Mrs Edith Peacock (née Nile) was born at Carnkie in Illogan, Cornwall, England on 20 January 1885.
She was the daughter of Richard Nile (b. 1845) and Mary Ann Wilkinson (b. 1847). Her father, a tin miner, was also born in Illogan whilst her mother hailed from Gloucestershire and they were married in 1868. Her known siblings were: William James (b. 1870), Sarah Jane (b. 1872), Richard (b. 1873), Samuel Charles (b. 1876), Philip (b. 1879), Alfred (b. 1881), Beatrice (b. 1883), Frederick (b. 1886) and Harry Foster (b. 1890).
Edith appears on both the 1891 and 1901 censuses living at Carnkie. By the time of the latter record her mother was a widower, her father having passed away in 1895, and Edith was described as a tin dresser.
Edith was married around 1907 to Benjamin Peacock (b. 17 July 1886), an engineer who hailed from Dulwich, London. The couple latterly settled in Southampton, Hampshire and their first child, a daughter named Treasteall, was born there in 1908. Their son, Albert Edward, was born in 1911 and another child died in infancy. Edith and her daughter appear on the 1911 census living at 17 Orchard Place, Southampton.
Benajamin Peacock left England in 1911 and settled in Newark, New Jersey where he worked at the power house of the Public Service Corporation and lived at 609 South Broad Street. He had never met his son and soon sent funds over to have his wife and children join him in America. To welcome his children he purchased a baby carriage for his newborn and toys for his daughter and was overjoyed that he would soon be reunited with them.
Edith and her children boarded the Titanic at Southampton on 10 April 1912 as third class passengers (ticket number 3101315 which cost £13, 15s, 6d).
On the night of the sinking and at a point when all functional lifeboats had already left the ship, young Belfast crewman, scullion John Collins, encountered a steward trying to assist an lady with two small children. The steward had one of the children in his arms and the woman, holding the other child, was crying. Collins took the child off of the woman and the group set off in search for a lifeboat. They spied a collapsible boat taken off of the saloon deck and made for it but then the men up forward began shouting to go aft. Just as they were turning around and making for the stern a wave washed them off the deck and the child that Collins was carrying was washed from his arms. It is widely believed that the crying woman with the two small children were the Peacocks.
Mrs Peacock and her two children were lost in the sinking. Their bodies, if recovered, were never identified. Her mother Mrs Nile and aunt Mrs Goldsworthy were quoted in the press as saying '..it seemed uncertain if they died in their berths or if she preferred to remain on board rather than risking her children in the frail lifeboats...'
Her mother later died in 1919.
Her husband Benjamin was despondent over the loss of his family and travelled to New York in the hope of finding them or at least speak to someone who had met them or seen them during the voyage. At the time he was also of the mistaken belief two brothers had also been travelling on Titanic. He soon learned that they had delayed their journey to America.
Benjamin was later remarried to a German lady named Freda (b. 1884) and the couple had three children: Emelia (b. 1916) and twins Benjamin and Elsie (b. 1918). The family lived in New Jersey for many years before relocating to Richmond, New York and Benjamin worked as an engineer in the shipyards. He was still alive as of the early 1940s but his final whereabouts are unclear.
Comment and discuss
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Hello, I am new here and was looking for some help. I have done a general search on Edith Peacock and have only found basic information about her. Some information I have is conflicting, such as she was in a life boat that capsized. I also can not find anything about the bodies of her and her children being recovered. Were they ever accounted for? Any stories, facts, or direction to information, regarding her or her children Alfred and Treasteall (sp) is greatly appreciated. I have plenty of questions about life in 3rd class, but I will save those for the correct topic. :o)
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Were they ever accounted for? No. Any stories, facts, or direction to information, regarding her or her children Alfred and Treasteall (sp) is greatly appreciated. Have you looked at ? I've collected and submitted a number of New Jersey newspaper articles about the Peacock family, who were headed to New Jersey to join Mr. Peacock in Elizabeth. None of those articles makes any mention of any survivor accounts about the Peacocks, either during the voyage or during the sinking.
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There is a survivor account that while not conclusively identifying the Peacocks, shows that they are quite likely the parties involved in the IMHO most haunting event of the night. After 2am, crewman John Collins was assisting a steward who was trying to guide a mother with two young children. Collins was holding the infant, while the steward was carrying the other child. They came up to either Collapsible A or B when they saw the big wave sweeping up the deck. As they turned to go aft the whole party was swept into the ocean. The baby was torn out of Collins' arms before he eventually found his way to overturned Collapsible B. While the mother and children could have been part of one of the larger families, I am assuming this was one family without other children on board. Of the three families who perished with exactly two children, the Boulos and Johnston children were between the ages of 7 and 10. The Peacocks were the only family with two children of the correct...
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Good point, Arthur. Also, according to Craig Stringer's Titanic People, Collins later stated that he knew the Peacock family and had been 'looking out for them' during the voyage. In his testimony, however, he makes no mention of the fact that the woman he helped on the boat deck was known to him. That might, however, be his response to the formality of the situation of giving evidence. Minnie Coutts, who had made friends with Edith during the voyage, later expressed surprise that both the Peacock children were suffering from whooping cough and really should not have been travelling. This might explain a reluctance by Edith to take them on deck until it was too late to get away safely. Incidentally, according to his ET biography Collins died of syphilis, which could well explain his mental condition at the end of his life. .
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I would concur with Bob here - that John Collins’ suffrage of syphilis was the reason for his institutionalization. Though his final residence has been brought forth (especially in this forum) as an indication of post traumatic after-effects resulting from the Titanic disaster, one of the common symptoms of the latter stages of syphilis includes dementia. This could - and probably does - explain his placement in such an institution.
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Not posted in ages, now two in one day
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Hi. I know this thread is about the Peacock's but started a new one specifically entitled 'Edith Peacock marriage' so that it would be readily picked up by visitors to the site. Having my thread changed to a post on this thread could lessen the chances of me finding out the information I want, especially as it is now at the bottom of a thread last visited in 2004. Please, would it be possible to re-instate my post back into it's own thread?
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it would be readily picked up by visitors to the site. No more so than by having it here, where all Peacock family discussion is in one place. Regardless of which of the several methods of looking for messages one chooses, a new thread is no more "readily picked up" than a new message posted to an existing thread.
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[No more so than by having it here, where all Peacock family discussion is in one place. Regardless of which of the several methods of looking for messages one chooses, a new thread is no more "readily picked up" than a new message posted to an existing thread.} But without the title thread I chose specifically I feel anyone who may know about that specific event is more likely to ignore a thread with a generic title than one which was intended to get somebody to go 'Ah, I know that'.
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all i know is you need to look at dates after 1906 when she moved from cornwall to work in london and before 1911 because they had already moved to 34 orchard place in southampton, by the 1911 census benjamins name does does appear on it and they assume he was working at sea at the time as edith was put as the head of the household as tresteall peacock the census records the birth of thier baby that died but no mane for that child. i only know this as i am looking at a book my uncle gave to me as part of our family history it turns out edith was somehow realted to my gran Ethel May Nile. I dont know if this will help i decided to check her name up on the internet and this popped up so thought id share a part of the info init
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correction on the 1911 census the head of the faimly was put treasteall not edith as in the daughters name sorry should have read the book properly
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