Rhoda Mary Abbott

**Rhoda Mary Abbott** (January 14, 1873 - February 18, 1946) was a third class passenger on the RMS Titanic. She was the only female passenger who went down with the sinking of the ship and survived.

## Biography

She was born in Aylesbury, United Kingdom, She was born in Aylesbury, United Kingdom.

Rhoda Hunt was born on January 14, 1873 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, to Joseph and Sarah Hunt. She was Christened on October 5 of that year in Ludgershall, Buckingham, England. Growing up, she would have two siblings; Thomas and Lucy. She was found with her bother and two siblings on the 1881 Census, living in Willesden, Middlesex, England. They were lodging at the home of Ziller Wells.

On the 1891 Census, she was living with her family in Chelsea, Kensal Town with her mother and sister.

### Immigration to United States

Rhoda immigrated from St. Albans to the United States in 1894, arriving in Providence, Rhode Island. In early 1895, she married a professional boxer named Stanton Abbott (who had been born in London, but immigrated to the US in 1893). Stanton would become the middleweight boxing champion of the United States.Stanton and Rhoda had two sons, Rossmore Edward and Eugene Joseph. She loved being a wife and mother, caring for her sons as they grew. The family were members of Grace Episcopal Church in Providence. The family appeared together on the 1900 Census, living in Providence, Rhode Island.

Unfortunately, by 1911, Stanton and Rhoda had grown apart and they suffered a divorce.

After going to England on the *Olympic*, the *Titanic*'s sister ship, she stayed with her widowed mother. They soon found out that Abbott's two sons became homesick and would have to return to New York. Rhoda's Baptist church provided the Third Class tickets on the *Titanic*. At 39 years of age, she boarded the ship in Southampton with her sons.

At the time of the sinking of the Titanic, she was heading home with her two sons Rossmore Edward Abbott and Eugene Joseph Abbott. Right before the *Titanic* officially sank, Rhoda and her sons jumped from the boat deck. Her grip on her sons released and she frantically tried to find them. When she lost hope, somebody from Collapsible Lifeboat A grabbed her and pulled her aboard. She could not see her sons. Seconds later, boat A was swamped and almost all the passengers were thrown out. Finally, Lifeboat 14 found them and helped them board. There was a lot of room because Lowe had distributed the passengers of his lifeboat to others. All the people who died were immediately thrown off. Soon after that, the people on Lifeboat 14 saw the *Carpathia*. When they were rescued, Rhoda was put into special care for her leg injuries from the cold sea. She was the only women to physically survive in the icy cold waters after the *Titanic* sank.

## Later Life

As a result of the sinking of the *Titanic*, Abbott had respiratory problems, including severe bouts of asthma, for the rest of her life.[2] She was not able to comprehend the loss of her sons, and grieved for months. On 16 December 1912, she married longtime friend George Charles Williams, and the couple settled in Jacksonville, Florida.[2] By 1928, they had returned to England to settle Williams' father's estate in London. Abbott took care of her husband until his death in 1938. For the remainder of her life she tried to immigrate back to America, but was always refused.

Abbott died in London of heart failure as a result of hypertension on 18 February 1946,she was 73