Encyclopedia Titanica

William Angle

Second Class Passenger

Mr William Angle was born at 33 Penkhull Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England on 8 May 1881.

He was the son of George Angle (1847-1904), a potter and tile maker, and Ellen Fallows (1851-1929), Staffordshire natives who had married on 1 February 1874. William had four siblings: Mary Ann (b. 1874), Thomas (b. 1877), George (b. 1878) and Ellen (b. 1890).

In weeks prior to William's birth his family were recorded on the 1881 census living at 33 Penkhull Street in Newcastle-under-Lyme. William first appears on the 1891 census when the family were at the same address. They would later moved to Hanley, Staffordshire.

William would follow in his father's footsteps and work as a tile maker and fixer and he was listed as such when he appeared on the 1901 census living away from home as a lodger at 23 Tower Road, Aston, Birmingham. It was perhaps whilst living and working in the locale that he met his future wife, Florence Agnes Hughes (b. 1876), a nurse, and the pair were married in late 1906. Mr Angle and his wife emigrated only weeks later on 24 November 1906 aboard the Campania

William had previously spent time in the USA and on 16 November 1904 he had left British shores with several other men of his trade aboard the Baltic which was, at the time, commanded by none other than Captain Edward James Smith. He returned home to England, arriving a year to the day that he left, this time aboard the Cedric.

Immigration records describe Mr Angle as standing at 6' and with brown hair, blue eyes and a medium complexion; his destination address was 460 West 24th Street, New York City.

By 1912 Mr and Mrs Angle made their home at 339 West 19th Street, Manhattan but had no children. They returned to England in the latter half of 1911 to visit relatives, including his elderly mother who lived in Stoke.

William and Florence, for their return to New York, booked passage aboard the Titanic as second class passengers (ticket number 226875 which cost £26).

In a 1961 interview, Mrs Angle recounted that she had been asleep at the time of the collision; her husband wakened her, telling her that something had happened and to get dressed. He went up on deck to investigate but Florence nonchalantly fell back asleep. Only the commotion from outside her cabin stirred her again. The couple went to the upper decks together and she was later separated from him and put into a lifeboat. The last she saw of him was of him waving to her from the deck.

William Angle died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. His wife Florence survived and later returned to England where she died in 1969.

THE TITANIC DISASTER--After the publication of our last issue Nurse Hughes, of Mill Street, received a cablegram stating that her sister, Mrs Angle, had been saved and her brother-in-law drowned. In our advertisement columns will be found a list of the donations to the Mayor's fund.  - Warwick and Warwickshire Advertiser, 27 April 1912

References and Sources

Marriages, births, deaths and injuries that have occurred on board during the voyage (PRO London, BT 100/259-260)
Contract Ticket List, White Star Line 1912 (National Archives, New York; NRAN-21-SDNYCIVCAS-55[279])
Staffordshire Sentinel, 18 April 1912, The local passengers on Titanic
Warwick and Warwickshire Advertiser, 27 April 1912
Coventry Evening Telegraph, 6 July 1961, Survivor of Titanic Tragedy

Documents and Certificates

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Comment and discuss

  1. Dave Hudson

    Hi). William was born in 1878, while Florence was born in 1876 in Lexington. She and her husband lived at 339 West 19th Street, New York. They boarded the Titanic at Southampton. They were visiting her father in Warwick, England. She survived, leaving the ship in Boat 11. William did not survive. After the sinking, she moved in with her sister at 212 East 46th Street, New York City. Thier ticket number was 226875 I got this information from ET, but have no idea where to go from there. Can anyone help me? I can't resist imagining how she spent her time in Boat 11. Was she the lady with the notorious alarm clock? Or was she one of the people threatening to throw it overboard?... Read full post
  2. Geoff Whitfield

    David, Florence Angle was born in the United Kingdom - not the United States as appears on her biography. She only went to America in her early twenties after having trained as a nurse where she met her husband to be, William (known to all as Sonny Angle). The couple returned to England where they married and then went back to the States. Florence had wanted to remain in England but her husband was a very talented mosaic artist and was much in demand in the decoration of new houses being built around New York. Theirs is a long story which I won't go into here but you are welcome to email me privately. I do own, however, Florence's necklace which she wore on the Titanic and am in touch with two of William Angle's great, great nephews.
  3. Phillip Gowan

    Hi David, Here's some information on Mrs. Angle gleaned from her death certificate. I hope this helps a bit. Phil REGISTRATION DISTRICT: Warwick and Leamington ADMINISTRATIVE AREA: County of Warwick NAME AND SURNAME: Florence Agnes ANGLE DATE OF DEATH: Twentieth August 1969 PLACE OF DEATH: 103 Tachbrook Road Leamington SEX: Female MAIDEN SURNAME: Hughes DATE OF BIRTH: 8th March 1876 PLACE OF BIRTH: Warwick, Warwickshire OCCUPATION: Widow of --- Angle, a Mosaic Tiler USUAL ADDRESS: 103 Tachbrook Road Leamington INFORMANT: Malcolm Charlton Daniels QUALIFICATION: Causing the body to be cremated CAUSE OF DEATH: I(a): Myocardial degeneration (b) ... Read full post
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Titanic Passenger Summary

Name: Mr William Angle
Age: 30 years 11 months and 7 days (Male)
Nationality: English
Marital Status: Married to Florence Agnes Hughes
Last Residence: in Warwick, Warwickshire, England
Occupation: Tile Maker
Embarked: Southampton on Wednesday 10th April 1912
Ticket No. 226875, £26
Destination: 339 West 19th Street New York City, New York, United States
Died in the Titanic disaster (15th April 1912)
Body Not Identified

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