Victoria left London with her mother the following week. She had no choice but to accept this generous offer. The fact that someone was prepared to take her on, when she had never done any household work before was a minor miracle. Now she was contemplating putting her into service.
Just a month ago they had been discussing the possibility of finding an advantageous marriage for her. She said that a gentleman she knew would be interested in taking on Victoria as a member of his household staff. Mary asked about Victoria, but Eleanor explained that she wouldn't be able to employ her as well.įor two days Mary pondered what to do, until Aunt Eleanor rang her again. This would provide food, shelter and an income to enable her to dress well, while escorting her aunt on her travels. Mary contacted Eleanor, who immediately offered her the position of companion. Fortunately, she had one card up her sleeve - an ageing aunt who had always doted on her.
LITTLE MISFORTUNE OUTFIT HOW TO
The problem of where to live and how to finance this became an immediate problem. It was necessary to sell the town house, but afterwards there would be no remaining debt. Fortunately, he had retained a good legal advisor, who took control of the financial situation. It had never occurred to him to consider what would happen in the event of his own demise. He had taken a gamble on the voyage in the hope that he could advance his own position in the world.
It came as quite a shock to Mary to discover that her husband had left considerable debts behind. The ship left its moorings at around midday and sailed off to meet its destiny (and an iceberg) in the North Atlantic four days later.Ĭharles Edward Stimpson Sessions was listed as missing presumed lost when the RMS Titanic sank.
He was shown to his suite by one of the stewards, while a young man followed along carrying his luggage. Charles took the train from London and hired a taxi to transport him from the station to the White Star Line Dock, where he boarded shortly after 10am. The ship was due to depart Southampton on April 10 th. Everyone who was anyone was going to travel to New York on the White Star Line's magnificent new liner. Then, one day in 1912, he announced that he had worked out how to increase trade and make his move into the upper echelons of middle class England. Her father was determined that this should be a step up the social ladder, but he needed to find an opening to make this possible. She was approaching her nineteenth birthday, when her mother began to talk about finding a match for her. As with her mother and father, she was always dressed in the most attractive clothing. She showed a reasonable level of intelligence and took easily to reading and writing. She was sheltered throughout her life, with a private tutor being brought in for her education. Victoria grew up in a household with a Nanny and half a dozen servants in a town house in the not-quite fashionable area of Hackney. He was used to her turning heads.Īlthough the couple had intended to have a large family (as expected in Victorian England), they were blessed with just the one child - a daughter. Naturally, he insisted upon his wife being equally well dressed.
He was always dressed in the smartest of suits in order to impress. Charles saw it as an opportunity to extend his contacts and to expand his own business, which was based upon the tailoring industry. His wife was the youngest daughter of a successful entrepreneur. She was named after Her Majesty Queen Victoria, stressing her parent's loyalty to the crown and to the establishment within the country.Ĭharles was a middle-class businessman, with pretensions towards becoming upper-middle class - perhaps even gaining a title one day. Victoria was born to Charles and Mary Sessions on the 3 rd of June 1894.