Mary Lovett was born in Ireland, probably in County Westmeath, in 1870, the daughter of William and Maria Lovett (née Fox). She had two brothers named Patrick and Edward.
By 1881, her father had died, and Mary, her mother, and her brother, Edward, were residing in Droylsden, Lancashire, England, where Mary worked as a weaver in a cotton mill.
Around 1883, she left Droylsden and went to the United States of America with her mother, eventually settling at Fall River, Massachusetts, where her brother, Patrick, had settled. Her mother died there in 1906. Before going to America, Mary Lovett was employed by Messrs. Christy and Sons of Droylsden, and after she had emigrated, she made her living in a similar capacity, as a machine operator in a cotton mill. In 1915, she was living at 695. Third Street, Fall River.
She still maintained links with Droylsden, however, and in April 1915, she set off from Fall River to visit her brother, Edward and his family, who lived at 18, Queen Street, there. Having booked second cabin passage on the May sailing of the Lusitania, across the Atlantic, she arrived at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York port, on the morning of 1st May 1915, in time to board the vessel for her scheduled 10 o’clock departure. She was accompanied by a friend, Miss Sarah Woodcock, and had travelled with her from Fall River, and who had shared a cabin with her on the voyage.
She then had to wait until just after mid-day to get what would be her last sight of her adopted country, as the liner’s sailing was delayed while she embarked passengers, some crew and some of the cargo from the Anchor Lines vessel Cameronia, which the British Admiralty had requisitioned as a troop ship.
Then, six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May 1915, the vessel was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20, within sight of the coast of southern Ireland and only hours away from the safety of her Liverpool destination and home port. Mary Lovett was killed as a result of this action, as was her friend, Miss Woodcock.
As her body was never recovered and identified afterwards, she has no known grave. She was aged 45 years at the time of her death. She left an estate of $1,000, which was granted to her brother, Patrick, in Fall River.
1881 Census of England &
Stalybridge Reporter, Fall River Daily Evening News, Fall River Globe, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/2/47, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.