William Harbeck with a camera
William H. Harbeck was born in Toledo, Ohio in September 1866. He was the only known child of John S. Harbeck, a stave sealer, and Margaret Milligan. His father, a civil war veteran, was born in New York and his mother was a Ohio native.
Early life[]
His mother died on December 4th, 1885.
On February 1886, William was married to Catherine "Katie" Stetter, a Toledo-native of German parents, on February 16th, 1886. They had 2 sons: First John Samuel on April 27th, 1887. followed by Stanley on February 23rd, 1892.
His father was remarried in 1893 to an Ohio woman named Ida Wagstaff who was 20 years younger than him, and the new couple moved to Los Angeles.
Career in filmography[]
William earned his reputation in 1906 by filming the aftermath of the earthquake in San Francisco and having worked for the Selig Polyscope Company, he was hired by the Canadian Pacific Railways Department of Colonization "to put Western Canada on the motion picture screen in a scenic, industrial and comic form." William turned out 13 single-reelers for the C.P.R., promotional shorts and travelogues that were designed to show Canada at its best and attract Europe there.
His next project was to a film on the Yukon and Alaska. He left Seattle in January of 1912 and sailed for Europe on February 27th, visiting London, Brussels, Paris, and Berlin, disposing of the various films he had taken with him and taking other films while there for later presentation in the American theatres. William wrote a letter to Catherine from Berlin on April 1st saying that he had completed his business and was returning by way of Amsterdam to London and would be sailing home on the Titanic on April 10th. He asked Catherine to forward his mail to the Hotel Cadillac in New York.
On Titanic[]
William had possibly been engaged to the White Star Line to film the Maiden Voyage. He was supposed to later to have been taken off the Titanic by a tug at Sandy Hook in order to film Titanic's arrival at the dock. He boarded the RMS Titanic at Southampton as a Second Class passenger. One of William's first feature films, 'The Ship's Husband', was a light comedy about a matrimonial mix-up onboard a ferry that ran between Vancouver, Seattle and Victoria. Life may have imitated art on Titanic. Although William was married and had 2 sons, the woman travelling with him on Titanic was not Catherine, but Henriette Yvois, a 27 year old model William had met in Paris. During the trip, writer and fellow Second Class passenger Lawrence Beesley tells us that William watched his 'wife' Henriette play solitaire throughout most of the voyage.
Both William and Henriette died in the sinking.
After his death[]
When William's body was recovered, it was found clutching a purse which was later identified as belonging to Henriette, and he was identified by his membership card in the Moving Pictures and Projecting Machine Operation Union. When Catherine came from Toledo to claim the body in Halifax, she was almost turned away as an imposter because authorities told her Mrs. Harbeck had drowned with her husband. Catherine took the body back to Toledo for burial in Toledo's Woodlawn Cemetery.
Before Catherine came, a woman named "Mrs Brownie Harbeck" identified the owner of the purse that was found on Harbeck's body. She was named Yvois. Harbeck's son was upset when Brownie wrote to Halifax about his father's personal effects. He said that Brownie was not a relative at all. If Brownie Harbeck was not a relative then her identity remains an enigma. Perhaps she was another mistress or even another wife?
On Saturday, April 20, 1912, a very grainy photograph of William H. Harbeck was published in the Calgary Herald with the caption: “Well known in Calgary, who is said to have been on the Titanic. Mr. Harbeck was engaged, it is said, to take a series of picture of the Titanic’s first voyage. ”
Harbeck’s widow, Catherine, of Toledo, Ohio filed a claim against the owners of the Titanic for damages for the loss of her husband and considerable property. She claimed $25,000 for her husband’s death and $55,000 for the loss of property. His business partner, Mrs. Katherine George of Seattle claimed $41,000 for the films that had been lost.
Catherine never remarried and remained in Toledo for the rest of her life, living with her son Stanley who remained unmarried throughout his life. She died on May 18th, 1940 and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery with William.
Popular culture[]
A possible appearance of William H. Harbeck in a deleted scene of the 1997 movie 'Titanic'. When Rose is rambling on about her imagination of the wild life, she comes across a man with a film camera, and poses with enthousiasm. Jack then stands next to him, watching her.
A film-maker is seen in a deleted scene in the 1997 movie 'Titanic'. During the voyage, when Rose DeWitt-Bukater opens up to Jack Dawson about her dreams, she also fancies being an actress. A man with a camera, which probably must be William Harbeck, is standing there on the promenade of A-Deck, when Jack and Rose stroll by.