Mrs. Alfred Scott Witherbee (Beatrice "Trixie" Wilhelmina Theodora LaTouche), Saloon Passenger
| Beatrice
Witherbee Saloon Passenger Saved |
|
image courtesy Lawrence Jolivet. |
|
| Born | Beatrice Wilhelmina
Theodora LaTouche c. 1890 London, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 16 December 1977
(age 87) Canada |
| Age on Lusitania | 24 |
| Ticket number | 14311 |
| Cabin number | D 52 |
| Traveling companion(s) | - Mary Brown (mother) - Alfred Witherbee (son) |
| Citizenship | American |
| Residence | - New York, New York,
USA - London, England, United Kingdom |
| Other name(s) |
Beatrice Brown |
| Spouse(s) | - Alfred Scott Witherbee
(1910 - 1919, divorced) - Alfred Jolivet (1919 - ?) |
Trixie and her husband planned to set up residence in England during the war and she specifically came back to New York for her son and mother. They sailed on the Lusitania, even though her brother in law, Sidney Witherbee, told her about the warning from the German Embassy. Her acquaintances on board included Rita Jolivet, Charles Hill, Wallace Phillips, and George Kessler. The Witherbee's occupied cabin D-52.
Not much is known about what happened to Trixie during the sinking. Her mother, and son Alfred were lost, and Beatrice refused to talk about the sinking afterwards, except for one time when she revealed to Rita Jolivet's mother, Pauline, that she had tried to hold on to Alfred Witherbee in the water. It is possible that Trixie was the woman Margaret Mackworth saw scolding Captain Turner on the Bluebell. That woman had lost of her son when a lifeboat overturned. Alfred was 3 years old. Per the list of interments at Cobh, Alfred Scott Witherbee was identified as body #243, male, age 4 years, 1st Class passenger, private grave #616.
After the sinking, Trixie traveled to Dublin, Ireland to recoup and her husband came with an attache from the American embassy to bring her to the Savoy in London. They began travelling almost immediately, but their relationship fell apart. Trixie went to stay with Rita's family in 1917 and met Alfred Jolivet, Rita's brother. They fell in love and Trixie decided to put an end to her marriage. She traveled to America on the Baltic and eventually procured a divorce in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, on the grounds of desertion. A few months later, in November 1919, she married Alfred Jolivet. The following year, she gave birth to a son, Lawrence.
In Beatrice's claims against Germany, her lawyers found her difficult to work with for refusing to answer the simplest questions about the sinking. They found her responses to be hysterical at times and suspected that she not only would not but could not revisit the disaster.
Many people tried over the years to get Trixie to talk about the sinking, but she could never bring herself to talk about it. She and her husband spent their time traveling and eventually settled in Canada right before the Second World War. Her son remembers her as a cheerful woman who found inner peace and refused to be haunted by the experiences of her past. They lived out their lives there, and she passed away on 16 December 1977.
Links of Interest:
Journeys in Time: Rita Jolivet and Beatrice Witherbee (down for now)
Lest We Forget - Part 1
Contributors:
Lawrence Jolivet (son of Beatrice)
Jim Kalafus
Paul Latimer
Mike Poirier
Judith Tavares
References:
Kalafus, Jim and Michael Poirier. Lest We Forget: Part 1 ET Research. <http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/lusitania-lest-we-forget.html>
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