Although no definitive record can be found, Betsy Kendrick is believed to have been born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, in 1853, the daughter of Thomas and Louisa Kendrick. Her father was a clock and watch maker, and Betsy was the fourth eldest of six known children. The family home was at 13. Charley Street, Leeds, and later Hunslet Road, Hunslet, Leeds.
On the 16th March 1874, she married Samuel MacGregor, a boiler maker, at St. Mary and the Virgin Church, Hunslet. The couple had six children – Harriet, Ellen, Hannah, Samuel, Helen, and Arthur. Her husband changed his profession to become an insurance agent, and the family lived in Hunslet, before moving to Gorton, Lancashire, and later to Ednam House, Fauvic, and then 16. David Place, St. Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands. By 1901, Betsy was a widow.
In August 1908, accompanied by her youngest child, Arthur, she went to the United States of America on board the St. Paul. Arthur was a foreign exchange broker, who had been working in New York City since 1906, and Betsy was going to live with him there. By 1915, they were living at 226. Central Park West.
Betsy had at least one child, Mrs. Amy Parlett, still living in Jersey, Channel Islands, and annually, from 1910 to 1914, Betsy and Arthur went back to Jersey for holidays and to visit them. In April 1915, Mrs. Parlett and her daughter, Enid, travelled to New York City to see Betsy and Arthur, and when the time came for them to return to Jersey, Betsy and Arthur decided to accompany them
As a consequence, all four booked as second cabin passengers on the Lusitania’s final voyage and when the liner went down, they were both killed.
None of their bodies were ever found and identified afterwards. Betsy MacGregor was aged 62 years.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, West Yorkshire England Church of England Marriages and Banns 1813 – 1935, 1861 Census of England & Wales, 1881 Census of England & Wale, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Channel Islands Census, 1910 U.S. Federal Census, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Probate Records, 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.