Joseph Louis David Chabot was born in Granby, Shefford, Quebec, Canada, on the 14th October 1865, the son of Jean Solyme and Julie Chabot (née Boissonneau). He was one of eight children. His father was a carpenter, and the family were of French descent and mainly French speaking. From an early age, his family referred to him as David Louis, and that was the form of his name he used for the rest of his life.
On completion of his education, he became a clerk, and from around 1888, he was employed by Hodgson, Sumner and Company, a very large wholesale dry goods company in the Montreal, Quebec, area.
On the 5th June 1893, he married Sarah Elizabeth Coleman at St. Jean Baptiste Catholic Church, Montreal, Quebec. The couple established their home in Montreal, and had three children – Olive, born in 1894, Eugene, born in 1897, and Arthur James, born in 1901.
By 1903, David Chabot was a buyer for Hodgson, Sumner and Company, and was making annual business trips to Europe, and he was also the manager of the company’s dress goods department. In 1915, his annual salary was $2,400, and in 1914, he had received a bonus of $800 in addition to his salary.
In the spring of 1915, he was due to make his annual business trip to Europe, and he booked saloon passage on the May sailing of the
Lusitania out of New York, through the travel agents W. H. Henry of Montreal. Having left Quebec at the end of April, he travelled to New York and on the morning of 1st May, with ticket number 13169, he boarded the liner at the Cunard berth at Pier 54. He was then escorted to his accommodation in room B24, which was under the personal supervision of First Class Bedroom Steward James Grant, who came from West Derby, a suburb of Liverpool.
The liner’s sailing was delayed until the afternoon as she had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Liner
Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war work at the end of April. She finally left the port just after mid-day and just six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May; she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine
U-20. At that point, she was twelve miles off the coast of southern Ireland and only 250 miles away from her Liverpool destination. David Chabot lost his life as a result of the torpedoing. He was aged 49 years.
His body was recovered from the sea, however; and landed at Queenstown where it was taken to one of the temporary mortuaries set up there, given the reference number 151 and described as: -
David Louis Chabot of Montreal, 50 years, hair turning grey, Saloon passenger
It was then embalmed by a Dr. Murphy, and put on board the Cork to Liverpool steamer on 18th May and upon its arrival in the city; it was delivered to Messrs. McDougall & Company, Funeral Directors. From there, it was placed on board the
S.S. Metagama on the 21st May and shipped to Montreal. His remains were interred in his native village of Granby on the 2nd June 1915. The cost of transporting his remains from Ireland to Canada, including the cost of his burial, was stated to be $202.02.
Property recovered from his remains, which probably aided its identification was handed over to agents Messrs. R. Gilchrist & Company of 6, Water Street, Liverpool, on 17th June 1915, presumably on behalf of David Chabot‘s family. The main Cunard office in Liverpool was situated at No 8 Water Street!
This property consisted of a gold watch with the makers’ name Rodent
engraved on the inside, 18 £1 British Treasury notes, eight $20 bills, five $5 bills, three $1 bills, six drafts for £20-0s-0d., drawn on The Clydesdale Bank, £0-15s-0d., (£0.75p.), in silver coinage, $2 in American coinage, a gold ring set with a ruby, a gold badge, a bunch of keys, a brass linen tester, a pair of spectacles, two collar studs, a diary with calling cards, a pocket book with correspondence and papers in it, a pair of gloves, a photograph of Mr. Chabot and a certificate showing him to be a member of The Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic lay organisation founded to raise money for worthy Catholic causes.
Bedroom Steward Grant who looked after David Chabot in room B24 also survived the sinking and eventually returned safely to Liverpool.
In an issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association published not long after the sinking it was stated: -
Dr. John L. Chabot, M.P. for the city of Ottawa, was a passenger on the torpedoed Lusitania and so far no report has been received of his survival.
This was obviously a case of mistaken identity, but Doctor Chabot may well have been a relative.
Sarah Chabot submitted a claim for compensation for the loss of her husband which was dealt with a Canadian Commission established to deal with all such claims. Sarah Chabot and representatives of Hodgson, Sumner and Company, gave evidence before the Commission in June 1923. By that time, the couple’s daughter, Olive, was married, their son, Eugene, was studying to be a Roman Catholic priest, and their youngest son, Arthur, was reported to be working and also studying at McGill University. On the 16th August 1926, the Commission made a decision on the claim and awarded Sarah Chabot the sum of $30,000, with interest at a rate of 5% per annum from the 10th January 1920 to the date of the settlement.
Quebec Canada Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection) 1621 – 1968, 1871 Census of Canada, 1881 Census of Canada, 1891 Census of Canada, 1901 Census of Canada, 1911 Census of Canada, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Canadian Claims Case No. 809, American Medical Association Journal, Cunard Records, PRO 22/71, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/1/2, UniLiv D92/2/367, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, James Maggs, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.