Catherine “Kate” Hickson was born Albany, New York, in the United States of America, on the 1st February 1857, the daughter of Nicholas Joseph and Catherine Hickson (née Farrell). Her parents were Irish immigrants, and her father was a shoemaker. She was the third eldest of six children, her siblings being Elizabeth, Margaret, twins Mary Ellen and Richard Joseph, and Caroline. In 1886, the family moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Kate became a dressmaker and seamstress, and resided with her parents at Terauley Lane, Toronto. Her mother died in 1896, and having never married, she remained living with her father until his death in 1910.
Her brother, Richard, had moved to New York City in 1895, and in 1902 started a ladies’ tailoring service, run as a family business, and trading as Hickson and Company. Her widowed sister, Mrs. Caroline “Carrie” Hickson Kennedy, had invested in the business, and both she and Kate worked with him. They resided over the business at 657, 5th Avenue, New York City.
In the spring of 1915, Kate and Carrie decided to travel to Paris, acting as buyers for the business, and consequently booked as saloon passengers on the May sailing of the
Lusitania for the first leg of their journey to Europe. They joined the liner at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York port, on the morning of 1st May 1915, in time for the liner’s scheduled 10.00 a.m. departure. When they boarded, with ticket number 46738, they were allocated room B54, which was the personal responsibility of First Class Waiter John Roach, who came from Liverpool and who was serving as a First Class Bedroom Steward on what was to become the liner’s last ever voyage.
The sailing was then delayed until 12.27 p.m. because the Lusitania had to take on board passengers, some of the crew and the cargo from the Anchor Liner
Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty as a troop ship at the end of April. When the
Lusitania was sunk six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May 1915, by the German submarine
U-20 and within sight of the coast of southern Ireland, both sisters were killed.
On 10th May 1915, however, seventeen bodies were recovered from the sea between Baltimore and Castletownshend, by the Queenstown tender
Flying Fish, about thirty miles from where the liner went down. They were later landed at Queenstown and taken to one of the temporary mortuaries there. Eight of these bodies were those of women and it was initially reported in the local press that one of them was that of Miss Hickson, presumably from documents recovered from it. It was given the reference number 160, pending a positive identification.
On 15th May, a cable was received from New York concerning Miss Hickson, which stated: -
NEWSPAPERS REPORT BODY FOUND CAN YOU CONFIRM ALSO GIVE DESCRIPTION CLOTHING IF IDENTIFIED EMBALM AND HOLD PENDING ARRIVAL PHILIP VERNON PASSENGER PHILADELPHIA
Philip Vernon, who presumably knew the sisters, eventually arrived in Queenstown and it was later reported by Cunard: -
A Mr. Vernon called today and states that body No. 160 and identified as Mrs. K. Hickson is positively that of Mrs. Hickson Kennedy as he has been to Queenstown.
The remains of Kate Hickson were never found and identified and consequently, she has no known grave. She was aged 58 years at her time of death.
Her sister’s body was eventually sent back to Toronto for burial in Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery, where Kate’s name is also inscribed on her grave stone, although her named is spelt
Kathryn, which is the spelling of her name on the Lusitania’s passenger manifest, and it likely she began using this spelling after moving to New York City in 1910.
Bedroom Steward Roach, who had looked after Kate Hickson and her sister in room B54 did survive the sinking, however and eventually returned to his Liverpool home.
Richard Hickson filed a claim for compensation for the loss of his sisters and their personal belongings, consisting of clothing, jewellery and furs, as well as cash. Richard claimed that both women’s personal belongings amounted to $7,000.00, each.
On 24th September 1924, the Mixed Claims Commission issued a ruling on his claims, awarding him the sum of $7,000.00 for the loss of the personal belongings of both sisters, making a total sum of $14,000.00. At the time of the decision, Richard’s business was in serious financial difficulties, which he blamed on the loss of his sisters, stating that they were the chief designers of his apparel, and therefore he sought a large amount of compensation for their loss. The Commission was unimpressed, and declined to make any award for their loss, deciding that he was not dependant on them.
New York Wills and Probate Records 1659 – 1999, 1860 U.S. Federal Census, 1871 Census of Canada, 1881 Census of Canada, 1891 Census of Canada, 1901 Census of Canada, 1885 Toronto City Directory, Cunard Records, Mixed Claims Commission Docket No. 417 & 418, Huddersfield Daily Examiner, New York Times, PRO 22/71, PRO BT 100/345, 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.