Annie Williams, 37, was the wife of Harry John Williams (hereafter referred to as John) and mother of the six Williams children. The children were John Edward, Edith, George Albert, Ethel, Florence, and David. Annie and the children were traveling back to England aboard Lusitania after a few years’ settlement in the Scotch Plains, Plainfield, New Jersey area. John Williams had departed ahead of the family on Lusitania’s last completed eastbound crossing. Edward and his sister Edith were the only members of the family to survive the sinking.
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Family background
John Williams and Annie Millman were married in Manchester, England in 1896. In April of 1904, they emigrated to the United States and settled in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, where their children were born. John claimed that their infant, David, was their ninth child, but only six are named in his court case against Germany: John Edward, Edith, George Albert, Ethel, Florence, and David. John left ahead of the family and claimed that he had gone to prepare a place in Manchester, England for his family, but Edith claimed that he was abandoning the family. Annie and her children had been so destitute that their neighbors in New Jersey collected funds for their ticket back to England.
Lusitania
Aboard Lusitania, Edith helped her mother Annie take care of David, the youngest child who was only three months old. The Williams family became acquainted with fellow passenger Rose Howley.
Edward and Edith were the only members of their family to survive the sinking. Annie and the rest of the children were lost.
Lawsuit against Germany
John collected Edward and Edith and sued Germany for $40,000.00 the loss of Annie and four of their children and $250.00 for loss of personal effects. John’s case was dismissed and Edward and Edith’s claims failed on the grounds that emotional suffering was not a cause for financial settlement by 1925 standards. Neither child could prove direct financial support provided by Annie, and their father who was suing in the same court system would not have been likely to admit desertion at the possible cost of his $40,000.00
“….the record is barren of any statement of fact which would enable this commission to measure the damages, if any, sustained by the two surviving children of Mrs Williams and resulting from her death. There is not a scintilla of evidence in the record throwing any light on Mrs Williams’ character, pursuits, habits, relations to and influence over her children, or any fact on which the commission could base a conclusion that the surviving children had suffered pecuniary damages resulting from her death. It must be assumed that no such evidence of damages exists. At all events the claimants have wholly failed to discharge the burden resting on them to prove their case.”
– Edwin Parker, 5 March 1925
The only money John would see from this disaster, apparently, would only be the 5 pounds sterling given him by the Lusitania Relief Fund.
Related pages
The Williams Family at the Mixed Claims Commission
Links of interest
Encyclopedia Titanica – Lest We Forget: Part 1
Contributors:
Jim Kalafus
Michael Poirier
Eric Sauder
References:
Ballard, Dr. Robert D. with Spencer Dunmore. Exploring the Lusitania. Warner Books, Inc., 1995.
Hoehling, A.A. and Mary Hoehling. The Last Voyage of the Lusitania. Madison Books, 1956.
Kalafus, Jim and Michael Poirier (2005) Lest We Forget : Part 1 ET Research. <http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/lusitania-lest-we-forget.html>
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