Joseph Nelson Stacey was born in the Marlborough Registration District of Wiltshire, England, in 1893. Nothing is known about his family, except that his mother’s maiden name was Chapman.
In June 1894, his maternal grandparents, Mr. & Mrs. Isaac Chapman were prosecuted for neglecting him at their home while they were looking after him. His grandmother was fined £2, while the charge against his grandfather was discharged.
Nothing at all is known about his upbringing, life, or profession, and it is not known when he went to Canada, or where he resided there.
What is known, is that he booked third class passage on the Lusitania, and having arrived in New York City, he made his way to Pier 54 on Saturday morning, 1st May 1915, in time for the liner’s scheduled 10 o’clock sailing.
Six days later, when the vessel was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine, the young man was dead. One of the many who lost their lives as a result of the outrage. He was aged 22 years.
Joseph Stacey’s estate was handled by the legal firm of William Pedder, New Street, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. His estate included a bank draft from the West Toronto branch of the British Bank of North America for £21, which he had in his possession when he was lost. As the draft was never going to be cashed, the bank returned the funds to the estate.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Cunard Records, Reading Mercury, UniLiv D92/2/107, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.