Charles Henry Stevens was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, in the United States of America, on the 2nd December 1857, the son of Charles Brockway and Susan M. Stevens (née Goldsmith). His father was a master mariner and Charles was the third eldest of six known children in the family.
On leaving school, he became a shoemaker, and on the 26th January 1880, he married Elizabeth Florence Nightingale, known as “Flora”, in Salem, Massachusetts. The couple had one child, a son named Harold Brockway Stevens, who was born in 1889
The family lived in Salem for a number of years before moving to Atlantic City, New Jersey: however, it is not known what area of business Mr. Stevens was following at this time. It is thought he had abandoned his trade as a shoemaker, and was possibly now dealing in antique furniture.
In January 1915, he had travelled to Great Britain, stating that he was visiting England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales on commercial business, but the nature of his business was not stated. He returned to his home on the 6th February, and almost immediately he booked second cabin passage on the May sailing of the Lusitania to cross the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Liverpool once more. He arrived at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York on the morning of 1st May 1915, in time for the liner’s scheduled 10.00 a.m. sailing. He was shown to cabin E98, which he was to share with Lewis F. Yardley, Thornton Jackson, and George Nicoll. Charles Stevens occupied berth 3 in the cabin.
Having boarded, he had to wait until the early afternoon before she left port. The delay was caused because she had to wait to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Lines vessel the S.S. Cameronia which the British Admiralty had requisitioned for war service as a troop ship at the end of April.
Then, six days out of New York on the afternoon of 7th May, and within sight of the coast of southern Ireland, the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20. At that time, she was only about 250 miles away from her Liverpool destination. Charles Stevens was killed as a result of this action. He was aged 57 years at the time of his death.
On 19th May 1915, a cable arrived at Cunard’s office in Queenstown from the New York Office which stated: -
WIRE REMAINS C.H. STEVENS SECOND 55 YEARS FIVE FEET SEVEN INCHES TATTOOED WOMAN ARM HAD ABOUT 50000 AMERICAN GOLD CERTIFICATES ON BODY (IF) RECOVERED FORWARD.
A reply to this wire was sent back on 21st May, which simply stated: -
BODY NOT RECOVERED
However, it must have been recovered from the sea shortly after the reply was sent and having been landed at Queenstown, it was taken to one of the temporary mortuaries set
up there to await identification. Before this happened, it was given the reference number 241. This shows that it was one of the last to be recovered from that area. It was described by Cunard at the time as: -
Male about 50 years, face much eaten away on left side, fair complexion, blue eyes, fair hair turning grey, teeth in upper jaw gold capped, wore blue trousers and vest with stripe, white flannel drawers and white undershirt, white linen shirt with blue stripes, turned down collar and turned up cuffs, laced toe cap boots, black stockings and a pair of suspenders.
Property. 17 $100 bills, 18 $50 bills, 2 $10 bills, 2 cents, 3d. in copper, a hunting cased gold watch, No. 3913163 and photographs of lady and girl inside case, (watch an American Waltham Co.), gold chain links attached, small pocket knife, two blades and silver handle, small key of box, 2 silver sleeve links, 1 gold shirt stud, life belt worn over vest under arms.
The previously mentioned 50000 AMERICAN GOLD CERTIFICATES were obviously not on his body at all, and he may have put them in the Lusitania’s safe.
Despite the instructions to send the recovered body back to New York, received on 25th May, it was buried in The Old Church Cemetery, two miles north of the town, in private grave No. 9, in Row 20. This could have been because the wires literally crossed each other, or maybe because at that stage the body had not been positively identified because of the advanced stage of decomposition it must have reached, after three weeks immersion in the sea! The fact that an unidentified body was buried in a private grave would also indicate that the three mass ones were closed to further burials by this time.
Charles Stevens’ remains lie in this private grave to this day, although the reference has since been changed to Section B, Grave 654. If there ever was a headstone erected on his grave, it does not exist now!
The property recovered from his body, which must have aided its identification was put on the White Star liner Saxonia, on 28th September 1915 en route for Cunard’s New York office where it was handed over to his widow, Florence, on 25th October 1915.
Charles Stevens’ cabin mates, Lewis F. Yardley, George Nicoll and Thornton Jackson all died as a result of the sinking.
Florence Stevens found herself destitute and unable to earn a living as a result of her husband’s death, and neither their 34 year old son, or her brothers and sisters did anything to help her. In fact, Florence and her son did not communicate for many years, and for a long period she did not know his whereabouts, or whether or not he was alive or dead.
Dr. Frank I. Proctor, who was described as being the employer of Charles’ brother, took it upon himself to provide for Florence Stevens from 1st July 1915, until her death on 13th February 1924. It was estimated that he had contributed $4,000.00 to her by the time of her death.
Florence Stevens made a will, naming Dr. Proctor, as executor, and a condition of the will was that he should be reimbursed for the amounts of money he had advanced to her. The Mixed Claims Commission later awarded her estate the sum of $5,000.00 in
compensation for her husband’s death, and after Dr. Proctor was reimbursed, the remainder of her estate was distributed amongst her surviving family.
Massachusetts Marriage Records 1840 – 1915, 1860 U.S. Federal Census, 1865 Massachusetts State Census, 1870 U.S. Federal Census, 1880 U.S. Federal Census, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, U.S. Passport Applications 1795 – 1925, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Mixed Claims Commission Docket No. 592, White Star Journal, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv. D92/1/8-10, UniLiv D92/2/200, UniLiv D92/2/316, 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.