Thayer family collection

Transcription

1 Finding aid prepared by Megan Hahn Fraser. Last updated on August 02, Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library

2 Table of Contents Summary Information...3 Biography/History...4 Scope and Contents... 4 Administrative Information... 5 Controlled Access Headings...6 Collection Inventory Page 2 -

3 Summary Information Repository Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library Creator Thayer Title Thayer family collection Call number Date [inclusive] Extent 10 boxes Language English Abstract The Thayers were a prominent Philadelphia-area family at the turn of the 20th century. John Borland Thayer, Jr. was a vice-president of the Pennsylvania Railroad when he died in the sinking of Titanic on April 15, The Thayer family collection consists of more than 700 items of ocean liner ephemera dating from 1892 to 1986, including postcards, abstracts of logs, advertisements, passenger lists, menus, deck plans, photographs, stationery and baggage tags from ships of more than 40 lines. The collection also includes one of the only extant first class passenger lists from Titanic. Cite as: [Description and date of item], [Box number], Thayer family collection, , Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library. - Page 3 -

4 Biography/History The Thayers were a prominent Philadelphia-area family at the turn of the 20th century. John Borland Thayer, born April 21, 1862, was the Second Vice-President of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He and his wife, Marian Longstreth Morris Thayer, lived in Haverford, Pennsylvania, and were the parents of Margaret, Pauline, Frederick and John, Jr. The Thayers? were traveling home to Haverford from Berlin as first class passengers on the Titanic. John Borland Thayer did not seek a lifeboat and died on April 15, 1912 at the age of 49. His wife, Marian Longstreth Morris Thayer ( ), and their maid, Miss Margaret Fleming, boarded a lifeboat and survived the sinking. John Borland Thayer, Jr. ( ), the son of John and Marian Thayer, was seventeen in He did not board a lifeboat and jumped from the sinking Titanic. He climbed on an overturned inflatable lifeboat and was eventually picked up by another lifeboat. He and his mother were reunited aboard the Carpathia. John Borland Thayer, Jr. graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He returned to the university to serve as the Financial Vice-President and Treasurer. He married Lois Cassatt and was the father of two sons, Edward C. and John B. Thayer, IV. His mother never remarried. The sinking of the Titanic was not forgotten: he wrote about his experiences in The Sinking of the S.S. Titanic, April 14-15, John Borland Thayer, Jr. committed suicide in 1945, following the death of his mother in 1944 and the death of his son Edward who was serving in World War II. For further information about the Thayer family and their experiences aboard the Titanic, see The Sinking of the S. S. Titanic by John B. Thayer [III] and A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. Scope and Contents The Thayer family collection consists of more than 700 items of ocean liner ephemera dating from 1892 to 1986, including postcards, abstracts of logs, advertisements, passenger lists, menus, deck plans, photographs, stationery and baggage tags from ships of more than 40 lines, such as Cunard, White Star, Norddeutscher Lloyd, Red Star, Hamburg-Amerika, United States, and Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (French Line). The collection also includes one of the only extant first class passenger lists from Titanic and other materials related to the Thayer family?s experience on the ship?s only voyage. - Page 4 -

5 Administrative Information Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library Finding aid prepared by Megan Hahn Fraser. Sponsor The creation of the electronic guide for this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources??Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives? Project. Finding aid entered into the Archivists' Toolkit by Garrett Boos. Access Restrictions This collection is open for research use. Use Restrictions The Titanic passenger list and other items deemed fragile are restricted. Surrogates will be provided for researchers? use. Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the Archives with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material. Custodial History note Donated by Mrs. John B. Thayer IV. Processing Information note The creation of the electronic guide for this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources??Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives? Project. Finding aid entered into the Archivists' Toolkit by Garrett Boos. - Page 5 -

6 Controlled Access Headings Corporate Name(s) Compagnie g?n?rale transatlantique. Cunard Line, ltd. Hamburg-American Line. Norddeutscher Lloyd. Red Star Line. Titanic (Steamship). United States Lines Company. White Star Line. Form/Genre(s) Clippings Deck plans Ephemera Menus Photographs Postcards Ships' passenger lists Subject(s) Ocean liners Travel - Page 6 -

7 Collection Inventory Box Folder Allen Line. 1 1 American: Friesland? New York. 1 2 American: Noordland? Westernland. 1 3 American Export. 1 4 Anchor. 1 5 Atlantic Transport. 1 6 Beaver. 1 7 Blue Star. 1 8 Booth Page 7 -

8 Canadian Pacific Coastwise Cruise Compania Genovese di Armamento. 2 1 Compagnie Generale Transatlantique: Bretagne? Lafayette. 2 2 Compagnie Generale Transatlantique: Lorraine? Touraine. 2 3 Cunard: Abyssinia? Ausonia. 2 4 Cunard: Aquitania. 2 5 Cunard: Berengaria. 2 6 Cunard: Campania? Carinthia. 2 7 Cunard: Carmania? Caronia Page 8 -

9 Cunard: Carpathia. 3 1 Cunard: Etruria? Lucania. 3 2 Cunard: Lusitania/ Mauretania, Mauretania II. 3 3 Cunard: Mauretania (1 of 2). 3 4 Cunard: Mauretania (2 of 2). 3 5 Cunard: Media? Parthia. 3 6 Cunard: Queen Elizabeth. 3 7 Cunard: Queen Elizabeth II (1 of 3). 4 1 Cunard: Queen Elizabeth II (2 of 3). 4 2 Cunard: Queen Elizabeth II (3 of 3) Page 9 -

10 Cunard: Queen Mary (1 of 4). 4 4 Cunard: Queen Mary (2 of 4). 4 5 Cunard: Queen Mary (3 of 4). 4 6 Cunard: Queen Mary (4 of 4). 5 1 Cunard: Samaria? Scotia. 5 2 Cunard: Scythia? Umbria. 5 3 Cunard: General. 5 4 Cunard: General. 5 5 Dominion. 5 6 Elder, Dempster Page 10 -

11 Fabre. 5 8 Guion. 5 9 Hamburg-Amerika: Amerika? Corcovado Hamburg-Amerika: Furst Bismarck? Steigerwald Holland-America: Nieuw Amsterdam? Volendam. 6 1 Holland-America: General. 6 2 Home. 6 3 Inman. 6 4 Italian. 6 5 L and NW Railway Page 11 -

12 Lamport and Holt. 6 7 Leyland. 6 8 Moore-McCormack. 6 9 National Nelson Netherlands-American Steam Navigation Co Norddeutscher Lloyd: Bremen, Bremen II Norddeutscher Lloyd: Europa Norddeutscher Lloyd: Hanover? Prinzregent Luitpold. 7 1 Norddeutscher Lloyd: Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse, Kaiser Wilhelm II Page 12 -

13 Norwegian-American. 7 3 Orient. 7 4 P & O. 7 5 Pacific Mail Steam Ship. 7 6 Pacific Steam Navigation Co. 7 7 Red Star. 7 8 Royal. 7 9 Royal Mail Steam Packet Royal Viking Safmarine Page 13 -

14 Shaw Savill Sitmar Swedish-American Union-Castle United States United States: Manhattan White Star: Adriatic? Britannic II. 8 1 White Star: Canopic? Georgic. 8 2 White Star: Haverford? Megantic. 8 3 White Star: Oceanic? Pittsburgh Page 14 -

15 White Star: Republic? Teutonic. 8 5 Photographs. 8 6 Postcards: other/unidentified lines and non-ship. 8 7 List of Ships, Memorandum, undated. 8 8 List of Ships, Stateroom Plans, undated. 8 9 Clipping: Scribner?s Magazine,?20 Questions About Steamships? Basset Lowke Ship Models brochure and list Roach, W.T., Pennsylvania Railroad Pass, Program, University of Pennsylvania, Men?s Glee Club First Day Covers: Maritime England Year Series, 1982 British Ships Series, 1969, 1982, Page 15 -

16 Thayer, J. B. Jr. Letters received, 1894, 1903 and undated. 9 A Thayer, J. B. III. Obituaries, memorials, list of flowers for funeral, B Thayer, J. B. IV. Letters received, 1936, 1984, C Thayer, Marian L. Letter received, D List of First Class Passengers, Royal and U. S. Mail S. S.?Titanic? from Southampton and Cherbourg to New York (via Queenstown) Wednesday, 10th April, pp. bound, 1912 April Autograph note listing expenses totaling $ p.?on board R. M. S.? Titanic?? stationery. 9 2 Autograph letter signed Marian [Longstreth Morris Thayer], Wednesday, [April 10,] 1912 to her sister. 3 pp.??on Board R. M. S.?Titanic?? stationery, 1912 April Typescript press release of statement of J. B. Thayer III, April 20, pp. on Pennsylvania Railroad stationery, 1912 April Page 16 -

17 Autograph memorial?in Memoriam John Borland Thayer, Titanic, Fifteen April Nineteen twelve? by Georg Reinhard, April 20, p. bound, 1912 April Newspaper clipping,?boy Sucked Down, Escapes,? Providence, Rhode Island Journal, April 21, Newspaper clipping,?john B. Thayer,? Boston Evening Transcript, 1912 April Autograph letter signed W. D. Winsor, Hedgeley to Mary, April 23, p, 1912 April Autograph letter signed Evelyn Hamon Graeme, Ouchy-Lausanne to Mrs. Thayer, April 30, pp, 1912 April Black and white photograph, signed A. H. Rostron, undated List of Saloon Passengers, Twin-Screw Steamship?Carpathia,? From New York, Thursday, April 11, 1912, calling at Gibraltar, Genoa, Naples, Trieste and Fiume. 16 pp. bound, 1912 April Copy photograph: Titanic gymnasium Page 17 -

18 Copy photograph: Titanic at Queenstown Copy photograph: Titanic lifeboats and Carpathia in New York Copy photograph: Titanic lifeboat Copy photograph: Titanic lifeboat # Copy photograph: Titanic lifeboats D and # Copy photograph: Titanic overturned collapsible lifeboat and crew of Mackay-Bennett Telegram from New York American to Mrs. Thayer, regarding Rostron Purse Fund, April 26, [1912]. 1 p, 1912 April Typed letter signed Edward H. Butt, Liverpool, May 21, 1912 to Mrs. Thayer. 2 pp, 1912 May Autograph letter signed Ernest G. F. Brown, New York, July 18, 1912 to J. B. Thayer [III]. 2 pp.?royal Mail Steamship?Carpathia?? stationery plus envelope, 1912 July Page 18 -

19 Autograph letter signed Harry Rostron, Fiume, August 9, 1912 to Mrs. Thayer. 4 pp.?royal Mail Steamship?Carpathia?' stationery, 1912 August Typescript eulogy for John Borland Thayer by William D. Winsor, [1912]. 3 pp, Newspaper clipping, Pictorial Supplement of the Sunday Public Ledger, with silhouettes of John B. Thayer and A. H. Rostron, Newspaper clipping, Pictorial Supplement of the Sunday Public Ledger, of photograph of?captain E. J. Smith and the Titanic?s three Chief Officers.? Pamphlet, The Titanic: Our Story by M[artha] E[ustis] S[tevenson] and E[lizabeth] M. E[ustis]. 8 pp. bound, and autograph note signed MEBD[?],? Names in last paragraph of The Titanic: Our Story by Martha Eustis Stevenson + Elizabeth M. Eustis.? 2 pp Memorandum book?a list of those receiving a numbered copy of The Sinking of the Titanic by John B. Thayer.? 70 pp. bound, and copies of title page (2) and illustrations (3) from The Sinking of the S. S. Titanic, April 14-15, 1912 by John B. Thayer, 1912 April Page 19 -

20 Newspaper clippings, New York Times, May 20, 1912 and Public Ledger, June 20, 1912, 1912 May 20, June Newspaper clipping,?white Star Profits and the Titanic,? London Times, [1913?] Program of memorial service for John Borland Thayer, Church of the Redeemer, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, June 25, pp, 1914 June Photographs of memorial tablet for John Borland Thayer Autograph letter signed A. H. Rostron, New York, Tuesday, to Jack [Thayer]. 4 pp.?on Board the Cunard R. M. S.?Campania.?? stationery Autograph letter signed A. H. Rostron, Southampton, December 30, 1924 to Mrs. Thayer. 4 pp.?on Board the Cunard R. M. S.?Mauretania?? stationery, 1924 December Autograph letter signed A. H. Rostron, Pier 54, New York, June 22, pp.?on Board the Cunard R. M. S.?Mauretania?? stationery, 1925 June Envelope marked "Letter from Capt. Rostron?? Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company stationery Page 20 -

21 Newspaper clipping, "Thayer Describes Sinking of Titanic? and?hero of Titanic Now Helpless Invalid? Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, 1932 April Newspaper clipping, "Phila. Man Tells of Titanic Wreck,? Philadelphia Public Ledger, 1932 April Newspaper clipping, "1513 Lost on Titanic 25 Years Ago,? Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger, and newspaper clipping,?honor Titanic Dead Where Liner Sank,? [Philadelphia?], 1937 April Typed letter signed Walter Lord, New York, July 10, 1957 to John Borland Thayer, [IV]. 1 p. Folder 40. Autograph letter signed Walter Lord, September 25 [1957?] to Mr. Thayer. 1 p, 1957 July 10, [1957?] September Menu, Titanic Historical Society Banquet, April 17, 1982, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, autographed by John B. Thayer, John Maxtone-Graham, Ken Marschall, Don Lynch, et. al. 4 pp, 1982 April Invitation from Philadelphia Maritime Museum to?a Commemorative: The Titanic after Seventy-Five Years,? to John B. Thayer, and invitation from Philadelphia Maritime Museum to "Pleasures and Perils: The Titanic and her Era,? members preview exhibit opening, 1987 April Page 21 -

22 Invitation from the Ocean Liner Museum to a?memorial Service and Dinner Afloat Observing the 75th Anniversary of the Sinking of? Titanic and the Rescue of? passengers and crew by? Carpathia? signed by John Maxtone-Graham. 2 pp. plus reply card and envelope Typed letter signed John Maxtone-Graham, February 2, 1987 to John Thayer [IV]. 1 p. plus envelope, 1987 February Postcards Printing plate from The Sinking of the S. S. Titanic by J. B. Thayer, wood and copper, 9?in. x 5 in Page 22 -