Herbert Stuart Stone was born in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States of America, on the 29th May 1871, the son of Melville Elijah and Martha Jameson Stone (née McFarlane). His father was the founder of the Chicago Daily News, and was the manager of The Associated Press of America. Like his father, Herbert Stone became a magazine publisher, having been educated at a private school in Geneva, Switzerland, and Harvard University. He was the eldest of three children.
On the 12th December 1900, he married Mary Grigsby McCormick in Chicago, and in 1915, the family home was at 162 East 74th Street, New York. The couple had three children. Herbert Stuart Stone Jr., born in 1902, Eleanor McCormick Stone, born in 1904, and Melville Edward Stone III, born in 1910.
of 51, Chambers Street, New York City, N.Y.
He frequently travelled across the Atlantic Ocean in the course of his business, and joined the Lusitania as a saloon passenger with ticket number 46069, on the morning of 1st May 1915, at Pier 54 in New York, to make the crossing to England on business. He also intended to visit France, Germany and Russia.
Once he had boarded, he was allocated room B10, which was under the personal supervision of First Class Bedroom Steward William Williams, who came from Liverpool.
The liner’s sailing 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 250 miles hours away from her Liverpool home port destination. Herbert Stone was killed as a result of this action.
On the 21st July, his remains were found washed ashore near Ballybunion, County Kerry and identified by his wristwatch, a card case containing his business cards and other personal items. His remains were given the identification number 256, and news of his finding was communicated to his family.
Eventually, on 31st July 1915, his body was despatched, on the liner S.S. St. Paul, to Melville Stone in New York, for burial there. Another account in the Cunard archive in The Sidney Jones Library in the University of Liverpool, states that Martin Associated Press of London were going to arrange for the body to be cremated and then forward the ashes to New York It is not certain which of these two actually happened, but either way, a funeral service was held for Herbert Stone in St. Thomas’ Church on 5th Avenue, New York, at 11.30 on 2nd June 1915.
It is not known how his remains or ashes were disposed of, but there are at least two gravestones in cemeteries in the United States of America which remember him. One is at his wife’s family plot in Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, and the other is in River Street Cemetery, Woodstock, Windsor County, Vermont.
Property recovered from Herbert Stone’s body, had been given to Wesley Frost, the United States Consul, at Queenstown, on 22nd July 1915, to be forwarded to his home. This property consisted of a gold watch and chain, a cigar holder case and cigar cutter, a tie pin, a collar stud and a card case containing several cards bearing the name of Herbert Stuart Stone. The arrangements for these actions were handled by a Mr. Roy Martin of 24 Old Jewry, London, who was probably the owner of Martin Associated Press.
Bedroom Steward Williams, who had looked after Herbert Stone in room B10 survived the sinking and eventually made it back home to Liverpool.
Mary Stone and her children filed a claim for compensation for the loss of Herbert Stone which was decided by the Mixed Claims Commission. Mary Stone was awarded the sum of $50,000.00, Herbert Stone Jr. the sum of $15,000.00, and Eleanor and Melville Stone the sum of $20,000.00 each.
Cook County Illinois Birth Certificates Index 1871 – 1922, 1880 U.S. Federal Census, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, 1910 U.S. Federal Census, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Mixed Claims Commission Docket No. 591, Baltimore Sun, Birkenhead News, Chicago Tribune, Cork Examiner, Helena Independent, New York Times, PRO 22/71, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv.D92/1/16, UniLiv D92/2/301, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.