Miss
GERDA THEOLINE NEILSON, Third Class Passenger
[No Picture Provided]
Gerda Neilson, 29, was born in Norway to Thomas Neilson, a seaman by trade.
She had a sister, Thomasine, who was seven years her senior. Gerda
was relatively young when she, her father, and sister moved to England.
They settled in South Shields, Durham. As of 1901, Thomas was
retired and Thomasine took care of him. Gerda was working as an apprentice
milliner.
Some years later, Gerda moved to Hebburn, not far from South Shields. In
October 1910, Gerda set sail for the United States on the Cunard liner Mauretania.
She settled in Brooklyn, New York, and worked as a dressmaker.
Gerda booked passage on the Lusitania to return home in the spring
of 1915. While on deck on the morning of the sailing, she met John
Welsh, an engineer returning home to Manchester, England. A romance
soon blossomed between them.
The first night out, John invited Gerda to sit with him at dinner. Next
to them were Frank, Elsie, and George Hook, and Thomas, Annie, and Thomas
Marsh, Jr.
Gerda and John often kept to themselves, as lovers often do, in a corner
of the third class lounge. On the night of Thursday, 6 May, they sought
a change of scenery and went for a walk on deck. There, under the
stars, John proposed to Gerda and she accepted. They decided to get
married as soon as the Lusitania reached England.
On Friday afternoon, 7 May, John and Gerda were back in their corner of
the third class lounge after luncheon when the torpedo struck. Rushing
onto the deck, the lovers pledged to "sink or swim together."
John placed Gerda into a lifeboat, but the boat soon upset and tossed everyone
aboard, including Gerda, into the water. Wasting no time, John clamored
over the rail of the Boat Deck and dived overboard. He was determined
to ensure Gerda's survival.
In the water, John supported Gerda and kept her afloat until a lifeboat
came to pick her up. Her rescuers, after pulling her in, refused to
also bring in John as they claimed that there was no more room. Gerda
pleaded with those in the boat and they relented.
On Thursday, 13 May, not even a week since the disaster, John and Gerda
were married in the register office of Chorlton, Manchester, England. Their
marriage was witnessed by Jane Fletcher, Ellen Fletcher, and Mary Gibbons.
They proceeded to live at 31 Carlton Terrace in Gorton, a Manchester
suburb.
Gerda in Hoehling/Hoehling is named Gerta Nielson, in Preston she is named
Gerda Nielson.
References:
1901 Census Records. Online. <http://www.census.pro.gov.uk/>
Ellis Island Records. Online. <http://www.ellisisland.org/>
Family Research Link. Onlline. <http://www.1837online.com/>
Hickey, Des and Gus Smith. Seven Days to Disaster.
G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1981.
Hoehling, A. A. and Mary Hoehling. The Last
Voyage of the Lusitania. Madison Books, 1956.
Preston, Diana. Lusitania: An
Epic Tragedy. Berkley Books, 2002.
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