William Logan Gwinn

[Ted Robinson]

Hi all...

I'm a newbie to this forum. I have come into possession of a lot of memorabilia including a pile (about 60) of love letters from William Gwinn (one of the Sea Postal Clerks lost on Titanic) to his wife Florence. The letters begin with their meeting in 1904, and continue for many years. They chronicle their courtship, marriage and birth of their 2 children. Also I have several photos of what I take to be them and their family members. There is also an official letter from the Commerce Dept. awarding Florence $2,000 for the loss of Will’s life while on duty aboard Titanic.I have tried unsuccessfully to find surviving kin to whom I can return the material, but no luck so far. I know that their son, William Thurston Gwynne (note spelling change) was born 4/18/09, and died 9/20/96. I believe that he never married and thus had no heirs. There was also a daughter, born only months before Will died, but I don't know her name. Anybody out there have an interest or can enlighten me?? I'm thankful for all correspondence.

 

[Alan James Gwinn]

W.L. Gwynn was my great uncle-my grandfathers brother. I had a photo of him, in uniform. on the deck of the Titanic taken at Southhampton. I have lost this photo. This pic appeared to have been taken by an agency of the White Star Line . Does a repository of pics exist for crew members? I would love to have a copy of it- if possible. My grandfather met the Carpathia when it docked in NYC and questioned a number of survivors about Uncle Will and this story has been passed down in the family to this day.

 

[Alan James Gwinn]

William Logan Gwinn [Gwynn] was my great uncle and a mail clerk aboard Titanic. He did not survive. I had a photo of him , in uniform, taken on deck, in Southhampton, before the ship sailed. Sadly, I have lost this pic. The photo appeared to have been taken by someone associated with the White Star Line. Does anyone know of a repository of photos taken along these lines? I would much appreciate any info that is available. Thanks, Alan Gwinn

 

[Michael H. Standart]

I don't know that there's any one repository for that sort of thing. The photos on ET come from a wide veriaty of sources, mostly private and family collections.

 

[Alan James Gwinn]

Hi Ted, My name is Alan James Gwinn and Will Gwinn was my great uncle. I'm new to the site and have been looking for info on him. I had a photo of him, in uniform, taken on deck, at Southhampton, before sailing. In a move, I lost this treasured family heirloom. I am so glad to have read your message and I would love to have access to his letters and any photos. My grandfather, Corneilus Gwinn was an inveterate letter writer and I sure some of your correspondence would include missives between these two brothers. I have a picture taken at Christmas, 1911 in the home of their father, my great -grandfather, at Kingston NY. Will's two children were Marjorie and Thurston. Marjorie was born in '09 and Thurston in 1912, at just about the time of Titanic's sinking. Will "bumped" a co-worker to get the Titanic assignment in order to get home earlier- due to his wife- Florence's difficult pregnancy. No one in the family has ever been in contact with either Marjorie or Thurston and your mention of his death in 1996 is the first time I have ever had word of him. My uncle Charles had once told me that he thought that Thurston had become a sculptor and was living somewhere on Long Island. There is so much more that I
would like to share. If you would like to talk directly, PLEASE write to me at [email protected].
Kind regards,
Alan Gwinn

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Hello Alan,

Please note that Ted has not accessed the board for just over a year, so he may or may not see your message. This information can be obtained by clicking on his name.

However, you can send him an e-mail through his profile.

 

[Alan James Gwinn]

Jason-
I did sent Ted a copy of my posting by clicking on his name and forwarding my scribbling. I am on pins and needles in anticipation of a response from him. No one in my family has ever come this close to getting more information about Uncle Will!

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

All the best in your research then, Alan.

 

[Alan James Gwinn]

To All-

Member Ted Robinson contacted me regarding info relating to my uncle, William Gwinn, a postal clerk aboard Titanic, who did not survive.

Ted had purchased, at a private estate sale on Long Island, books and memorabilia that included letters and photos belonging to William Gwinn's widow, Florence Rohde Gwinn- covering the time period 1904 to 1912.

Ted, while sensing the private nature of this material, went forward with a genealogical search of the Gwinn/Rohde families that resulted in an exchange of E-Mails and phone conversations between us- resulting in his sending me a CD of this info.

The extent of his work is truly remarkable. He generated 347 files within 88 separate folders- totaling 68 MEG of data- in the form of notes, findings and pictures and speculations about the families. The CD included an eight page synopsis- all annotated.

This was all done by a man who had no personal interest in his subjects other than that of a researcher. His desire was to gain insight into the lives of a family touched by tragedy, and perhaps- additionally, enlighten family members of this star-crossed husband and wife. He succeeded in this with me. I will always remain in his debt for what he has accomplished.

Of course the mid-wife in all of this is the Encyclopedia Titanica
web-site.I never expected this kind of resource- so focused on the nuts and bolts of the sinking-to yield this kind of personal information. Bravo and Kudos!!

Ted, My entire family is in your debt for this fantastic work on their behalf. THANK YOU.

Alan Gwinn

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

That's terrific news, Alan! I'm so glad to hear that you received an e-mail from Ted and that he was extremely generous enough to compile the information on your uncle, and send it to you.

 

[Ted Robinson]

To all...
I'm grateful to Alan Gwinn for all his kind words regarding my research into his family (Will Gwinn, sea-post clerk lost on Titanic). If anyone else has an interest in the material, please contact me.

Ted Robinson

 

[Bonnie Stephenson]

Dear Alan,

I recently discovered this site and found your posting. My grandfather was William Gwinn! I have some original papers and letters and would like to hear more about your connection.

Hope to hear from you,

Bonnie Stephenson

 

[Alan James Gwinn]

Hi Bonnie-
Marjorie's daughter! Wonderful to hear from you! I'm the grandson of Corneilius, Will's brother. MY father, Alexander, was named after our great-grandfather. I'v posted on a number of these ET sub-sections about Will. Look below this segment on crew research to "William Logan Gwinn-Sea postal clerk". See postings between June 3rd and August 2nd, 2006.
Also, in the introduce yourself section see my posts from June 3rd thru June 11th, 2006. This represents my family's recollections of Will and the family through the years.
On this site I have posted a family picture taken at Christmas 1911, in our great-grandfathers home in Kingston. Pic is located in the Gilded Age section, then look under "Social Graces,customs and etiquette"- then to the sub-head "misrepresented in the movie", where the photo is posted on Sept. 5th, 2007.
I have a CD of letters and pics relating to Will and Florence Rohde Gwinn from the period 1904- until the tragedy.
If you would like to exchange info, please E-mail me directly at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Alan Gwinn

 

[GwinnAnne]

Hello.
My name is Gwinn. My mothers' family, though my grandmothers' side of the family, is related to William Logan Gwinn [Gwynn], and I'm looking to find more information about him and his family (his wife, children and his wife's mother) who all left their home in New Jersey after learning of my [great-great?] uncles death on the Titanic...this is a missing piece of my story and history I hope to fill in. Can either of you help me? I was very excited when I read your posts! Corneilius and Alexander are family too, so please, I'm axious to know if you have any infomation on my family!

Gwinn

 

[Mark Baber]

Hello---

Have you checked out his ET bio page? There are links to a few New Jersey newspaper reports concerning Gwinn and his family.