January 1st, 1893 - March 27th, 1964

She is a Capricorn.

Kate Florence Phillips was born in Kings Norton, Worcestershire as one of 5 children born to Thomas Charles Phillips (born 1862), an engine fitter, and Mary Smith (born 1861), both Worcestershire natives who had married in 1883. Her four siblings were: Agnes (born 1884), Charles (born 1887), Ellen (born 1889), and Edith (born 1899). Kate appears on the 1901 census living with her family at Martley Road, North Hallow, Worcestershire and by the time of the 1911 census she and her family were residing at Waterworks Road, Worcester and she was described as an unmarried confectionary shop assistant, Kate's employer was Henry Samuel Morley (born 1873).

Onboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912:
Morley was the senior partner of the firm L. Morley Confectioners and was married with one daughter. His wife's name was Louisa and his daughter's name was Doris. Morley and Kate began a clandestine affair and soon made plans to elope and resettle in America. Abandoning his family, Morley and Kate boarded the RMS Titanic in Southampton, travelling under the joint pseudonym Mr and Mrs. Marshall on April 10th, 1912. They were travelling to Los Angeles, California, Henry having told his family and friends he was visiting the climate to recuperate from a recent illness. Kate and Morley would have shared a cabin on either D, E, or F deck. It can be assumed that the voyage was pleasurable for them but they must have been a bit on edge and cautious because they didn't want anyone they may have known to recognize them.

On the night of the sinking, Kate and Morley were most likely asleep in the cabin. They may have been woken up when the Titanic collided with the iceberg or if a steward woke them up to tell them of the situation. When they woke up, if they weren't already awake, they seemed to underestimate how cold it was outside. Kate left their cabin with only her nightgown. When they made it up to the boat deck, Kate got into lifeboat 11 but Morley stayed behind. Lifeboat 11 was the 7th boat to be lowered from the Titanic at 1:10 AM in the morning. While in the lifeboat, a crew member gave her a jumper to put on to stay warm because she was so extremely undressed for the weather outside of her cabin. Lifeboat 11 and her occupants were rescued by the RMS Carpathia at the dawn of April 15th, 1912 and arrived in New York on April 18th, 1912. Morley didn't survive the sinking and his body was never found.

After The Sinking/Later Life/Death:
Kate didn't stay in America for long without Morley and she returned back to England and her family In Worcester. On January 11th, 1913 on Waterworks Road, she bore a child named Ellen Mary, she always claimed that the child was the daughter of Morley, although as is usual in cases the father's name didn't appear on the birth certificate and wasn't confirmed until 2020. Ellen would spend the first decade of her life being raised by her grandparents. Kate later moved to London and worked as a shoe and hate saleswoman. She was married in Middlesex in 1918 to Frederick H. Watson, a café proprietor. Together they had a daughter, Joan M. Watson born on August 16th, 1919 in Harrow. Sometime around 1922 Kate resumed guardianship of her first daughter Ellen from her parents.

Some sources allege that Ellen and Kate's relationship was strained and that Kate supposedly became physically and mentally abusive towards Ellen, prompting authorities to step in and investigate at one point. It's further suggested that in later years Kate reportedly became further emotionally unbalanced, was hypochondriacal and attempted to take her own life on at least one occasion, one time by ingesting a corrosive liquid, landing her in an asylum. Her attempts at suicide, if true, failed but the last years of her life were spent bed-ridden and Frederick later abandoned her. She died in Harrow, Middlesex on March 27th, 1964 and she was cremated on April 2nd, 1964 at Breakspear Crematorium, Ruislip, Middlesex her ashes were scattered in the garden of remembrance. She is also remembered in the book of remembrance (First Volume). She was cremated as Kate Florence Watson.

Ellen, known as Betty, later worked for a florist and in the London passport office; during World War 2 she served as a railway Porter. Only when she was 11 or 12 did Ellen learn that her father was supposedly Morley and then only learned that information from aunts. She became estranged from Kate and didn't know she had passed away until months after her funeral. Ellen was married in 1935 to Lawrence Farmer, a teacher, and had a son named Robert the same year. Farmer served during the war meanwhile Ellen became involved with a bus driver named Frederick Walker. Ellen and Lawrence would get into a custody battle over Robert that ended in Lawrence's favour. He divorced Ellen who in early 1944 married Walker. Spending much of her life in London, from the 1980s onwards Ellen settled in her native Worcestershire. She fought for years to be recognized as Morley's daughter and she died October 29th, 2005 at the age of 92. She was cremated at Worcestershire crematorium, England, on November 11th, 2005 her remains were picked up by the funeral directors. Her ashes were eventually scattered at Cataclew Point in Cornwall.

In December of 2020, comparisons of DNA from members of the Phillips and Morley families finally and conclusively established that Ellen's father was Morley.

Sources:
www.encyclopedia-titanica.org
Titanic Wiki

Rest In Peace Kate Florence Phillips.