Mr Edgar Joseph Meyer was born in San Francisco, California on 13 January 1884.
He was the son of Eugene Marc Meyer (1842-1925), a dry goods merchant and later a banker, and Harriett Newmark (1852-1922). His father was born in Alsace, Germany (now in modern-day France) whilst his mother was born in New York and was of mixed German and English heritage. They were married in Los Angeles on 20 November 1867.
Edgar's known siblings were: Rosalie (1869-1956, later Mrs Sigmund Stern), Elise (1872-1953, later Mrs Abraham Stern), Florence (1873-1930, later, Mrs George Blumenthal), Eugene Isaac (1875-1959), Bertha Ruth (1877-1967, later Mrs Alfred Cook), Aline (1879-1966, later Mrs Charles Liebman) and Walter Eugene (1881-1957).
Edgar and his family later moved east and appear on the 1900 census as residents of Ocean Avenue, Monmouth, New Jersey and he was then described as a bank clerk.
Edgar was married in 1909 to Leila Saks (b. 1886), a native of Baltimore, Maryland and the daughter German parents. The couple had one daughter, Jane (b. 19 May 1911, later Stern).
Residents of Manhattan, Mr and Mrs Meyer boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as first class passengers (ticket number PC 17604, which cost £82, 3s, 5d). Leila's father had died two days before sailing on 8 April 1912 following a protracted illness and the decision to travel on Titanic was a hastily arranged affair following notification of his death.
Mrs Meyer later recalled:
"I tried and tried to get Edgar to come into the lifeboat with me, and pleaded to be allowed to stay behind and wait until he could leave, he not caring to leave before all the women had been saved. Mr. Meyer finally persuaded me to leave, reminding me of our one-year-old child at home. I entered the lifeboat and watched until the Titanic sank, but only for a short time did I see my husband standing beside the rail and assisting other women into boats in which he might have been saved."
Leila was rescued in lifeboat 6 but her husband perished in the disaster. His body, if recovered, was never identified.
His parents later resided in Manhattan; his mother died in 1922 and his father in 1925. His widow Leila later remarried before her death in 1957. His daughter Jane (later Mrs George A. Stern) died in 1984.
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