First Officer Murdoch

[williammurdoch.net]

Although not as newsworthy as the recovery of Murdoch's personal items from the wreck, the discovery of a letter written in Murdoch's hand to a “Miss Nancy” in 1909 while he was serving as first officer aboard the Adriatic has been revealed thanks to a recent auction. I have written up an article on this, with photographs and a full transcript of the letter itself, and believe it to be just as exciting a find.

The article can be read here: http://www.williammurdoch.net/articles_15_Murdoch_private_letter.html

It does raise many questions, notably, who is the "Miss Nancy" he is writing to, and also Mr. Owen, Dr.Blackwood, Miss May, Miss Maggie, and Mr. & Mrs. Watkins he refers to in the letter? And why was he writing to a single woman two years into his marriage to Ada, and without making one reference to his wife in the letter (unlike the other two private letters we have from Murdoch both of which reference Ada?).

Any further information, corrections, additions from any in the Titanic community would be most appreciated!

[I E Sheil]

Very interesting, Dan! It's ringing a few bells - or at least I have a vague idea of who might be referenced in here (I could be quite wrong). I need to go back and check with the researchers who did some work on this a while back. I can't see an address indicated anywhere, which is a shame as it would help clarify matters.

[VW1956]

Hello Williammurdoch.net. The plot thickens. The letter may not be as newsworthy as other items but you certainly know how to word things to make it more exciting. Who knows where this new material will lead. Just matbe more descendents. Ken.

[williammurdoch.net]

Hi Inger. Many thanks for that, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with. By the way, please allow me to congratulate on your Lowe biography. Last week I was stuck for three hours in Gatwick airport on a business flight to Germany and thought I would scour the bookshops with the belief I would find nothing to suit my niche interests....and then suddenly and quite unbelievably I noticed your book! It was a very welcome and enlightening companion on a flight that suffered many delays and also the misfortune of having a drunk sit next to me (which made the passages/reasons for his sobriety even more apparent). But also goes to show never to underestimate an airport bookshop!

Very interesting, Dan! It's ringing a few bells - or at least I have a vague idea of who might be referenced in here (I could be quite wrong). I need to go back and check with the researchers who did some work on this a while back. I can't see an address indicated anywhere, which is a shame as it would help clarify matters.

[williammurdoch.net]

With many thanks to Wendy Murdoch Roberts and Tiphaine Hirou I have now updated the website with stunning high resolution images of William Murdoch's parents, Captain Samuel Murdoch and wife Jane ("Jeanie"), as well as his grandfather Captain James Murdoch and wife Agnes.

Clicking on the photographs opens larger high resolution versions on the following pages:
Early Life
Murdoch Family Tree

The pages above also have updated biographical information on William's family. Information on his two cousins James Cumming of Kippford and William Black of Palnackie, both born the same year as William (1873) can also be found on this page including an image of James Cumming at Kippford.

[VW1956]

Hello Williammurdoch.net. Is it just me who feels that the officers (and maybe some passengers) should have a blue plaque on the wall of where they once lived. I do know that Captain Smith has a plaque on the wall of where he used to live (Thats if this one hasn't disappeared). And Harold Bride has a plaque on the house where he used to live. Had any luck finding out who "Miss Nancy" was. Ken.

[williammurdoch.net]

Hello Ken

Yes I agree. I think Lightoller already has two plaques up for him, one on his high school (http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/9248852.Blue_plaque_tribute_to_Chorley_s_high_ranking_Titanic_survivor/) and there is also another in Twickenham (http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/me ... enham.html). William Murdoch's family home and Southampton home are still in existence and so would do well with having a plaque of some sort, considering his heroic efforts on the night.

No news on "Miss Nancy" yet unfortunately. Am hoping Inger might let us know who she thinks it is, even if only a vague idea....

Dan

Hello Williammurdoch.net. Is it just me who feels that the officers (and maybe some passengers) should have a blue plaque on the wall of where they once lived. I do know that Captain Smith has a plaque on the wall of where he used to live (Thats if this one hasn't disappeared). And Harold Bride has a plaque on the house where he used to live. Had any luck finding out who "Miss Nancy" was. Ken.

[I E Sheil]

HI Dan - thanks for reminding me I need to chase this up! There was something niggling at me last time I was looking through my papers, and now I remember what it was.

I'm tickled you found a copy of the book at Gatwick...it has been turning up in some odd places.

The good news is that the house Moody was born in and Harold Lowe's home in Deganwy have now both been marked with heritage plaques...I need to check on Boxhall's family home in Hull, as there were moves to put one up there as well some years ago.

Throughly enjoying the updates to the website, btw.

[williammurdoch.net]

Thanks Inger -glad you are enjoying the updates and also look forward to anything you might be able to find on the mysterious "Miss Nancy".

And that is good news regarding Lowe and Moody's houses....do you know of any moves to do the same with Murdoch's?

[VW1956]

Hello. That is great news that both officer Moody and officer Lowe now have plaques up on the houses they used to live in. Captain Smiths house where he lived as a boy has one as does Harold Bride. I wonder how many more there are for people of Titanic. Ken.

[TitanorakV]

Hello All,

I’ve been reading many of your posts here and on Encyclopedia Titanica for quite some time, but embarrassingly have had nothing to contribute until now. Inger, thank you for your tireless efforts to share fresh information that’s otherwise seemingly impossible for common people like me to find. My degree in history gets dustier every year; I miss research terribly, and very eagerly digest the quality insight that you so considerately provide. I look forward to reading Titanic Valour! And Dan, please do keep at all those great updates coming to williammurdoch.net; I’ve been checking your site religiously!

Two questions have been gnawing at me, and I would greatly appreciate any thoughts that this group might be able to offer:

1) Was the letter to Miss Nancy possibly written in July of 1907, instead of 1909? Murdoch writes, “We have had a wretched time . . . since we left Liverpool . . . everybody + everything strange at our new port on this side.” It seems odd that he would still refer to Southampton as a strange new port two full years after the White Star Line moved its main departure point there from Liverpool in June 1907. Just one month after the move, however, it would be an entirely reasonable thing to say. Please forgive my tediousness here, but upon inspecting the letter’s date, the last digit of the year does appear to resemble a rushed “7,” with a small flourish marking the start of the horizontal stroke, which then sweeps upward and then downward to form a big loop, instead of the tight corner you’d find in a neater “7.” I don’t think someone would try to establish a starting flourish on a “9,” but I suppose it could just represent a stray flick of the wrist. In combination with Murdoch's comment about the new port, however, I can't help thinking this letter was written in 1907. You can mouse over the letter’s date to see it in very sharp detail here: http://www.icollector.com/William-Murdoch_i12268830.

Inger, if you’re able to provide any information about this Watkins family or Mr. Owen (perhaps he was a fellow crew member?), I would of course love to get the additional context around this letter! Insight into Murdoch’s personality would also be most helpful; I read some of your posts about the subject on Encyclopedia Titanica, and thought they were fascinating. I find his character so much more difficult to grasp than the other Titanic officers’.

Dan, regarding your question about Murdoch not mentioning his wife in the letter, the 1907 date would of course place the letter two months before their marriage - I think that probably doesn't really address your point, though. But would it be unreasonable to correspond with an acquaintance without mentioning a fiancée? The letter, after all, seems pretty informal, what with all the abbreviations and the postscript. I regretfully don’t know the answers to questions like these.

2) This Miss Nancy inevitably got me thinking about the woman that the New York Tribune referred to as Miss Harding, a.k.a. “the weeping woman”:

“…as did the appearance of a young woman, said to be a Miss Harding, who sobbingly inquired for Second Officer Lighttoller [sic], from whom she sought some further tidings of the first officer, Murdock [sic], who went down with the ship.”

The PDF of the article is here, for anyone interested: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1912-04-21/ed-1/seq-1.pdf. Assuming this reporter is correct about the woman’s name, does anyone know if research ever turned up a “Harding” on some branch of Murdoch’s family tree, or perhaps in other materials, such as correspondence?

Many apologies for the lengthiness of this post, and thank you for any thoughts or contributions you might be able to lend!

Best regards,

Vicki

[VW1956]

Hello TitanorakV. Welcome to this site. Does your name mean that theres a Titanorak I to IV out there somewhere? When I first heard about "Miss Nancy" in this thread I thought it sounded very interesting. Going on the information that you have just posted it all now seems proper. I cant actually see the link that you posted as I am at work and "they" wont let us see things like that. Ken.

[nboal]

Thanks for the interesting sites and articles, williammurdoch.net and Vicki.

[williammurdoch.net]

Many thanks to Vicki I have now updated both the private letter and 'weeping woman' pages on the website to reflect the new information.

You can view them here, along with new high resolution versions of the letter:
http://www.williammurdoch.net/articles_15_Murdoch_private_letter.html
http://www.williammurdoch.net/articles_07_weeping_woman.html

Also I have a new page on the alleged 'steering error' theory from Lady Louise Patten, Second Officer Lightoller's granddaughter. I have collated my research and created a page that analyses her theory:
http://www.williammurdoch.net/articles_18_Patten_steering_error.html

Any further suggestions, corrections etc please let me know.

[VW1956]

Hello. I dont believe it. White Star Line officers DID misbehave while on board. Ken.