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(s) | Arthur Larned Ryerson (his death) |
Emily Maria Borie Ryerson (August 10, 1863 – December 28, 1939, Philadelphia) was an American first-class passenger who survived the sinking of RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.
She married Arthur Larned Ryerson on January 31, 1889. They had five children: Susan "Suzette" Parker Ryerson (August 3, 1890), Arthur Larned Ryerson, Jr. (1891-1912), Emily Borie Ryerson (October 8, 1893), Ellen Ashfordbye Ryerson (1895-1973), and John Borie "Jack" Ryerson (December 16, 1898 - January 21, 1986).
Ryerson, her husband Arthur, and three of their children, Suzette, Emily, and John, boarded the RMS Titanic as first-class passengers in Cherbourg, France, after learning of the death of their son Jr., an undergraduate at Yale, who had been killed in an automobile crash 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, fellow passenger Marian Longstreth Thayer invited Ryerson for a walk. It was the first time she had been on deck in public. After nearly an hour they settled into the deck chairs outside the aft staircase of 'A' deck to watch the sunset. White Star official, Bruce Ismay, joined them and told them about the ice warning from the Baltic.
Ryerson was awake when the Titanic hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912, 11:40 pm. She 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] dress, but she only put on a fur coat, as I did over her nightgown."
Ryerson and her family went to 'A' deck and stood there for "fully half an hour". Ryerson, her two daughters, maid and John's governess stepped into Lifeboat 4. John was initially not allowed in; however, Arthur stepped forward and said, "Of course, that boy goes with his mother. He is only 13."
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