Adella Wotherspoon
Encyclopedia
Adella Liebenow Wotherspoon (November 28, 1903 – January 26, 2004) was the youngest and last living survivor of the General Slocum
General Slocum
The PS General Slocum was a passenger steamboat built at Brooklyn, New York, in 1891. The General Slocum was named for Civil War officer and New York Congressman Henry Warner Slocum. She operated in the New York City area as an excursion steamer for the next thirteen years under the same ownership...
ship disaster of June 15, 1904.
Birth and siblings
Born Adele Martha Liebenow in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, she was the daughter of Anna Liebenow (1872–1957) and Paul Liebenow (1871–1910). She was nicknamed Tiby Liebenow. Her siblings Anna C. Liebenow (1901–1904) and Helen Liebenow (1898–1904) died in the fire. Helen's body was never identified and is presumed buried in a mass grave. Two cousins and two aunts also perished in the fire. One of the relatives who died was Martha Liebenow (1875–1904) of 404 5th Street in Manhattan. Adella's family was listed as living at 133 East 125th Street in the official register of General Slocum deaths.
Shortly after the sinking, her parents legally changed her first name to "Adella".
Fire aftermath
After the fire, Adella was treated at Lebanon Hospital. At the dedication ceremony, she pulled the rope to release the American flag and unveil the memorial to the fire victims. After her father's death in 1910, Anna moved the family to Watchung, New JerseyWatchung, New Jersey
Watchung is a Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,801.Watchung was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 23, 1826, from portions of North Plainfield Township based on the results...
. Adella attended Plainfield High School
Plainfield High School (New Jersey)
Plainfield High School is a comprehensive community four-year public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Plainfield, in Union County, New Jersey, United States. The school is part of the Plainfield Public School District, one of New Jersey's 31 Abbott Districts...
, then studied education at Trenton Normal School, now known as The College of New Jersey
The College of New Jersey
The College of New Jersey, abbreviated TCNJ, is a public, coeducational university located in Ewing Township, New Jersey, a suburb of Trenton....
. She taught for one year at Cleveland High School in Cranford, New Jersey
Cranford, New Jersey
Cranford is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 22,625.Cranford was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 14, 1871, from portions of the Townships of Clark, Linden,...
then taught business administration at Plainfield High School from 1925 until 1961 when she retired. She married James Wotherspoon (1903–1982), but the couple had no children.
Death and burial
Adella died, aged 100, in 2004 in Roseland, New JerseyRoseland, New Jersey
Roseland is a borough in western Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,819...
and was cremated. She had requested a secular funeral, but this wish was not fulfilled. Her ashes were buried alongside her husband's at the Wilson Memorial Union Church Cemetery in Watchung, New Jersey
Watchung, New Jersey
Watchung is a Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,801.Watchung was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 23, 1826, from portions of North Plainfield Township based on the results...
.