Hello D Hilliard. This is Ron Oden Jr. Son of Sandy and Ron Oden. Sandy Oden, before married was Sandy Hilliard, daughter of Walter G Hilliard, the son of Herbert Henry HIlliard. Walter Hilliard, known to me as “Bumpy” was my grandfather. He told me stories of his father, not much about his mother. Bumpy was a Titanic enthusiast, which rubbed off on me. We have a postcard from Herbert Hilliard (a copy actually) sent FROM the Titanic before it departed North Hampton. Unrelated, I’ve been to London Ontario, once for three weeks for work. My wife, children and I will be visiting Quebec City in early December.As a living relative of a person who gave up their life for the survival of another person on board the Titanic, I would like to compliment you on the fine work you have done. Our ancestors would be very grateful. Our relative was a First Class Passenger, Mr Herbert Henry Hilliard. We have very limited information on him, and if anyone has any, we would be very grateful.
D Hilliard
London Ontario
To what particular incident was the OP referring? I have done a bit of search and none of the leading Titanic works even mentions Herbert Hilliard except his brief bio on ET. The only other reference that I could find was in the Limitation of Liability Hearings about his widow Sarah Hilliard making a claim.As a living relative of a person who gave up their life for the survival of another person on board the Titanic
Just for the record, the Titanic departed from Southampton. Northampton is a smaller inland city in the UK, nowhere near the sea.We have a postcard from Herbert Hilliard (a copy actually) sent FROM the Titanic before it departed North Hampton.
Agreed, but that still does not explain what the OP meant by saying that Hilliard gave-up his life to save another. Are we missing something here? If so, I certainly have not found any clues to that either on the web or in any of several leading Titanic works that I searched.And based on that Timothy John McCarthy his body was recovered, who was his fellow buyer for the Boston department store Jordan Marsh and friend with whom he shared stateroom E-46 it seems beyond any doubt that they both were on the upper decks during the final minutes of the Titanic.
Great GrandfatherAttached is the letter from my Grandfather that he wrote on the Titanic.
With all due respect, there have been other very similar unsubstantiated stories about Titanic victims having offered there seats to someone else who then survived and met the victims' family etc. You might have read a similar story from people claiming to be relatives of genuine Titanic victim Manuel Uruchurtu (RIP) who is supposed to have offered his seat to a lady etc - a story that is almost certainly a fabrication. In the case of Mr Hilliard (RIP) as far as I know - and I am happy to be corrected on this - there is no record of a lady passenger who told anyone that Mr Hilliard gave up his seat for her; moreover, no survivor on any lifeboat mentioned such an incident. Had such a sacrifice been made, I am sure several survivors in the vicinity would have mentioned it repeatedly to the press and elsewhere. Therefore, with apologies IMO that story that you were told has to be viewed with skepticism until proven otherwise.I have always been told my Great Grandfather, Herbert Hilliard, gave up a seat on a lifeboat for a woman, and perhaps her child. I was also told, no way to confirm, that when the Carpathia reached New York the woman somehow contacted Herbert’s wife, Sarah, I believe, and informed her that Herbert gave up his seat on the lifeboat her her and her child.
Interesting research and observation.I have a question about Herbert Henry Hilliard's listing as a British citizen. Ancestry has a U.S. naturalization record for him
Very interesting. What did you think of the History Channel programme "Ellis Island" that was broadcast some years ago? I have the DVD release and thought that it was interesting.I work at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration
Thanks for the above post Danelle; it was very informative. We have similar issues in the UK regarding Ethnicity-Citizenship. For example, I am of Indian ethnicity but born in the UK; I was taken back to India as a baby and grew up and got educated there, including my professional training. I was 29 when I arrived back in the UK in January 1985 and have lived here since as a British Citizen with a UK Passport. People expect me to identify myself as "British-Indian", like the overwhelming majority of ethnic Indians who live in the UK, including many who were born and raised here. In the past few years, India had allowed us to become OCIs (Overseas Citizen of India) which allows certain priviliges while remaining a British citizen.The manifest definition of "nationality" is the country of which the person is a citizen.
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