Thomas Agnew, 27, was an Irish national and British subject living in Monessen, Pennsylvania, United States with his wife, Beatrice. Both Mr. and Mrs. Agnew were returning to their native Ireland aboard Lusitania and were lost when the German submarine U-20 torpedoed and sank the ship on 7 May 1915.
Thomas Agnew was from Ballylummin, Ahoghill, County Antrim, Ireland. His wife Beatrice was an American, but her parents were also from County Antrim. The couple lived in Monessen for four years before deciding to return to Ireland. Thomas was a carpenter and son of John Agnew, a farmer. John had died in September of 1914. Thomas had a brother named Walter who was a motor inspector in the United States. Walter had returned to Ireland in December 1914 to take care of the family farm after John’s passing.
The bodies of Thomas and Beatrice Agnew were not recovered.
Contributors
Senan Molony, Ireland
References
Ballymena Observer. 21 May 1915, pg. 4.
Molony, Senan. Lusitania: An Irish Tragedy, pg. 21. Mercier Press, 2004.
Hi Admin,
Some information on Mrs. Agnew from my files for you.
Beatrice Agnew was born Beatrice Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America in 1888. Her parents originally came from County Antrim in Northern Ireland. She returned to her parents native land at some point in her life, but whether she met her future husband, Thomas Agnew, in Pennsylvania, where he emigrated to in 1910, or whether she first met him in Ireland, is unknown. In 1911, she travelled from Ireland to the United States to marry Thomas.
Regards,
Peter
Hi Peter,
Thank you for the information! A page on Beatrice Agnew has been created and you can see it here: http://www.rmslusitania.info/people/third-class/beatrice-agnew/