Ellen ‘Nellie’ Barber - Titanic First Class Passenger
Ellen ‘Nellie’ Barber, was a 26 year old, first class passenger travelling aboard Titanic as part of her employment, as maid to the Cavendish family. She along with Tyrell William Cavendish and Julia Florence Cavendish boarded Titanic at Southampton, on Wednesday 10th April 1912. They were travelling to America to visit Julia Florence Cavendish’s father, Henry Siegel.
Ellen ‘Nellie’ Barber, was born in 1885 or 1886, at Penshurst, Tonbridge, UK. According to US Immigration records, when she arrived in New York following the disaster, She had brown hair, brown eyes, was 5’8 in height and was in good health.
On the night of the sinking of Titanic, Ellen ‘Nellie’ Barber went to the boat deck with her employers and along with Julia Florence Cavendish, boarded the port side Lifeboat No. 6; as it was woman and children first, Tyrell William Cavendish had to stay behind on the deck.
The Lifeboat in which they were rescued in is well known as also being the boat in which, Margret ‘Molly’ Brown, a first class passenger; Frederick Fleet, the lookout who first warned of the iceberg, and Robert Hichens, who was at Titanic’s wheel at the time of the collision all survived upon.
Both Ellen ‘Nellie’ Barber and Julia Florence Cavendish were amongst the survivors picked up by the Carpathia. Tyrell William Cavendish was amongst those who were lost.
Onboard Carpathia, she was able to have a short message sent to her parents, simply saying that she was safe.
Related pages - Titanic's First Class Passengers, All Titanic Pages