Rosalie Ida Straus (née Blun; February 6, 1849 – April 15, 1912) was an American homemaker and wife of the co-owner of the
Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
. She and her husband,
Isidor
Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is an English and French masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος) and can literally be translated to "gift of Isis." The name has survived ...
, died on board the .
Early life
Rosalie Ida Blun was born in 1849 in
Worms, Germany
Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had about 82,000 inhabitants .
A pre-Roman foundation, Worms is one of the oldest cities in northern Europe. It wa ...
, to Nathan Blun (1815–1879) and his wife Wilhelmine "Mindel" (née Freudenberg; 1814–1868). She was the fifth of seven children, including Amanda (1839–1907), Elias Nathan (1842–1878), Louis (1843–1927), Augusta Carolina (1845–1905), Moritz (1850–1858) and Abraham Blun (1853–1881). She emigrated to the United States with her family.
In 1871, Ida Blun married
Isidor Straus
Isidor Straus (February 6, 1845 – April 15, 1912) was a Bavarian-born American Jewish businessman, politician and co-owner of Macy's department store with his brother Nathan. He also served for just over a year as a member of the United State ...
(1845–1912), a
German-Jewish
The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
businessman. She and Isidor had seven children:
*
Jesse Isidor Straus (1872–1936) who married Irma Nathan (1877–1970), and served as
U.S. Ambassador to France
The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations we ...
, 1933–1936
* Clarence Elias Straus (1874–1876) who died in infancy
* Percy Selden Straus (1876–1944) who married Edith Abraham (1882–1957)
* Sara Straus (1878–1960) who married
Dr. Alfred Fabian Hess (1875–1933)
* Minnie Straus (1880–1940) who married
Dr. Richard Weil (1876–1917)
* Herbert Nathan Straus (1881–1933) who married Therese Kuhnt (1884–1977)
* Vivian Straus (1886–1974) first married Herbert Adolph Scheftel (1875–1914) and second, in 1917, married George A. Dixon Jr. (1891–1956)
The couple was considered especially close by their friends and family; when Isidor traveled as part of his duties as a
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for New York, or as co-owner of Macy's, they exchanged letters daily.
Ida spent the winter of 1911/1912 in Europe with her beloved husband Isidor. They originally planned to return home on a different ship, but switched to ''Titanic'' due to a
coal strike in England that caused the coal from other ships to be diverted to ''Titanic''.
Death and legacy
On the night of the sinking, Isidor and Ida were seen standing near Lifeboat No. 8 in the company of Mrs. Straus's maid, Ellen Bird. Although the officer in charge of the lifeboat was willing to allow the elderly couple to board the lifeboat with Miss Bird, Isidor Straus refused to go while there were women and children still remaining on the ship. He urged his wife to board, but she refused, saying, "We have lived together for many years. Where you go, I go." Her words were witnessed by those already in Lifeboat No. 8 as well as many others who were on the boat deck at the time. Isidor and Ida were last seen standing arm in arm on the deck.
When the survivors of the disaster arrived in New York City aboard the , many – including Ellen Bird – told reporters of Mrs. Straus's loyalty and fidelity to her husband. Her story struck a chord with people around the world. Rabbis spoke to their congregations about her sacrifice; articles in
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
- and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
-language newspapers extolled her courage; a popular song featuring the story of Ida Straus, "The ''Titanics Disaster", became popular among Jewish Americans.
Although Isidor's body was recovered, Ida's body was not. A
cenotaph
A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...
at the Straus Mausoleum at
Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx is dedicated to Isidor and Ida together. Its inscription reads: "Many waters cannot quench love – neither can the floods drown it." () The work was designed by
James Gamble Rogers
James Gamble Rogers (March 3, 1867 – October 1, 1947) was an American architect. A proponent of what came to be known as Collegiate Gothic architecture, he is best known for his academic commissions at Yale University, Columbia Univer ...
, with sculpture by
Lee Lawrie
Lee Oscar Lawrie (October 16, 1877 – January 23, 1963) was an American architectural sculptor and a key figure in the American art scene preceding World War II. Over his long career of more than 300 commissions Lawrie's style evolved through ...
.
[Harm, Gregory Paul, Lee Lawrie's Prairie Deco: History in Stone at the Nebraska State Capitol, Concierge Marketing, Omaha, NE, 2018 p. 56]
Portrayals
Ida Straus was portrayed by Helen Van Tuyl in the 1953 film ''
Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
''. Helen Misener played her in the 1958 film ''
A Night to Remember''. She was portrayed by Nancy Nevinson in the 1979 TV movie ''
S.O.S. Titanic
''S.O.S. Titanic'' is a British-American 1979 drama disaster television movie that depicts the doomed 1912 maiden voyage from the perspective of three distinct groups of passengers in First, Second, and Third Class. The script was written by Jam ...
''. Janie Woods-Morris played her in the 1996 miniseries ''
Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
''. She was portrayed by
Elsa Raven
Elsa Rabinowitz (September 21, 1929 – November 2, 2020), known professionally as Elsa Raven, was an American character actress, perhaps best known for her two years (1988–1990) on the sitcom ''Amen'' and playing the mother of Vincent Terrano ...
in the 1997 film ''
Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
''.
Alma Cuervo
Alma Cuervo (born August 13, 1951 in Tampa, Florida) is an American stage actress and singer, who has also performed in film and television. She holds an M.F.A. in acting from the Yale School of Drama, from which she graduated in 1976 alongside M ...
played her in the 1997 Broadway musical ''
Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
''. When Ida decided to stay with her husband Isidor, they sang the song "Still".
Memorials
In addition to the cenotaph at Woodlawn Cemetery, there are three other memorials to Isidor and Ida Straus in their adopted home of New York City:
* A memorial plaque is located in the 34th Street main entrance to Macy's Department Store in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. It was closed to the public after 2001 and used as a stockroom for many years. The entrance has 21-foot-high ceilings, a two-story granite arch and two brass plaques — one commemorating the deaths of Ida and Isidor Straus on the ''Titanic'' in 1912, and a second honoring employees who died in World War I. The "Memorial" entrance was reopened in November, 2013.
* The Isidor and Ida Straus Memorial is located in
Straus Park at the intersection of
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and
West End Avenue
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...
at W. 106th Street (Duke Ellington Boulevard) in Manhattan.
* New York City
public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
P.S. 198 (the Isidor & Ida Straus School) in Manhattan is also named after the Strauses.
References
External links
Straus Memorial on Titanic-Titanic.comEncyclopedia_Titanica_Biography_of_Ida_Straus.html" ;"title="Encyclopedia Titanica">Encyclopedia Titanica
Biography of Ida Straus">Encyclopedia Titanica">Encyclopedia Titanica
Biography of Ida Straus
Straus article at JewishEncyclopedia.com– includes information on ''The Titanic's Disaster'' sheet music
Straus Historical Society* ''Titanic: Triumph and Tragedy'', by John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas, W.W. Newton & Company, 2nd edition 1995
{{DEFAULTSORT:Straus, Ida
1849 births
1912 deaths
Deaths on the RMS Titanic
German emigrants to the United States
19th-century German Jews
American people of German-Jewish descent
People from Worms, Germany
People from Rhenish Hesse
People from the Grand Duchy of Hesse
Straus family
Spouses of New York (state) politicians
Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)
19th-century American businesspeople