Edwina Celia Troutt
Edwina Celia Troutt was a passenger on Titanic.
Early life and background[]
Edwina Celia Troutt was born in Bath, Sommerset, England on July 8, 1884 and was one of four surviving children of Edwin Charles Troutt, a brewer. Edwin was married to Elizabeth Ellen Gay in 1867. She gave birth to five girls and four boys.
The first was a daughter, Ellen Cephelia. Ellen unfortunely survived childhood for less than 2 years and died in 1870. Her brother William Edwin Charles, who came next, also died only a few years later. Louisa Cephelia was the third child that came into this world in 1872 and did survive childhood but still was only 15 years old when she passed away in 1887, only 3 years after Edwina.
Emmalien was the fourth and first child to survive and live a long life. She was conceived in 1874. Edgar Harry was her younger brother, born in 1876. He was followed by Herbert William and 1879, Ellin Evelyn in 1881. Herbert was another child to die young, in 1882. Edwina’s younger siblings were: Elsie Marie, born in 1886 and Edwin Clement, born in 1889. Both parents were natives from Bath. To those who knew her well, Edwina was often known as ‘Winnie’.
In 1900, Edwina’s family had moved to another street. She had a collapsed longue from a severe bout of illness, but she survived. That same year, she started her career. In 1901, Miss Troutt was awarded a three-year scholarship at a technical school. She studied too hard however and was even busy with the learning at night. Her eyesight suffered from this and her father noticed it too so he tried to reason with her that it would be best to stop this. Her brother-in-law was a tabacconist and hired her as his shop assistant.
Edwina emigrated to the United States of America in 1907. The SS Arabic took her to the other side of het ocean and she resided in Jersey City for a while, where an aunt must have lived. A while later she was working as waitress which turned out to not be the job she really wanted. She then had a function as a domestic helper in various places. She was the maid of various prominant figures. In 1910 she was in New York, where she served in the household of William Wynn. Later, she worked for Harry Garfield, a former President's son. His family lived in Williamstown, Massachusetts. By then, her home was in Auburndale in Massachusetts.
In the summer of 1911, Miss Troutt made up her mind that she could not face another winter in New England and returned to her family in Bath. In 1912, her sister Elsie, who lived in Auburndale too, wanted her to come because she needed a caretaker for her newborn child and she couldn’t ask anyone else. Edwina booked passage for the Oceanic in Second Class. This ship was scheduled to sail out on April 13, but she couldn’t, due to the coal strike, forcing Troutt to cancel. She was now transferred to a new, larger ocean liner.
Titanic[]
She was 27 years old at the time when she embarked on Titanic, the White Star Line’s new pride and joy as it was taking her Maiden Voyage on April 10, after noon from Southampton. Troutt had an accomodation in Second Class. Her cabin, E-101, was outward and also occupied by two other women: the first was Susan Webber from Cornwall, who was a domestic servant like her and also got on Titanic in Southampton. They were joined by an Irish-American named Nora Keane on April 11, when the ship took on passengers in Queenstown. Nora was also a domestic servant.
During her trip, Edwina got to know an Argentine young man of 17 years old: Edgar Andrew. Like her, he had to cancel his trip with the Oceanic and a friendship was growing between them.
It was April 14, late at night when Troutt was in her bed, when she suddenly felt a shiver going through the ship and a large force. With only some casual clothes on, she went out to satisfy her curiousity. Other passengers were just as keen to know what happened and stood on the hallway. As a crewmember came by, Edwina received word from him that they had struck an iceberg.
Edwina did not take the whole idea of the evacuation very serious nor did the people in her company. They felt it was a joke. The stewards also promised they could leave all their belongings behind, it was very likely they would return, but when she saw a lifeboat being lowered, she had the intuition that they hadn’t told her everything and something bad was going on. This was for her a sign to do everything in her power to make sure that those people she knew were enlightened as well. She went back to her corrider, where she knocked on doors of her cabin neighbours and helped one her roommates gather her belongings quickly.
She received a life jacket from her Argentine tablemate, who she ran into at the staircase, along with Jacob Milling. Winnie explained the situation to them. On the Boat Deck, Edwina overheard all kinds of instructions that sailors were shouting at eachother. Words were flying through the air but the manner in which it was done was very peaceful according to her account. A strict women and children first rule was enforced.
Edwina was doubtful with the idea of entering one of these lifeboats. They were a bit rough with her, just tossing her into the boat while a man shouted if someone would take his child from him and the baby boy was pushed in Edwina’s arms when she said she wanted to take care of him. It’s not certain which boat it was, but she was lowered away.
Edwina was now a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic. She watched the ship settle and remembers vividly that the Orchestra had played ‘Nearer My God To Thee' in her last moments and that the ship’s final plunge was very noisy. When the stern was almost perpendicular to the water it appeared to her as if the large hull was screaming.
After the sinking[]
At 4:00 A.M, the surviving people of the sunken liner were happy to see the sight of another ship, that had come to pick them up. Carpathia had responded to Titanic’s distress call but was too far away, yet did everything in her power to come to their time of need. Having collected most boats and all people, she went on her way to New York to bring Titanic’s former passengers there.
Winnie was able to return the child that she was given to his mother. Winnie has been suggested as the woman that rescued As'ad Alexander Tannus. She felt she was treated very well by the people on the Carpathia. They had to calm her down when one day, rough weather made her emotional and hysterical. The Cunard Liner reached New York on April 18th.
She later filed a claim against White Star Line for a marmalade machine.
Later life[]
In Boston, Troutt worked in a cafe. Just like in New England, she didn’t like the climate very much and wished for something better. She took her decision and her next destiny was Soutern California, where she began a new life in 1916 as it was warmer in this state. As it was the years of World War 1, she contributed in her own way by picking apricots for the Army which were somehow used to construct gasmasks.
On October 1, 1919 she said the yes-word to Alfred Thorwald Petersen. He originated from Copenhagen, Denmark and had served the Royals in his country. He opened a bakery in 1930 in Beverly Hills, the first one there, where they had made their home. Winnier would help with the sales. In 1937 her sister Emmeline came over and she lived therefor a while. She suffered from cancer and couldn’t travel due to World War 2 raging in Europe.
Alfred Thorwald and Edwina Celia Petersen in 1925
After 25 years, Edwina lost Alfred on October 28, 1944. They never had any child sprung from this marriage. Edwina never spoke of the Titanic disaster for roughly 40 years. From the 1950s onwards, Edwina received lots of special attention by the Titanic enthousiasts. She was willing to do loads of interviews and was a guest at several Titanic movie premiers. She seems to have caughtup with several fellow survivors as well as their relatives.
Edwina was sixty when she became the wife of James Corrigan, they married on July 23, 1955 in Los Angeles, California, United States. He was from Illnois and this was his second marriage as well. The marriage was cruelly broken by James passing away nearly two years later.
Her next spouse was James Morell MacKenzie, a Londoner with Scottish background who she wed on 30 November 1963. This marriage too was cut short when James lost his life 4 years later. They obviously could not have biological children in their seventies but they might have adopted a child, who was born in 1925 and named Donald MacKenzie.
In 1972, she gave an interview for NBC radio and it caught the attention of the interviewer because this is how the story of the baby that was put in her care, came to light. The manager of the radio station used his connections and made sure that Edwina came into contact with was established as the mother of the child: Thelma Tannūs. Winnie and Thelma never met in person but they gave eachother phone calls.
Edwina Celia Mackenzie in 1982 during an interview.
Edwina Mackenzie became a centenarian, reaching 100 years in age. She passed away on December 3, 1894 in Rodondo Beach. She was a one of the eldest survivors of the Titanic disaster. Her grave is located at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, Los Angeles County.
Sources[]
- https://ancestors.familysearch.org/nl/96C1-RMR/edwina-celia-troutt-1884-1984