Anna Elizabeth Dyker in the early 1910's.
Anna Elisabeth Judith Dyker was a passenger on the RMS Titanic.
Early life[]
Anna Elisabeth Judith Anderson was a native of Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, where she was born on November 24, 1889. Her father was Carl Andersson and her mother was Matilda Johnson. They were of Swedish descent.
Elisabeth had four brothers, three elder and one younger.
Elisabeth gave music lessons and trained as a singer at the same time. She met Adolf Fredrik Dyker, whose family moved to 187 Center Street in New Haven. They married in 1911 and were in the process of building their own house, which was almost finished when Adolf's father died at home in Sweden on December 1.
Titanic[]
They traveled to Gnesta in Sweden, where her mother now lived as a widow. The aim of the visit was to take care of the estate. They were on their way home from there when they booked passage for the Titanic. They came aboard in Southampton on April 10. Elisabeth was 22 years old at the time.
On April 14, the ship met disaster as she struck an iceberg late at night. After the collision, the ship was examined by the shipbuilder and officers. On April 15, after midnight it was established that her damage was too great to stay afloat. The Captain ordered for evacution. Elisabeth and Adolf somehow found their way to the Boat Deck.
Adolf (or Fred, as he was also called) made sure she got into lifeboat 16, kissed her and said cheerfully, "See you later!" before stepping aside so as not to get in the way of other women who wanted to get on the boat. She took a handbag with her, which Adolf had handed her. It contained, among other things, two gold watches, two diamond rings and a sapphire necklace. Either in the lifeboat or on the Carpathia, the bag somehow got lost; she wasn't sure how it had happened. She was saved, but her husband perished in the disaster. His body was lost to the sea.
Once ashore in New York, a telegram was sent by Elisabeth to her relatives in New Haven. The telegram read: "Liza saved, Fred perished".
Elisabeth received $1,200 from the Red Cross Relief Fund and $300 from the "Women's Relief Committee. Elisabeth sued the White Star Line for the loss of her husband ($14,000) and luggage ($4,000).
Later life[]
Elizabeth continued to teach music and remarried. Her new husband was John A. Josephson. They moved to New Jersey where she lived for the rest of her life.
On February 19, 1961, Anna Elizabeth Josephson passed away. She was laid to rest in Glendale Cemetery, Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA.