Margaretta 'Daisy' Spedden
Margaretta Corning Spedden was First Class passenger on Titanic.
Early life[]
Margaretta Corning Stone was born on November 19, 1872, in Morristown, New Jersey, United States. She was the second daughter of George Frederic Stone and Margaretta Carll Corning. Margaretta had 2 siblings: Hanson and Emma Corning Stone. Hanson was the eldest. Margaretta's relatives usually called her 'Daisy'.
On June 9, 1891, Daisy graduated from the Ogontz School For Young Ladies in Ogontz, Pennsylvania. Miss Stone attended her graduation ceremony despited being ill with German measles. She paid the price by spending the next three days in the school infirmary. During what is known as the 'Gay Nineties', Margaretta and her family spent time in the soutern part of America on several occasions. This included a trip to California. They devided the remainder of their time between Morristown and the big city of New York, where Daisy pursued a music career.
Daisy and her family were present at the Chicago's World Fair in 1893, where she met various old friends from her school days. One day, Daisy and sister Emma were touring in a carriage to a friend's house for lunch but when the carriage rounded a corner, they fell in with the Prinses Eulalie of Spain's procession. The two girls were pleased to be mistaken for part of the royal entourage and happily bowed right and left in response to the delirious crowd and bystanders who greeted them and cheered for them.
On June 6, 1900 Margaretta married Frederic Oakley Spedden at the First Presbyterian Church. The reception took place at 'Fair Oakes.' Frederic was very wealthy: he worked as a banker.
In 1905, Frederic and Margaretta had a son, Robert Douglas Spedden. At the time, the family lived at Wee Wah Lodge, Tuxedo Park in New York. They dedicated their lives to their son, travel, and hobbies. They usually spent summers in Bar Harbor, Maine and spent the winter at various resorts around the world.
At the end of 1911, the Spedden family sailed abroad for a vacation in Europe and Africa. They first went for Algiers with 2 servants; Margaretta's personal maid, Helen Alice Wilson and Robert's nanny, Elizabeth Margaret Burns. After Algiers, they visited Tunis, then spent time in Monte Carlo after visiting Madeira and several Riviera resorts. They continued on to Paris.
Titanic[]
It was April 1912. Margaretta, Frederic and Robert boarded the Titanic in Cherbourg, accompanied by Helen Wilson and Elizabeth Burns. They traveled in First Class. The couple had cabin E-34 available to them while Robert and his nanny stayed in E-40. Helen was in another cabin, perhaps E-41 or E-39. Margaretta was 39 years old at the time.
On the night of April 14, Daisy was awakened by the collision with the iceberg. She noticed that the ship was listing, so the pair went to rouse their servants. Margaret woke Douglas, telling the boy they were taking a "trip to see the stars." The family made their way to the starboard side of the Boat Deck, where the women and children boarded lifeboat 3. After all the women and children had been loaded, Frederic, along with about 20 other men, were also allowed into the boat. Lifeboat 3 was eventually picked up by the Carpathia, so the whole Spedden party survived.
Later years[]
'My Story' by Daisy Spedden
One year after the disaster, Christmas 1913, Daisy wrote and illustrated a little storybook for her son called "My Story", starring the little stuffed teddybear that her son never left behind and in it he recounted all the trips they made through Europe together, the sinking of the Titanic and the subsequent rescue. In addition, Daisy was also writing a series of diaries starring the little bear for Douglas, when he was older, to read and reminisce about all those moments he spent together with his parents.
On a summer afternoon in 1915, a tragic event struck the family as Robert Douglas when he was struck by a delivery truck on Gridstone Neck, Winter Harbor, near the family summer retreat in Maine. Robert was only 9 years old when the incident occured. Both Frederic and Daisy mourned stoically, because they always had faith in Christian providence.
'Polar the Titanic Bear'[]
After her son's tragic death, Daisy stopped writing her diaries. They lived out the rest of their lives with close friends and family and continued to travel the world. On February 3, 1947, Frederic died at the age of 80 due to a heart attack while he was at the Bath Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Daisy passed away on February 11, 1950 at the age of 77.
In the 1990s Mr Leighton H. Coleman III, a relative of Daisy's, discovered her diaries, photo albums and the storybook she had written for her son in a trunk in the attic belonging to his grandparents. He had the storybook fully illustrated, and it was published in 1994 under the title 'Polar: the Titanic Bear'.