Jack Ducat
W6 Track:
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Isidor Straus
Robert Hitchens
3rd Class Italian
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Isidor Straus
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Born on February 6th, 1845 in Rhenish Bavaria.
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Emigrated to the U.S. in 1854 with his family to Georgia where his father (Lazarus Straus) created a dry-goods business where Isidor became a clerk.
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Isidor later became involved in the firm of R.H. Macy & Co. in New York and gained ownership in 1896
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In addition to his business enterprises, he served as a congressman for New York State between 1895 and 1897.
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His family had traveled to Europe on the HAPAG Liner Amerika
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He and Ida (Played by Janessa Minta) began their return to Americaby boarding Titanic as Southhampton with Isidor’s manservant John Farthing and Ida’s new maid Ellen Bird.
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They occupied cabins C-55-57 and their ticket cost about £221 (£32,000, $40,000 today)
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He and Ida both passed in the disaster, famously deciding to stay aboard with each other rather than be separated. 40,000 people gathered for their memorial service held in New York City (including having a eulogy read by Andrew Carnegie).
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Robert Hitchens
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He was born on September 16th, 1882 in St. Peter’s Square, Newlyn, Cornwall, the son of a fisherman and the eldest of nine children.
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By 1906 he was shown on his marriage certificate as a “master mariner”, he had served as a Quartermaster on many vessels but never in the North Atlantic.
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On Titanic he was one of the 7 Quartermasters signed on, leaving his wife and 2 children at home in Southampton.
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During the collision, Hitchens was at the wheel, when the order was given to turn he swung the wheel as far as it could go.
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He was later ordered to assist with the lifeboats where he was put in charge of Lifeboat 6 lowered away on the Port side with only 28 of 65 people aboard.
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Hitchens later faced scrutiny for his management of the lifeboat, and for not going back for passengers although he was looking for rescue lights.
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He continued to work on the water after testifying at both inquiries and after multiple spells of bad luck at work his wife left him.
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He started drinking and by the early 30s was determined to kill a man who he had once bought a boat from, he attempted murder and ended up in prison until 1937
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He died on September 23, 1940 aboard the cargo ship English Trader.
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