Unlisted and Research Help

This site takes mostly from the Cunard Confidentiality Report, which Lusitania researchers state to be over 90% accurate; however, inquiries have been sent in asking about names of people who, by family history are said to have perished on the Lusitania, has to the creation of this section of the site.

Can any fellow researchers reading this site can verify if any of these mentioned people could in any way have possibly been on board the Lusitania for her last voyage?

So, why aren’t some people who, according to family history, were on the Lusitania, not listed?  Here are some reasons:

  1. Passenger and crew lists for one reason or another can be inaccurate.  These may include last minute changes, missed bookings, reshuffling of crew, etc.  Again, the Cunard Confidentiality Report is considered to be highly accurate, but this is still possible.
  2. The person in question traveled under a pseudonym.  This is not an uncommon occurence.  For instance, second cabin passenger David Samolescu traveled under the name “Dave Samuels.”
  3. These people were on another ship that was torpedoed, but it was not the Lusitania.  Considering the time period was World War I, several ships fit this description.  For instance, it could be possible that there could be confusion between the Lusitania and the Hesperian, both of which were sunk by German submariner Walther Schwieger.
  4. These people were lost on a Lusitania, but a different Lusitania.  A Portuguese ship named Lusitania sank in the late 1800’s. Unfortunately, I don’t have the exact date or the exact statistics and death toll.
  5. The name was misspelled on the passenger list.  This is very common and I’ve received a number of emails where the relative couldn’t find the information because the name was spelled wrong.

So, what to do if you are looking for someone who is not on this site’s passenger or crew list?  How do you verify if they were?  Or, what if you know someone in your family history was on the ship, but you aren’t sure what the name or sex of the person was?  The following is an article by contributor John Walmsley detailing his journey in finding a relative who was on board, despite having very little information to go on at the start:

Search for a Lusitania Victim
by John Walmsley

Susan “Suzie” Coll


Contributor Sylvia Droughan has family insisting that one of theirs, Suzie Coll, was a passenger on board, but not she is not listed on the passenger list.  Sylvia is looking further into the matter and will keep us posted.

Suzie Coll
image:  Sylvia Droughan Collection

Susan “Suzie” Coll was the daughter of Myles Coll and Margaret McMahon, of Airdrie, New Monkland, Lanakshire, Scotland.  She was known for her “beautiful” red hair and was said to be a beautiful singer as well.  Among her accolades was the Queen’s Award, given to her for her skills in sewing.

She had travelled to Australia before World War I to work as a dressmaker in Melbourne, where she met a young man whom she either married or was about to marry.  Tragically, he was killed in a horse and buggy accident.

Some time later, she was on her way back to Scotland for a baby christening, and booked passage on the Lusitania.  Her brother Francis had just had a baby girl who he had named after his sister Susan.  Suzie was to be godmother to the child, but she never made it back home.

William Alex Lindsay and Esther Davenport



Alex Lindsay (image credit:  Lois Lindsay)

Lois Lindsay is looking for records that may indicate the presence of both Alex Lindsay and Esther Davenport as members of the crew on the Lusitania’s last voyage.

Alex Lindsay was born sometime around 1869 – 1870 and married Esther Davenport on 6 December 1904 in Blackpool, England.  According to Lois, the married couple worked as steward and stewardess on the ship.  They had left their son in the care of a Mrs. Walker in Birkenhead in 1915 when they died when their ship was torpedoed.

Alex was 44 and Esther was 34.

Jean Quere, Juliette Morice, and children


This query comes from Marie-Jeannie Agier Martin, who is looking for these people.  They were returning from a voyage to Brazil and presumably sailed on theLusitania.

 

20 thoughts on “Unlisted and Research Help”

  1. My family has a watch awarded, by the Cunard Company, to my Great-grandfather for services rendered at time of the sinking of the Lusitania. He was Dr. Richard Walton Long. Are there any records of what those services were?

  2. I believe my Grandfather Arthur McArdle was taken off the Lusitania in New York and sent to hospital there missing the final fafeful voyage.I think he was a junior 3rd engineer. The reason he was hospitalised,was because on the voyage from Liverpool he was struck on the head by a coal scuttle!!! Can anyone help?????

  3. Bridget Kenny was a survivor of the Lusitania but not on the list of passengers. She was Irish, returning back to Ireland to be with her terminally ill mother. She never returned to the USA later married Denis Flynn.

  4. Bridget Kenny from Galway was out on deck so as to catch a glimpse of Ireland’s mainland. She spotted the ripple of the torpedo and then heard the thud. She knew the ship had been struck. She was immediately on alert. She went down in the water three times when she caught hold of a piece of cargo held on until someone pulled her on to a lifeboat. A determined lady for sure. She was my grandmother. She told us the story of how the survivors were financially compensated. Unfortunately she never received her compensation as the solicitor holding the compensation eloped with her money and other peoples compensation also according to her , the solicitor was from Loughrea county Galway was what she remembered.

  5. My mother memoirs indicate her uncle and nephew were lost on the SS Lusitania return trip from New York 7 May 2015. There names do not appear on crew list yet both sailed initially from Liverpool. They also crewed the previous trip.
    My mothers maiden name was Georges, or they could be from grandmothers name Baker, Williams or relatives Murphy.

    We have a mother of pearl vase that was brought back from one of the trips to New York. Also, another story that her uncle as crew member brought a ships lantern ashore when they reported back to the ship for trip to New York they left the lantern ashore. We have a brass lantern that could resemble the ships lantern and has been in family throughout the war years.

  6. My Great Grandfather was believed to have died when the Lusitania went down, but isn’t on the records. He was crew, his name is Frederick James Kerslake and he was from the Tynemouth, Northumberland area. I’m not sure how old he was, but he was married in 1904 to Ada Emily Smith and had one daughter Beatrice May. If anyone has any information I’d be really grateful.

    • Teresa
      I went through the death index and probate and can’t find him being lost in 1915. There are a few possibilities. There are still one or two crew that might have signed on under different names, but it is only a slight chance. Another possibility is that he may have abandoned his family and they assumed because he disappeared around the same time that he sank with the ship. Finally, he might have been lost on another ship.

  7. My father who is 88 years old recently informed me that his grandfather (my great grandfather) died on the Lusitania when it was torpedoed. I could not find his name in the ship’s on line passenger record. My great grandfather’s name was George Plakotaris. He was born in Chios, Greece, had come to the U.S. for work, and then was on the ship that departed from New York. If anyone has any information or guidance as to where I can look for this, I would appreciate it very much.

  8. My great grandfather’s youngest brother was onboard and perished but no reference of him is made…he being William Howard Browne native of Ireland born Tarbert Co Kerry 1872…emigrated to the USA along with his wife an young family 1910. Any updates will of course be welcomed.

  9. The Coventry Standard 21 May 1915 – “it is now known that Mr & Mrs T Moore, old Coventry citizens, have lost their daughter – Mrs M. Wright, of Beunos Ayres – and grandchild… Mrs Wright was coming home in search of health, and through the German crime found her death on her way.” I can’t find this particular Mrs Wright in the records but posting here in case it helps someone.

  10. Searching for details of Elizabeth Grace Hayman nee Lamble of Paignton, Devon. Her age was approximately 53. Family history has always said she went down with the ship. Her husband was Samuel Hayman but no-one seems to know if he was on board. Can anyone help?

  11. My grandfather sailed on the Lusitania that entered into New York on September 13, 1912. I haven’t been able to find any passenger lists for this time? Any suggestions?

  12. My grandmother told us that her brother died on the “Lusitania” noting that he had been a sail-maker on the “Scottish Glen” and later on large liners. His name was Francis Leonard Royle (born Melbourne, Australia 17 Oct 1891). I don’t see his name listed under crew.

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