Alfred Scott Witherbee was born In New York City, New York, in the United States of America, on 27th June 1911, the son of Alfred Scott and Beatrice Wilhemena Theodora Witherbee (née La Touche), of 22, West 72nd Street, New York City. In April 1915, Alfred’s parents went to London, where they intended to live, and after finding suitable accommodation, Beatrice Witherbee returned to New York to escort her mother and son to their new home.
On the morning of 1st May 1915, Alfred Jr., his mother, and his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Mary Cummings ‘May’ Brown, joined the Lusitania in New York to cross the Atlantic to England as saloon passengers. Once they had boarded the liner at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York port - with ticket number 14311 - they were allocated room D52, which was also shared by Mrs. Brown. Room D52 was the personal responsibility of First Class Bedroom Steward William Barnes, who came from Wallasey in Cheshire on the opposite side of the River Mersey from Liverpool.
The liner’s departure from New York was then delayed until the early afternoon of May Day, to take on passengers, cargo and some crew from the Anchor Liner Cameronia, which had been requisitioned for war work by the British Admiralty. Six days later, however, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk, by the German submarine U-20, when she was steaming past The Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland. Although his mother survived, Alfred Witherbee and his grandmother were both killed.
On the 15th June, the trawler, Standard raised two bodies in her nets while trawling close to where the Lusitania sank. One of these was the body of a young male child, described as: -
Male child between 5 and 6 years, not recognizable, dark hair, white woollen jersey, blue jersey with turned down collar, blue flannelette trousers, brown buttoned boots and brown stockings, round sailor’s cap ribbon marked “New York” between two American flags, grey plaid coat.
These remains were given the reference number 243, and were buried in a private grave in Row 9, Grave 19 in The Old Church cemetery, Queenstown, on the following day. The body was subsequently identified as being that of Alfred Witherbee Jr. He was just three years and ten months old at the time of his death.
His headstone bears the inscription: -
ALFRED SCOTT WITHERBEE JR.
BORN
JUNE 27TH 1911.
DIED MAY 7TH 1915.
A VICTIM OF THE LUSITANIA
FOULLY MURDERED BY
GERMANY
His remains still lie there today, although his grave location has been redesignated number 616 since his burial. Perhaps because of the bitter inscription on the headstone, his grave is frequently visited by Lusitania researchers, sympathisers and tourists alike.
May Brown was also killed in the sinking, although Bedroom Steward Barnes, who had looked after all three of them in room D52 was saved and eventually made it back to his Wallasey home.
On 27th December 1915, Alfred’s parents lodged a claim for substantial compensation for his loss, and the loss of his grandmother, in the sinking with the U.S. State Department. This claim, like all other similar claims, was not considered until after the conclusion of the war.
Beatrice Witherbee was, understandably, deeply affected by the loss of her mother and only child, and required a lot of medical attention. Obviously, the strain on her marriage became too great, and while recuperating in Monte Carlo, her husband deserted her on the 15th April 1916. Beatrice divorced him in Philadelphia on 28th July 1919.
Alfred Witherbee, who had been married and divorced three times, died on 19th June 1922, aged 61 years. He left a daughter from his second marriage, Mrs. Mildred W. Eyssell, who was his only surviving child, and she took out letters of administration on his estate. In this capacity, she joined Beatrice Witherbee in the claim for compensation.
On 19th March 1925, the Mixed Claims Commission eventually decided the claim. By this time Beatrice had remarried – marrying Alfred Eugene Jolivet on the 25th November 1919. Alfred was a British subject, and by marrying him, Beatrice relinquished her American citizenship, which had a catastrophic effect on her claim.
The Commission ruled that as she was no longer a citizen of the United States, she was not entitled to continue with her claim, and therefore made no award to her for the loss of her mother, son, personal belongings, and the injuries sustained by her in the sinking. They did, however, award her step-daughter, who had also re-married since her father’s death, and was now Mrs. Mildred W. Grey, the sum of $3,560.00 in compensation for the loss of $2,060.00 in cash, and $1,500.00 in personal belongings, which Beatrice Witherbee was bringing over to London on behalf of her late husband.
Beatrice’s second husband, Alfred E. Jolivet, was the brother of another Lusitania survivor, Rita Jolivet, the actress, and his sister Inez H. Vernon was married to a victim of the sinking, George Ley Vernon.
In fact, Both George and Inez Vernon are buried in the Old Church Cemetery in Cobh, (called Queenstown in 1915), directly above the grave of young Alfred Scott Witherbee. Although Inez Vernon was not on board the liner when she was sunk, unable to cope
with life without her husband, she committed suicide in July 1915 and was later buried along side him.
All these events must have brought the Witherbee and Jolivet families close together!
New York Birth Index 1910 – 1965, Cunard Records, Mixed Claims Commission Docket No. 2050, Tragedy of the Lusitania, PRO 22/71, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/2/1, Deaths at Sea 18171 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.