October 10th, 1879 - October 18th, 1959

She is a Libra.

Bertha Griggs was born in Friendship, Allegany, New York to Ira D. Griggs (1855 - 1923) and Dr. Elma Call (born 1860 - 1922). Her father, a printer, hailed from Michigan and her mother, a physician, was from New York and Bertha was their only surviving child. She first appears on the 1860 census as an infant living with her parents in Lyndon, Cattaraugus, New York. Her parents were later separated and her father seemingly remarried and resettled in Chautauqua, New York with a widow, Mary E. Arnold (1857 - 1935). He died in Chautauqua in 1923. Bertha and her mother appeared on the 1892 census living in Ithaca, New York, appearing in that city on future records, her mother claiming to be a widow throughout.

She was married on March 12th, 1906 in Ithaca, New York to Norman Campbell Chambers (born 1884), a mechanical engineer originally from Olean, New York. They remained childless and divided their time between travelling extensively and living in Manhattan and Ihaca, the latter where Bertha's mother remained. Her mother died on February 24th, 1922.

Aboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912:
Bertha and Norman boarded the RMS Titanic at Southampton on April 10th, 1912 as 1st class passengers, occupying cabin E-8. On the night of the sinking the couple were in bed at the time of the collision. Bertha asked Norman to go and investigate which he did; ascending to starboard A-deck but finding nothing amiss. He returned to the cabin and both of them went out to investigate again, noting that the ship was starting to list over to starboard. They returned to their stateroom to finish dressing and at the end of the passage to see the Mail clerks, wet to their knees. After some jovial exchange with the male clerks 3 officers came down and reported that the ship wasn't taking any more water.

Norman and Bertha returned to their stateroom and their steward came by and told them they could go back to bed. He finishes dressing and Bertha again went out again, soon returning after being informed by another passenger that the call had been given out for people to put on their lifebelts and assemble on the boat deck and Bertha soon entered lifeboat 5, calling for Norman to join her, which he did. The couple survived the sinking and returned to New York aboard the RMS Carpathia.

After The Sinking/Later Life/Death:
Bertha's 1914 passport application describes her as standing at 5'9, of fair complexion with brown eyes, reddish-brown hair, an oval face and a high forehead. She gave her address at the time as East Lewis Street, Ithaca. She and Norman lived in Petrograd (modern-day St Petersburg), Russia for extended periods between December of 1914 and April of 1917 whilst he worked for the Bement-Pond machine tools company. By 1919 when she applied for a passport, Bertha was a resident on Broadway, New York.

Bertha and Norman continued to travel frequently and were shown on the passenger list for: Siboney, Rotterdam, Albert Ballin, Mondel, President Harding and Excambion. Locations they visited, aside from Russia, included: Argentina, Paraguay, Cuba, Portugal, England, Sweden, Uruguay, and Brazil. The 1920 census shows the Chambers couple twice once at East Seneca Street, Ithaca, the home of her mother, and on West 70th Street, Manhattan. By 1925 the Chambers were residents of Rector Street, New York. From the late 1920's until at least the early 1940's they resided at East 44th Street. Bertha died on October 18th, 1959 at the age of 80 and was buried in Kensisco Cemetery in Valhalla, Worcester, New York. Her simple headstone reads:

BELOVED WIFE
BERTHA GRIGGS CHAMBERS
1882-1959

Sources:
www.encyclopedia-titanica.org

Rest In Peace Bertha Chambers.