Marian Thayer | |
|---|---|
 Marian Thayer circa 1900 | |
| Born | Marian Longstreth Morris (1872-11-09)November 9, 1872 Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | April 14, 1944(1944-04-14) (aged 71) Haverford, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Known for | Titanic survivor |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingJack Thayer |
Marian Longstreth Thayer (née Morris; November 9, 1872 – April 14, 1944) was an American socialite and survivor of thesinking of the RMSTitanic. She was the wife ofJohn Borland Thayer II, a Director and Second Vice President of thePennsylvania Railroad Company, and the mother ofJohn Borland "Jack" Thayer III. In 1912, all three of them, along with their maid Margaret Fleming, were passengers onRMS Titanic maiden voyage when it struck an iceberg and sank. Marian, Jack III, and Fleming all survived, but John II died.
Marian Longstreth Morris was born in 1872, inPennsylvania. Her father was Frederick Wistar Morris, and her mother was Elizabeth Flower Paul. Marian was one 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 atVillanova, 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. It was in this house that Marian spent much of her childhood.
In 1892, at the age of 20, Marian marriedJohn 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 thePennsylvania Railroad.
The couple had four children, two daughters and two sons, includingJack Thayer (1894–1945).[4] He was the only one of Marian and John's children to travel with them on theTitanic.
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.[full citation needed] She travelled with John, Marian, and Jack in 1912 when they went to Europe and returned home with them on theTitanic.
The family and their maid boardedTitanic atCherbourg and occupied adjoining cabins C68 and C70. On the Sunday afternoon before the ship sank, Marian and her friendEmily Ryerson went for a stroll on the deck and encounteredWhite Star official,Bruce Ismay. According to Ryerson, Ismay showed them a telegram which said there were icebergs in the area. She also claimed in a deposition to theU.S. Senate Inquiry aboutTitanic that Ismay said they were going to start extra boilers on the ship.[5]
AfterTitanic struck the iceberg, Marian and her maid Margaret Fleming were taken toLifeboat 4, where they joined other women such asMadeleine Astor,Lucile Carter, and Emily Ryerson. After the lifeboat had rowed away fromTitanic, Marian gave her own account of what happened as follows:
Marian, her maid, and her sonJack Thayer survived the sinking ofTitanic, but her husbandJohn Borland Thayer went down with the ship. WhenCarpathia docked, Marian's brother was there to meet them and took them back to their home in Haverford, in a special train that had been arranged for survivors.[7] Unknowingly Marian still had in the pocket of her overcoat the White Star brochure aboutTitanic which contained information about the ship and included a list of first class passengers.[8] 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.
Unlike many of the widows of theTitanic disaster, Marian did not remarry but remained in her house, Redwood, in Haverford. Soon after the tragedy, Marian joinedMadeleine Astor in a luncheon to thankArthur Rostron, captain ofCarpathia, and Dr. Frank McGee, the ship's surgeon, for their assistance in their rescue.[9] After this, Marian invited the two men to stay a few days at her home in Haverford where she, her son Jack, and other passengers fromTitanic expressed their gratitude for their help.[10]
Marian died at her house (Redwood) on April 14, 1944, the 32nd anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking.[4]
Media related toMarian Thayer at Wikimedia Commons