugene (13) were on board the Titanic till the final plunge. Very likely all 3 jumped into the water just as the "wave" - generated by the sudden forward and downward lurch of the ship as it lost its longitudinal stability - arrived. I believe Rhoda said that she was holding on to Eugene when the trio jumped overboard, but lost her grip as they hit the water. There were a LOT of other people in the melee and like many of them, Rhoda was momentarily forced underwater. When she surfaced, it was among several others but she could see neither of her sons; she tried calling out to them but got no response. She never saw either of her sons again.

Rhoda herself somehow managed to swim to the drifting and waterlogged Collapsible A and hang on to the sides with several others. She was unable to haul herself on board and the few already inside couldn't help her. The lifeboat then tipped sideways - reportedly spilling out some of the occupants and then righted itself. That righting movement appears to given Rhoda Abbott the leverage to haul herself on board.

 

[YgorCortes]

As far as is known Rhoda "Rosa" Abbott and her sons Rossmore (16) and Eugene (13) were on board the Titanic till the final plunge. Very likely all 3 jumped into the water just as the "wave" - generated by the sudden forward and downward lurch of the ship as it lost its longitudinal stability - arrived. I believe Rhoda said that she was holding on to Eugene when the trio jumped overboard, but lost her grip as they hit the water. There were a LOT of other people in the melee and like many of them, Rhoda was momentarily forced underwater. When she surfaced, it was among several others but she could see neither of her sons; she tried calling out to them but got no response. She never saw either of her sons again.

Rhoda herself somehow managed to swim to the drifting and waterlogged Collapsible A and hang on to the sides with several others. She was unable to haul herself on board and the few already inside couldn't help her. The lifeboat then tipped sideways - reportedly spilling out some of the occupants and then righted itself. That righting movement appears to given Rhoda Abbott the leverage to haul herself on board.

Oh wow these are some very specific accounts! Where did you read them originally?

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Multiple sources. I sort of collated information from them, that's all.

There is a good reserach article by Robert L Bracken here on ET. The Mystery of Rhoda Abbott Revealed

In the book On A Sea Of Glass, included within the main text are reference numbers, the details of which are in the 'Endnotes' section of the book. That gives details of the reference eg Official Inquiry, newspaper account, other research work etc which one can further look into if so inclined.

There is a statement from Rhoda published in Pawtuckett Times of 22nd April 1912, but bear in mind that this is a newspaper account and there might have been some embellishment. MRS. ABBOTT SAYS 7 WOMEN WERE LEFT

There are a few other newspaper references in Rhoda's ET bio, but as I said, it is up to one to consider how reliable they are. You can look them up. Rhoda Mary 'Rosa' Abbott : Titanic Survivor