Margaret Bechstein
Hays Easton

By: Carolina Mach

Margaret Bechstein Hays Easton was a passenger on the Titanic on April 14^th, 1912.  Margaret, born Tuesday December 6th 1887, lived in the small town of Swissvale, Pennsylvania. As she grew, she decided to move to 304 West 83rd Street, New York City. She then became a high school teacher.

 Margaret, fluent in French, was 24 years old when she boarded the Titanic in Cherbourg. Lily Potter and Olive Earnshaw were friends she met while in school with whom she traveled. The three met while at the Briarcliff School in New York. Olive and Margaret occupied cabin C-54. Lily was in cabin C-50. 

Accompanied by their 31-year-old escort, Gilbert Tucker, the four boarded the Titanic in Cherbourg. Gilbert later fell for Margaret because of her amazing qualities.  On the 14^th, the ladies were comfortably asleep, when summoned to the deck. Gilbert helped the ladies into their life vests and Margaret held close her loving Pomeranian. One of the crew members, James Clinch Smith, jokingly commented, "Oh, I suppose we ought to put a life preserver on the little doggie, too."

The three women boarded lifeboat 7, the first to be released into the sea, leaving a troubled Gilbert behind them. On this life boat were two young French boys, Michel and Edmond Navratil who spoke no English. Using her past knowledge of French, she cared the two who had been kidnapped by their father who was taking them from their mother. He had used an assumed name and was aboard as a second-class passenger. Helplessly waiting for their rescue and listening to the distant blood wrenching cries of the less fortunate passengers, they sailed off into the brisk sea air.

Once aboard the Carpathia, many families were reunited. All of the children who were separated from parents during the sinking were eventually reunited, except for the two small boys in Margaret's lifeboat. At the time no one knew their names or who they had been traveling with but newspapers carried the story of their survival.  Miss Hays offered to take care of the boys, pictured above, until their family could be located.

Their mother, Marcelle Navratil saw the story of the boys in the newspaper and contacted the White Star Line.  The White Star Line paid for her to come to New York on May 16 to pick up her lost boys.

The Carpathia finally picked up the group on the 15th early in the morning. The worst day of her life was soon to be over. Leaving her adventures at sea, Margaret stepped on dry land in New York.

Citations

"Miss Margaret Bechstein Hays." Encyclopedia Titanica. xx xxx 2007. Encyclopedia Titanica. 26 Mar 2008 <http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography/156/ ,>. (et)

 "Biography of Margaret B Hays." Graduate Women in Science. GWIS. 26 Mar 2008 <http://www.gwis.org/grants/bios/hays_bio.htm#top>. 

 “Margaret Hays.” Online Image. Encyclopedia Titanica. 4/2/08 http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/images/hays_mb2_thm.jpg  

 “Margaret Hays’ Grave” Online Image. Encyclopedia Titanica. 4/2/08  http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/images/hays_m_grave_thm.jpg

 “navratil_boys” Online Image. Interesting facts about the Titanic.4/2/08.
< http://www.geocities.com/nika505/navratil_boys3.jpg.>