Elizabeth Nye

Who was Elizabeth Nye?

Elizabeth Nye was a remarkable English woman who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic and went on to lead a life dedicated to service through the Salvation Army. Born in 1882 in Folkestone, Kent, she overcame personal tragedies early in life before embarking on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic in 1912. Her survival story and subsequent work with the Salvation Army make her a notable figure in both Titanic history and charitable service.

Early Life and Family

Elizabeth Nye was born on May 27, 1882, in Folkestone, Kent, England. She was the third of seven children and the eldest surviving child of Thomas Ingram Ramell (1854-1915) and Elizabeth Ann Griffiths (1854-1947). Her father, originally from Lambeth, London, had moved to Folkestone in the early 1870s, where he worked as a coach painter and served as a Salvation Army bandsman.

Elizabeth’s siblings were:

Frederick Thomas Ingram (1878-1879)
Amy Elizabeth (1879-1881)
Edith Amy (b. 1885)
Beatrice May (b. 1888)
Florence Alma (b. 1891)
Winifred Rose (b. 1894)

Growing up, Elizabeth and her family lived at various addresses in Folkestone, including 6 Folly Cottages and 42 St John’s Street. By the age of 18, she had taken up work as a dressmaker.

Personal Tragedies and First Marriage

Elizabeth’s early adult life was marked by a series of misfortunes:

She suffered a near-fatal attack of appendicitis
Her first sweetheart tragically drowned after being washed off the Folkestone Harbour Pier
On December 26, 1904, she married Edward Ernest Nye, a railway labourer
Their only child, Maisie Elizabeth, was born in early 1906 but died before reaching her first birthday

In 1907, Elizabeth and Edward moved to New York, where they appeared in the 1910 census as boarders at 62 Perry Street, Manhattan. Edward worked as a janitor, while Elizabeth continued her trade as a dressmaker, working in the uniform department of New York’s Salvation Army.

Tragedy struck again when Edward, then working as a night watchman, died on May 22, 1911, at the young age of 30. The newly widowed Elizabeth returned to England to mourn with her family in Folkestone.

How did Elizabeth Nye come to be on the Titanic?

Elizabeth’s return journey to New York was originally booked on the RMS Philadelphia. However, due to the ongoing coal strike, her passage was changed to the Titanic’s maiden voyage. On April 10, 1912, she boarded the ship at Southampton as a second-class passenger, holding ticket number 29395, which cost £10 10s.

Elizabeth shared cabin F33 with three other English women:

Amelia Lemore
Amelia Brown
Selina Cook

What was Elizabeth Nye’s experience during the Titanic disaster?

Elizabeth Nye’s account of the Titanic’s sinking provides a vivid and harrowing insight into the events of April 14-15, 1912. In a letter to her parents, later published in the Folkestone Herald on May 4, 1912, she recounted:

We were all in bed on Sunday night at about 11.30, when we felt an awful jerk, and the boat grazed something along its side, and the sea seemed to splash right over the deck. The men in the next cabin slipped on their coats and ran up to see what it was, and came and told us the ship had run into an iceberg nearly as large as herself.

Elizabeth described the initial confusion and the subsequent rush to evacuate:

Most of the people went back to bed again, but then came an order ‘get up and put something warm on, put on a lifebelt and come on deck.’ So I got one underskirt on and a skirt, and stockings, and shoes and coat, and ran up to find a lifebelt, because there were only three in our berth for four of us.

She managed to escape on lifeboat 11 and witnessed the final moments of the Titanic:

When we got away from the ship we could understand the hurry and the order to get half a mile away as soon as possible. For the Titanic was half in the water. We watched the port holes go under until half the ship, only the back half, stuck up. Then the lights went out, and the boilers burst and blew up. There was a sickening roar like hundreds of lions, and we heard no more but THE MOANING AND SHOUTING for help from the hundreds of men and a few women who went down with her.

What happened to Elizabeth Nye after the Titanic disaster?

Upon arrival in New York, Elizabeth was met by members of the Salvation Army who provided care and support. She suffered from exposure due to the ordeal and required an operation. The American Red Cross awarded her $200 in aid (Case number 343).

Elizabeth remained in New York and remarried to George Darby, a fellow Salvationist from Cannock, Staffordshire, England. They had a son, George Ray, born on March 30, 1915. The family settled in the Bronx, where Elizabeth and George continued their service with the Salvation Army. Elizabeth eventually attained the rank of Colonel.

Elizabeth Nye’s Later Life and Legacy

Throughout her life, Elizabeth maintained strong ties with both her family in England and the Salvation Army. In May 1920, she returned to visit her family, sailing aboard the Lapland. Her 1920 passport described her as standing at 5’ 9½", with dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and a medium-fair complexion.

Elizabeth Nye died on November 22, 1963, at the age of 81 in Asbury Park, Monmouth, New Jersey. She was buried in Kensico Cemetery, Westchester, New York. Her husband George passed away on May 7, 1968, and their son George died on November 7, 1979, in Bergen, New Jersey.

Elizabeth Nye’s life story is a testament to resilience in the face of personal tragedy and historical catastrophe. From surviving the Titanic disaster to her lifelong commitment to the Salvation Army, she exemplifie