Ella Holmes White

Ella B. Holmes White (December 18, 1856 – January 31, 1942) was an American woman who was a survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

Biography

Ella Bertha Holmes was born on December 18, 1856, in New York, the daughter of Edwin Holmes[1] and Eliza Ann Richardson. She had two brothers and a sister.[2] Holmes later moved to Briarcliff Manor, New York, staying at the Briarcliff Lodge (her apartment was The Oak Room),[3][4] and when in New York City she would stay at the Waldorf-Astoria or the Plaza Hotel.[5]

On December 12, 1894, she married John Stuart White.[1] White died on May 19, 1897.[6] Holmes never remarried. Until her death she lived and travelled with 20‑years younger Marie Grice Young, a piano teacher and fellow Titanic survivor whose pupils included the children of President Theodore Roosevelt.[7][8]

Ella Holmes White died in New York City on January 31, 1942, while living at the Plaza Hotel (with Young).[5] Her will left to Young, personal effects and life estate in a trust to yield US$250 ($4,926 in 2025 dollars) per month for life.[9] Historian Jonathan Ned Katz has suggested that Holmes had an intimate relationship with Marie Grice Young, in a time when same-sex relationships were usually kept very quiet.[10]

Titanic

Ella Holmes White boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg with her maid Amelia Bissette and manservant Sante Ringhini. She travelled first class sharing a cabin with Marie Young. They also brought along some exotic French-bred chickens, intending to keep them at their New York country home.[11] White and her maid were rescued in lifeboat 8. Her manservant Sante Ringhini died.[12] She later testified before the American Inquiry that the Titanic had broken in two before sinking.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Marriage Announcement (1) – Thursday 13th December 1894". The New York Times. 1894. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  2. ↑ Genealogy of the Holmes family
  3. ↑ Rinaldi, Thomas E.; Yasinsac, Rob (2006). Hudson Valley Ruins: Forgotten Landmarks of an American Landscape. University Press of New England. ISBN 9781584655985. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  4. ↑ Yasinsac, Rob. "Briarcliff Lodge and the Titanic". Hudson Valley Ruins and Related Topics. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 "Mrs Ella White (née Holmes)". encyclopedia-titanica. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Death Notice of John Stuart White – Thursday 20th May 1897". The New York Times. 1897. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Miss Marie Young Dies – Wednesday 29th July 1959". The New York Times. 1959. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Society: Miss Marie Grice Young – Thursday 17th August 1916". The Washington Post. 1916. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Wills for Probate (1) – Friday 6th February 1942". The New York Times. 1942. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  10. ↑ White, Barrett (2015). "103 Years Later, OutSmart Dives into the Lives of LGBT Passengers Aboard the Titanic". OutSmart Houston's LGBTQ Magazine. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  11. ↑ Geller, Judith B. (1998). Titanic: Women and Children First. Patrick Stephens. p. 104. ISBN 9781852605940. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Death Notice of Sante Reghini - Saturday 4th May 1912". The New York Times. 1912.
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