Isaac Blair Trumbull was born in Windsor, Connecticut, in the United States of America, on the 4th November 1882, he son of Hugh Homer and Mary Ann Trumbull (née Harper). He was one of seven brothers. In fact, one brother, the eldest, John H. Trumbull, would become Governor of The State of Connecticut from 1924 to 1931. The family home was at Plainville, Connecticut.
On the 18th August 1900, Isaac married to Bertha Viola Alling and they had one daughter, Priscilla C. Trumbull, who was born in June 1901. The family resided at 440. Mill Hill Avenue, Bridgeport.
The family business was The American Cycle Car Company, whose president was Alexander H. Trumbull, another of the brothers, and Isaac B. Trumbull was its secretary and treasurer. In early 1915, the name of the firm was changed to The Trumbull Motor Car Company.
Motor car manufacture was in its comparative infancy at that time and the family firm had begun to produce a car named The Trumbull in two models, The Roadster and The Coupé, in Bridgeport, in 1913.
The problem with both these types, however, was that the tyres had a narrow gauge tread which was unsuited to many of America's country roads. The obvious answer was to try to create a market for the vehicle elsewhere, where the roads were generally better.
According to the magazine The Horseless Carriage Gazette in the edition of July-August 1971, Alexander H. Trumbull had written a letter to his brother, John, in September 1957, about the problems of 1915 manufacture, in which he stated: -
It didn't take long before our car "caught on" in England and we began receiving inquiries and sample orders from that country and other parts of Europe. At the beginning of 1915 we were turning out approximately 100 cars a month and were gradually increasing each month until May when our business collapsed due to circumstances beyond our control.
Up until that time, about 95% of our cars were being shipped abroad. Shortly after the Lusitania went down, the government put an embargo on all shipments of pleasure cars abroad and that put us out of business.
My brother, I.B. was on the Lusitania, making a trip to England, with a view to closing a deal with one of our distributors for 300 cars and was lost with many others. Obviously that was the end of the Trumbull Car Co.
It does seem strange, however, if Alexander Trumbull was writing to his brother John, that he should used the words My brother, I.B. was on the Lusitania, ..... because John Trumbull was also Isaac Trumbull's brother and would most certainly have remembered that he had been lost on the Lusitania! Perhaps the recipient of the letter was, in fact, someone else and not John Trumbull at all!
Isaac Trumbull was intending to visit Mr. A. I. Greenwood, 38-41. Guildford Street and Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, Yorkshire, who was the sole agent for the Trumbull Motor Car Company in the British Isles.
For Isaac Trumbull's journey to England, a saloon passage ticket was booked for him, (number 8568), through Bridgeport agents S. Loewith & Co., and he left Connecticut at the end of April 1915 to join the Lusitania in time for her sailing on 1st May 1915. Once on board the liner, he was allocated a berth in room B1, which was under the personal supervision of First Class Bedroom Steward Robert Morse, who came from Rock Ferry, a suburb of Birkenhead on the opposite side of the River Mersey from Liverpool. The other occupant of the saloon cabin was Mr. Allan Barnes of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The liner was torpedoed and sunk, six days out of New York, on 7th May 1915, off the coast of southern Ireland and only hours away from Liverpool, by the German submarine U-20 and Trumbull was amongst those killed. He was aged 32 years.
His body was recovered from the sea, however, and taken to one of the temporary mortuaries in Queenstown, where it was given the reference number 137. After a positive identification had been made, however, it was embalmed to prevent further
decay. The bodies of most identified American saloon class passengers were embalmed, anticipating their repatriation to the United States.
On 14th May 1915, this was indeed done, when Isaac Trumbull’s body was put on board the S.S. New York, addressed to The Trumbull Automobile Company in Bridgeport, where it was later taken for burial.
At the end of June, Trumbull’s family or representatives wrote to Cunard of New York and stated: -
We beg to advise you that the body was received in good condition, but up to date, we have not received any of his effects, such as clothing, papers in his pockets or a ring which he wore. Among the papers were several Adams Express money orders amounting to considerable money, and on taking this matter up with the Adams Express Co., they advise that just as soon as we are in a position to advise whether or not these papers were recovered, they are willing to redeem same.
We would therefore thank you to advise us at am early date what effects were recovered and when we may obtain possession of them.
The property found on the body, which had no doubt aided its identification, was subsequently sent to Cunard’s New York office on board the S.S. Orduña, which left Queenstown on the 8th July 1915, for further forwarding to Bridgeport. It consisted of one sleeve link, a cheque book from the Hedford National Bank, Hedford, Connecticut, two pocket books, letters, papers, and passports. It would not appear, therefore that the express money orders amounting to considerable money, were on the body when it was recovered!
Both Saloon Passenger Allan Barnes and Bedroom Steward Robert Morse survived the sinking.
It is not known whether or not the Lusitania was carrying any examples of a Trumbull motor car as part of her cargo, when she was sunk, but no motor cars appear on the cargo manifest.
On Tuesday 25th May 1915, The New York Times announced that: -
War munitions are soon to be manufactured at the large plant of the Trumbull Manufacturing Company in Plainville, a suburb of New Britain, Connecticut. John B. Trumbull, president of the company, announced this today, and he and his brothers would be avenged for the killing of their brother, Isaac B. Trumbull, of Bridgeport, who lost his life when the Lusitania was torpedoed.
After the War, Bertha Trumbull and her daughter filed a claim for compensation with the Mixed Claims Commission for compensation for the loss of Isaac. The Commission awarded Bertha the sum of $50,000.00, and Priscilla the sum of $25,000.00.
Connecticut Marriage Records 1897 – 1968, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, 1910 U.S. Federal Census, U.S. Passport Applications 1795 – 1925, Cunard Records, Mixed Claims Commission Docket No. 273, Hartford Courant, New York Times, The Horseless Carriage Gazette, Automotive History, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/2/75, UniLiv D92/2/254, UniLiv. PR13/6, Graham Maddocks, Mike Ashley, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.