Mrs Edward Ford (Margaret Ann Watson), 48, was the daughter of William and Catherine Margaret (née McGregor) Watson of Bracadale, Isle of Skye.
She married Edward Ford, an Englishman, at Hadlow Down, Sussex, on 17th June, 1890.
They had five children Frances, Dollina, Edward, William and Maggie. Following the birth of the couple’s fifth child, Robina Maggie, on 25th April 1904, Edward had deserted the family and Margaret was left to eke out an existence as a poultry farmer. Her eldest daughter, Frances, was already in the United States working as a domestic servant, and so impressed the family with tales of a better life that Margaret decided to leave their home in Sussex for America. Travelling with them was Margaret’s sister Eliza with her family and a friend of Frances’, Phoebe Alice Harknett. Margaret bought ticket no. W./C. 6608 (£34 7s 6d) for her and her children, they boarded the Titanic at Southampton.
The entire party of ten were lost in the sinking. None of their bodies were identified amongst those recovered after the sinking. Edward Ford later filed a claim for the loss of his family and was awarded five shillings per week.
© Hadlow Down Village Trust 2023