Elleda Wilson: Au revoir
Dec. 1—Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas, is offering another bit of Titanic memorabilia up for auction this Thursday: A letter from Alfred G. Rowe, mailed from the ship. The bidding starts at $25,000.
Rowe immigrated to America, where he and two of his brothers established a prosperous cattle business in Texas, the R.O. Ranch. He moved back to England with his family in 1910, and returned to Texas a few times a year to help manage the ranch — which is why he bought a first-class ticket on the Titanic.
The letter, written to his brother, is mostly about business. However, there are a few comments about the voyage: "My dear Charlie ... It is very pleasant here at sea. Not cold, smooth, and fine and sunny. Ship too big, that is all. Au revoir and love to all. Your affectionate brother, Alfred Rowe."
When the ship was sinking, Rowe refused a place in the lifeboats until everyone else was rescued. His frozen body was found, clinging to ice, by the rescue ship Mackay-Bennett, and was the 109th to be pulled from the water. His distraught brother, Charlie, wrote "Drowned Early A.M. on April 15th, 1912!!" on the top of the letter.
Rowe's wife, Constance, in Liverpool, was pregnant, as was Madeline Astor, wife of John Jacob "Jack" Astor IV, the great-great-grandson of Astoria's namesake. The Astors were also aboard the Titanic and Madeline survived the tragedy; her husband did not. When they were born, both children were named after their fathers. (Photo: Heritage Auctions/McLean-Alanreed Area Museum)
