Mr. Elbridge Blish Thompson, Saloon Passenger
Elbridge Blish Thompson, 32, was the secretary and sales manager of the
Blish Milling Company and director of the Seymour Water Company in Seymour,
Indiana, United States. He was traveling with his wife Maude on Lusitania in May 1915 to see
about selling flour for a Dutch company. He was lost in the sinking,
his wife was saved. His body, if found, was never identified.
Elbridge Blish Thompson was born on 2 August 1882 in Seymour, Indiana to
Elbridge Gerry Thompson and Emma Blish. His Yale class book from 1904
said that he “followed a show into Seymour” that night and “got a front
row seat in the Theater of Life.” At that time, his parents lived
in Houston, Texas, and later in St. Louis, Missouri. Blish’s father
held important positions in railroad management in both cities. Blish’s
father died in 1889, and soon afterwards, Emma took Blish with her to her
family home of Seymour, Indiana, for permanent residence.
Blish attended the local public schools before taking an academic course
at Lake Forest Academy in Illinois, and then moved to Phillips Academy in
Andover. He entered Yale and studied metallurgy at Sheffield Scientific
School, graduating with a Ph.B. in 1904. His 1904 class book described
him with the quote, “never play a system.” The book also stated that
metallurgy had taken up most of his time at school, as proven by “a scar
on the top of the head.” At Yale, Blish was known as “Bush” and “Tommie,”
and known to sing or whistle wherever he went. Proud of his home state,
he also taught his classmates that “a man from Indiana can do no wrong.”
As president of his state club, his motto was, “Long life to Indiana and
the Prince of Pilsen!”
Also in 1904, Blish married Maude Robinson, the daughter of Frank A. Robinson
and Ella West, on 31 March in New York City.
Following his graduation, Blish spent one year in Breckenridge, Colorado,
working as a mining metallurgist. His uncles wanted Blish to return
to Seymour, Indiana to work at the family flour milling business, and he
did so in 1905. Blish started as a secretary at the Blish Milling Company,
and became sales manager in 1910, having “met with great success.”
Blish was also director of the Seymour Water Company and served as chairman
of the Republican town committee. He was also a member of the First
Presbyterian Church of Seymour. The Thompsons took part in community
affairs such as "The Festival," where Blish drove his roadster, which was
decorated as a battleship, with Maude by his side.
Blish was an avid reader, and had a large collection of books consisting
of a “varied range of his interests.” He was particularly interested
in polar exploration.
Blish and Maude booked passage on Lusitania in May 1915 to see about
selling flour for a Dutch company. They also decided to make a holiday
of the trip as well, and they would tour England, Scotland, and Ireland for
three months. Their cabin was originally A-21, but then they upgraded
to B-68, a suite with a private bath, the other half of which was booked by
Elbert and Alice Hubbard.
On board Lusitania, the Thompsons befriended Harry and Mary Keser,
the Hodges family, and the Luck family.
On 7 May, the Thompsons had decided to wake up early, about 4:30 or 5 a.m.,
to watch the sun rise. They were standing on A deck when they saw a
battleship off on the port side, traveling eastwards. The battleship
was close enough for the Thompsons to see the battleship’s features clearly.
Soon after their early morning stroll, Lusitania entered fog.
The Thompsons were in the first class dining saloon when the ship was torpedoed.
To them, the impact did not feel like an explosion, but more of a “jamming
noise.” The torpedo impact had also thrown water into the dining
saloon, and both Blish and Maude jumped up from their table, with Blish
exclaiming, “We are torpedoed.”
As everyone in the dining saloon poured towards the staircase, an officer
told all the people to take their time and keep calm. Maude would
recall later that this was the only time during the sinking that she ever
saw the ship’s stewards or officers. The Thompsons also assisted the
Hodges in getting the Hodge boys up the stairs through the human traffic
jam. The Thompsons parted with the Hodges upon reaching B deck and
Blish went back to B 68 to get lifebelts. He came back to Maude with
two lifebelts and sweaters, which they put on. Blish then went back
to the cabin to gather his passports and money, and then he and Maude went
up to A deck. Maude recalled that the starboard list of the ship made
climbing the stairs difficult.
Out on the boat deck, the Thompsons saw the Keser and the Lucks.
As Charlotte Luck did not have a lifebelt, Blish gave his lifebelt to her.
A crewman told people on deck that the ship was safe and everything was
going to be all right. Maude also heard the order from the bridge
to “lower no more boats.” They waited for ten minutes and were surprised
that no officers and crew were to be seen on deck.
Lusitania plunged suddenly and Blish tried to reassure Maud, saying,
“Let us take what offers, and take it without a fuss.”
The ship turned “almost perpendicular,” Maude recalled, sweeping everyone
hundreds of feet down the length of the ship and into the water. Blish
and Maude were holding hands and the suction of the sinking liner forced
them apart, even ripping off part of Maude’s lifebelt.
Blish’s life was lost on the disaster on 7 May; Maude was saved.
Unfortunately, Maude’s telegram back to Indiana, “Maudie safe” was mistakenly
transcribed as “Maude safe I also,” giving false hopes to the Blish family
in Indiana. Blish and Maude had no children.
Blish's memorial service was held on 18 June at the First Presbyterian Church
in Seymour. Reverend Lewis Brown conducted the ceremony and delivered
a short address on “Immortality.” People including workers from Blish
Milling to Blish’s Yale classmates attended the service. Maude endowed
Yale with a scholarship of $600 annually in the Sheffield Scientific School
and was to be awarded to graduates of Shields High School in Seymour, Indiana.
Links of Interest
Lest
We Forget: Part 1
Contributors:
Christine Connolly, Yale University Archives
Jim Kalafus
Michael Poirier
Judith Tavares
References:
Kalafus, Jim and Michael Poirier. ET Research: Lest We Forget:
Part 1. <http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/lusitania-lest-we-forget.html>
Class Book 1904 S. of Yale University.
Obituary record of Graduates of Yale University deceased during the year
ending July 1, 1915.
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