Richard L. Beckwith
Richard Leonard Beckwith was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1874. He was the third son of stockbroker Charles Beckwith and Hannah Boyds Miler.
In 1898, he graduated from Yale University and later worked as a real estate broker. He was an employee of the firm Ruland & Benjamin.
Richard married in New York on September 25, 1903, Sarah Maybell Beckwith, a widow, nearly a decade his senior with two children, William and Helen Monypeny Newsom. The "family" settled in Manhattan and traveled frequently.
His 1901 passport described him as a male, 5'10" tall, with light brown hair, gray eyes, and a round face.
In early 1912, his wife Sarah decided to go on a grand tour of Europe with their daughter Helen and Richard.
To return to the United States, Richard, his wife Sarah Maybell Beckwith, and their stepdaughter Helen Monypeny Newsom, boarded the Titanic on April 10, 1912 in Southampton. He and Sarah had taken cabin D-35.
However, the embarkation in Cherbourg of Karl Howell Behr, Helen's lover, surprised both Sarah and Richard. He knew the family's plans and planned a business trip to return later on the Titanic, where he knew his "girlfriend" would be.
On the night of the sinking (April 14–15, 1912), Richard, Sarah, Helen, Karl, and another couple, Edwin Nelson Kimball and Susan Gertrude Kimball, came on deck and boarded Lifeboat 5, managing to save their lives.
After the Titanic disaster, Richard and his wife Sarah Maybell Beckwith continued to live in Manhattan and later moved to New Hampshire. In addition, both continued to travel frequently in Europe. In 1913, his stepdaughter Helen Monypeny Newsom married Karl Howell Behr, much to the chagrin of Helen's mother, Sarah, who did not approve of the engagement.
Richard Leonard Beckwith passed away at his home in Manhattan in 1933 at the age of 58 due to heart disease. He was buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery, in Hartford, Connecticut.