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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November 25th, 1866 - September 22nd, 1940
She is a Sagittarius.
Ida Sophia Fischer was born in Chicago, Illinois to Edward Fischer (1823 - 1891), a painter, and Julia Boehm (1829 - 1907), both Prussian immigrants. She had 2 siblings: Edward (born 1863) and Julia (1870 - 1923; later Mrs. Albert A. Nachtway) and the family are shown on the 1870 and 1880 census living in Chicago. She was married on June 28th, 1888 to Louisa Albert Hippach (January 22nd, 1863), a native of Fon du Lac, Wisconsin born to German parents and who was the co-owner and vice President of plate glass dealers Tyler & Hippach Co. The couple had 4 children: Robert Louis (born 1899), Albert Archibald (born 1891), Gertrude Isabelle "Jean" (born 1894), and Howard Henry (born 1896). The 1900 census shows the family living at Circle Avenue, Chicago.
Tragedy struck December 30th, 1903 when Ida's 2 elder sons had gone to a matinee performance of the musical Mr. Bluebird at Chicago's Iroquois Theatre. During the show, sparks from an arc light ignited a curtain and a fire soon spread with all attempts to extinguish it futile. The 1500 capacity theatre had an estimated 2200 persons that day, and the and the scene soon diminished into chaos with people trying to flee, only to be trapped by blocked exits. Whilst various means of escape was found, the swell of people trying to leave caused many deaths as a result of crushes or trampling. An estimated 575 people died that day, Robert and Archibald Hippach among them. Their deaths were reported in the Chicago Daily Tribune on January 3rd, 1904.
The 1910 census shows Ida and her remaining family living at Sheridan Road in Chicago. She and her daughter were well-known in social circles and were also noted for being very fashionable and attractive women. Her 1912 passport describes her as standing at 5'6, with a fair complexion, blue eyes, and black hair that was starting to grey.
Aboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912: A frequent traveller, Ida had been aboard in Europe with Jean since January of 1912. For their return to America they boarded the RMS Titanic at Cherbourg as first class passengers and occupied B-18. They later claimed they hadn't wanted to board the ship, not trusting a maiden voyage, but White Star Line employees had told them that there were only one First Class cabin left, implying that everyone wanted to go on the ship. They left lucky to get their ticket, only to discover that the ship was only partially full. "Everyone was saying Sunday evening that we were ahead of schedule and that we would break the records." Ida later recalled.
She and Jean were asleep when the Titanic struck the iceberg. Ida thought the shock of the collision was mild and Jean continued sleeping until the roar of the stream escaping through the tunnels woke her. They put on their wraps and hushed out into the corridor and heard everybody asking, "What is that? Did you hear that!?" Ida heard someone say they hit an iceberg, but nobody alarmed her or thought there were any danger. She decided to put onto the deck because she wanted to see the iceberg as she had never seen one before. A passing officer told them to return to their room, "Ladies go back to bed. You'll catch cold."
They went back to their stateroom but decided to dress and go back out into the corridor. They were told to return to their room and get a lifebelt. Ida and Jean came onto deck as they were lowered a lifeboat. They thought they would be safer on the Titanic so didn't get into one of the earlier boats. They watched the officer try to get people into lifeboat 2 and lifeboat 6, noting how few people were in each as they were lowered. Passengers talked to each other, at first saying the the boat was in no danger. Then they were told the boat would stay afloat for at least 24 hours and they were safer on deck than in the lifeboats. Later, they were told the Olympic was near and some ship's lights were pointed out to her. Ida has no clue that they weren't enough lifeboats.
They were walking by lifeboat 4 as it was being loaded and Colonel Astor told them to get in, although he assured them that there was no danger. Ida and Jean clambered through the windows and entered the boat, finding that it has a couple of sailors. The boat had a small amount of water in it and a man that Ida thought was a 3rd class passenger jumped into the boat (although this was probably a crew member). The women had to help row away from the Titanic. Ida now knew the snip was sinking because the upper portholes were so near to the water. She had someone calling for the boat to return to pick up more passengers, but they didn't dare. From their position, about 450 ft from the ship, they heard a "fearful explosion" and watched it split apart. They towed away, expecting the suction to pull at them. The lights all went out one by one then they all went out in a flash, except for a lantern on the mast. There was a fearful cry from the people in the water. They were rowed back and were able to pick about 8 men out.
In the morning they saw the RMS Carpathia and they rowed about 2 miles to the ship. Ida was taken aboard in a swinging seat. 'My, but it was good to be taken aboard and nursed.'
After The Sinking/Later Life/Death: It was uncertain at first to family and friends back home whether or not they were saved; however, by April 17th, 1912 the Chicago papers announced their rescue. Her husband and son hastened to New York to meet them both. They arrived in Chicago on April 21st, 1912 aboard the Twentieth Limited. Tragedy was to again strike the family on October 28th, 1914 when Howard was killed in a road accident when the automobile he was travelling in overturned into a pond in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. She and Jean were particularly close with each other, especially after so many personal tragedies, and the 2 remained seasoned travellers. Ships that Ida travelled on in later years included: Rotterdam, Albert Ballin, New York, and Aquitania.
Countries she would visit included: Belgium, Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom. At home, she was a life member of the Audubon and Humane societies, animal welfare, and the German Alterheim organization. Ida and her husband later moved to Sheridan Place in Evanstown, Illinois and she would spend the rest of her life at this address. She was widowed on May 30th, 1935 and for the time she and Jean again lived together. Ida died in Evanstown on September 22nd, 1940 following a stroke. She is buried with her husband and children in Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. Jean later died in 1974.
