Sarah Eleanor Pennington Smith was born 1861 in Newton, Makerfield, Lancashire. Civil War was looming at the time of her birth as shots were fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Sarah Eleanor Pennington was the daughter of William Pennington and Sarah Dootson Pennington.
When Sarah Elanor Pennington was born in Newton, her father was 38 years while her mother was 33. Sarah Elanor spent her early life at Woodhead farm in Newton and married Edward John Smith in January 1887.
Sarah Eleanor Pennington’s Marriage
The marriage of Sarah Eleanor Pennington took place in 1887 in Winwick, Lancashire. During their marriage, the beautiful couple was blessed with one child Helen Melville who was born two years after her parent’s marriage.
Sarah Eleanor Pennington’s Daughter
Helen Melville Smith was the daughter of Sarah Eleanor Pennington and Edward John Smith, and she was their only child. Helen Melville Smith was born on April 1898 in Liverpool, England.
When Sarah Eleanor Pennington’s daughter was of age, she married Sidney Russell-Cooke in 1922. Hellen Melville Smith’s husband was an underwriter, and he was killed in July 1930 in a hutting accident.
Sarah Eleanor Pennington’s daughter never remarried, but they already had twins, Simon and Priscilla Russel Cooke, born in June 1923. Unfortunately, Simon Russel-Cooke, Sarah Eleanor Pennington’s grandson, was killed in World War II in March 1944. Simon was never married, and he had no family of his own.
Helen Melville Smith’s other child Priscilla got married in 1946 to Jon Arneal Phipps, but she died two years later in Scotland due to acute paralytic polio. She had no children. Sarah Eleanor Pennington’s daughter Melville died of an intracranial hemorrhage at Pratts, Learfield Oxford, England, in August 1973.
Sarah Eleanor Pennington’s Husband
Captain Edward John Smith, Captain of Titanic, was Sarah Eleanor Pennington’s husband. Sarah Eleanor’s husband was born on January 1850 in England, United Kingdom. He served as a British Naval officer, master of numerous White Star Line Vessels, and the captain of the RMS Titanic that sank in 1912.
As most reports indicate, Sarah Eleanor Pennington’s husband was last seen on the ship’s bridge. His body was never recovered, but according to the source, his last words were, “Be British.”
Sarah Eleanor Pennington’s husband started his career as an apprentice on a clipper ship in 1869. Later in 1890, he joined the White Star Lines as a fourth officer. In 1887, Smith was promoted to captain and given command over White Star Steamship from 1895 to 1902. As the captain, he used to make two voyages to South Africa during the Boer War, which awarded him the Transport Medal and the South African medal.
Sarah Eleanor’s husband had made over 2 million miles on White Star ships and had more than forty years of experience on the sea. He was appointed Captain of Titanic with his impeccable record without accidents or injuries. Unfortunately, his ship hit an iceberg on that trip and sank in two and half hours.
According to reports, after the ship sank, the captain swam to a lifeboat with a baby in his arms, gave the baby to the ship’s cook, and swam away.
Sarah Eleanor Pennington died after being hit by a taxi in London. She died at St. Mary Abbot’s Hospital, Kensington, in 1931.
