Ellen Elizabeth Nottingham was born on the 28th October 1855 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of John and Mary Nottingham (née Cook). She was the second eldest of four children and her father was a miller.
On the 25th May 1876, she married William Chapman, an English-born banker, in Toronto, and the couple went on to have seven children – William Frederick, Henry Edward, Ada Louise, Charles Henry, George Reuben, Albert Edward, and Gordon Leonard. The family resided in the Yorkville area of Toronto.
When her family grew up, she became a companion to an elderly wealthy widow, Mrs. Georgina Morell.
In the spring of 1915, Mrs. Morell had decided to travel to Europe, no doubt to be closer to her son and grandson, both of whom were serving in the British armed forces, and her daughter who was serving in the Red Cross. Consequently, Mrs. Morell had booked saloon passage for them both through travel agents Robert Reford of Toronto, on the May sailing of the
Lusitania from New York to Liverpool. Leaving Toronto at the end of April, they arrived at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York harbour on the morning of 1st May 1915 in time for the liner’s 10.00 a.m. sailing.
Having boarded with ticket number 6924, they were escorted to their accommodation in room B32, which was under the personal supervision of First Class Bedroom Steward James Grant, who came from West Derby, a district of Liverpool. The liner’s sailing was then delayed until the afternoon as she had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Liner the S.S. Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for work as a troop ship, at the end of April. The
Lusitania finally left port just after noon and just six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine
U-20. At that point, she was twelve miles off the coast of southern Ireland and only 250 miles hours away from her destination.
When the torpedo struck, Mrs. Morell was taking her usual afternoon nap and hearing the explosion, Ellen Chapman shook her awake and made her don a life jacket over her nightgown, without giving her time to dress. They then both made for the lifeboats.
The lifeboat that Ellen Chapman got into, capsized, and she became unconscious, and when she woke up she found that she was floating in the water, wearing a life preserver.
In the event, both ladies survived the sinking, although both had to spend some time in hospital afterwards. Ellen Chapman was fit to travel again by 11th May, and the pair completed the journey to the British mainland, accompanied by Mrs. Chapman’s daughter who travelled to Queenstown from London on hearing the sinking.
Bedroom Steward Grant, who had looked after Ellen Chapman in room B32, also survived the sinking and eventually got back to his West Derby home.
In early June 1915 a letter was received at the Cunard office in Liverpool from a Captain Harry Morell, Royal Army Medical Corps, writing from The Duchess of Connaught’s Canadian Red Cross Hospital at Cliveden Taplow, in Buckinghamshire, in which he enquired about the possibility of compensation for Mrs. Morell and Mrs. Chapman :-
..... as both had lost everything!
It is not known whether Captain Morell was Mrs. Morell’s son or grandson, or how Cunard replied to the letter.
Having recovered from her ordeal, Ellen Chapman boarded the St. Louis in Liverpool on the 5th October1915, and having safely crossed the Atlantic Ocean on this occasion; she disembarked on the 14th October, and returned to her home in Toronto.
Ellen Chapman submitted a claim for compensation for personal injury and the loss of her personal effects which was dealt with a Canadian Commission established to deal with all such claims. The Commission awarded her the sum of $5,000, with interest at a rate of 5% per annum from the 10th January 1920 to the date of the settlement.
On the 14th June 1934, Ellen’s husband, William Chapman died in Toronto, and his remains interred at St. James’ Cemetery, Toronto.
On the 14th December 1939, Ellen Elizabeth Chapman died, aged 84 years, and she was interred beside her husband.
1861 Census of Canada, 1871 Census of Canada, 1881 Census of Canada, 1891 Census of Canada, 1901 Census of Canada, 1911 Census of Canada, Ontario Canada Marriages 1826 – 1936, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Canadian Claims Case No. 772, Cunard Records, PRO 22/71, Buffalo Courier, Seven Days to Disaster, UniLiv.D92/1/2, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.