Hannah Margaret Donovan was born in Camberwell, London, England, in early 1891, the daughter of John and Alice Donovan (née Tudge). At the time of her birth, her father was a labourer and the family home was at 101. Camden Grove North, Camberwell, London. She was one of seven children; however, four of her siblings had died by 1911. Her father later worked in a factory, manufacturing glycerine.
After she completed her education, Margaret entered domestic service as a maid, and on the 1st February 1912, she boarded the Baltic in Liverpool and immigrated to the United States of America, where she had secured a position in the home of William P. Clyde, of West 51st Street, New York City. Mr. Clyde was the head of the Clyde Steamship Line.
On the 12th November 1913, she married James Clarence Little in Manhattan, New York City. Mr. Little also worked for the Clyde family, and was originally from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. A month after their wedding, Margaret returned to her family in London as she was expecting her first child, wishing to have the support of her family during her confinement, and also because she wanted to have her child born in England.
In the spring of 1914, Margaret gave birth to her daughter, Alice Margaret Laura, and the following October, Margaret and Alice travelled to New York City where James Little had prepared a home for them at 374. 37th Street, Brooklyn, New York City.
In the spring of 1915, Margaret Little decided to return to Great Britain - either for a holiday - or maybe for the duration of the war, and as a result, booked a second cabin passage for herself and baby Alice on the May sailing of the Lusitania, which was scheduled to leave New York at 10.00 a.m. on 1st May 1915.
Having arrived at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York in time to board the liner, mother and daughter then had to wait until just before 12.30 p.m., before they saw the city for the last time. This was because the liner had to delay her sailing to take on board passengers, cargo and crew from Anchor Liner the S.S. Cameronia, which the British Admiralty had requisitioned for use as a troop ship, at the end of April.
Then, six days out of New York, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed by the German submarine U-20 and sank in only 18 minutes! At that stage of her voyage, she was only about fourteen hours sailing time from the safety of her home port!
Neither Margaret nor Alice Little survived the sinking and as neither of their bodies was ever recovered from the sea and identified, neither has a known grave. Margaret Little was aged 24 years.
With no trace of his wife or daughter being found after the sinking of the Lusitania, James Clarence Little returned to England and enlisted in the British Army. In the summer of 1916, he married Enid Elizabeth Donovan, who was an older sister of Margaret. This marriage was very brief, for, as 6460 Private James Little, 1st/6th London Regiment (City of London Rifles), James Little was sent to Flanders where he was listed as being ‘killed in action’ on the 22nd October 1916. He has no known grave, and his name is inscribed on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. Like his first wife, Margaret, he was also aged 24 years at the time of his death.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, London England Church of England Births and Baptisms 1813 – 1917, New York Extracted Marriage Index 1866 – 1937, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, UK Incoming Passenger Lists 1878 – 1960, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Kingston Times, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks,
Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.