Beatrice Witherbee: The Lusitania Resource

Mrs. ALFRED SCOTT WITHERBEE (BEATRICE "TRIXIE" BROWN), Saloon Class Passenger

image courtesy Lawrence Jolivet.

Beatrice Witherbee, 24, was born in London, England, in September, circa 1890. Beatrice claimed her full name was Beatrice Wilhemena Theodora La Touche. Supposedly her father's name was James La Touche. Her mother was the former Mary 'May' Cummins. Beatrice moved to the US when she was 3 months old. Her mother married a Mr. Brown, an Englishman, who lived in Larchmont. She never referred to Brown as her stepfather, but simply as her guardian. School friends referred to her as Trixie. She was sent to the Convent of the Sacred Heart for her education. Trixie eloped with Alfred Scott Witherbee on 1 May 1910. He was 49 and she was 20. Alfred already had an 18 year old daughter, Mildred, from a previous marriage. Trixie gave birth to a son, Alfred, in June of 1911.

Trixie and her husband planned to set up residence in England during the war and she specifically came back to New York for her son and mother. They sailed on the Lusitania, even though her brother in law, Sidney Witherbee, told her about the warning from the German Embassy. Her acquaintances on board included Rita Jolivet, Charles Hill, Wallace Phillips, and George Kessler. The Witherbee's occupied cabin D-52.

Not much is known about what happened to Trixie during the sinking, but her mother, and son Alfred were lost. It is possible that Trixie was the woman Margaret Mackworth saw scolding Captain Turner on the Bluebell. That woman had lost of her son when a lifeboat overturned. Alfred was 4 years old. Per the list of interments at Cobh, Alfred Scott Witherbee was identified as body #243, male, age 4 years, 1st Class passenger, private grave #616.

After the sinking, Trixie traveled to Dublin, Ireland to recoup and her husband came with an attache from the American embassy to bring her to the Savoy in London. They began travelling almost immediately, but their relationship fell apart. Trixie went to stay with Rita's family in 1917 and met Alfred Jolivet, Rita's brother. They fell in love and Trixie decided to put an end to her marriage. She traveled to America on the Baltic and eventually procured a divorce in Philadelphia, United States. A few months later, November 1919, she married Alfred Jolivet. The following year, she gave birth to a son, Lawrence.

Many people tried over the years to get Trixie to talk about the disaster, but she could never bring herself to talk about it. She and her husband spent their time traveling and eventually settled in Canada right before the war. They lived out their lives there, and she passed away on December 16, 1977.