Mrs Leo David Greenfield (Blanche Strouse) was born in Manhattan, New York on 21 February 1867.
She was the daughter of Henry Strouse (b. 1851) and Hannah Mork (1846-1914). Her father, a merchant, hailed from Germany whilst her mother was a native of Kentucky born to German parents and they had married in Jefferson, Kentucky on 28 May 1863. She had two siblings, her elder sister Tillie (b. 1864, later Mrs Max Thorn) and younger brother William (b. 1876).
Blanche appears with her family on the 1880 census living in New York City. She was married in Manhattan on 5 May 1887 to Leo David Greenfield (b. 19 July 1863), a furrier born in New York City to Bohemian parents. Their only child, William Bertram, was born on 11 May 1888. The small family lived together with Blanche's mother in Manhattan, appearing there on both the 1900 and 1910 census records and Leo ran Leo D. Greenfield & Co Inc., a manufacturer of ladies' fur garments.
The Greenfields were frequent travellers and Blanche boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg with her son William who had been in Europe on business. They held ticket number PC 17759 which had cost £63, 7s, 2d and occupied cabins D-10/12. On the night of the sinking they were rescued in lifeboat 7, the first lifeboat to leave the ship.
Upon arrival in New York, one step that Mrs Greenfield took, out of respect for those lost, was to postpone her silver wedding celebrations planned for 5 May.
For the rest of her life Blanche was haunted by the screams of those who died in the icy waters and her exposure to the icy elements in the North Atlantic affected her hearing in later years. Undeterred by her experiences though, she continued to travel frequently and one voyage in 1921 was aboard Olympic. Other ships she travelled aboard included Amerika, Lafayette and several trips aboard Leviathan.
By the 1915 Blanche and her husband had relocated from Manhattan and made their home at 52 Summit Drive, Far Rockaway in Queens. She was widowed on 27 November 1934 and returned to Manhattan where she died on 5 November 1936. Blanche and her husband are buried at the Salem Field Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
Courtesy of Michael A. Findlay, USA
Comment and discuss
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William and his mother Blanche were traveling first class on the Titanic. William was playing cards in the salon, when the crash occurred. The men each took an ace from the deck to hold till they met again- which they never did. Being a long time boat owner, William immediately went to their cabin insisting Blanche get dressed "Go on deck and get into a lifeboat, when its safe you can always return to the Titanic". They needed someone to row so William volunteered. Blanches husband in New York City had no idea that they were alive or not. He met the Carpathia with an ambulance just in case. He was so happy to find them alive that he told Blanche to go to Tiffany's and buy whatever she wanted. Below is William and Blanche's photo's.
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Thanks for posting that Darren. That was interesting to see. Best regards, Jason
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Yes, very interesting to see those images and hear their story.
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Any news on Virginian descendants? I researched the site and found information on the Daniel family, but not many others--or at least not many with detailed stories. This was a surprise.
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I should have asked this question before I posted this photograph. Is it ok to post photographs that I have acquired on ET? I have some more I would like to share with everyone.
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Darren, Sharing photos is most welcome, however as long as they are not copyrighted and wherever or whoever you got them from has no problem with you sharing them. Regards, Daniel.
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Post all the photos you like, Daniel! I'm enjoying them very much, and the anecdotes are priceless. Kyrila
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Those are nice photos, I have never seen photos of the Greenfields before. Thanks Andrew
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Excellent finds there, Darren! Both mother and son had been eluding me for quite some time, photo-wise. Real prizes! Ben
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If you go to the Greenfields bios you may see the photos i recently added of them.
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This is Blanche Greenfield's husband Leo D. Williams father. Thought this might be of interest. Thanks to Nell Greenfield.
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Forgive me for asking, but who were William and Blanche Greenfield?
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Look here, Kayla:
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