Elizabeth “Annie” Mainman was a British citizen living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with her husband Alfred and their children John, Alfred, Jr., Molly, and twins Elizabeth and Edwin. The Mainman Family was traveling to England aboard Lusitania in May 1915 to inherit a large estate left by her husband’s parents. Alfred, Elizabeth, John, and Alfred, Jr. were lost in the Lusitania sinking. Molly and the twins were the only survivors in their family.
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Beginnings
Elizabeth Sarah Dowsett was born on 1 April 1871 to James and Ann Dowsett (nee Pearse) at 38 Great Wilde Street nr Drury Lane in London. A report by Rev Blanchard Jerrold of the St Giles Mission House in March 1884 described the area around Great Wild Street as a slum, in addition Ann Dowsett could not read and write. Elizabeth, nicknamed Annie, at some point moved to Australia.
A well-traveled family
Annie Dowsett met and married Alfred Mainman in Victoria, Australia. Their first three children were born in Victoria. The eldest, John (nicknamed Jack), was born in 1894. Their second child, Alfred Shaw (nicknamed Alf), was born in 1895. Their first daughter, Mary Frances (nicknamed Molly), was born on 1 September 1898.
The Mainmans moved to Canada and first lived in Fort Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan before settling down in Edmonton. There, they made a home on Jasper Street, and Alfred found a job in the City of Edmonton’s Treasurer’s Office. The twins Edwin Richard (nicknamed Teddy) and Elizabeth Sarah (nicknamed Betty) were born in Edmonton on 4 October 1907.
Inheritance
Alfred’s parents, John and Mary Mainman, passed away in early 1915. Being John and Mary’s only child, Alfred inherited the entirety of the family estate in Exeter. John and Mary’s solicitors had also found over $10,000 in cash in the house. With the cash readily disposable, money in the bank, and the sale of the estate, Alfred realized that relocating to England would be in his family’s best interest.
Alfred resigned from his job at the Treasurer’s Office and made arrangements to sell any household possessions that they would not need in England. Alfred also had his employers send a sworn photograph of him to his parents’ solicitors to assist in identification. The Mainmans booked second cabin tickets aboard what was to be Lusitania’s last crossing to claim their inheritance.
Lusitania
Not much is known about the Mainman Family’s activities during the voyage.
According to Molly’s account, during the sinking, she and the twins were able to get into a starboard lifeboat. As the boat was about to be lowered, someone handed an infant of about three months old to her. She held onto the baby until they reached Queenstown. Molly and the twins Edwin and Elizabeth were the only survivors of their family.
Molly identified her brother Jack in the Queenstown’s temporary morgue. Jack Mainman was body #118. He was buried in Queenstown on 13 May, Common Grave B. The rest of the family was not recovered. Molly became the matriarch of the surviving Mainman Family and administratrix of the inherited estate.
Links of Interest
Lest We Forget Part 2: As the Lusitania Went Down – Encyclopedia Titanica
Contributors:
Cliff Barry
Jim Kalafus
Michael Poirier
Judith Tavares
References:
Kalafus, Jim and Michael Poirier (2005). Lest We Forget Part 2: As the Lusitania Went Down ET Research. <http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/lusitania-lest-we-forget-2.html>
New York Times. Monday, 10 May 1915, page 3.
Elizabeth Sarah Dowsett was born on 1st April 1871 to James and Ann Dowsett (nee Pearse) at 38 Great Wilde Street nr Drury Lane in London. A report by Rev Blanchard Jerrold of the St Giles Mission House in March 1884 described the area around Great Wild Street as a slum, in addition Ann Dowsett could not read and write.