William George Ellason Myers

Other Events:

• Census: 1901, Stratford, Perth County, Ontario

Notes:

Ellason Myers' mother died during his birth. He was raised by his maternal grandparents.


W. G. Eliason MYERS
Immigration Date for Eliason Myers
Voyage: Departed from New York on 1 May 1915 headed for Liverpool, England
Accommodations: Passenger: second cabin
Voyage Notes: sunk by a German submarine torpedo on May 7,1915 (WW1)
Ship: Lusitania
Notes: Survived; non-US

Lusitania Sinks:
By Atlantic Cable and A.P.- London, 12:15 A.M.
Of those who left New York a week ago on the Lusitania fewer than 700 survived after that vessel was torpedoed and sunk by German submarines off Kinsale, Ireland, Friday afternoon. A full list of survivors who include very few of the first class passengers is not yet available, but probably there are not many names to add to those which have already been made public. All the evidence goes to show that the passengers had such confidence in the ability of the Lusitania, because of her watertight compartments, to remain afloat after she received the first blow that they did not concern themselves about taking to the boats or even providing themselves with life preservers. However, the torpedoes had torn such gaping holes in the liner that she did not remain afloat for more than twenty minutes, and the calls for help which the wireless sent out, although answered quickly, could not bring the rescuing steamers to the spot in time to be of any service. The scenes at Queenstown, where landed and where there are many bodies of those who were killed or died of exposure were heartrending. Many women that have improvised morgues. Others were on Cork, while still others left yesterday afternoon for London, where they arrived Sunday morning. At the London and Liverpool office of the Cunard Company large crowds again assembled yesterday, hoping against hope that those whom that expected to meet on Saturday, at the latest, might still turn up. There was little consolidation for those who have not already heard from their expected friends and relatives. Nothing that the Germans had done since the outbreak of the war has so aroused the anger and the determination of the British people as the sinking of the Lusitania. This anger is shared by the Americans in London who had relatives aboard. At many places throughout the country these nationalized people were made to suffer for Germany's action. At one large shipbuilding plant at Wallsehd the workmen threatened to strike unless those employees with German names were discharged, and the company, although badly in need of workmen, was complied to grant the demand. German barbers and other Germans whose presence in the county has been tolerated since the war began, also found themselves boycotted. But there has not been any disorders of any kind.

Accounts of Sinking
By Atlantic Cable and A.P. - Queenstown, May 9th W.G.E. Meyers of Stratford, Ontario a 16 year old passenger on the Lusitania, who was on his way to join the British navy as a cadet, said of the disaster:
I had just gone to the upper deck after lunch to play a game of quoits with two other boys. One of them, looking over the side, saw a white streak in the water and shouted: "There's a torpedo, coming straight at us. "We watched until it struck us, with an awful explosion. Then we rushed to the boat deck. Just as we got there a huge quantity of wood splinters and great masses of water flew all around us. .A second torpedo struck us about four minutes after the first. I went below to get a life belt and met a woman who was frenzied with fear. I tried to help her into the boat. Then I saw a boat which was nearly swamped. I got into it and with other men baled it out. Then a crowd of men clambered into it and nearly swamped it. Rev. H.W. Simpson, a passenger in the second cabin, saved himself by clinging to an upturned boat. .After a struggle we filled this boat with all we could rescue," Dr. Simpson said today. .We tied a pair of trousers to an oar and hoisted it as a signal of distress. A big trawler came along and took us aboard. "When we were struck I was in the saloon. Lifebelts were handed around but people did not want to put them on and they rushed to the deck just as they were. William Brown of Alaska, another survivor, said he decided not to join the rush for the boats. “I came to the conclusion that a life belt was the thing for me,” So I went to the cabin and secured one. With it on, I slid down a long rope into the water. Subsequently I got into a boat. H. Smelhurst, a steerage passenger. was saved in the same way. He had put his wife into a life boat and in spite of her urging he refused to accompany her. saying the women and children must go first. After the boat with his wife in it had pulled away, the husband put on a life belt, slipped into the water and floated until he was picked up.

Benson married Ella Melinda Schmidt on 2 Jun 1897 in Stratford, Perth County, Ontario. Ella (daughter of John Henry Schmidt and Charlotte Metzger) was born on 26 Sep 1874 in Stratford, Perth County, Ontario; died on 20 Jan 1899 in Stratford, Perth County, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

David married Eleanor. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Census: 1901, Stratford, Perth County, Ontario

John married Charlotte Metzger on 24 Dec 1869. Charlotte was born on 25 Feb 1840 in New York; died on 19 Jun 1905; was buried in Avondale Cemetery, Stratford, Perth County, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Census: 1901, Stratford, Perth County, Ontario