Mr. Arthur Candlish

Arthur Candlish, 33, was a United States citizen by naturalization living in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States. He and his wife, Ellen, traveled aboard the last voyage of the Lusitania. Arthur was lost. Ellen was saved. Arthur’s body was either not recovered or not identified.

Arthur had been employed as a mill hand at textile mills when he died, earning somewhere between $9.00 to $11.50 a week. He left surviving him his wife, his father, then about 55 years old, his stepmother Selina, and two stepsisters. Candlish’s earnings were only enough to support him and his wife, Ellen. Arthur and Ellen had no children.

Ellen brought suit against Germany in the Mixed Claims Commission, which awarded Ellen $10,000.00 for personal injuries and the loss of her husband and a further $682.00 for property lost during the sinking. Another claim was filed by Arthur’s stepmother Selina after Arthur’s father’s death. As Arthur’s income had only supported Ellen and not his extended family, the Commission found Selina’s claims to be “inconsistent, conflicting, and wholly improbable” and “entirely without merit.” The Commission further states:

It is obvious that words have been put into the mouth of the infirm and inexperienced claimant and into the mouths of other witnesses in a deliberate effort to mislead this Commission.

Selina was not awarded compensation for the loss of her stepson.

Related pages

Arthur and Ellen Candlish at the Mixed Claims Commission

Selina Candlish’s claim at the Mixed Claims Commission

References:
Mixed Claims Commission, Docket No. 239, pg. 381.

Mixed Claims Commission, Docket No. 2199, pg. 544.