Titanic couples: Lucian and Eloise Smith by ric gustafson
Lucian Philip Smith traveled to Huntington West Virginia to meet someone he had seen a picture of. A month later they were married.
Lucian came from Morgantown West Virginia where his family had holdings in coalfields. Eloise was the daughter of a Republican congressman and spent a lot of her growing up near the White House.
For their honeymoon, they visited Egypt, Italy, Monte Carlo and then Paris France. During the honeymoon, Eloise discovered that she was pregnant. They boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg and Lucian spent time playing cards in the smoking room. As they sat in the Café Parisien, they talked about their plans to raise a family on a farm in Huntington.
On the evening of Sunday April 14, they ate dinner in the first class dining room. Afterwards, Eloise went to bed and Lucian joined a game of auction bridge. At 11:40 pm, they heard a grinding noise, walked over to a nearby porthole and noticed a large slab of ice go by.
Lucian ran down to their room and woke up Eloise. He quietly informed her what had happened. She put on a heavy woolen dress, high top shoes and two coats and then they went up to the Boat Deck. Lucian helped her into Lifeboat 4 where she sat by Madeleine Astor. He waved goodbye and walked away.
When it was lowered, it was rowed toward a light shone in the distance. When the ship went under, they heard the cries for help. The lifeboat in the early morning was rescued by the liner Carpathia. Lucian did not come back.
Eloise returned to Huntington accompanied by her father. May 20th, she testified at the Senate Inquiry into the ship's sinking. A year later, a son named Lucian Smith Jr was born. In August of 1914, she married Robert Daniel who was also a Titanic survivor. It did not last and they divorced in 1923. She married twice more and died of a heart attack at the age of forty six.
research help: ' Titanic Love Stories' by Gill Paul
Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric
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