I am a third cousin to the Ryerson family, traveling first class from Cherbourg France to Cooperstown NY, which is where I currently reside. They were on their way to Cooperstown to bury one of their sons who had died in a train accident. Arthur Landen Ryerson was mentioned in the movie as the owner of the jacket that Leonardo DiCaprio stole to go to talk to Rose. Arthur was traveling with his wife, three kids, and their maid. He gave the maid, Victoria his life belt so that she could survive. Arthur Landen Ryerson was the only Ryerson who perished on the Titanic, despite his heroic efforts to save his family. Margaret Hobbie
Titanic Passenger – Arthur Landen Ryerson and Family plus Maid Victoria
by Lady Kathleen | Dec 13, 2018 | Children of the Titanic | 3 comments
I am also a relative of the Ryerson Family but it was not a train accident it was a automobile accident that took their son he was studying at Yale and was with another student from Yale and they perished so the Ryersons cut their trip early to come home the only time Mrs Ryerson left her stateroom was when Mrs Thayer asked her to take a walk Sunday afternoon.
My father who was born in 1916 and grew up in Cooperstown had told me in his later years that he had a teacher/mentor who had survived the titanic. Do you think it might have been one of the Ryersons? Jim
Though not mentioned above, the Ryersons were actually also traveling on the Titanic with Jack’s governess, Grace Scott Bowen, who was a teacher and principal in schools in Cooperstown, NY. She survived the sinking. The teacher/mentor that your father mentioned could very well have been her!