The story of Ida Anderson, Ludington’s Titanic connection

Ida Anderson, circa. 1910

Great Lakes History Log is presented by Filer Credit Union with offices in Manistee, Ludington, East Lake, and Bear Lake and the Mason County Historical Society, which operates the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum, Historic White Pine Village and the Rose Hawley Archives in downtown Ludington.

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief

A small and shiny marker sits at the corner of a family plot at Lakeview Cemetery in Ludington. There actually is no grave for this person, instead the marker serves as a memorial for a woman who lost her life in what is the most famous shipwreck in history, the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic.

The gravestone has three lines, including her name, engraved into the outline of a ship: “Ida Anderson; Died in the Titanic; 24 Nov. 1873; 15 April 1912.”

The gravestone is a recent addition to Lakeview Cemetery, even though Ida died over 113 years ago. The memorial sits just a few feet away from the grave of Ida’s sister, Hilda (1868-1909), and Hilda’s husband, Axel A. Johnson Sr. (1863-1939).

The marker memorializing Ida Anderson

Ida was supposed to marry her widowed brother-in-law, Axel Johnson, which is why she took that fateful journey.

Ida Magreta Andersson (or Anderson) was born Nov. 24, 1873 in Sventorp, Skaraborgs County, Sweden.

She was the daughter of Johan Andersson (born in 1825) and Anna Greta (Carlsson) Andersson (1832-1905). Johan and Anna married in 1852 and had eight children: Johan Alred (born on May 3, 1853), Anna Kirstina Elisabet (born on Nov. 7, 1861), August Linus (born on Nov. 26, 1863), Hilder (Hilda) Maria (born on July 3, 1868), Karl Oskar (born on July 21, 1870), Ida Margreta (1873-1912), Hilma Susanna (born on Nov. 3, 1876) and Josef Timoteus (born on Dec. 21, 1878).

Ida’s story, though, is intertwined with the story of her sisters, three of whom immigrated to the United States and ended up in Ludington and Manistee. Those included Hilma Susanna (known in the U.S. as Susanna), who married Otto Peterson, and lived at 408 Sibben St. in Manistee, Anna Kirstina Elisabet (known in the U.S. as Elizabeth), who married August Anderson and lived at 407 S. Madison St. in Ludington, and Hilda who married Axel Johnson and lived in Hamlin Township.

Her story is also intertwined with her brother-in-law, Axel Johnson and his brother, Andrew.

Andrew and Axel were born in Avarta, Varmland, Sweden, the sons of John Olson and Mary Caroline Erickson.

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Andrew was born on Jan. 26, 1860 and died on Oct. 17, 1948 in Ludington.

Axel was born on Feb. 18, 1863 and died on March 17, 1939 in Ludington.

According to Axel Johnson’s obituary, published March 18, 1939 in the Ludington Daily News, Andrew and Axel immigrated to the U.S. together in 1881 and came directly to Ludington. However, information from family records state otherwise.

Family records show that Axel was working in steel mills in Sweden and left in 1882, around age 19. He apparently did not want to serve in the Swedish military so he came to the U.S. It is likely that Andrew and Axel traveled together on their journey from Sweden and probably lived together in the U.S., first living in Vermont and then coming to Ludington.

Axel worked in stone quarries in Vermont until 1884 when he came to Ludington where he worked for Stearns Lumber Co. On Sept. 20, 1886 both Andrew and Axel petitioned to become naturalized U.S. citizens.

Hilda and Axel Johnson

The Johnson brothers established a lumber mill at Hamlin Lake and in 1915 began a coal business, Johnson Coal Co., in Ludington.

On Oct. 14, 1889, Andrew married Elizabeth Peterson (1873-1907) in Ludington. They had three children: Evangeline, born about 1901 in Ludington (her death date is unknown, she was married to Eddie Hedlund); Nels, born Mary 13, 1903 in Ludington and died May 8, 1939 in Battle Creek; and Mary Elizabeth, born Aug. 26, 1906 in Ludington and died May 27, 1957 in Ludington.

Elizabeth, Andrew’s wife, died in 1907.

On Aug. 26, 1890, Axel married Hilda Marie Anderson, sister of Ida Anderson, in Ludington. They had seven children: Albert E. Johnson (born on April 8, 1891 in Stearns Siding, Lake County and died on July 31, 1973 in Ludington); Axel Alfred Johnson Jr.  (born on Oct. 18,  1892 in Stearns Siding and died on Dec. 19, 1968); Lillian E. Johnson (born on Dec. 18, 1894 in Ludington and died on March 13, 1980 in Ludington); Oscar W. Johnson (born on Oct. 21, 1898 in Ludington and died on Jan. 15, 1995 in Ludington); Olga Johnson (born on Sept. 9, 1896 in Ludington and died on Sept. 24, 1981 in Ludington); Theodore Warren Johnson (born on Dec. 6, 1900 in Ludington and died on Aug. 14, 1997 in Free Soil); and Anna M. Johnson (born on July 28, 1902 in Ludington and died on April 8, 1975 in Ludington).

Hilda died on March 7, 1909. The cause of death was hemorrhaging, according to her death certificate at the Mason County Clerk’s Office. Most family accounts state she died in childbirth. Records at the Mason County Clerk’s Office do not show a death of a baby, but that isn’t necessarily unusual for that time, though there is another recorded stillborn that year in the county’s death records.

Ida’s Story

Travel records indicate that Ida had visited the U.S. when she was 19 years old. She left Sweden on May 26, 1893 and returned in June 1894. At that time, it’s likely she would have met her brother-in-law, Axel, and his brother, Andrew.

In the 1890s, records indicate that she was working as a maid for photographer Karl Erik Ludvig Eriksson in Skövde, Västergötland. On Nov. 25, 1910 she moved to Lagmansbro Manor, Vadsbro, Södermanland, where she was employed as a housekeeper.

According to Dr. Axel Johnson III, grandson of Axel Sr. and Hilda, following his wife’s death, Andrew Johnson wanted to marry Ida. However, she wasn’t interested in him.

Following Elizabeth’s death, Hilda and Axel took care of Andrew’s three children, which meant when Hilda died, there were 10 children in the household, ranging in ages 3 to 18, with no mother. Apparently, Ida was more willing to marry Axel rather than his brother but it took three years for her to leave Sweden.

A letter written in the 1950s by Esther Anderson of Ludington, the daughter of Elizabeth Anderson, sister of Hilda and Ida, confirmed Ida’s intentions.

“Grandmother’s sister had been in this country before. Andrew sought her — but she didn’t want to marry him. After Axel’s first wife died, she was on her way back to U.S. to marry Axel and went down on Titanic.”

RMS Titanic

The Story of the R.M.S. Titanic

The R.M.S. Titanic was laid down on March 31, 1909 at Harland & Wolf shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the White Star Line, and launched on May 31, 1911. She was completed on April 2, 1912. The ship was 882 feet, 9 inches long, 92 feet, 6 inches wide, 175 feet high, with a draft of 34 feet, 7 inches.

She operated with 24 double-ended and five single-ended boilers feeding two 30-feet tall triple-expansion reciprocating steam engines operating the two wing propellers and a low pressure Parsons turbine for the center propeller. The engines’ output was 46,000 hp. She could operate at 21 knots (24 mph) and had a capacity of 2,453 passengers and 874 crew, a total of 3,327 people. She was equipped with 20 lifeboats, sufficient for 1,178 people.

The name Titanic (hull No. 401) derives from the Titans of Greek mythology. The Titanic was the second of three Olympic-class ocean liners. The first, the Olympic (hull No. 400), began operating on June 14, 1911 and operated until April 12, 1935. The third ship, H.M.H.S. Britannic (hull No. 433), began service on Dec. 23, 1915 and was sunk by a German naval mine on Nov. 21, 1916, during World War I, near Kea in the Aegean Sea. Britannic was the largest ship lost in World War I. The sinking cost the lives of 30 of 1,066 people on board.

The three ships were the largest ships ever built to date. The Titanic was slightly larger in gross tonnage, as was the Britannic.

RMS Titanic near Queenstown, Ireland (now Cobh), April 11, 1912

The British White Star Line had a fleet of 29 steamers and tenders in 1912. Its parent company was International Mercantile Marine Co., which was controlled by American financier J. Pierport Morgan.

The three ships had first-class accommodations that included a gymnasium, swimming pool, smoking rooms, restaurants and cafes and a Turkish bath.

The Titanic’s captain was Edward John Smith (1850-1912). Smith joined the White Star Line as an officer in 1880. He had previously served in the British Merchant Navy. He served as the captain of several White Star Line vessels and was chosen to skipper many of them on their maiden voyages. He had served in the Royal Navy Reserve during the Second Boer War, transporting British troops to the Cape Colony.

Capt. Edward J. Smith

Though the Titanic’s homeport was Liverpool, England, which was the location of the White Star Line’s home office, the company also operated out of Southhampton, England, which is where she would depart on her maiden voyage.

White Star Line’s initial plans for Olympic and Titanic on the Southampton run followed the same routine as their predecessors had done before them. Each would sail once every three weeks from Southampton and New York, usually leaving at noon each Wednesday from Southampton and each Saturday from New York, thus enabling the White Star Line to offer weekly sailings in each direction. Special trains were scheduled from London and Paris to convey passengers to Southampton and Cherbourg respectively. The deep-water dock at Southampton, then known as the White Star Dock, had been specially constructed to accommodate the new Olympic-class liners, and had opened in 1911.

On her maiden voyage, Titanic had 1,317 passengers: 324 in first class; 284 in second class and 709 in third class. There were 869 males and 447 females, which included 107 children. The ship could have accommodated 2,453 passengers: 833 first class; 614 second class; and 1,006 third class. A national coal strike in the United Kingdom caused disruptions to shipping schedules in the spring of 1912, which caused many crossings to be cancelled. Many would-be passengers chose to postpone their travel plans until the strike was over. The strike finished a few days before the Titanic set sail.

The Titanic left Southhampton at noon on April 10, 1912. She then travelled 89 miles across the English Channel to the French port of Cherbourg within four hours of leaving Southhampton.

At 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 11, Titanic arrived at Cork Harbor on the south coast of Ireland near the port city of Queenstown, now Cobh. She departed at 1:30 p.m.

The ship was scheduled to arrive at Pier 59 in New York City on the morning of April 17, 1912.

At 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912 — about 2,070 miles into her 3,320 mile journey — lookout Frederick Fleet spotted an iceberg immediately ahead of the ship and alerted the bridge. First Officer William Murdoch ordered the ship to be steered around the iceberg and the engines to be reversed, but it was too late. The starboard (right) side of Titanic struck the iceberg, creating a series of holes below the waterline. The hull was not punctured, but rather dented such that the steel plates of the hull buckled and separated, allowing water to rush in.

Five of the 16 watertight compartments were heavily breached and a sixth was slightly compromised. It soon became clear that Titanic would sink, as the ship could not remain afloat with more than four compartments flooded. She began sinking bow-first, with water spilling from compartment to compartment over the top of each watertight bulkhead as the ship’s angle in the water became steeper.

Cobh, Ireland

Between 2:10 and 2:15 a.m., a little over two and a half hours after the ship struck the iceberg, the rate of sinking suddenly increased as the boat deck dipped underwater, and the sea poured in through open hatches and grates, following which the electrical power supply on board stopped after the circuit breakers tripped and the lights flickered and went out.

As the ship’s unsupported stern rose out of the water, exposing the propellers, the ship broke in two main pieces between the second and third funnels, due to the immense forces on the keel. With the bow underwater, and air trapped in the stern, the stern remained afloat and buoyant for a few minutes longer, rising to a nearly vertical angle with hundreds of people still clinging to it, before foundering at 2:20 a.m.

Of the estimated 2,224 people on board the ship, 1,635 died, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.

Among the dead was 38-year-old Ida Anderson. Ida had boarded the ship as a third-class passenger in Southhampton.

“She was actually going to take another ship, but when she found out that she could ride the Titanic, she decided to take it,” Axel Johnson III said. White Star Line records showed that Ida’s destination was Manistee where she would initially have stayed with her sister, Hilma Susanna Peterson.

Just days after the tragedy, Ida’s fate was unknown. The Thursday, April 18, 1912 edition of the Ludington Record-Appeal, a weekly newspaper, included a front page, below-the-fold headline:

The April 18 edition of the Ludington Record Appeal

“AXEL JOHNSON’S FRIEND ON TITANIC”

“Miss Isa (spelled incorrectly) Anderson Sailing From Sweden Here.”

The article read:

“A personal interest and sympathy is added to the natural human sympathy felt for all concerned in the terrible disaster, the sinking of the Titanic, by the information that well known residents of Ludington area anxiously waiting news of a sister who was among passengers on the ill-fated steamer. Miss Iza Anderson sister of Mrs. August Anderson, east Danaher street, and sister-in-law of Axel Johnson of this city was coming from Sweden. Her ticket was to Manistee where another sister, Mrs. Otto Peterson, resides.

“In one list of survivors Mr. Johnson has seen Miss Anderson’s name but all news is so indefinite as yet that it but serves to aggravate anxiety.

“Miss Anderson came to this country and visited in Ludington some eighteen or nineteen years ago and there are many in Ludington who remember her and are earnestly hoping to hear that she is among those rescued.

“The Carpathia, bearing the rescued passengers from the Titanic is expected to reach New York at midnight tonight and definite information will probably be obtainable very soon after that.”

The April 21, 1912 edition of the Manistee Daily News expressed doubt about Ida’s survival:

Manistee Daily News, April 21, 1912

“NO WORD IS RECEIVED OF MRS. PETERSON’S SISTER”

“Miss Ida Anderson, Bound for Manistee, May Be One of 1595 Lost When Titanic Went to Bottom of Atlantic”

“Senator Raynor of Maryland Brands J. Bruce Ismay a Coward as White Star Line Defends Himself Before Senate Investigating Committee — Senators This Morning Ask Why News Was Surppressed (misspelled “suppressed”)

“No word has been received by Mrs. Otto Peterson, 408 SIbben street, from her sister, Miss Ida Anderson, whom she believes was a third class passenger on the Titanic.

“‘She must be dead,’ said Mrs. Peterson with a sob this afternoon.

“Miss Anderson wrote from her home in Gottenburg, Sweden, that she was coming to America on the Titanic and would soon be in Manistee.

“It is possible that she, being unfamiliar with the language and customs of the country and probably having lost all of her money in the excitement attending the disaster, was afraid to ask for funds to wire her sister.

“There is another possibility, and that is that Miss Anderson did not take the Titanic.

“Meanwhile, Mrs. Peterson, whose husband is one of the partners in the Peterson and Quinn company, is fearing the worst.”

Two days later, on April 23, 1912, the Manistee Daily News reported Ida was alive.

Manistee Daily News, April 19, 1912

“Miss Ida Anderson Is One of Titanic Survivors”

“Daily News Receives Information Through United Press Ass’n That Sister of Manistee Woman, Feared Dead, is Saved.”

“Lookout of Wrecked Boat Testifies That Marine Glasses Were Not Furnished to Watchmen — More Bodies Are Recovered by Morgue Ship Mackey-Bannett.”

“All fears for the safety of Miss Ida Anderson, sister of Mrs. Otto Peterson, 408 Sibben street, were destroyed this morning when the Daily News, working through the United Press, received word that Miss Anderson was among the survivors of the Titanic disaster.

“Since the news of the wreck reached here a week ago today, Mrs. Peterson has been almost prostrated with grief, for she knew that her sister was on board the wrecked vessel.

“Miss Anderson left her home in Gottenborg, Sweden, a week or two before the Titanic left England. The day word of the disaster came to Mrs. Peterson through the Daily News a postal card from her sister was delivered.

“The card was mailed at Gottenborg. On it Miss Anderson had written that she had purchased passage on the Titanic and would sail from Liverpool on the steamer’s maiden trip.

“Day after day went by, and no news came from Miss Anderson. Mrs. Peterson worried more about more.

“Efforts on the part of Alfred Johnson (misspelled Axel), a relative of Miss Anderson, who lives in Ludington, and of Mrs. August Anderson of Ludington, a sister of the missing woman, failed to locate her.

“Three days ago the Daily News took up the matter. Telegrams were sent the United Press, but the first answer came back that Miss Anderson could not be located.

“This morning, however, the search on the part of United Press representatives was successful.

“As soon as Miss Anderson is able to leave New York she will come on to visit her relatives in Manistee and Ludington.”

On Wednesday, April 24, 1912, the Ludington Chronicle also reported Ida was alive.

Headline in the April 18, 1912 edition of the Scottville Enterprise

“REPORTED ALIVE”

“Miss Ida Anderson Said to be One of Titanic’s Survivors — Sister-in-Law of Axel Johnson”

“Reassuring news from Manistee concerning Miss Ida Anderson who was thought to have perished in the Titanic disaster has been resolved in this city by her sister Mrs. August Anderson and her brother-in-law Axel Johnson. Miss Anderson wrote from her home in Gettenborg, Sweden to her sister Mrs. Otto Peterson in Manistee that she had purchased passage on the Titanic and would board the steamer at Liverpool. Since then no word has been received from Miss anderson and as her name was not given among the list of survivors of the ill fated ship, the Ludington relatives were nearly distracted with fear and anxiety.

“Telegrams sent by Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Anderson of this city failed to illicit any information but yesterday a message came from New York to Manistee stating that Miss Anderson was alive. As soon as she is able to leave New York, it is said she will come to visit Michigan relatives. Miss Anderson spent soe time in Ludington about 20 years ago and those who formed her acquaintance then will be glad to welcome her again and congratulate her upon her fortunate escape from the fate which overtook the majority of the Titanic’s passengers.”

That same day, however, the Manistee Daily News reported a very different story.

“FIND NO TRACE OF MISS IDA ANDERSON”

“WHITE STAR LINE OFFICIALS REPLY TO NEWS”

“WHEREABOUTS OF YOUNG WOMAN IS AGAIN ENVELOPED IN MYSTERY”

“Three Hundred Stokers on Olympic Strike Because Boat Has No Better Life Saving Equipment Than Boat That Sank”

“In answer to a telegram sent the White Star Line yesterday morning by the Daily News regarding Miss Ida Anderson, sister of Mrs. Otto Peterson, 408 Sibben street, came the following reply this morning:

“‘Cannot trace name of Ida Anderson as having sailed on Titanic.’

“The United Press representative in New York succeeded in finding an Ida Anderson yesterday morning after a three day search. Whether she is the sister of Mrs. Petetrson is now a matter of conjecture.

“In any event, Mrs. Peterson’s sister is probably safe. If the Ida Anderson located by the United Press is the one known here, she is none the worse for her experience. On the other hand if Miss Anderson failed to take the Titanic she will probably be hear from with a day or two.”

Later it was revealed that the White Star Line had recorded Ida’s name as Ida Augusta rather than Ida Anderson. It was confirmed that she had indeed been among the dead.

The children of Axel Johnson and Andrew Johnson, grew up without mothers and their hopes of a new mother were crushed following Ida’s death. However, the legacy of that first generation and proceeding has had lasting effects on Ludington and Mason County. Among those is Dr. Axel Johnson III whose career has included serving as assistant superintendent of Ludington Area School District, a successful psychiatrist and as a brigadier general in the U.S. Army Reserves.

Dr. Johnson has spent over three decades researching Ida Anderson and keeping her memory alive, which is why he purchased a memorial marker in her memory and had it placed at the family plot in Lakeview Cemetery in Ludington.

“I felt she needed to be remembered,” he said.

Epilogue: Interestedly, Ida Anderson wasn’t the only Titanic victim with a connection to west Michigan. More about that victim in the very near future! 

Editor’s Note: A very special thank you to Dr. Axel Johnson III for his many years of research on this topic and for keeping Ida’s memory alive. 

The marker memorializing Ida Anderson

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