Mr Howard Brown Case was born in Rochester, New York in 1864.1
He was the eldest child of the Reverend Charles Zopher Case (1837-1872) and Helen Brown Lyon (1838-1923).
Both his parents were also from New York; his mother was from a family of distillers in Brighton and his father was a native of Sodus who ministered in the Dresden Methodist Church and Benton Center Church, both in New York. His siblings were: twins Charles and Fanny (b. 1866) and Emma (b. 1870). The family appeared on the 1880 census living in Rochester along with Howard's widowed grandmother Eunice Lyon (b. 1815).
Case was working for the W.B. Morse Lumber Company when, in 1885, he was approached by the Vacuum Oil Company to join its selling department.
In June 1887 he was transferred to manage that business in Liverpool England.
On 6 November 1889 Case was married to Elizabeth Crowther (b. 15 July 1864), a native of Baltimore, Maryland and would have four children: Helen (1890-1978), John Crowther (1892-1983), Charles Zopher (1893-1965) and Honor Elizabeth (1894-1925).
His first child Helen was in England on 31 August 1890, and Case, his wife and baby daughter appear on the 1891 British census as lodgers at 27 Park Way, Toxteth Park, Liverpool and he was described as an agent for an oil company.
He returned to live in Rochester, New York in 1891, and remained there until 1899, when the family again settled in England, where Case took charge of his company's interests in Britain.
The family appeared on the 1911 census living in Coombe Grange, Coombe Lane, Sunninghill near Windsor in Berkshire and Howard was described as the managing director of an oil company (the Vacuum Oil Company Ltd., Caxton House, Westminster, London).
Howard B. Case boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a first class passenger with ticket number 19924 which cost £26. Whilst aboard, it is believed he was acquainted with the Henry Sleeper Harpers, among others.
According to. note found among the papers of surviving steward William Faulkner, Case was originally in cabin E-66, but moved to cabin C-11 on 11 April, the day after sailing.
Some survivors recalled that Case helped women and children into the boats and finally stepped back to meet his fate. Mrs Edith Graham and her daughter Margaret were two such survivors who spoke of his gallantry:
"...Just then Mr Roebling came up, too. He told us to hurry and get into the boat. Mr Roebling and Mr Case bustled our party of three into that boat in less time than it takes to tell it. They were both working hard to help the women and children. The boat was fairly crowded when we three were pushed into it. A few men jumped in at the last moment, but Mr Roebling and Mr Case stood at the rail and made no attempt to get into the boat..."
Later, before the final plunge, fellow passenger Algernon Barkworth encountered Case on the boat deck. Barkworth suggested jumping, to which Case retorted: "My dear fellow, I wouldn't think of quitting the ship. Why, she'll swim for a week." He then lit a cigarette and that was the last Barkworth saw of him.
Howard Case died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified. His estate, worth £5600, 19s, 2d was administered to his widow on 14 May 1912 and she later made a claim against the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, totalling $300,000 for the loss of her husband.
His widow Elizabeth soon returned to live in Rochester and travelled back and forward across the Atlantic several times in later years, her daughter Helen being resident in Britain. She died in 1939 and is buried in Sherwood Episcopal Church Cemetery, Cockeysville, Maryland. Howard is commemorated on her headstone:
ELIZABETH
CROWTHER CASE
DIED 1939
AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF HER HUSBAND
HOWARD BROWN CASE
LOST IN THE TITANIC, APRIL 15, 1912
AGED 47 YEARS
Howard's last surviving child was his son John. John was married in 1916 to Annie Taylor (b. 1892), had two children and, like his father, also worked in the oil industry and would cross the Atlantic many times. He died in Essex, New York in 1983.
Howard's daughter Helen (later Mrs Frederick Middleton Fox) died in Cockermouth, Cumberland, England in 1978 whilst his daughter Honor (later Mrs Charles Pond Kimball) died in Nantucket, Massachusetts in 1925 aged just 30. His son Charles died in New York in 1965.
Comment and discuss
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I found out that I may have had relations on the titanic can you tell me his caben number Mr Howard Brown Case I in joyed youer websit thanks Millard Case Millard D Case Baltimore Md
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I am related to a passenger on the Titanic - on my father's side of the family. My father's name was William Marion Adelbert Case, he was born on April 12, 1910 in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Since I was a child, my late father had told me of a relative of his - going down on The Titanic. His name was Howard Brown Case, and he was in First Class. His name appears in the Passenger Lists of all the Titanic books. I attended the Titanic Exhibit at The CA Science Museum yesterday, (7/3/3) hoping to learn a bit more about him. His name was on the Passenger List on dislay in the exhibit, as well. I was able to get a bit more information - but not nearly as much as I'd like to have. I'd really like to find out how he was related to my father. If anyone can help me with more information on Mr. Howard Brown Case, I would be extremely grateful. Thank you, Maureen (Case) Davis
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Maureen, There's a bit about Howard Case on this site. He was an American who lived at times in England. You can attack the problem from two directions, using material on the public record. Work backwards through your ancestry for a start. That way you start with the known facts. You can look the other way by using old records, such as the 1901 census of England, which is online, though the detailed information is not free. Another source is local newspapers, which often contain things like marriages and obituaries of local identities. If you can get some dates you will know where to start looking.
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Thank you so much Dave (gittins) - for all the useful information on Howard Brown Case. Now I have something to work with! Maureen (Case-Davis)
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Does anyone have any more information on Howard Case than is already posted here? I am especially interested in what became of his family (wife, two sons and two daughters) after the disaster. They were living in England at the time (he was working for Vacuum Oil/Standard Oil) and they were originally from Rochester, New York. Did they return there? Thanks for any help anyone can give me on this.
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Howard Case's widow was the former Elizabeth Crowther; they had four children - Helen, born in 1890, John C., b. 1892, Charles E. (or J.), b. 1893 and Honor Elizabeth, b. 1894. Helen was born in England when the Cases were residing in Toxeth Park; the latter three were born while the family lived in Rochester, NY prior to relocating back to England. As far as I've found, the surviving family returned to the states in the summer of 1912 and lived briefly in Mrs. Case's native Baltimore, Maryland before returning to Rochester. Elizabeth died in 1939, if I recall correctly. She was buried next to her parents in Cockeysville, Maryland and Howard is memorialized on her stone. I visited the grave back in '98, but at the time I wasn't that interested in Elizabeth's story so unfortunately I didn't take notes on her or her parents. Here's a picture I took of the grave, though it leaves much to be desired (Imperfect lighting, imperfect photographer,...
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Chris, Thanks so much for this - it's really helpful. Do you have a continuing interest in Howard if I find out anything new? Morag
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Thank you Morag, I'd certainly be interested in anything you find. I'm sure other ET members would too.
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