RMS Titanic
It was called “the Ship of Dreams,” but for its 2,224 passengers and crew it became the ship of nightmares. The RMS Titanic was the largest ship ever built. Some even said it was unsinkable. On the fourth night of its maiden voyage on April 14, 1912 it struck an iceberg and sank, killing 1,635 people. Pop culture has often focused on the rich and famous first class passengers, but the primary purpose of trans-Atlantic vessels was to transport immigrants to North America.
Among the 537 third class passengers to die in the Titanic disaster was 38-year-old Swede Ida Anderson who boarded the Titanic to begin a new life in Ludington, Michigan. She was coming to the United States to help raise her deceased sister’s children.
To Ida, the ‘Ship of Dreams’ was about starting a new life.
On Wednesday, Jan. 14, local historian Rob Alway will tell Ida’s story during the first of the Mason County Historical Society’s 2026 speaker series, celebrating and observing the semiquincentennial of the U.S.
Alway is editor-in-chief and owner of Mason County Press and also an elected director of the Mason County Historical Society. He has been researching local history for four decades. He said beginning the 250th anniversary of the U.S. in Mason County with the story of Titanic is truly an American tale.
“When we began planning the speaker series celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S., Ida’s story and the story of the Titanic seemed to be a perfect fit,” Alway said. “The Titanic is often thought of as a British ship, though it was actually owned by an American company. Its bigger story is one of immigration to our country. The main purpose of trans-Atlantic ships, such as the Titanic, were to transport immigrants to North America.
“As a first generation American myself, I can relate to this story. My mother and grandparents immigrated to the U.S. on an trans-Atlantic ship and they came to Mason County. Ida was coming here because her sisters had immigrated to Manistee and Ludington. She, like millions of others, was coming here to start a new life.”
Alway said he also found Ida’s story interesting because it put a local angle on a worldwide subject.
“The sinking of the Titanic is arguably the most famous shipwreck of all time,” Alway said. “It’s a story that’s been told from many different points of view, but stories like Ida’s shows that there are more to be told. I enjoy finding a story like this and putting a local spin on it. Ida Anderson deserves to have her story told. Her life mattered and she was coming here for a noble cause, to care for her sister’s children.”
The presentation will take place the Mason County Historical Society’s Rose Hawley Archives, 130 E. Ludington Ave. beginning at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
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