Stephen Hold (January 24th, 1868 - April 15th, 1912) was a Second Class passenger on the RMS Titanic. He was traveling with his wife, Annie Margaret Hold. Stephen would not survive the sinking of the Titanic.
Early Life[]
Stephen Hold was born on January 24th, 1868, in Porthoustock, Cornwall, England. His father was also named Stephen (b. 1835-1876), a Warrant Officer in the Royal British Navy, and Anna Maria Connors (b. 1845-1920). His father was also a native of Porthoustock while his mother was from St. Mawes, England. They married on January 12th, 1965 in St. Keverne, England. Stephen was the second oldest of four children. His three siblings were Henrietta (born 1866-died unknown, later Mrs. Thomas Henry Anstey), Arthur Wallace (born November 8th, 1873- died November 14th, 1926), and Emma (born 1875-died unknown, later Mrs. Frederick Pote Hooper).
By the time of the 1871 census, Stephen and his family had moved from Porthoustock to James Street in Plymouth, England. The census describes Stephen as an infant, aged three, living with his older sister Henrietta, a five-year-old scholar, and his mother, 26 years old. At the time, his father was stationed with the Royal Navy on the island of Malta. Stephen's father would later return from Malta, and his two younger siblings, Arthur and Emma, were born. In 1875 the family would once again move, this time to Devonport, England. Stephen's father would die in 1876 aged either 39 or 40. At the time of his death, Stephen was only 7 to 8 years old. With the death of his father, his mother was left widowed with four young children to raise herself.
According to the 1881 census, Stephen's family was living at 7 Albert Road, Devonport. Their address of residence was a tobacconist and stationery shop that was run by two of Stephen's unmarried aunts on his mother's side: Lavina Mary (b. 1838) and Henrietta (b. 1840-1915). The building was likely at least two floors, with the shop being on the ground floor and then Stephen, his mother, siblings, and aunts living on the upper floor, or floors depending on how big the building was. However, Stephen did not appear on the records with his family. Instead, he had begun working at an unknown job at the age of 13 to support his family.
In Liverpool, Stephen would begin working for the Royal Navy as an apprentice on February 22nd, 1883. It is believed that he would eventually be honorable discharged from the Navy eventually, but it is not known as there are no records of Stephen's time at sea. Neither would he be seen on the 1891 census, implying that he was still with the Navy. The next record he would show up on was the 1900 American census. Mr. Hold would claim he had been in the U.S. since 1875, but it is more likely he had emigrated around 1897. In 1906, Stephen's brother Arthur would also emigrate to the United States, but he would not move to San Francisco, but Detroit, Michigan. On the 1900 census, he appears as a lodger at Third Street in San Francisco, California, America; he was working as a sign painter. Also at his residence at Third Street were several other emigrants from different countries including Canada, Germany, and Sweden.
Mr. Hold would leave America from England aboard the RMS Adriatic, and arrived on July 29th, 1909. While in England, Stephen would marry a woman named Annie Margaret Hill (b. March 7th, 1883-March 1st, 1960), on October 18th. Annie was also a native of Porthoustock. At the time of their marriage, Annie was 26 while Stephen was 41, meaning that he was 15 years her senior. Due to the two living on separate continents, they were likely in contact with each other while Stephen was in England. After their marriage, Stephen and Annie would board the Teutonic for the United States. The newlyweds boarded the ship on November 7th, 1909, and arrived in America around a week later. In America, they would not settle in San Francisco where Stephen had previously lived, but in Sacramento, California. There they appeared on the 1910 American census at 630 M Street. Stephen had been working as a garage chauffeur, while his wife did not work. On top of being a chauffeur, Stephen also drove a bus for a hotel and was in a few clubs, of which she was president of one. Also living at the same residence was two other men; lodgers named Frederick Bathe, 42, and Tennie Wickersham, 32.
The following year, 1911, Stephen and Annie decided to leave Sacramento to go to England to visit their relatives. However, newspaper reports from the time had conflicting information that Annie or one of her family members in England was ill. Either way, the couple departed from California in November of 1911 for Southampton, England aboard the RMS Olympic. Around a month later on the 16th of December, they made it safely to Southampton. Around half of their time in England was spent at 31 St Georges Terrace, Stockport, England. This was the home of Stephen's sister, Henrietta, who was then either 44 or 45, and his mother, then aged 65 to 66. The two also stayed with Annie's mother and her stepfather, both of which were then either 53 or 54, at 99 Irsha Street in Appledore. For the remainder of their time in England, the two spent time in their hometown of Portoustock. In Portoustock, they spent time with Annie's grandfather, her uncles, aunts, and cousins. They would have also likely visited many family members Stephen may have had left in the area, though it is unknown if there were any left as they seemed to all moved out of the village. Stephen's and Annie's vacation was cut short when Stephen got a postcard from his employers telling him to return to Sacramento shortly. The postcard bore a Liverpool stamp, which made it possible that the Hold's had, at first, planned to travel back to America aboard another, unknown ship. However, due to the coal strikes in England at the time, Stephen and Annie were to sail aboard the RMS Titanic instead.
The Titanic[]
On April 10th, 1912, Stephen and Annie boarded the Titanic in Southampton, England. They held Second Class ticket 26707, which cost £26. Aboard the ship, they would have had a cabin, likely to themselves, on either D, E, or, F Decks. During the voyage, Stephen would have been able to eat in the dining room on D-Deck, smoke and socialize in the smoking room, and walk on the Second Class Promenades, among more. Mr. and Mrs. Hold's time on the ship was likely as enjoyable as it was for most passengers.
When the Titanic hit the iceberg at 11:40 P.M. on April 14th, Stephen and Annie were in their cabin. It is not known if the two were asleep, though it is likely. Mr. and Mrs. Hold would notice something was wrong eventually, but the nature of how they found out is also unknown. Potentially they found out from their bedroom steward, though it is also a possibility that they would have figured out the situation from another crew member, passenger, or in another way. Eventually, they would make it to the Boat Deck, and Annie would board lifeboat 10, the 14th boat to be lowered from the Titanic. Like the other men in the area, Stephen would not be permitted to get into the lifeboat. Stephen would not survive the sinking of the Titanic. His body was never recovered.
His widow, Annie, would move back to Cornwall, England, after his death. She would remarry in 1915 to Joseph Northern Bailey (b. January 7th, 1893-April 21st, 1979), and they would have one child together. Annie passed away on March 1st, 1960, in Rowlands Castle, England, aged 76.