Jessie Edith Taft was born on the 12th February 1876, in Braceville, Ohio, in the United States of America. She was one of four children born to Hobart Lawrence and Mary Electa Taft (née Spaulding). The Taft family were one of the pioneer families of the small town of Braceville, where her father was a farmer.
On 2nd October 1901, Jessie married John William Smith, who came from another well-respected family in Braceville. The couple settled in Chicago, Illinois, where John became an inventor. One of his greatest successes was in developing an engine for use in aeroplanes.
By 1915, with war raging in Europe, the French Aviation Corps were using John’s engines in their aeroplanes, and the British Admiralty approached John, seeking engines
for their own aeroplanes. Thus, in January 1915, John travelled to England to work on the “Smith Engine”, settling in Birmingham.
Being left on her own in Chicago, Jessie quickly moved back to her family in Braceville, but received word from John, requesting her to travel to England with blueprints for his engine, which was an internal-combustion design. John sent £30.00 to Cunard to pay for her fare.
Jessie booked as a saloon passenger on the May sailing of the Lusitania from New York to Liverpool, and having left Braceville at the end of April, she arrived at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York harbour, on the morning of 1st May. With ticket number 46143, she boarded the vessel and was escorted to her accommodation in Room B20, which was in the charge of First Class Bedroom Steward William H. Williams who came from Liverpool.
The liner’s sailing was delayed until the early afternoon as she had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Liner S.S. Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war service at the end of April. Six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk off the southern coast of Ireland, twelve miles off The Old Head of Kinsale, and only 250 miles away from her home port of Liverpool.
Jessie Smith survived the sinking, however, because she was able to get into a lifeboat and was eventually rescued from the sea and landed at Queenstown, where she told her story to representatives of the press. Part of this was published in the book The Tragedy of the Lusitania, written by Captain Frederick D. Ellis and published in America not long after the sinking. In it, it was stated: -
Mrs. Jessie Taft Smith, of Braceville, O., who, unaccompanied, was making the trip from New York, was one of the coolest survivors of the disaster. Recounting her experiences, she said:
“I was in my room writing when the torpedo hit the ship. I am satisfied that no warning was given. I have testified to this in an affidavit which I have supplied to the State Department.
It is a surprising fact how many people were caught in their staterooms. Evidently they shared my feelings that if struck, the ship would stay up a long time. This probably accounts for the heavy losses among the first cabin passengers, many of whom went below to get their belongings. I had practiced putting on my life belt, and by the time I reached the deck I had adjusted it.
Two-thirds of the people in my boat, the only one launched on the port side, were women. A fearful time was taken in lowering the boat, which was only about thirty feet away when the Lusitania disappeared beneath the waves, leaving a mass of wreckage, swimmers and dead bodies. After rowing for three hours, we were picked up by a fishing boat. Later we were taken aboard a trawler and landed here."
She was also able to send a telegram from the Cunard office in Queenstown to her husband, waiting for her in Liverpool, to say that she was safe. John immediately traveled to Queenstown, arriving in the late afternoon of Sunday, 9th May, finding his
wife at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Townsend. Jessie was in a nervous condition, and John waited until the afternoon of Monday, 10th May, before he and Jessie set out for England. She was aged 39 years at the time of her ordeal.
Bedroom Steward Williams, who had looked after Mrs. Smith in room B20 also survived the sinking and also eventually made it back to Liverpool.
On arrival in England, Jessie seemed to be making a steady recovery, spending her time taking walks in the parks and woodland around Birmingham. Her mental health began to suffer, however, despite treatment by local physicians, until she suffered a complete mental breakdown in February 1916. By this time, her husband who had anxiously watched her deterioration, and neglected his work, had lost the opportunity to have his engine adopted by the British Admiralty. John had Jessie admitted to the South Hill Nursing Home in Birmingham on 14th February 1916, until she was well enough to accompany him back to the United States on board the liner, New York, arriving on 31st July 1916.
The couple made their way back to Jessie’s home in Braceville, where she was cared for by her brother, Robert, who was a physician, and her sister, Florence.
John and Jessie Smith filed a claim for compensation with the U.S. State Department, which was considered by the Mixed Claims Commission after the conclusion of the war. It would appear that the papers and affidavits submitted to support their claim were very unsatisfactory and many amounted to hearsay. On 8th October 1924, the Commission found that there was insufficient evidence to support Jessie Smith’s claim for compensation for injuries sustained by her, but awarded her the sum of $1,196.00 to compensate her for the loss of her personal belongings in the sinking.
The Commission left the way open for John and Jessie Smith to submit further reports and affidavits to support Jessie’s claim for her injuries and subsequent ill-health, and following the submission of such additional information, the Commission re-considered their award. On 30th December 1924, they awarded Jessie Smith an additional sum of $2,500.00 to compensate her for her injuries and deterioration of her mental health following her experience.
Following some improvement in Jessie’s health, she accompanied John to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they decided to set up a new home. On 1st November 1928, Jessie Smith committed suicide by hanging. Her husband brought her remains back to their home town of Braceville, where Jessie was laid to rest in the local cemetery. Her troubled life having come to an end, she was finally at peace.
Washington D.C. Marriage Records 1810 – 1953, Pennsylvania U.S. Death Certificates 1906 – 1968, 1880 U.S. Federal Census, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, 1920 U.S. Federal Census, U.S. Passport Applications 1795 – 1925, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Mixed Claims Commission Docket No. 532, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Times, Tragedy of the Lusitania, PRO 22/71, Graham Maddocks, Stuart Williamson, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.