Reuben Burley, 39, was a British citizen from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He was traveling aboard Lusitania with his wife Florence Burley (née Bull), their children Doris and Reginald, and his mother-in-law Elizabeth Bull. The party bought their tickets in New York. The entire party was lost in the Lusitania sinking. Burley’s body was either never recovered or never identified.
Life
Reuben Burley was born in Sheffield, England, circa 1876. He married Florence Bull of Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire.
Reuben worked for the Great Central Railway in Ashton-under-Lyne until 1904. He and Florence then emigrated to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where he found work as a machinist. Reuben and Florence had two children, Doris Florence, born in 1906, and Reginald, born in 1914 or 1915.
In 1914, Florence’s father, John Henry, died. His widow and Reuben’s mother-in-law, Elizabeth Bull, went to Hamilton to visit her daughter and grandchildren. Elizabeth decided to return in the Spring of 1915, and Reuben and Florence decided to take their family over to England for a holiday, and accompany Elizabeth on the journey. They booked second cabin passage on the Lusitania. The entire family was lost in the sinking. Only Elizabeth Bull’s body was recovered or identified, body #78.
Contributor:
Peter Kelly, Ireland
Judith Tavares
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