Eldridge Blish Thompson was born in Seymour, Indiana, in the United States of America on 2nd August 1882, the son of Elbridge Gerry and Emma Merab Thompson (née Blish). His father worked for the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad. He was the eldest of two children – having a younger sister named Margarite, and his father died in 1889.
He attended Yale University where he studied metallurgy at Sheffield Scientific School, and worked at a mine in Breckinridge, Colorado, for about a year before he returned to Seymour to take up a position of secretary of The Blish Milling Company, with which his mother’s family were associated.
On the 31st March 1904, he married Maude Robinson of Long Beach New Jersey and they set up home in Seymour, Indiana. They had no children.
As well as being the secretary, he also became the treasurer and in charge of sales for The Blish Milling Company and in the spring of 1915, he decided to travel to Holland to sort out a business deal with a Dutch company to sell flour. Consequently, he booked saloon passage for himself and his wife on the May sailing of the Lusitania which was scheduled to leave New York harbour on 1st May 1915, on the first stage of his journey. As a result, leaving Seymour at the end of April, the couple travelled to New York, and stayed at 558, St. Marks Avenue, in Brooklyn, where they may have had relatives.
They arrived at the liner’s berth at Pier 54 in New York harbour on the morning of 1st May 1915 and having boarded, (with ticket number 46157), they were escorted to their cabin, B68, which was the personal responsibility of First Class Bedroom Steward John Roach, who came from Liverpool.
The Lusitania’s planned morning departure from the harbour was then postponed as she had to take on extra cargo passengers and crew from the Anchor Lines vessel the S.S. Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty at the end of April. She finally left America for the last time just after mid-day and then, six days later, she was then torpedoed and sunk, twelve miles off the coast of southern Ireland and only hours away from the safety of her Liverpool home port and destination.
Blish Thompson was killed as a result of the sinking, although his wife survived. As his body was never recovered and identified afterwards, he has no known grave. He was aged 32 years.
Bedroom Steward Roach, who had looked after both the Thompson’s in room B68 did survive the sinking, however and eventually made it back to his Liverpool home.
New York Marriage Index 1866 – 1937, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, 1910 U.S. Federal Census, U.S. Passport Applications 1795 – 1925, Cunard Records, Mixed Claims Commission Docket No. 2262, U.S. School Catalogues 1765 – 1935, New York Times, PRO 22/71, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.