TITANIC AND ​THE ISMAY FAMILY

The White Star Line was originally founded in 1845 by John Pilkington and Henry Wilson, the company mainly focused on the Australian gold trade which was a very lucrative trading route in the mid 1800’s

 

Originally Pilkington and Wilson's plan was for the White Star Line to lease and charter vessels as opposed to purchasing them, but as business increased it seemed logical to purchase their new vessels. The first ship purchased for the White Star Line was Iowa, an 879 ton clipper of the barque class. In 1853, Henry Wilson's daughter married a man a young man named James Chambers. Chambers was experienced in the shipping business having worked for his father and it seemed inevitable that he would become a partner in the White Star Line.

 

In 1861 Pilkington decided to retire from White Star and Henry Wilson took on a new associate named John Cunningham but in 1867 the Royal Bank got into a financial bind and closed down, revealing a debt of £527,000 which the line owed. White Star Line was now facing bankruptcy. With the White Star Line facing ruin, James Chambers decided it was time to get out, accusing Henry Wilson of "reckless spending" with money the company didn't have. Wilson had let the success of the company get away from him by attempting to expand the fleet too quickly.

 

In 1857, Thomas Henry Ismay, now 19 years of age and attempting to claim his stake in the shipbuilding business met up with a retired ship captain named Phillip Nelson. Like Thomas, Nelson had also left his home town of Maryport to see what the now thriving port of Liverpool could offer. Nelson owned a ship, the Anne Nelson, named after his wife. The two became friends and decided to go into business together as shipbrokers. This Nelson – Ismay partnership did not last very long, Nelson believed in the tried and trusted ways of timber built ships, while Thomas believed that the way ahead would be with new ships made from iron. After five years the partnership broke up and Ismay founded the T.H. Ismay and Company, Liverpool. After a few years, T.H Ismay and company had become arespected establishment and Ismay’s wealth was quickly growing.

 

With the White Star all but bankrupt, thirty year-old Thomas Henry Ismay saw an opportunity and quickly moved in and purchased the White Star Line from the almost penniless Henry Wilson for £1000. Almost immediately after the purchase, the White Star Line was again growing. Ismay began selling the old slow clipper ships, first utilising the original practice of leasing and chartering, then purchasing as capital was accumulated. The White Star Line was to see it's most successful and prosperous days under the control of Thomas Henry Ismay.

 

Not long after purchasing the White Star Line Thomas Ismay formed the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company. OSNC began with £400,000 in capital and £1000 in shares, with Ismay holding controlling interest. One particular shareholder, also a good friend of Thomas Ismay's, William Imrie Jr., had inherited a small shipping company from his father and after the two men formed a partnership, Imrie merged his company with T.H. Ismay & Company forming the Ismay, Imrie & Co. This new conmany was made a subsidiary division of the Ocean Steam Navigation Company. Ismay ran the steamers under the White Star Flag, whereas Imrie ran the sailing vessels under the name of North West Shipping Company. Two other large share holders in OSNC were Gustuv Wolff and Edward Harland. The two men had started a shipbuilding company in Belfast that was quickly becoming very successful. Harland and Wolff were considered the most expensive and most meticulous shipbuilders in Europe. Their craftsmen were well paid and there was a long line of tradesmen from all over the world seeking employment with them.

 

A business partnership soon formed between the three, the goal being to build faster, stronger and more stable iron ships to continue in the North Atlantic route. Harland and Wolff received its first vessel construction orders from the new White Star Line on July 30, 1869, and on August 20, 1870, what many believe to be White Star's "Greatest Triumph," the liner Oceanic was launched for final fitting out and put into service in 1871.

 

It was agreed that Harland and Wolff would build ships for the WSL to their own specifications, sparing no expense; they would then add a fixed percentage to the building cost as their fee. Further agreement stated that Harland and Wolff would not build ships for any of White Star Line’s competitors, and at the same time, White Star Line would not place orders with any rival shipbuilders. This mutual agreement worked well for both parties. For his new vessels Thomas Henry Ismay had wished for the emphasis to be on comfort rather than speed.

 

Soon after Oceanic's completion, came three new vessels which would be collectively known as ‘the big four’ Oceanic, Atlantic, Baltic and Republic, built by Harland and Wolff for the White Star Line. These new ships would completely revolutionise commercial passenger trade. The building of Teutonic won the ship and White Star Line the Blue Ribband award for setting a speed record for an Atlantic crossing. This became the incentive Thomas Ismay needed to begin expansion of the company. All competitors’ eyes were beginning to take notice of the new White Star Line. First class accommodations on the new ships were placed amidships unlike most other ships that had them located at the stern where engine noise and vibration were troublesome. A grand dining saloon was added, designated passenger walkways on deck called promenades, were also featured. These new vessels even had had running water and electricity in the passenger cabins. Oceanic, the "Queen of the Big Four" was considered have set the standard for rival steamship companies.

 

Sir Edward Harland died in 1895, and four years later Joseph Bruce Ismay succeeded his father's position following his death in 1899. A new enterprise soon took place in the form of a partnership between Bruce Ismay and the new Harland and Wolff chairman Lord W.J. Pirrie, bringing a new management style to the White Star Line. By the early 1900's, the shipping companies were involved in a vicious rate war. American financier John Pierpont Morgan saw this as a great opportunity to expand his business. Morgan was a railroad, coal, and steel magnate and decided to turn his interests to the Atlantic shipping trade. Morgan purchased White Star Line and some of its rival shipping companies, placing them under one controlling trust with fixed prices. This trust being known as the International Mercantile Marine.

 

The British shipping companies considered this conglomeration a threat to their business and the formation of IMM inspired the Cunard line to move quickly which resulted in the birth of two of Cunard's greatest vessels, the Lusitania and the Mauritania. These two ships would be the largest and fastest ships the world had ever seen. The Lusitania quickly grabbed the famed Blue Ribband award from WSL's Teutonic, setting a new transatlantic speed crossing. By the end of 1902, the deal was final. Bruce Ismay would remain as White Star Line's managing director and chairman, and Morgan later convinced him to take the presidency of International Mercantile Marine.