Henry Anderson (mostly known as Harry or Henny) was a First Class passenger traveling home alone aboard Titanic to New York.
Early life[]
Harry Anderson was born in the United States, in Manhattan, New York on 20th October 1869. [Note: Several secondary sources and his obituary published within The Daily Argus of Mount Vernon, New York, state he was born in the United Kingdom in 1864; this place and date, however, does not appear to be correct; though, while his mother was born in the United States, his father was born in and later ended his days living in the United Kingdom. His father was Henry Rhind Anderson, a gold broker and his mother was Elizabeth Antoinette Anderson née Diaper.
In 1902 he became a member of the New York Athletic Club. which he remained loyal to for the largest part of his life.
Harry also became a stockbroker, and on 8th April 1907, at the age of 37, he married Grace Irene Ryder, who was 31. They lived together in Manhattan. They never had children together.
Titanic[]
Concluding a trip to the United Kingdom, said to have been for both business and leisure purposes, Harry boarded Titanic at Southampton on 10th April 1912, occupying cabin E-12, an inward cabin located on E-Deck.
Aboard Titanic, Harry is known to have become friendly with American passenger Eleanor Cassebeer who was traveling alone and was seated at the same table in Titanic's Dining Room as him. Also sharing their table were Titanic's Chief Purser Hugh McElroy, Wiliam Stead, a well-known British journalist, philosopher and newspaper editor, Frederic Seward, an American lawyer, and Mary Compton along with her grown-up daughter Sara and grown-up son Alexander, who were making their way home to America from a trip in Europe.
Soon after Titanic struck the iceberg on 14th April 1912, Harry is known to have met up with and joined Eleanor Cassebeer whom had left her cabin to find out what was happening. Sometime after returning to their cabins to put on their life belts, they spent some time out of the cold in Titanic's Gymnasium where John Jacob Astor and his wife Madeleine hung around.
After escorting Eleanor Cassebeer to lifeboat 5, Harry found a place in lifeboat 3 which was lowered away from Titanic's starboard side Boat Deck at around 12:43 A.M.
Later life[]
Harry's wife Grace Irene Anderson died at her home in New York on 9th June 1915. Her obituary in the New York Tribune noted that that a mass was to be held for her at St Vincent, Ferror's Church on 11th June.
Eventually, on 24th August 1926, Harry remarried Florence Daggett, also a widow, 44 years old. He survived his second wife as well when she died on 7th December 1937.
Harry Anderson died on November 23, 1951 in a hospital in New Rochelle, Westchester, New York, near to his home of many years in the vicinity of his village Pelham Manor. His obituary in the The Daily Argus noted he had retired several years earlier from a Wall Street brokerage firm, he was Commodore Emeritus of the yacht division of the New York Athletic club. In later years he was a member of the Larchmont Yacht Club. Fellow Titanic survivor, Frederick Hoyt, was also a member.
He was buried within Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York.