Ruth Logan, 26, was a British subject and Scottish national residing in Paterson, New Jersey, United States. She was traveling aboard Lusitania with her two-year-old son, Robert, to Ayr, Scotland. Mother and son traveled in third class. Ruth Logan survived the Lusitania sinking on 7 May 1915 but Robert did not.
Biography
Ruth Thompson McCorry was born on 15 September 1888. She grew up in Ayr, Scotland, United Kingdom, before making a life with her husband James Logan in Paterson, New Jersey, United States. They had married on 15 April 1912.
When the First World War broke out, James enlisted early on and was wounded in the Battle of Ypres in November 1914. By May 1915, James was returning to the front, and Ruth and Robert were traveling to Ayr, closer to James, to where they would stay out the remainder of the war. By the time of Ruth and Robert’s departure on the Lusitania, they had only lived in Paterson for one year.
Ruth’s account of the sinking begins on a staircase where, at the moment of the torpedoing, she was making her way to the open deck with Robert walking ahead of her, so that if he missed a step he would not fall far from her:
I never let him out of my sight, as I was afraid something might happen to him. There were people coming behind me, and when the shock came we were all jolted about. I immediately seized Robert and ran on deck. The vessel had a considerable list to one side, but she righted herself for a few minutes and several men clapped their hands and tried to reassure us that she would keep afloat. The day before the disaster there were sports on board and as Robert was too wee to take part in the general amusement, I took to running after him crying as I did so “I’ll catch you!” And, oh! The tragedy of it all. When the rush for lifebelts came Robert could not understand it all and lisped the words I had used the day before.
Everybody seemed to be running around, and everybody seemed to be getting lifebelts. I appealed to several, but no one in the excitement heeded me until a sailor came along. I took him to be an officer. “Wait a second and I’ll get you one” he said, and he immediately reappeared with a life jacket and he put it around me. I said to him “What about the child?” and he replied “Put him in along with you” and he lifted my child and put him inside the jacket which was around me. He immediately began to struggle, and wanted down on the deck, and another sailor passing me a minute later advised me to put him down till he could get the jacket put on right. I asked him to get a lifebelt for the wee chap, and he hurried forward to get one, and at that moment the ship went over. I held onto his hood and we went down together, and I still had a grip of him when we came to the surface, but the child’s struggles and the struggling of hundreds of others in the water around me caused us to be separated.
Ruth was in the water for nearly five hours, and by the time she was picked up by a torpedo boat around 7 p.m., she had fallen unconscious She was still unconscious when she was brought ashore later that night. She awoke in Haulbowline, where, at first, she thought that the Lusitania sinking had only been a horrible dream. She was able to identify her son’s body in Queenstown, before continuing on her way to Scotland. Robert Logan, body #42, was buried in Common Grave C, in Old Church Cemetery, Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland.
Ruth’s husband, Corporal James Logan of the Gordon Highlanders, survived the Great War, and afterwards they returned to New Jersey together. They had several more children, including a second son named Robert, but their life together was short, for the 1930 census shows James Logan as a widower.
Links of interest
Ruth and Robert Logan at Lest We Forget – Encyclopedia Titanica
Contributors
Cliff Barry, UK
Jim Kalafus, USA
Peter Kelly, Ireland
Paul Latimer
Mike Poirier, USA
References:
Jim Kalafus, Michael Poirier, Cliff Barry and Peter Kelly (2013) “Lest We Forget : The Lusitania.” Gare Maritime. (ref: #10962, accessed 27th April 2015 03:24:39 PM) URL : http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/lest-we-forget-the-lusitania.html
Mrs. Logan’s maiden name was Ruth Thompson McCorry , she was born September 15, 1888. she Married James Logan on April 15, 1912.
Mrs Logan was my great great aunt , her brother and his wife , my great great grandparents have pride of place on my family photo wall. The Logan women seem to be made of stern stuff which is why I named my daughter Logan. If any pictures exist of Ruth I would appreciate seeing them or any info regarding the disaster. My daughter is doing a history project and would appreciate any info on her relative. I can be reached at dfreid2012@hotmail.com
Thanks Jane Hardie.
On checking my records, Mrs. Logan was born September 19, 1888 not September 15, sorry about the mistake.
Looking for information regarding any descendants of Ruth and James Logan of Patterson N.J.. James was my Grandmothers brother. I believe my Aunt Ruth had last visited the family in the early 60s. I can be reached at hardie.10@hotmail.com
Thanks T. Hardie