Name
Lifeboat from Titanic
Lifeboat to Carpathia
Confidence Level
Jessop, Miss Violet Constance 16 16 4.39

 


Mrs. Leather said at the British Inquiry:
    13174. Were you after a time helped into No. 16 boat? - Yes.

She does not mention any other stewardess with her. But Mrs. Leather was interviewed in the Daily Mirror, May 4, 1912:
     “Mrs. E. Leather, of Birmingham, gave me a succinct narrative of her escape in Boat 16, which was the last on the port side to be filled, at about 1.30. The master-at-arms, Mr. Bailey, was in charge, and there were two sailors and two firemen, the rest of the 42 on board were all women, mostly from the steerage, except two foreigners, who hid under the seats. Miss Marsden rowed all night with the men, Miss Jessop and myself nursed two little babies. Miss Gregson took charge of a little French baby all night, and Mrs. Roberts also had a baby, but they were in another boat...We had a poor Portuguese bride on our boat, who had lost her husband. She could not speak anything but Portuguese. They were on their honeymoon...One second cabin passenger saved on our boat had all her household things on board, and was taking her three children to their father in America. She and the children were saved, but of course she lost everything. Her eldest girl, aged fifteen, was saved in nothing but her nightdress.”

In Miss Jessop’s book Titanic Survivor, Jessop herself is not too illuminating. Her editor, John Maxtone-Graham, states she was in #16 and says she personally told him she was in #16, though she doesn’t state that in her text in the book. He says that Jessop’s reference to ‘Mason’ is likely to Moody, who we know did help load #16, and that ‘Mason’ gave her a baby to take care of. Maxtone-Graham states that Seaman Archer at the American Inquiry says Leather was also in #16, however, we don’t see that. Only a reference on page 648 to a stewardess rowing, which from the above, would have been Marsden.
Jessop does say the lifeboat was ‘full’, (we think #16 had approximately 53 people in it), her cabin mate stewardess was in the boat with her (Maxtone-Graham thinks this was Leather).

We think it very likely Jessop was in #16, but we cannot prove it without a doubt.