Ida Sophia Hippach
Ida Sophia Hippach was a First Class passenger on Titanic, and a survivor of the sinking of this ship.
Early life[]
Ida Sophia Hippach was born on 25 November 1866 in Chicago, Illnois. She had two siblings, one older brother born in 1863, Edward, and a younger sister. Her name was Julia and she was born in 1870.
She was the daughter of Prussian immigrants Edward Fischer and Julia Boehm. Prussia is now part of Germany. Father Edward was a painter.
On 28 June 1888, Ida married Louis Albert Hippach at St. Stephen’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chicago. He also had German blood. They had 4 children together. The first was Robert, born in 1889. A brother, Archie followed in 1891. In 1894 their only daughter was conceived, she was given the name Jean Gertrude. The last child, Howard Henry, was born in 1896.
Sadly, Robert and Archie died very young, both on the second-to-last day of 1903, December 30. The reason they died was an accident. The two were attending the musical ‘Mr Blue beard’ at Chicago's Iroquois Theatre. An arc light was broken and sent sparks flying, setting a curtain on fire, which spread wildly. As well over 2200 people attended the show, which theoretically could house 1500, many panicked during the outbreak and several people got stuck and were suffocated because of blocked exits and the effect of big masses thronging together in chaotic situations. Both Hippach boys became two of 575 victims. The numbers are strangely coincidental with the number of people onboard Titanic, which had 2209 souls onboard, but 1503 died.
Mother and daughter Hippach were well known by the public of Chicago, where they were still living in 1912. Ida and Jean were touring Europe in January that year.
Titanic[]
For their voyage back home, they boarded Titanic in Cherbourg. They had tickets for First Class, and stayed in cabin B-18. She had doubts about the voyage, since it was a Maiden one, which she believed to be risky. She was persuaded however. Ida Hippach was 45 years old at the time.
On April 14, late at night, the Hippachs were sleeping in their cabin when the impact of the iceberg woke them up only slightly, but it was too soft to keep them from sleeping. The loud steam escaping Titanic’s funnels after she was stopped however, put them out of their dreams.
They left their cabin to see if other passengers had heard the noise. Someone mentioned an iceberg which awoke Ida’s curiousity. There was no concern, but she wanted to see the thing for herself. A while later, they were given instructions to fetch their lifebelts from their cabin.
They arrived on deck pretty late, as the first lifeboats were already lowered, but the Hippach’s didn’t feel like stepping into one. Eventually, she boarded lifeboat 4 with her daughter when Colonel J.J. Astor assured them it was the best thing to do.
Ida rememberd how she saw Titanic slipping away with one row of portholes after another, and also had heard at least one explosion. She also heard the cry from swimmers asking for help. Luckily, lifeboat 4 attempted to pick up survivors when they believed they were safe from the suction and at least 8 were saved. Ida saw the ship break in two, and was picked up by the Carpathia.
News about the rescue of the two ladies arrived in Chicago pretty quickly, as soon as April 17. Edward and Howard learned about the ordeal and hasted themselves to New York, where Carpathia delivered the survivors of Titanic on April 18. After reuniting, the family traveled back to Chicago immediately.
Later life[]
Tragedy seemed to get in the way of the family a lot. Only two years after surviving the greatest maritime disasters, her youngest son, the only one left of 3 boys, came to his death in a car accident. On October 28 1914, Howard Henry crashed into a lake in Wisconcin.
Ida and her daughter would undertake a lot more voyages, travels and ocean crossings together. On 30 Mei 1935 she became widowed when her husband Louis passed away at the age of 71.
On 22 September 1940, at the age of 72, Ida Sophia Hippach died in Evanston, Cook County, Illinois where she lived for the last years.