Key facts about Tillie Taussig
- Tillie Mandelbaum was born in Manhattan on December 18, 1872.
- She married Emil Taussig in 1893, and their daughter Ruth was born later that year.
- The family boarded Titanic at Southampton after a visit to Vienna and occupied first class cabin E67.
- Tillie and Ruth survived in Lifeboat 8, while Emil died.
- Tillie remarried in 1920, continued travelling internationally and died in Manhattan in 1957.
Tillie Mandelbaum grew up in a German-American New York family
Tillie Mandelbaum was born in Manhattan on December 18, 1872. Her parents, Herman Mandelbaum and Rosa Weil, were German-born Jewish immigrants who had settled in the United States. Her father worked as a tobacco merchant, and the family was established in New York by the time Tillie was a child.
Tillie married Emil Taussig on January 18, 1893. Their only child, Ruth, was born later that year. By the early twentieth century the family was living comfortably in Manhattan, eventually at 777 West End Avenue.
The Taussigs boarded Titanic after visiting Vienna
Tillie, Emil and Ruth joined Titanic at Southampton as first class passengers. Their joint ticket was 110413, and Tillie and Emil occupied cabin E67. They were returning to New York after a European trip that included Vienna.
Their family travelled together, but the evacuation would divide them. Like many married first class women, Tillie reached a lifeboat while her husband faced a much smaller chance of being allowed to leave the ship.
Tillie said a steward warned the family to put on lifebelts
According to later accounts, steward Alfred Theissinger told the Taussigs to put on lifebelts and hurry to the deck. When the family reached the Boat Deck, Lifeboat 8 was being prepared on the port side. Ruth entered the boat, but Tillie resisted leaving because Emil could not go with her.
Tillie later told a newspaper that two men lifted her away from Emil and placed her into the boat as it was being lowered. Her account is remembered partly for its anger at the empty seats. She believed there had been room for more people, including men who were left behind.
Tillie and Ruth survived in Lifeboat 8, but Emil died
Lifeboat 8 carried Tillie and Ruth away from Titanic. Specialist research places the boat well below its rated capacity when it left the ship. Tillie remembered passengers helping to row when some of the men in the boat struggled with the oars.
Emil Taussig did not survive. Tillie reached New York aboard Carpathia with Ruth and stayed with her father afterward. The separation at the boat became the central event in her survivor account because she had been forced to choose between staying beside her husband and joining her daughter in the lifeboat.
Tillie Taussig remarried and kept travelling
In 1920 Tillie married clothing merchant Morris Samuel, a widower. The couple lived in New York and travelled widely. Passenger records later place them on voyages to Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, Hawaii and the Middle East. Titanic did not end Tillie’s willingness to cross oceans.
Morris died in 1948. Tillie died in Manhattan on June 17, 1957, aged 84, and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York. Her biography preserves a first class family story in which survival and bereavement happened at the same lifeboat in the same few minutes.
Sources used for this biography
Family history, cabin and ticket details, Tillie’s Lifeboat 8 account and her later life are checked against specialist Titanic research. The British inquiry report provides the official framework for the ship’s boat arrangement and capacity.
- Encyclopedia Titanica: Tillie Taussig Family history, first class voyage, Lifeboat 8 recollection and later life.
- Titanic Inquiry Project: official report on the boats British inquiry summary of the lifeboat arrangement, numbering and rated capacity.
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Tillie Taussig?
Tillie Taussig was a 39-year-old American first class passenger travelling with her husband Emil and daughter Ruth.
Which lifeboat carried Tillie Taussig?
Tillie and her daughter Ruth survived in Lifeboat 8.
Did Emil Taussig survive Titanic?
No. Emil Taussig died in the sinking.
Why is Tillie Taussig’s account remembered?
She described refusing to leave her husband, being physically placed into the lowering boat and seeing empty seats while men remained aboard.
When did Tillie Taussig die?
She died in Manhattan on June 17, 1957, aged 84.