Julius Strauss was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on 21st July 1875, the son of Henry and Rosa Strauss. His parents were German immigrants and Julius was the second youngest of four known children in the family. His father was a grocer and the family were of the Jewish faith.
In 1915, he was living with his siblings at 203. Hughson Street, Hamilton, and was a buyer for the firm of Copley, Noyes and Randall. He frequently travelled to Europe on business.
In the spring of 1915, it was necessary for him to go to Europe again on business, and as a result, he booked saloon passage on the Lusitania from New York to Liverpool on 1st
May 1915, through local agents Hemming Brothers of Hamilton. Having left Hamilton at the end of April he arrived at the Cunard berth, at Pier 54 in New York harbour in time for the liner’s scheduled 10.00 a.m. sailing. Having boarded - with ticket number 8677 - he was escorted to his accommodation in room E42, which was the personal responsibility of First Class Bedroom Steward John Charlton, who came from Waterloo, in Lancashire, not far from Liverpool.
The liner’s departure was delayed until just after mid-day and Julius Strauss would have had his last glimpse of the north American continent not long after that. Six days out of New York, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk twelve miles off the coast of southern Ireland and only hours away from her home port, by the German submarine U-20. One of the victims of the sinking was Julius Strauss.
On 18th May 1915, Cunard’s Chicago office received a letter from one of his brothers, Edwin, giving a description of Julius. This was forwarded to Queenstown and arrived there via New York, on 21st May. It stated: -
Weight about 175 lbs 5’7½” Brown hair birth mark on back of shoulder resembling a cherry or plum. Brother Edwin Strauss 1841 Wabash Ave Chicago. Brother Lewis Do. Hamilton Ontario.
Obviously none of the unidentified bodies recovered matched this description and consequently Julius Strauss has no known grave. He was aged 39 years.
Bedroom Steward John Charlton who had looked after Julius Strauss in room E42 did survive the sinking, however, and eventually got back to his Waterloo home.
His brother, Louis, later lodged a claim with the Canadian Commission, however, he failed to press the case or even state what he was making the claim for. The Commission were unable to determine whether he was seeking compensation for the loss of his brother’s life, or his brother’s personal possessions that were lost in the sinking. In 1926, the Commission dismissed his claim.
His name is inscribed on the family gravestone in Temple Anshe Sholom Cemetery, Hamilton.
1881 Census of Canada, 1891 Census of Canada, 1901 Census of Canada, 1911 Census of Canada, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Cunard Records, Canadian Claims Case No. 798, PRO 22/71, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv.D921/7,UniLiv. PR13/6, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.