Lexington history: KY woman was the one of the oldest survivors of Titanic

Editor’s Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and kentucky.com each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city’s history — some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange.

April 14, 1912, was a dark day for many of the well-heeled in the United States, but for one Lexington socialite, it was a day of miracles.

That day, the Titanic hit an iceberg, sinking the vessel. But Lucinda Davis Temple Parrish was one of the 700 survivors.

Lucinda Parrish, or Lutie, was born in Lexington on July 16, 1852, the daughter of William Temple and Margaret Eliot. She married Lexington native Samuel Edward Parrish on May 24, 1870.

The two lived in Lexington and Versailles for many years, and she began traveling the world with her daughter, Imanita Shelley Hall.

Though Lutie Parrish had come from a working-class background, she was thought of as a social climber, as was her daughter. Parrish was living in Versailles when they left for England in February of 1912. For their return trip, the pair boarded the Titanic as second class passengers, paying £26 per ticket.

The two thought the second class accommodations were disappointing, with no heat and small rooms, according to the Frazier History Museum.

During their trip, they made the acquaintance of Isidor Straus, the co-owner of Macy’s department store in New York City, and his wife, Ida.

In testimony before the U.S. Senate about the disaster, Hall said on the evening of April 14, she and Parrish were awakened when the ship hit the iceberg, but a steward came by and insisted “that all was well and for all passengers to go back to bed.”

Less than an hour later, another steward came down the hall and called for everyone to proceed on deck. The steward brought both Parrish and Hall a life jacket, then directed them to the top deck.

Hall said she was weak from an illness, however, and it took time for her to get to the deck. Eventually, the Strauses came and helped them to safety.

Parrish and Hall made it onto a lifeboat that was being launched. It turned out to be the last lifeboat leaving the ship.

The pair made it to safety, but the Strauses did not.

The lifeboat carrying the two women picked up others struggling in the water. After picking up about 30 sailors, some feared it would sink. The lifeboat was eventually picked up by the steamer Carpathia, bringing them to safety.

Parrish, who was almost 60 at the time, is thought to be one of the oldest passengers who survived the sinking of the Titanic.

Of the approximately 700 passengers who made it safely away from the boat, some 1,500 other crew members and passengers perished in the icy waters of the Atlantic.

After surviving the Titanic, the Parrish family lived in Missouri for a while before relocating to Honolulu, Hawaii after World War I. The two women continued to travel the globe, seemingly not phased by their near-death experience on the Titanic.

By the 1920 census of Hawaii, Sam Parrish and William Shelley, Imanita’s husband, were living together without any other family members. Lutie Parrish left Hawaii in 1927 on a world tour and was gone for many months. She returned shortly before her death.

On July 31, 1930, she suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage at her home in Ewa, Hawaii, and died on August 7. Once she died, the rest of the family left Hawaii, with Hall settling in California. .

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that Lucinda Parrish was one of the oldest Titanic survivors, not the oldest survivor.

Have a question or story idea related to Lexington’s 250-year history? Let us know at 250LexKy@gmail.com.

This story was originally published July 23, 2025 at 11:40 AM.