Edith Eileen Brown

Who was Edith Eileen Brown?

Edith Eileen Brown was a remarkable survivor of the Titanic disaster who lived to be 100 years old. Born on October 27, 1896 in Cape Town, South Africa, she was just 15 (fifteen) years old when she boarded the ill-fated ship with her parents in 1912. Edith’s survival and subsequent long life made her one of the most well-known Titanic survivors, especially in her later years when she frequently shared her memories of that fateful night.

Early Life and Family Background

Edith was born into a family with deep colonial roots. Her father, Thomas William Solomon Brown, was of English ancestry, while her mother, Elizabeth Catherine Ford, had both English and Dutch Boer heritage. The Browns were a prosperous family in Cape Town, with Thomas owning numerous properties including hotels and real estate.

Edith had one younger sister, Dorothy Beatrice, born in 1899, who tragically passed away in 1906 at just seven years old. She also had five half-siblings from her father’s previous marriage. The family’s wealth allowed them to travel first class on ships, a luxury they were accustomed to.

The Fateful Titanic Journey

Why did the Browns board the Titanic?

By 1912, the Brown family had experienced an economic downturn. Seeking better prospects, they decided to emigrate to America at the encouragement of Edith’s maternal aunt, Josephine Acton, who lived in Seattle, Washington. The family planned to make an extended visit to the Actons before settling in or near Seattle.

The Titanic Experience

The Browns boarded the Titanic in Southampton as second-class passengers. Their ticket, number 29750, cost £39. Despite being accustomed to first-class travel, Edith was awestruck by the Titanic’s beauty, even in second-class accommodation. She later recalled:

“It would be almost impossible to one aboard to believe that she could sink. She was so big and palatial that one could forget that they were on the sea and the idea that anything so monstrous could be buried to the bottom of the ocean was quite incomprehensible.”

On the night of April 14, 1912, Edith and her parents retired to bed early. She was awakened by the collision with the iceberg and vividly remembered the events that followed:

“I had been asleep for some time when I heard a crash and felt a slight jar. I awakened my mother and she called my father who was in a separate compartment. He went on deck and soon returned, saying that the boat had struck an iceberg, but that there was no danger. We then went back to bed…”

Survival and Rescue

Edith and her mother were placed in Lifeboat 14, but her father remained on the ship. Her last memory of him was seeing him standing with his back toward them as the lifeboat was lowered. Edith provided a harrowing account of the Titanic’s final moments:

“As we rowed away from the ship we watched her. As the boat was lowered the band was playing a hymn; hardly had the strains of the hymn died away from our ears before we could see that the mammoth vessel was sinking slowly. One by one the lights on the lower decks disappeared from sight, but those above the water were still burning.”

Edith and her mother were rescued by the Carpathia and taken to New York. Despite initial confusion about survivors, it was confirmed that Edith’s father had not survived the disaster.

Life After the Titanic

After a brief stay in Seattle, Edith and her mother returned to Cape Town. In 1917, at the age of 21 (twenty-one), Edith married Frederick Thankful Haisman after a whirlwind six-week romance. The couple went on to have ten children and lived in various places including South Africa, England, and Australia.

Edith’s Legacy as a Titanic Survivor

In her later years, Edith became an important figure in the Titanic community. She attended numerous conventions, gave interviews, and shared her experiences with the public. Her longevity allowed her to bridge the gap between the Edwardian era and the modern day, providing invaluable first-hand accounts of the disaster.

Edith was critical of salvage attempts on the Titanic wreck, stating in 1987, “Everything should be left exactly where it is. It’s wrong to disturb things after they have been down there so long.”

In 1996, at the age of 99 (ninety-nine), Edith took part in a cruise to the site of the Titanic’s sinking, where she emotionally tossed flowers into the ocean in memory of her father and others lost in the disaster.

Edith Eileen Brown Haisman passed away on January 20, 1997, at the age of 100 (one hundred), one of the select few Titanic survivors to reach centenarian status. Her life spanned nearly the entire 20th century, and her memories of the Titanic disaster remained a vivid and important historical record until the end of her days.