Eva Georgetta Dean

Who was Mrs Eva Georgetta Dean?

Mrs Eva Georgetta Dean, born Eva Georgette “Ettie” Light on May 18, 1879, was a 32 (thirty-two) year-old English Titanic survivor who embarked on the ill-fated maiden voyage with her young family. She was a third-class passenger who survived the tragedy, losing her husband but managing to save her two young children.

Early Life and Family

Eva Georgetta Light was born in 1879 in England. By 1912, she had married Bertram Frank Dean, who was eight years her junior. The couple had two children:

Bertram Vere, aged 2 (two)
Eliza Gladys “Millvina”, aged 2 (two) months

Before their fateful journey, the Dean family ran a public house in London, showcasing their entrepreneurial spirit and working-class background.

The Titanic Journey

Embarking on a New Life

The Dean family boarded the Titanic at Southampton as third-class passengers. Their ticket number was 2315, and they paid £20 11s (equivalent to £6 for Eva) for their passage. This journey was meant to be the start of a new life for the family, as they were headed to Kansas to begin a fresh chapter.

A Poignant Farewell

Eva’s parents came to the dock to bid farewell to the family, arriving in a horse-and-trap. This touching scene at the Southampton dock would be the last time Eva would see her parents before the tragic events that were to unfold.

Life Aboard the Titanic

While at sea, Eva wrote a postcard to her parents, which she posted at Queenstown. The contents of this postcard provide a glimpse into the family’s early experiences on the ship:

Dear Mother, Just a card to say we are enjoying ourselves fine up to now. Little baby was very restless. With best love, Ettie.

The Night of the Sinking

A Husband’s Premonition

On the night of April 14, 1912, Eva was awoken by her husband, who reported feeling a crash. Bertram Frank went to investigate and returned with urgent instructions for his family to dress warmly.

The Chaotic Escape

In the confusion of the evacuation, Eva lost track of her son Bertram when she finally made it into a lifeboat. She was comforted by the belief that her husband was still aboard the Titanic, searching for their son and planning to join them in a later lifeboat.

Rescue and Reunion

Eva and her daughter were rescued in Lifeboat 10. It wasn’t until they were aboard the Carpathia that Eva was reunited with her son Bertram. Tragically, her husband Bertram Frank did not survive the sinking.

Life After the Titanic

Return to England

Upon arriving in New York aboard the Carpathia, Eva and her children were sent to a hospital to recuperate. They later returned to England on the Adriatic, their dreams of a new life in Kansas shattered.

Financial Support

Back in England, Eva received financial assistance to help her rebuild her life:

£40 from an Emergency Relief Fund
A pension of 23 shillings per week for the care of her children until they turned eighteen

A New Beginning

Eva went to live with her parents in the New Forest, near Southampton. In 1920, eight years after the Titanic disaster, she remarried to Leonard Burden, her parents’ farm veterinarian. This marriage brought her happiness in the years following her traumatic experience.

Eva’s Legacy

Eva Georgetta Dean’s story is one of resilience and survival. She faced unimaginable tragedy, losing her husband and nearly losing her son, yet she persevered. Her experience provides a poignant personal narrative to the broader Titanic disaster, highlighting the human cost of the tragedy and the strength required to rebuild a life in its aftermath.

Eva Burden (née Light, formerly Dean) passed away on September 13, 1975, at the age of 96 (ninety-six). Her long life stood as a testament to her resilience, having survived one of the most infamous maritime disasters in history and lived to see the world change dramatically over the course of nearly a century.