Mary Hélène Jane (Baxter) Douglas (1885 - 1954)

Born 4 Apr 1885 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Ancestors

Died 31 Dec 1954 at age 69 in 715 West Clark St. Redlands, California, USA

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Biography

Mrs Frederick Charles Douglas (Mary Hélène Jane "Suzette" Baxter), 27, was born in Montreal 4 April 1885, the daughter of a wealthy diamond merchant and banker. She was raised in the affluent Golden Square Mile district of the city, ^[1] where everyone called her by the nickname 'Zette.

When she was 24, she married Fred Charles Douglas, a medical doctor. 'Zette's mother financed a medical clinic on St. Famille Street, so Douglas could go into business for himself, and she paid for his post graduate studies in London in 1910. Her interference caused problems in the marriage. In the spring of 1911, Zette decided, against her husband's wishes, to go to Europe with her mother and her younger brother Quigg.

She boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as a first class passenger ^[2] and shared cabin B-60 (?58) with her mother Hélène. She survived the sinking in lifeboat 6. Her mother survived as well, but Suzette's brother Quigg was lost in the disaster. When she returned to Montreal, she contracted a mild case of polio and needed a leg brace to get around.

Her husband became an alcoholic and lost his hospital privileges and eventually moved to Sherbrooke, Quebec. After her mother died in 1923, Zette Baxter left her husband and went to live with a Montreal stockbroker, Edgar Cole Richardson.

In the early 1930's they moved to Redlands, California, to a house at 715 West Clark Street. There, according to her nephew, she lived, surrounded by "mothballs and memories," until her death there on 31 December 1954. ^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Richard Burnett, "If it glitters, it’s Montréal’s Golden Square Mile," Tourisme Montréal. Updated Sept 2022.
2. ↑ Encyclopedia Titanic: Mrs Mary Hélène Douglas (née Baxter); (ref: #99, last updated: 26th June 2019, accessed 31st March 2023 03:22:39 AM) Link
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 11 December 2021), memorial page for Mrs Suzette Hélène Jane “Suzette” Baxter Richardson (4 Apr 1885–31 Dec 1954), Find A Grave: Memorial #24568674, citing Hillside Memorial Park, Redlands, San Bernardino County, California, USA ; Maintained by Kym☺ (contributor 46877465) .

See Also:

• "New York, Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JJRT-JZ7 : accessed 02 Jul 2014), Helen Baxter Douglas, arrived at New York, 18 Jun 1912, on the Carpathia and Titanic; citing National Archives, Washington D.C.
• "United States 1950 Census", database, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/1:1:6XGW-HKHP : Sat Mar 25 00:43:57 UTC 2023), Entry for Suzette H Richardson in household of John F Richardson (listed as his sister-in-law). Redlands, California 5 April 1950.