| Marian Thayer | |
|---|---|
 Marian Thayer circa 1900 | |
| Born |
Marian Longstreth Morris November 9, 1872 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died |
April 14, 1944 (aged 71) Haverford, Pennsylvania |
| Spouse | John Borland Thayer |
Marian Thayer was the wife of John Borland Thayer, Vice President of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Both were passengers on RMS Titanic in 1912. Marian survived the tragedy but John perished when the ship sank.
Early life[]
The house on the Dundale Estate, Villanova where Marian spent much of her childhood.
Marian Longstreth Thayer was born in 1872 in Pennsylvania. Her father was Frederick Wistar Morris and her mother was Elizabeth Flower Paul. She was a member of a large family of seven children, three boys and four girls.[1]
Her father Frederick was part of the Morris family firm of Morris Wheeler and Co. which was a prosperous iron and steel company. Her grandfather, Israel Morris II, who owned the firm, bought the Dundale Estate at Villanova, Pennsylvania as a country residence for himself and his children. On this estate he built numerous large houses for his sons[2] one of which was for Frederick (shown on the left). It was in this house that Marian spent much of her childhood.
In 1892 at the age of 20 Marian married John Borland Thayer who at that time was a clerk in railway administration[3] and ten years her senior. Over the years John was progressively promoted and he eventually became Vice President of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The couple had four children, one of whom was Jack Thayer (1894-1945). He was the only one of their children to travel with them on the Titanic. The family lived in Haverford in a very large house called Redwood. The Federal Census shows that in 1910 Margaret Fleming was employed by the Thayer family as a maid. She travelled with John and Marian in 1912 when they went to Europe and returned home with them on the Titanic.
On board the Titanic[]
John Borland Thayer, Marian's husband who died on the Titanic.
The family and their maid boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg and they occupied cabins C68 and C70. On the Sunday afternoon before the ship sank Marian and her friend Emily Ryerson went for a stroll on the deck and encountered Bruce Ismay. According to Emily Ryerson, Ismay showed them a telegram which said there were icebergs in the area. She also claimed in a deposition to the US Senate Inquiry about the Titanic that Ismay said that they were going to start extra boilers on the ship.[4]
The Titanic Brochure Marian inadvertently carried with her in her overcoat pocket when she escaped from the Titanic.
After the Titanic struck the iceberg, Marian and her maid Margaret Fleming were taken to Lifeboat 4 where they joined other women such as Madeleine Astor, Lucile Carter, and Emily Ryerson. After the lifeboat had rowed away from the Titanic, Marian gave her own account of what happened as follows:
- "The after part of the ship then reared in the air, with the stern upwards, until it assumed an almost vertical position. It seemed to remain stationary in this position for many seconds (perhaps twenty), then suddenly dove straight down out of sight. It was 2.20 am. when the Titanic disappeared, according to a wrist watch worn by one of the passengers in my boat.
- We pulled back to where the vessel had sunk and on our way picked up six men who were swimming - two of whom were drunk and gave us much trouble all the time. The six men we picked up were hauled into the boat by the women. Two of these men died in the boat. The boat we were in started to take in water; I do not know how. We had to bail. I was standing in ice cold water up to the top of my boots all the time, and rowing continuously for nearly five hours. We took off about fifteen more people who were standing on a capsized boat. In all, our boat had by that time sixty-five or sixty-six people. There was no room to sit down in our boat, so we all stood, except some sitting along the side.
- "The boat I was in was picked up by the Carpathia at 7 a. m. on Monday, we having rowed three miles to her, as we could not wait for her to come up on account of our boat taking in so much water that we would not have stayed afloat much longer.[5]
Marian, her maid and her son Jack Thayer survived the sinking of the Titanic but her husband John Borland Thayer went down with the ship. When the Carpathia docked, Marian’s brother was there to meet them and took them in a special train that had been arranged for survivors back to their home in Haverford.[6] Unknowingly Marian still had in the pocket of her overcoat the White Star brochure about the Titanic which contained information about the ship and included a list of First Class Passengers.[7] The cover of the brochure and the first page of the passenger list are shown on the right. It still bears the mark of being folded.
After the Titanic disaster[]
Unlike many of the widows of the Titanic disaster, Marian did not remarry but remained in her house, Redwood, in Haverford. Soon after the tragedy Marian joined Madeleine Astor in a luncheon to thank Arthur Rostron, captain of the Carpathia and Dr Frank McGee, the ship’s surgeon, for their assistance in their rescue.[8] After this Marian invited these two to stay a few days at her home in Haverford where she, her son Jack and other passengers from the Titanic expressed their gratitude for their help.[9]
Marian died at her house (Redwood) in 1944 at the age of 72.[10]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Moon, R. C. 1898 “The Morris family of Philadelphia, Descendants of Anthony Morris, Born 1654-1721”, p. 855. Online reference http://www23.us.archive.org/stream/morrisfamilyofph03moon#page/n67/mode/2up
- ↑ Villanova University “Dundale revisited”. Online reference http://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/advancement/development/about/dundale/revisited.html
- ↑ The Hawaiian Star., May 10, 1912, p. 11. Online reference http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015415/1912-05-10/ed-1/seq-11/
- ↑ US Senate Inquiry ‘Deposition of Emily Borie Ryerson”. Online reference http://www.titanicinquiry.org/lol/depositions/ryerson1.php
- ↑ Affidavit by Marian Thayer reported in Gracie , A. 1913 “The Truth about the Titanic”, p. 191. Online reference http://archive.org/stream/truthabouttitani00grac#page/190/mode/2up
- ↑ Mowbray, J. H. “Sinking of the "Titanic," Most Appalling Ocean Horror”, p. 132. Online reference http://www.archive.org/stream/sinkingoftitanic00mowb#page/132/mode/2up
- ↑ Independence Seaport Museum. Online reference http://www.phillyseaport.org/web_exhibits/mini_exhibits/titanic_passenger_list/titanic_passenger_list-object-passenger_list.shtml
- ↑ The Evening World (New York)., May 31, 1912, p. 1. Online reference http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030193/1912-05-31/ed-1/seq-1/
- ↑ New York Times 2 June 1912. Online reference http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/capt-rostron-guest-mrs-j-b-thayer.html
- ↑ Philadelphia Inquirer, 15 April 1944. Online reference http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/mrs-john-b-thayer.html