Emily Ryerson
Emily Ryerson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Emily Maria Borie Ryerson August 10, 1863 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | December 28, 1939 (aged 76) Cooperstown, New York, U.S. |
| Spouse | Arthur Larned Ryerson (his death) |
Emily Ryerson (August 10, 1863 - December 28, 1939) was a first-class passenger who survived the sinking of RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.
Early life
Emily Maria Borie Ryerson was born on August 10, 1863 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Emily married Arthur Larned Ryerson on January 31, 1889 and they had 5 children, Susan "Suzette" Parker (August 3, 1890), Emily Borie Ryerson (October 8, 1893), Arthur Larned Ryerson Jr. (1891-1912), Ellen Ryerson (1895-1973) and John Borie Ryerson (December 16, 1898 - January 21, 1986).
RMS Titanic
Emily, her husband Arthur, and their children, Suzette, Emily, and John, boarded the RMS Titanic as first-class passengers in Cherbourg, France after learning of the death of her son, Arthur Larned Ryerson Jr., an undergraduate at Yale. He had recently been killed in an automobile crash back home in the United States. With the family were their maid, Victorine Chaudanson, and John's governess, Grace Scott Bowen.
On the afternoon of April 14, 1912, Marian Longstreth Thayer invited Emily for a walk. It was the first time Emily had been on deck in public. After nearly an hour, they settled themselves into the deck chairs outside the aft staircase of A-deck to watch the sunset. Bruce Ismay joined them and told them about the ice warning from the Baltic.
Emily was awoke when the Titanic hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912, 11:40 pm. Emily woke her husband, children, the governess and the maid.
"[The maid's] door was locked and I had some difficulty in waking her. By this time my husband was fully dressed, and we could hear the noise of feet tramping on the deck overhead. He was quite calm and cheerful and helped me put the lifebelts on the children and on my maid. I was paralyzed with fear of not all getting on deck together in time, as there were seven of us. I would not let my younger daughter (Emily Borie) dress, but she only put on a fur coat, as I did over her nightgown."
They went to A deck. They stood there for "fully half an hour". Emily and her family went to the deck. Emily, her two daughters, maid and John's governess stepped into Lifeboat 4 but they did not let John in. Arthur stepped forward and said, "Of course, that boy goes with his mother. He is only 13."
She witnessed the boat break in half. They were rescued by RMS Carpathia.
Emily, her children, maid and John's governess survived, but Arthur perished. His body, if recovered, was never identified.
In the 1920s, while traveling through China, she met William Forsythe Sherfesee who was the Forestry Advisor to the Chinese Govermnent and later was appointed Advisor to the Ministry of Finance. He too was a graduate of Yale University. He was 18 years her junior. William Forsythe was the son of Heinrich "Louis" Sherfesee and Annie Griffith Sherfesee.
The accounts of Forsythe trying to get from Peking to Chicago in the early weeks of December 1927 made the newspapers worldwide. In the attempt to get him to Chicago during a blizzard, he traveled by boat, train, then finally by private plane, which Emily had sent to bring him to Chicago. He did not arrive on time, and they held the wedding December 9, 1927. They went to Italy and Persia for the Honeymoon. They traveled through-out their marriage, and settled in St Jean, Cape Ferrat on the French Riveria. They built Villa Bontoc. Their next door neighbor was the noted author and playwright, Somerset Maugham.
In December 1939, while in Hawaii, she fell and broke her hip, but insisted on continuing the Trip. It was while in Uruguay she suffered a fatal heart attack and died, most likely the broken hip contributed to her death, possibly a blood clot going to her heart.
Death
Emily Ryerson died on December 28, 1939. She was buried in Lakewood Cemetery in Cooperstown, New York, USA.