Master John Edward Williams

Edward Williams Third Class Passenger Saved
Born	John Edward Williams 1905 New Jersey, United States
Died	27 February 1992 (age 86) Perth Amboy, New Jersey, United States
Age on Lusitania	10
Traveling with	– Annie Williams (mother) – Edith Middleton Williams (sister) – George Albert Williams (brother) – Ethel Williams (sister) – Florence Williams (sister) – David Williams (brother)
Citizenship	– British – United States (Dual)
Residence	Scotch Plains, New Jersey, United States
Other name(s)	John Williams

Edward Williams (1905 – 1992), 10, was the son of Harry John Williams (hereafter referred to as John) and Elizabeth Annie Millman (hereafter referred to as Annie).  Edward was one of six Williams children traveling aboard Lusitania, his siblings being Edith, George Albert, Ethel, Florence, and David.  Mother and children were traveling back to England aboard Lusitania after a few years’ settlement in Scotch Plains in the 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.

Contents Family background  Lusitania Reunion with Father and suit against Germany Later life Related pages Links of interest

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.  Edith was born in 1905 in New Jersey.

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.  At Rose Howley’s insistence, the American Counsel took care of Edward and Edith.  On Saturday morning, a woman from Cork relieved him. Edward and Edith would be sent on their way to Manchester to be reunited with their father.

Reunion with Father and suit against Germany

John collected Edward and Edith.  John brought Edward and Edith back to the United States in 1916, but were soon returned to England.  John Williams filed suit against Germany for $40,000.00 in the United States for the loss of his wife and four children, and $250.00 for the loss of their personal effects. His suit was dismissed, for as a British national could not make his claim in the US courts.

Edward and Edith Williams’ suits in the US and UK both failed on the same grounds: pain and suffering caused by the loss of a loved one, by 1925 standards, was not cause for a financial settlement. 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.

Later life

Edward lived in Dunellen, New Jersey.  He died in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on 27 February 1992 at the age of 86.

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>