My second book about the RMS Titanic and her passengers and crew along with some movie talk. Same rules apply, no drama, trolls, and disrespecting the people on this ship
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July 27th, 1895 - November 23rd, 1975
She is a Leo.
Mary Conover Line was born in Mount Vernon, Westchester, New York to Dr. Ernest Howard Lines (1859 - 1936), a New York native and president and medical director of the New York Line insurance company, and Elizabeth Lindsay James (1861 - 1942), who hailed from Burlington, New Jersey. Her parents had married in Pennsylvania in 1889 and besides Mary they had one other child, a son, Howard Burchard (1892 - 1916). The family appears on the 1900 census living in Manhattan. They latterly settled in Paris, where Mary was educated, and they were frequent travellers across the Atlantic.
Aboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912: In April of 1912, Mary and Elizabeth were traveling to the United States to attend Howard's graduation from Dartmouth College. They boarded the RMS Titanic at Southampton as 1st class passengers and occupied cabin D-28. On April 13th, 1912 the 2 ladies had just finished luncheon in the 1st class dining room on D Deck. They had a habit of stopping for coffee in the adjoining reception room following their meal. After they had taken a seat, Captain Smith and J. Bruce Ismay came and sat at a table nearby and begin discussing the possibility of having the last boilers lit. Elizabeth recognized Ismay from several years back when they had both lived in New York, and she confirmed his identity with her table steward.
On the night of the sinking Mary recalled that she had been dozing off when she and her mother became alarmed when the ship stopped and the noise of steam being vented out could be heard. They were soon pacified by their steward who told them to remain in their cabin whiz they did, for some time and the steward never returned. Mary later recalled that a man from a neighbouring cabin (whom she identified as Mr. White, possibly Percival White or his son Richard) alerted them to get dressed and helped them find their lifebelts. Half-dressed, the ladies left their cabin and ventured to the boat deck where an officer tied their lifeboats on, saying "We are sending you out as a matter of precaution. We hope you will be back for breakfast." They were rescued in lifeboat 9 which Mary described as far from full. When the ship sank, Mary later claimed that she was too far away to hear the cries of those struggling in the water, something she considered a blessing.
During sunrise and before their rescue by RMS Carpathia, Mary recalled the magnificent sight of 5 or 6 huge icebergs nearby, a scene she would describe as one of the most beautiful spectacles she has ever seen. For Mary, having to climb a rickety rope ladder up the side of the Carpathia was a terrifying ordeal for her and many other survivors on her lifeboat, many of whom were too cold to climb and who had to be hauled up by ropes. Whilst aboard the rescue ship her mother was given a bunk whilst she slept on the floor with another girl around her age.
After The Sinking/Later Life/Death: Mary and Elizabeth did manage to arrive at her brother's graduation and eventually returned to Paris during WW1, Mary served for 4 years in a French Hospital as a nurses' aide. Howard served in the Ambulance Service but died in 1916 as a result of pneumonia. Mary was married in Paris in 1919 to Massachusetts-born Sargent Holbrook Wellman (May 8th, 1892) and the freshly-married couple appeared on the 1920 census living with her husband's family in Manhattan but would settle in Topsfield, Massachusetts later that year. The couple had 3 children: Prudence (1920 - 1986; later Mrs. Joseph Leo Leonard), Howard Lines (1924 - 2006), and Bradford (born 1931). The couple were active in their local community in various civic and charitable roles.
Mary devoted much of her time to the Girls Scouts on local and National levels since 1923 and was one of the founders of the Mid-Essex area council of Girls Scouts and served as á commissioner of Massachusetts Girls Scouts for 4 years, among other roles. She was a member of the Herb Society of America for 30 years, serving as chairman of the New England Unit, and later assisted in the transition of the Natural History of Lavenders from French to English. For many years Mary never spoke about her experiences on Titanic and it wasn't until after the death of Elizabeth that she chose to recount her story. Although invited to the New York premiere of A Night To Remember in 1958, Mary declined the request as she had no wish to relive her experience.
She did speak to local press and did so until her death though. Mary died at her home, Salem Road, Massachusetts on November 23rd, 1975 at the age of 80 following a stroke. She was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, Topsfield.
