Lusitania passenger pix

[Randy Bryan Bigham]

ALFRED GWYNNE VANDERBILT, 1907

CHARLES KLEIN, c. 1914

ELBERT HUBBARD, 1914

All photographs from Library of Congress
(non-copyright restricted; prints available for purchase)

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Barbara Anderson McDermott on Friday April 25th in Newport. Such a lovely photo and deserves a double posting in case you missed it under Gilded Age!

 

[Hildur Panula-Heinonen]

Beatrice and Alfred Witherbee,1914. Beatrice survived, Alfred, aged 4, was lost and his body found.

 

[Cliff Mark Barry]

Hi Hildur,

there is some doubt as to whether the body recovered was that of young Witherbee, it may well have been that of the youngest Luck child also travelling first class

Cliff

 

[Hildur Panula-Heinonen]

To Cliff: Did Mrs. Witherbee identify the child, or was it up to the people who found him?

 

[Mike Poirier]

The father and mother identified the child by the clothing and the pic, if I remember correctly, but it was a badly deformed body, and another body that better fit little Scott's description was wearing identical clothing and was buried in the mass grave.

 

[Hildur Panula-Heinonen]

Hmmm, interesting about little Scott. Was there any photo or anyone to identify the Luck child in case he was found?

 

[Mike Poirier]

Hi Hildur,
From memory, I believe it was Mr. Luck who made the claim. He had previously come to England on the Lusitania. Why the officials took the word of Mr. Witherbee over Mr. Luck is unclear. Maybe money changed hands. Hard to say. I think, since Trixie Witherbee was a complete emotional wreck, he wanted some closure for her.
Mike

 

[Hildur Panula-Heinonen]

Hmmm, so maybe we will never know.
I was just starting to think about this. When Titanic sank, the bodies recovered were placed in seperate graves, like rows, and a stone for each, why is it that Lusitania's victims were placed together in large pits? Maybe it was because of the year, the war.
And also has anyone ever wanted to find some true identity through DNA, like they have done on Titanic? I mean, there are a lot of people (and many children) who remain unclaimed to this day.

And as a random question do you, personally know any information regarding ages of passengers? All my books are without them. I started a thread asking the same thing. It's just bugging the crap out of me.

 

[J Kent Layton]

Hildur,

Mike was good enough to assist me in compiling just such a list for my book, "Lusitania: An Illustrated Biography of the Ship of Splendor". Passenger ages, where known, are supplied on the list, as well as on the accompanying crew list. Hope this helps.

 

[Hildur Panula-Heinonen]

Cool, i will have to get that one, for sure! Good for you for posting the ages, it does drive me nuts to have so many lists, but no ages!

 

[J Kent Layton]

Hildur,

You can obtain a softcover copy through online bookstores (Amazon, Barnes, etc.). If you would like a hardcover edition, that has to be ordered either through the publisher (www.Lulu.com) or through my own site (www.atlanticliners.com). I really hope that this list is helpful to you.

 

[Hildur Panula-Heinonen]

If it has ages, then it will be helpful.

 

[J Kent Layton]

It does.

 

[Jim Kalafus]

The Witherbee child/Luck child was recovered late in the game, so to speak. The clothing was identifiable, but the child was not, his face being entirely gone. The clothing was forwarded to A.S. and Beatrice Witherbee, in London, who positively identified it as being clothing owned by A.S. Junior. Charlotte Luck, being dead, could not contest that, nor could Arthur Courtland Luck swear that either of his sons owned such an outfit. So, in the end it came down to the clothing.

As Mike said, the body in question seems to be a bit large for A.S. Junior, and the right size for a boy of the missing Luck child's age, while the boy in the mass grave, wearing the same outfit, is a better fit for AS Witherbee, Jr.