I was introduced to the Titanic when I was at the Titanic exhibition in 2012 that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the sinking at the Franklin Institute. I was given a replica of a boarding pass as a ticket entry when I entered the exhibition, and I had the ticket of Margaret Tobin, the wife of James Joseph Brown. She was known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."
My fascination of the Titanic grew over time as I begin to learn and watch documentaries about the ship, and hearing the stories behind the sinkage of the Titanic.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone in the Wissahickon Valley Region who were on board the Titanic, but there was one passenger from North Wales who, unfortunately, did not survive the wreck.
The RMS Titanic: From Beginning to End
The RMS Titanic was built in competition with Cunard's RMS Mauretania and RMS Lusitania. The White Star Line chief executive J. Bruce Ismay decided to have three ships constructed and wanted them to be bigger than the ships from the British Cunard Line. The RMS Titanic was built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland, becoming one of the new “Olympic” class of liners. The other two were the Olympic and the Britannic.
On May 31, 1911, the hull of Titanic was successfully launched.
On April 12, 1912, the Titanic set sail after picking up passengers in Southhampton, Cherbourg, and Queenstown, heading across the transatlantic to New York.
The Titanic was sailing across the transatlantic until on April 14, 1912 close to midnight an iceberg warning was received by the crew. Lookout sailor Frederick Fleet spotted the iceberg, but it was too late when the ship was grazed by the iceberg on the right side of the bow as the ship turned sharply away from the iceberg.
As the ship was sinking and filling up with water, the ship crew had the lifeboats ready and had women and children get onto the boats first. Even when the boats can hold 65 people, it only filled 28 as people on board were confused and panicked about the situation.
706 people survived the sinking, and over 1,500 people died. Three of the victims were Austin Blyler van Billiard of North Wales and his two sons.
Austin Blyler van Billiard
Austin Blyler van Billiard (1877-1912) was the son of burgess and marble merchant James W. van Billiard of North Wales.
He emigrated to Europe to seek job opportunities. While working in Paris, he met his future wife Maud Murray. They were married in 1900, and went to the United States for their honeymoon. After the couple returned to France, their eldest sons, James and Walter, were born.
Austin had an idea of traveling to the diamond fields of South Africa in search of fortune. So, he and his family moved to Africa and officially settled down in Belgium Congo. Their final home was located in Elizabethville, which was renamed to Lubumbashi. While living in South Africa, they had four more children, whom they were educated in the country and spoke proficiently in English and the South African language and dialect.
The family then moved to England after spending 10 years in South Africa to meet his wife's parents, one month before Austin boarded the Titanic.
Austin planned to surprise his parents in North Wales as he prepared his journey on the Titanic in 1912. He took his sons James and Walter with him along with several uncut diamonds he mined from South Africa. Prior to his trip, Austin sent a letter to his father, letting him know he will return to Philadelphia around Easter.
"I believe that my son contemplated surprising us when he sailed without letting us know. His wife was ill and he was forced to leave her with her parents in London. Probably he wanted to come over on the big, new boat, realizing that he could travel very comfortably in the steerage on such a steamer on her maiden trip. He took his two children with him, leaving his little daughter and baby boy fifth their mother. I can think of no other reason for him to sail without letting us know."
- Burgess James W. van Billiard, April 25, 1912
Austin and his two sons boarded the Titanic in Southampton on April 10, 1912 as third class passengers.
NOTE: To learn about the life of the 3rd class passengers on the Titanic, watch this Tasting History video by Max Miller:
Aftermath
The bodies of Austin and one of his boys were recovered Halifax, Nova Scotia. His uncut diamonds were also recovered from the wreck.
Sad Fact #1: He was the 225th person to be found from the Titanic wreck while his son was the very first to be found.
His wife came to North Wales were she was given the opportunity to determine which of the two boys accompanied their father on the Titanic by examining the clothing and effects. She realized that it was her second son Walter whose body was recovered while the body of her oldest son James rested in the Atlantic Ocean. It was stated that Austin's body was found by the Cable Ship Mackay-Bennett near the scene of the wreck, and his son was found "tightly locked in his embrace."
After their bodies were discovered, they were interred to North Wales.
His wife settled down in North Wales along with her four young children who were born in South Africa so they can be close to the place their father grew up and where their father and their brothers was buried. The children never experienced cold weather and snow prior to coming to the United States, but they ended up enjoying it when the winter seasons came.
Bibliography
"Biography of Austin Blyler van Billiard." Austin Blyler van Billiard's Titanic Blog
~ My experience on the RMS Titanic. Accessed August 3, 2022. https://cassidytitanic.wordpress.com/biography-of-austin-blyler-van-billiard/.
"Son and Babies on the Titanic." Ambler Gazette. April 25, 1912. Page 1. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/8449/rec/1.
Smith, J. L. Montgomery County 1893, North Wales Left, 1893.
"The Titanic: Sinking & Facts." HISTORY. Last modified April 9, 2021. https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/titanic.
"Titanic Timeline." History on the Net. Accessed August 3, 2022. https://www.historyonthenet.com/titanic-timeline-3.
"Titanic Victims Buried." Ambler Gazette. May 30, 1912. Page 1. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/8647/rec/2.
"Titanic Wreck Victims Here." Ambler Gazette. March 6, 1913. Page 7. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/9784/rec/3.
Comments