The story of the ill-fated RMS Titanic is known the world over and has been memorialised throughout popular culture, most famously in James Cameron's sell-out 1997 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. But what of the real people on that passenger liner and the legacies and estates they left behind? From the birthplace of the ship's architect to the stately homes of those lost to the waves, click or scroll on to explore the remarkable residences forever tied to the Titanic.
A British luxury ocean liner, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on 14 April 1912, four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. Tragically, around 1,500 passengers and personnel lost their lives. Of those on board the ship, whose regal dining room is pictured here, 324 were counted among the Titanic's first-class travellers. The movers and shakers of 20th-century society, many were the owners of sprawling estates that are still standing today. Let's uncover their stories...
Emily Maria Ryerson, her husband Arthur and their children, Suzette, Emily and John, boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg in France bound for their home in Pennsylvania, USA. Emily and the children escaped in a lifeboat, despite her attempts to stay with Arthur, and her 13-year-old son initially being refused a place in the escape vessel. Emily gave testimony at the 1912 US Senate hearing and described the awful moment when the Titanic "seemed to break in half as if cut with a knife". Arthur never made it to safety and died at the scene while the survivors in the lifeboat were picked up by the Carpathia and taken to New York. Three years later, Emily commissioned the design of a lavish mansion in Chicago as a fresh start for the grief-stricken family.
Built in 1915, the grand property is located on the edge of Chicago's Lincoln Park, an affluent neighbourhood inhabited by the city's upper echelons. Emily's friends, architects Henry Corwith Dangler and David Adler, designed the beautiful four-floor residence. In more recent years, the property was divided into two homes, however, both are now on the market for a combined price of $13.3 million (£10.6m).
While both sections of the mansion have been recently overhauled and modernised, plenty of original features from Emily's tenure still remain. The bold checkerboard flooring in the entry hall makes a regal first impression, while Grecian-inspired columns frame a sweeping staircase complete with an intricate, wrought-iron bannister. With a total of nine bedrooms and nine bathrooms, there was plenty of space to accommodate the family, along with any guests they may have hosted.
Pictured here back in 1922, the 11,600-square-foot residence offered palatial quarters. This drawing room, decked out with ornate mouldings and a large fireplace flanked by built-in bookcases, no doubt saw many high-society gatherings over the years. During the First World War, the house was reportedly used by the Children's Memorial Hospital for convalescence. Rows of metal-framed beds replaced the luxurious furniture for a time and the billiard room was turned into a playroom.
Fast-forward to the present day and while elements such as the flooring and hearth surround may have changed, many features are still recognisable. The wall panelling and embellished mirror remain, while that distinctive pediment across the door frame has endured the years too. Modern additions such as herringbone wood floors and soft grey paint have updated the property without compromising its historic charm.
Similarly, the kitchen's contemporary facelift is sensitive to the home's heritage, with intricate panelling and engravings still visible across the walls. In 1927, Emily was remarried to William Forsythe Sherfesee, who was the Forestry Advisor to the Chinese Government – the pair are said to have met when Emily was travelling through the country. Shortly after they tied the knot, the couple moved to New York and Emily sold her Lincoln Park mansion shortly after in 1930.
Wealthy American business magnate George Dunton Widener (left) boarded the Titanic with his wife, Eleanor Elkins, and son, Harry Elkins Widener (right), planning to travel home to the US after a family holiday in Europe. Reportedly placed in a lifeboat by George, Eleanor and her maid survived thanks to their efforts. George and 27-year-old Harry tragically perished in the waves, leaving behind the family's grand estate in Philadelphia, Lynnewood Hall.
One of the greatest surviving Gilded Age mansions in America, Lynnewood Hall was built around the turn of the 20th century. The palatial property was originally part of a sprawling 480-acre estate in Montgomery County's Elkins Park and was commissioned by Peter A.B. Widener, George Dunton Widener's father.
Encompassing 70,000 square feet, the vast mansion is thought to have cost around $8 million to build. The estate offering 110 rooms, including 55 bedrooms, not to mention a grand art gallery and a ballroom with space to host around 1,000 guests. In its heyday, 37 members of staff oversaw the running of Lynnewood Hall, while an additional 60 workers tended to the lavish gardens.
Sadly these days the extensive estate is in a sorry state of disrepair. YouTubers svvk ventured inside the house recently to capture the forlorn interiors – this once-stunning swimming pool is now a sad shadow of its former grandeur. When Widener's son, George, and grandson, Harry, lost their lives on the Titanic, the estate fell to Peter's only surviving son, Joseph, who went on to curate one of the most important private art collections of Gilded Age European masterpieces in the world at Lynnewood.
Joseph passed away in 1943, however, neither of his children wanted to take on the vast responsibility of the estate. The property changed hands and sadly many of the home's original fixtures were sold off, though some of Joseph's prized art collection can be glimpsed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Having been left to languish for decades, Lynnewood Hall was recently listed for sale, only to seemingly vanish from the market. Could the fortunes of this abandoned Gilded Age mansion be about to change?
Immortalised in James Cameron's blockbuster Titanic, Macy's co-owner Isidor Straus and his wife, Ida, sadly lost their lives in the tragedy too. The couple chose to remain together on the ill-fated ship as it sank, allowing others a chance of survival, according to an account in The National Archives. Isidor is said to have refused to board the lifeboat as younger men were turned away, while Ida stood by her husband, reportedly telling him: "Where you go, I go." Instead, their maid was put into a rescue boat and carried to safety.
The historic property was constructed with materials imported from European estates, and where that wasn't possible, French and Italian artisans were flown in to create the intricate design elements onsite. The project was such a vast undertaking that a separate train line was reportedly constructed to help deliver the materials to the estate.
The Straus family sold off Cobble Close Farm in 1951 and the property was divided into a number of separate dwellings. It's now available to book as a location for fashion, film and commercial projects through Location Department. While the interiors are no doubt a little different from the days of the Straus family, features like this wonderful beamed pitched ceiling likely remain the same.
Margaret Welles Swift, who married into the Swift Meat Packing Company, boarded the Titanic in Southhampton with a group of friends following a tour of Europe. One of the lucky few, Margaret was safely brought ashore in a lifeboat when the Titanic began to sink. However, the blueprints for the home she was planning to build with her husband, Fred, in New York's Hudson Valley were lost to the North Atlantic Ocean.
Known as Overledge, the remarkable residence features a Mediterranean-style stucco façade and stained-glass windows embellished with the family crest. Rather fittingly, it's often accompanied by the Swift family motto: 'Nil Desperandum' or 'Never Despair'. According to the Titanic Honour and Glory exhibition, Margaret rarely spoke of what she'd seen during that ill-fated voyage, but the few confidants she did open to never forgot the harrowing events she described.
When her husband passed away, Margaret sold the home they'd built together. As reported in Terry Talley's book about the Hudson Valley village, Oh, What a Grand View, the estate passed through numerous high-profile owners over the decades, including Santana drummer Michael Shrieve and editor-in-chief of Golf magazine George Peper, who installed a putting green on the property in the 1980s.
Despite the mansion's myriad of residents, the core of the home has remained faithful to Margaret's original vision from all those years ago. From the intricate woodwork that extends throughout the beautiful living areas to the curved leaded windows and romantic architectural details like this cosy reading nook, the property's period features still take centre stage.
An Irish architect who became the chief designer of the RMS Titanic, Thomas Andrews boarded the doomed ship as a first-class passenger to ensure the voyage ran smoothly. In the wake of the disastrous collision, he concluded that the ship had a mere two hours until it would be submerged. Before he was lost to the waves, a member of the crew observed Andrews standing silently in the first-class smoking room, his lifebelt discarded nearby, according to a statement given to the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry.
The man whose fate was ultimately entwined with the tragic ship was born and raised here at Ardara House in Northern Ireland's County Down. The grand stately home was constructed in 1872 by Thomas's father, after whom he was named. The Andrews family were wealthy business magnates – Thomas's uncle was Viscount Pirrie, chairman of Harland & Wolff, the builders of the Titanic.
This vast bay window in the living room is a particular highlight, not least because of the history embued in its design. According to the apartment's previous owner, the magnificent mahogany panelling that lines the walls is said to have been installed by the same joiners who worked on the Titanic. How's that for a dinner party story?
Philanthropist Margaret Tobin Brown, or the 'Unsinkable Molly Brown' as she eventually came to be known, cut her European vacation short and boarded the Titanic after news reached her that her grandson had been taken ill. Saved by the RMS Carpathia, Molly was one of the lucky ones. Once onboard the rescue ship, she helped distribute supplies to those in need, and by the time the boat reached New York, she's said to have raised $10,000 for the survivors who'd lost everything – that's around $275,000 (£197k) when adjusted for inflation.
Named The House of Lions after the stone statues that stand guard outside the façade, Molly and James made numerous renovations over the years, including adding a front porch, roof and third floor. Now open to the public as the Molly Brown House Museum, the home was restored in the 1970s by preservation group Historic Denver and its regal interiors were returned to their former grandeur once more.
Despite her own wealth, evident in the exquisite furnishings that adorned her 14-room Denver home, Molly campaigned tirelessly for the rights of the survivors of the Titanic, helping to establish a memorial to the disaster in Washington and serving as the chair of the Survivors' Committee. In 1932, she was awarded the French Legion of Honour for her efforts and philanthropy.
Her pioneering activism spread beyond the tragedy of the Titanic and she became one of the first women to run for US Congress, long before women had the right to vote. She also helped found the Colorado chapter of the National American Women's Suffrage Association, as well as the Denver Woman's Club, and even organised an international women's rights conference in Rhode Island in 1914.
Born into one of the most affluent families of the Gilded Age, John Jacob Aster IV was among the world's richest men when he boarded the Titanic with his new wife, Madeleine Force Astor, as they returned to New York after their honeymoon. When it emerged that the ship was sinking, Astor reportedly bundled his wife, who was pregnant, into a lifeboat. Astor is said to have stood on the deck of the Titanic as the vessel went down. In tribute to her late husband, Madeleine named their son John Jacob.
The sprawling stately home was purchased by John's father, William Backhouse Astor Jr., in 1881. Constructed from bath stone, the dazzling estate features a spectacular driveway and unparalleled views across Sheep Point Cove and the North Atlantic Ocean. The property reportedly underwent a $100 million (£72m) renovation when it was bought by tech billionaire Larry Ellison in 2010, and some of the building works can be seen in progress here.
While few photographs exist of the estate's interior, this shot from 2003 depicts a reenactment of the Astors' Christmas celebrations in the mansion's exquisite ballroom. It was in this spectacular space, beneath the breathtaking gilded ceiling, that John Jacob Astor IV married his second wife, Madeleine Force, in 1911. On the same day they tied the knot, the two jetted off on their honeymoon to Egypt and Paris, before making their return passage on the ill-fated RMS Titanic.
When John passed away on that fateful voyage in 1912, the estate passed to his son Vincent, before changing hands numerous times over the subsequent decades. For a time in the 1980s, live theatrical tours of the estate were run for the general public, complete with actors playing the roles of butlers, footmen and maids. The property's latest owner, Larry Ellison, reportedly intends to transform the house into the Beechwood Art Museum. Watch this space...
The amazing estate includes Astor Courts, which replaced the primary mansion in the 1940s, and was notably the backdrop for Chelsea Clinton's secretive wedding to investor Marc Mezvinsky. Elsewhere on the acreage, the estate's aforementioned farmhouse, known as Bryndelbrook, sits nestled in verdant grounds, flanked by this charming pool house. Bryndelbrook recently changed hands in 2019, selling for the not-insignificant sum of $3.5 million (£2.5m).
While Bryndelbrook is far more modest than the accommodation John Jacob Astor IV would've enjoyed during his time at Ferncliff, it offers an insight into the estate that William Backhouse Astor Jr. originally designed. According to the Museum of Rhinebeck History, the farmhouse was home to Ferncliff's servants, and perhaps the property's chauffeur and carpenter.
Heritage structures and storage buildings are peppered across the picturesque estate, including a number of tenant houses for farmers and estate workers. After John Jacob Astor IV's passing, the property fell to his son, Vincent. Following his death, the estate was divided and parcels of land have gradually been sold off over the years – up the road, there's also the grand converted dairy barns that renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz restored.
A successful jeweller, Henry Blank joined the Titanic's maiden voyage in Paris as he returned home from business meetings in Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands and France. Blank was reportedly in the first-class smoking room playing cards when the boat collided with the iceberg. One of the earliest to arrive on the starboard deck, he was in the first lifeboat to be dispatched from the sinking ship, and was eventually rescued by the RMS Carpathia and brought ashore.
According to sources, Blank enlisted a small army to help run the large mansion. He reportedly employed a cook, two maids and a governess to educate his children. An avid reader, it's said that Henry would retire to the library after supper and immerse himself in books on the arts, architecture and music.
The property encompasses a total of eight bedrooms and five bathrooms, as well as a two-bedroom carriage house with its own kitchen and dining room. In March 2021, the impressive mansion was listed for sale for $2.6 million (£1.9m). It's said that Henry's wife Phoebe never let him travel to Europe alone again after his near-miss aboard the Titanic.
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