Helen “Nellie” Saunders is believed to have been born in England on the 5th January 1878, although no details of her family or where in England they came from is known.
According to the 1901 Census of Canada, she immigrated to Canada in 1888 and at that time was living in Toronto, Ontario, and working as a sales lady.
In early 1915, she married Edmond Victor Woolven, a travelling salesman, in Edmonton, Alberta, settled at 9341, 92nd Street, Edmonton.
Following her marriage, Nellie Woolven decided to return home on a holiday to England to visit relatives and leaving her husband behind, she set off at the end of April, by rail, from Edmonton, to join the Lusitania at New York as a second cabin passenger. On arrival at New York, she stayed at the Cornish Arms Hotel, 44. West 23rd Street.
She boarded the liner at the Cunard berth, at Pier 54 on the morning of 1st May 1915, in time for her scheduled 10 o’ clock departure. This was then delayed until the afternoon as she had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Liner Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war service as a troop ship, at the end of April. The Lusitania finally left port just after mid-day 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 off The Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland and only about 250 miles away from her Liverpool home port and destination.
Nellie Woolven was killed as a result of this action. She was aged 37 years.
Her body was not recovered until over a month after the sinking, on Inishmore Island in the Arran Islands on the west coast of Ireland, about 200 miles around the coast from where the liner had gone down.
It was described as: -
Female body recovered Inishmore Island, very decomposed, wore lifebelt, blue dress, black buttoned boots, two rings third finger left hand, black hair. Police Galway advise letters found on body Mrs. E.V. Woolden, Cornish Arms Hotel, 441 and 443 West 23rd Street, New York, also card P. Greenwal, 2 & 27, 96th Street, East South Edmonton. Probably Mrs. E.V. Woolden, 2nd Cabin passenger
It was initially given the reference number 3, for bodies recovered in the area, but after a positive identification had been made from documents found on the corpse, it was buried in Kilronan Graveyard, on Inishmore, County Galway on 11th June 1915.
On 28th August 1915, the property recovered from it was put on board the previously mentioned Cameronia en route for New York, to be despatched to Cunard’s Winnipeg Office. It was then sent to Edmond Woolven at the family home, exactly two months later, on 28th October.
one with a green stone and a brooch in the shape of a bird, set with ten precious stones.
Many reports, and official Cunard records incorrectly spell her name as Woolden, but a letter from her husband in the Sydney Jones Library at the University of Liverpool states that the correct spelling of the surname to be Woolven.
Following her death, Nellie’s husband lodged a claim with the British Foreign Claims Department seeking compensation for the loss of his wife’s personal effects to the value of $300, and $600 for the loss of money she had in her possession. The claim was transferred to the Canadian Commission; however, her husband died in 1923, and his case was continued by the Trust and Guarantee Company Limited, who were the administrators of his estate. In April 1926, the Commission made an award for the full amount of $900 in relation to the case.
Alberta Canada Marriages Index 1898 – 1944, 1901 Census of Canada, Cunard Records, Canadian Claims Case No. 873, Edmonton Journal, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv.D92/1/6-2, UniLiv D92/2/326, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Denise Deighton, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.