Colonel Archibald Gracie proffered his services during the voyage to the bereaved Lamson sisters, Mrs Edward D. Appleton, Mrs Robert C. Cornell and Mrs J. Murray Brown. As a boy, Gracie had attended St. Paul's (the American Eton) with Mrs Cornell's husband and, being an indefatigable net-worker, he didn't hesitate to re-open the acquaintance aboard the 'Titanic'.
As David Huffaker, Brian Ahern and Mike Ellingham have explored at some length, both here and elsewhere, the Lamson sisters were securely, if discreetly, placed in the upper echelons of New York Society. In addition, and in common with many other first-class passengers, they also maintained family connections with the European elite. In the case of Mrs Brown, Mrs Appleton and Mrs Cornell, their sister, Elizabeth Marshall Lamson, had married Victor Arthur Wellington Drummond, an English diplomat, whom she had met whilst he was posted as Secretary to the British Legation in Washington. Their wedding, according to 'The New York Times' of 16 April, 1882, was 'crowded with the fashionable people of New York' (including Caroline Astor, the Stuyvesant Fishes and the Cornelius Vanderbilts) and her younger sisters Katherine and Charlotte - the latter of whom would become Mrs Edward Appleton - acted as bridesmaids. Lord Cadogan's son, Henry, was best man. The groom hailed from a wealthy dynasty of English bankers, who had established Drummond's of Charing Cross, and who oversaw the finances of many members of the aristocracy. Their success in business was no doubt aided by the fact that Victor's mother was Lady Elizabeth Frederica Manners, a daughter of the 5th Duke of Rutland. Connections with the ducal family were kept up into the next generation - the 1871 Census had Victor's brother (Elizabeth Lamson's future brother-in-law) Cecil staying at the Rutland family seat, Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, together with a very select house-party, which included the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince and Princess Francis of Teck (
Queen Mary's parents), the Duke and Duchess of St Albans and no less than four sets of earls and countesses: Shrewsbury, Ferres, Rosslyn and Wharncliffe. In addition, Victor's sister married the 9th Earl of Scarborough, making the 10th Earl Elizabeth's nephew by marriage.
During a prestigious diplomatic career on the Continent (most helpfully out-lined by Mike Ellingham on the 'Rich People in Society' thread), Victor was knighted, becoming Sir Victor and his wife Lady Drummond. He died around 1908 - oddly, Peerage.com, the most comprehensive website of English aristocratic genealogy, does not list Sir Victor as Cecil Drummond's brother but he undoubtedly was. Following her husband's death, the widowed Lady Drummond moved from Munich to Paris, where she resided on the Avenue Victor Hugo. She was not to live much longer herself - in late March, 1912, she died in France, with Charlotte Appleton, Caroline Brown and Katherine de Florez (the latter herself based in Paris) at her side. Sadly, Malvina Cornell was still en route from the States and so did not arrive in time to say a final farewell to her older sister. Lady Drummond's funeral took place at the family seat, Cadlands, in Hampshire, and the three Lamson sisters subsequently made the short journey from there to Southampton, where they boarded the 'Titanic' for the journey home...
