by Michael Poirier
The following article appeared in Titanic International Society’s Voyage, issue 44, 2003. It was formerly the content for Jessie Taft Smith’s biography, which has since been reformatted. This article has been reproduced in its entirety with permission from the author.
| Jessie Taft Smith’s short and tragic life began in Braceville, Ohio on February 12, 1876. She was one of three children born to Mr and Mrs Hobart L. Taft whose family were one of the pioneers of the small town. The Tafts’ were quite prominent and it was no surprise when Jessie became engaged to John W. Smith who also came from a well-to-do couple. Their marriage took place on October 2, 1901 at the Methodist Church and afterwards they settled in Chicago. John Smith was an inventor and one of his accomplishments was manufacturing an engine that was to be used in aeroplanes. By 1915, the French aviation corps were using his engines in their aeroplanes. The British Admiralty contacted John about developing similar engines for their planes as well. He left for England in January of 1915 to work on the “Smith Engine”.
Jessie was lonely and moved back to Braceville to be with her family, but she received word from her husband to bring his blueprint plans for the “Smith Engine” which was an internal combustion engine. Her husband cabled the Cunard agents 30 pounds to arrange for Jessie’s immediate passage on the Lusitania. She boarded the ship on May 1, 1915 and where she was assigned an inside cabin B-20. Her cabin neighbors were Owen Kenan who was in B-22 and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Plamondon who were in B-18. Not much is known about her day to day activities, but on May 7, she had her lunch and adjourned to the writing room. Shortly after two o’clock she heard a “noise” and then she felt that the Lusitania “seemed to lift”. She then said that, “another explosion occured”. Jessie got out of her chair and made her way forward towards the main staircase. All along the way she was told, “not to hurry as there was no danger”. She may have had an inkling of what was to come as on a previous day she had made sure that her lifebelt was in a handy spot in her cabin. Darting into her cabin, she placed the lifebelt on and ran back towards the staircase and exited the companionway onto the starboard side boat deck. A steward helped her into boat 13 and within a few minutes the boat was lowered. As soon as the boat pushed off, Jessie turned around so she couldn’t see the sinking of the ship which disappeared a few minutes later. The boat picked up several people and was eventually taken in tow by a fishing boat. Wesley Frost, the American Counsel, met her on the wharf and handed her over to Dr. Townsend and his wife who took her into their home and cared for her. While staying in Birmingham, John Smith learned about the sinking and was soon relieved to get a telegram from his wife. He arrived in Queenstown on Sunday and took her back to England. Jessie Taft Smith was seemingly fine at first and took Sunday excursions to Sutton Park and walked long distances in the surrounding woods. However she slowly began to unravel over the next few months, despite the constant care of physicians. Her husband spent most of his time with her and neglected his work which led to the British Admiralty rejecting his engine. Finally, in February of 1916, Jessie suffered a complete nervous collapse and was sent to the South Hill Nursing Home in Birmingham. The family claimed it was due to her experiences on the Lusitania and also in part to rheumatic fever. Eventually she recovered enough to make the journey home. The Smith’s booked passage on the New York and arrived on July 31, 1916. Jessie moved back to her father’s farm while her brother Robert who was a doctor and her sister Florence cared for her. After the war, court proceedings took place in to determine compensation for victims of the war. The Smiths’ brought their case before the court, but Commissioner Parker found the evidence to be sketchy at best and awarded her only $1,196 for lost effects on October 24, 1924. The couple felt they deserved more and contested Edwin Parker’s decision. Finally on December 30, 1924, Parker awarded an additional $2,500 in compensation. The Smiths’ moved to Philadelphia and on November 1, 1928, Jessie Taft Smith passed away at age fifty-two. Her body was transported back to Newton Falls and she was buried in Braceville Cemetery after a brief memorial service. Jessie Taft Smith was finally at peace. |
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