George Dunton Widener, Sr.

- Wikipedia Biography

Titania Biography

• Name: Mr George Dunton Widener
• Born: Sunday 16th June 1861
• Age: 50 years
• Last Residence: in Philadelphia Pennsylvania United States
• Occupation: Banker
• 1st Class passenger
• First Embarked: Southampton on Wednesday 10th April 1912
• Ticket No. 113503 , £211 10s
• Cabin No.: C80
• Died in the sinking.
• Body Not Recovered

Mr George Dunton Widener, 50, from Elkins Park, PA, was the son of P.A.B. Widener, a member of the board of the Fidelity Trust Company of Philadelphia, the bank that controlled IMM, the owners of the White Star Line. He was heir to probably the largest fortune in Philadelphia. However, George Widener was a wealthy man in his own right running a successful street-car firm in Philadelphia.

Mr Widener and family had been staying at the Paris Ritz Hotel and he, his wife Eleanor Widener, son Harry Elkins Widener and their two servants Edwin Keeping and Emily Geiger boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg. The Widener's occupied cabins C-80/82.

On the afternoon of April 14th, Widener and his wife were standing on the promenade deck talking to J. Bruce Ismay when Captain Smith passed them on his way aft. Without comment he handed Ismay one of the ice warnings from the White Star liner Baltic, Ismay simply put the message in his pocket and headed below.

Later that day Captain Smith joined a dinner party given in his honour by the Wideners in the ship's à la carte restaurant. The guests included, John B. Thayer and Mrs Thayer, Major Archibald Butt, Clarence Moore and William Carter and his wife Lucile Carter. A little before 9pm the Captain excused himself and headed for the bridge. After the ladies had retired the men sat in the smoking room talking. They were still there when the iceberg was struck.

Later, George and Harry escorted Eleanor to lifeboat 4. While the boats continued loading Colonel Archibald Gracie observed George Widener leaning against a railing in deep discussion with John B. Thayer, Mrs Thayer had also boarded boat #4.

As the ship sank deeper the Wideners and Mr Thayer were joined by Charles Duane Williams. All four men died in the disaster.

Notes

At the church of St Paul in Elkins Park are two Tiffany Windows in memory of George and Harry Widener. The interior of the church was rebuilt in 1912-13, thanks to Mrs Widener. George was the senior warden at St Pauls and Chair of the Board of Commissioners of Cheltenham Township. Both the Church and The Township presented Resolutions to Mrs Widener.

Travelling Companions (on same ticket)

• Miss Amalie "Emily" Henriette Gieger
• Mr Edwin Herbert Keeping
• Mrs Eleanor Widener
• Mr Harry Elkins Widener

References and Sources

• John P. Eaton & Charles A. Haas (1994) Titanic: Triumph & Tragedy, 2nd ed. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1 85260 493 X
• Walter Lord (1976) A Night to Remember. London, Penguin. ISBN 0 14 004757 3
• Don Lynch & Ken Marschall (1992) Titanic: An Illustrated History. London, Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0 340 56271 4

Credits

• Leon Clemmer
• Linda Greaves, USA

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http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=widener&GSmid=46560566&GRid=11841844&pt=George%20Dunton%20Widener&

Business magnate. Titanic Passenger. He made $30 million from public utilities, Standard Oil, and his streetcar ventures. He was president of the Widener Elkins Traction Syndicate, maker of streetcars. He lived at Lynnewood Hall in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Widener died in the Titantic disaster, along with his son, Harry Elkins Widener. His wife Eleanor Elkins survived. He was the son of business magnate P.A.B. Widener.

GEDCOM Note

Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Dunton_Widener, including "In 1912, George D. Widener, his wife, and their son Harry traveled to Paris, France, with original intentions to find a chef for Widener's new Philadelphia hotel, The Ritz Carlton. The Wideners booked their return passage on RMS Titanic. After the ship struck an iceberg, Widener placed his wife and her maid in a lifeboat. The women were rescued by the steamship RMS Carpathia, but George D. Widener and his son Harry both went down with the ship. Their bodies, if recovered, were not identified. A memorial service for them was held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania where stained glass windows were dedicated in their memory. Two weeks after their untimely deaths on the Titanic, Widener's daughter Eleanor married at the family estate in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania."

More information can be found at http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Cyclop%C3%A6dia_of_American_Biography/Widener,_George_Dunton

GEDCOM Note

GEDCOM Source

@R-1676687309@ 1910 United States Federal Census Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,7884::0

GEDCOM Source

Year: 1910; Census Place: Cheltenham, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1377; Page: 18A; Enumeration District: 0069; FHL microfilm: 1375390 1,7884::186473030

GEDCOM Source

@R-1676687309@ Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,60541::0

GEDCOM Source

1,60541::262126

GEDCOM Source

@R-1676687309@ 1910 United States Federal Census Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,7884::0

GEDCOM Source

Year: 1910; Census Place: Cheltenham, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1377; Page: 18A; Enumeration District: 0069; FHL microfilm: 1375390 1,7884::186473030

GEDCOM Source

@R-1676687309@ Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,60541::0

GEDCOM Source

1,60541::262126

GEDCOM Source

@R-1676687309@ 1910 United States Federal Census Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,7884::0

GEDCOM Source

Year: 1910; Census Place: Cheltenham, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1377; Page: 18A; Enumeration District: 0069; FHL microfilm: 1375390 1,7884::186473030

GEDCOM Source

@R-1676687309@ Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,60541::0

GEDCOM Source

1,60541::262126

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jul 30 2020, 6:36:53 UTC