Susan Webber was a passenger on the Titanic.
Background[]
Susan Webber was a native of North Tamerton, Cornwall, England. She was a child of Richard Webber, also a native of North Tamerton. Her mother was Elizabeth Chapman. She and Richard were married in 1871. They had Susan on July 2, 1874. She was often called ‘Susie’. The Webber family were residents of Vale House, North Tamerton in the 1880s and 1890s.
She had a younger brother and sister as well as an elder sister. She was Ann, born in 1872. After Susan came Maud Mary in 1880 and Earnest in 1894.Susie also had much elder half-brothers, born in 1853, 1855 and 1857 respectively. Her father was previously married to Catherine Heard from Jacobstow. Richard lost his wife when she was only 42, on February and thus had remarried Elizabeth later.
In 1901 the Webbers had changed their adress. They now resided in Commons Gate, Clawton. Susan was a domestic cook, which she was still doing in 1911. Susan had a cousin, Charles Ernest Webber who lived in Hartford, Connecticut, USA with his wife. Susan was welcome to help in their household and so they made provisions in order for her to come over.
Her passage to the USA was arranged through Mr Hawking, Booking Agent of Bude, Cornwall. The evening prior to her departure, amidst much excitement, a family farewell was held at her home. At the party they had two neighbours: Samuel and William Dennis, who were brothers, as well as two family friends, Lewis and Owen Braund, also brothers. The 4 of them would go with her later.
Titanic[]
Susie embarked on the Titanic at Southampton on April 10. Her company would also travel with the Titanic but they could only afford Third Class, while she was in Second Class. She stayed in cabin E-101 which was outward so it had a porthole. She shared it with another English woman, Miss Edwina Celia Troutt. Later, at Queenstown on April 11, they were joined by an older Irish-American named Nora Agnes Keane. All three of them worked as a domestic.
Susan didn’t forget about her friends and neighbours who were in Third Class so she checked up with them once in a while by standing close to the gates seperating her class and theirs, to have a talk. Meanwhile, in ‘her own part of society’, she conversed with passengers such as Kate Buss, Marion Wright, Lucy Ridsdale and Ethel Garside.
The effortless voyage came to a brutal stop on April 14 at 11:40 P.M. when the mighty ocean liner hit a massive iceberg, causing significant damage. Water gushed through a few shallow cracks. At the time of the collision, Webber and her cabin mates were asleep but rudely awakened by the feel of the impact. Susan and the others didn’t think much of it However. Edwina was curious and checked on the hallway where she learned from a steward about what they touched. The stewards were just telling the passaengers to get ready to board a lifeboat, but they were positive that they were going to return later.
On April 15, just after midnight, the captain had just heard from Thomas Andrews, the ship’s designer, that Titanic was bound to sink within a few hours. He then gave the order to prepare the lifeboats.
When a boat was getting lowered, Edwina Troutt had come back to collect some belongings and warn her cabin mates and neighbours. She had seen what happened and was now worried. When ‘Winnie’, as she was often called, had returned to her cabin, Susie Webber had already left .
Susie was on the Boat Deck. She reported to have seen a Japanese man, which must have been Masabumi Hosono. She got on one of the aft port side boats, meaning she survived the disaster. The man she described was on her boat too. The steamer sank at 2:20 A.M. Her cabinmates survived too, but her friends from Third Class did not.
After the sinking[]
As a survivor of the sinking of RMS Titanic, she had to wait for rescue to come. At 4:00 A.M, a ship arrived close to where Titanic had left the scene and started picking up the boats with their occupants. On this significantally smaller ship, the RMS Carpathia, Webber had no choice but to sleep on top of a table in one of the diners. It was very diffcult to fall asleep with all the ruckus of new survivors being taken in every hour. Later, it was the stewards who had to prepare the place for the common use.
Susan’s spirit was further crushed by the bad weather they had to go through. Carpathia finally reached New York on April 18 and she was still in the same nightgown she was wearing as she left Titanic. When a Red Cross worker approached her to ask if she needed any help, her sassy rsponse was that all she wanted was a comb as her hair was a mess.
Susan was given in the care of the Junior League House. Here, she came across fellow Titanic passenger Kate Buss. They would stay in touch for many years. After being released she saw someone waiting for her. Her cousin Charles Webber had come all the way from Connecticut to pick her up. Together they finished the journey to Hartford.
Later life[]
Susan was very upset on the events that led to the tragedy and how it was handled afterwards. She became a member of a club of former Titanic passengers who felt the same way and wanted to bring legal charges against the White Star Line.
For the rest of the life she remained in Hartford at her cousin’s house, doing the job she had always done. She had no partner, but still stood by Charles’ side after he lost his wife. Other than her duties as a maid or housekeeper, she had some church activities at the side.
Susan Webber passed away on January 29, 1952 at the age of 77 after heart problems hospitalized her and she succumed to it. Her grave is at Rocky Hill’s Center Cemetery.