Margaret “Maggie” Gardiner was born in Lisburn, County Antrim, Ireland, on the 26th September 1874, the daughter of Patrick and Ellen Gardiner (née Harrison). Her family were farmers, and the family home was at Hillsborough, outside Lisburn.
She served an apprenticeship at Sales in Messrs. George Duncan & Sons, of Lisburn, and shortly after completing her apprenticeship, on the 26th September 1894, her twentieth birthday, she married David John Hastings in Lisburn Presbyterian Church, and they had had five children, before Mr. Hastings’ untimely death in November 1905. The family home was at ‘Hesner‘, 3. Lisburn Road, Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland.
Following her husband’s death, Maggie took over a stationary and fancy goods business in Market Square, Lisburn. Then, in 1910, she went to America, settling in New Rochelle, New York, with her eldest son, Jack.
In the spring of 1915, she decided to return home to Lisburn, via Liverpool. Consequently, she wrote to her aunt in Lisburn, to tell her that she was sailing from New York on 1st May, and hoped to be home on 9th. She had not, however, mentioned the name of the ship when she wrote.
She had, in fact, booked second cabin passage on the Lusitania and joined her in New York, at the Cunard berth there at Pier 54, on the morning of 1st May 1915, in time for the liner’s scheduled 10 o’clock sailing. This sailing was then delayed until just after mid-day, because the liner had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the liner
Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for service as a troop ship at the end of April. The ‘Greyhound of the Seas’ was then torpedoed and sunk six just days later by the German submarine
U-20, when only hours away from her destination, off the coast of southern Ireland.
Although Maggie Hastings’ family did not know she was on board the Lusitania, when news of the liner’s sinking reached them, they began to feel a great sense of unease and eventually found out that the Cunarder was the only vessel which had sailed for Liverpool from New York, on 1st May. They then discovered her name was on the list of second cabin passengers known to have been on board, but not on the list of survivors and naturally suspected the worst!
Margaret Hastings had, indeed, been killed when the liner was sunk, and as her body was never found and identified later, she has no known grave. She was aged 40 years.
At the time of her death, Margaret’s daughter, Florrie, resided with her grandparents in Belfast, her son, David, with his uncle, Robert Gardiner, and her remaining two sons, Fred and Robbie, resided with a Mr. Samuel Chambers in Lisburn.
Someone, presumably a relative or guardian, applied to The Lusitania Relief Fund for financial help for her two dependant sons, aged 14 and 12 years. This fund was set up by The Lord Mayor of Liverpool and other local businessmen to give aid to those survivors or relatives of the dead who were experiencing financial difficulties as a result of the sinking. The committee deposited £10-0s-0d in a bank account for Fred, and awarded Robert £0-5s-0d. per week until he reached the age of 15 years.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1901 Census of Ireland, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Liverpool Record Office, Belfast News-Letter, Irish News, Lisburn News, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/2/11, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.