Birthdays:
Samuel Herman (age 49 or 50): 1862 - April 15th, 1912

Jane Laver (age 48 or 49): July of 1861 - January 16th, 1937

Alice Herman (age 24): December 6th, 1887 - March 23rd, 1947

Kate Herman (age 24): December 6th, 1887 - January 18th, 1983

Zodiac Signs:
Samuel Herman: Unknown
Jane Laver: Unknown
Alice & Kate Herman: Sagittarius

Samuel Herman and Jane Laver:
Samuel Herman was born in Galhampton, Somerset, England to George Herman (1825 - 1904), am agriculture labourer, and Sarah Biggin (1835 - 1906), both Somerset natives who had married in 1854. His known siblings were: James (born 1854), Anna (born 1857), Emily (born 1865), Elizabeth (born 1886), George (born 1871), and Sarah (born 1875). Samuel appears on the 1871 census living with his family at an unspecified address in Galhampton. His neighbors at the time were a family called the Lavers who it could be sumerised would be related to his future wife. By the time of the 181 census Samuel and his family were still residing in Galhampton and he was described as an agricultural labourer. He would later work as a butcher.

Jane Laver was born in Madras (modern-day, Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India to English father from Somerset, James Laver (born 1829) and a Scottish mother, Margaret Simpson (born 1835) who hailed from Benholm, Kincardineshire. Her father had served in the British Army and was on duty in India where Jane was born. Her elder sister Susan had been born in Burma. Jane's siblings were: Susan (born 1860), Ellen (born 1864), Louise (born 1866), Charles James (born 1869), Arthur (born 1872), and May (born 1877). Jane and her family returned to Britain from India sometime before 1864, settling for a while in Hampshire before 1864, settling for a while in Hampshire before living in Guernsey and resettling in England in Somerset before the close of the 1860s. The 1871 census shows Jane and her family living at The Cottage in North Cadbury, Somerset, a locality the family would still be residing around by the time of the 1881 census, Jane was already absent from home at the time of the latter record and living and working as a general servant at Sydney Buildings, Bathwick, Somerset. 

Jane and Samuel were married in 1887 and had twin daughters: Alice and Kate. The family appears on the 1891 and 1901 censuses living at Abbey Cottages, Castle Cary, Somerset and on the 1911 census at Smallways, Galhampton, Castle Cary. Jane and Samuel also took care of a local boy George Frederick Sweet, who worked for Samuel. 

Aboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912:
Although a financially family, the past year saw a slump in their fortunes in England and it was decided that they would emigrate. Originally booked aboard a different ship, they cancelled their voyage to allow more time to prepare. Jane, Samuel, Kate, Alice, and George boarded the RMS Titanic at Southampton as 2nd class passengers and were bound for her brother Arthur who was living in Bernardsville, New Jersey where he worked as a steward of the Somerset Hill Country Club. On the night of the sinking Jane and her daughters were in bed when the collision occurred but reported not much of a shock. Samuel, who had been on deck, returned to the cabin and told her not to fear and to stay in bed as it was bitterly cold.

He went to investigate and soon returned, ordering his wife and children to dress. Not thinking anything serious was going to happen and thinking she might soon return to bed, Jane dressed only in lighter garments. Up on the boat deck Samuel and her daughters were put off in what she described as the 2nd boat launched. Wearing clothing not designed for being put in the middle of the Atlantic, Jane suffered from exposure whilst in the lifeboat in a cold which she described as being intense. Samuel and George her lost in the sinking and their bodies, if recovered, was never identified. Among all their personal possessions that were lost, 8 trunks worth valued at $2000, were the monies from the sale of their properties. On the Carpathia, she sent a telegram to her brother Arthur on April 18th, 1912.

Jane Laver After The Sinking:
In New York, she and her family went to her brother Arthur at Somerset Hill Country Club here she was interviewed by The Bernardsville News where she lamented that her husband and George Sweet never accompanied her into the lifeboat which, she stated, could easily have taken at least a dozen more bodies. She also stated her attention to return to England but was fearful ever crossing the ocean again.

She remained in Bernardsville for the rest of her life, wasn't remarried and found employment as a caretaker on a farm. Despite her initial fears, she returned to England years after the disaster to pay a visit. She later lived with Alice and her family in Bedminster, New Jersey and, followed a long illness, he passed away in January 16th, 1937 at the age of 75 and was interred in the St Bernard's Episcopal Church Cemetery in Bernardsville.

Alice Herman After The Sinking:
Alice and William David Cleland wed in 1913. William David Cleland,  horse trainer from Peapack New Jersey, had been born in Scotland on February 24th, 1882. They initially lived in Gladstone, New Jersey before settling at Larger Cross Roads in Bedminster, New Jersey where Alice would live for the rest of her life and where they ran stables. Alice and Cleland had 4 children: Muriel (1915 - 2006; later Mrs. Harry Harris), William "Jack" (born 1916), Norman (born 1918), and Basil (1920 - 1993). For a while she nursed Jane in her final years. Alice rarely spoke about the Titanic even to her family.

Alice was later afflicted with late-onset diabetes and died from complications in Somerset Hospital on March 23rd, 1947 at the age of 59. She was buried in St Bernard's Episcopal Church Cemetery in Bernardsville. Cleland died in 1961. 

Kate Herman After The Sinking:
Kate soon found love in America and moved to Portland, Oregon where she was wed on January 5th, 1914. Her suitor was Walter George Parsons (November 25th, 1885), a dairy merchant originally from Surrey. The couple remained in Portland for the rest of their lives and went on to her have 3 children: Hermione (1914 - 1997; later Maurice Kinney) and coincidentally, twin sons: Norman Elliot (1917 - 2009) and Herman Albert (1917 - 2008). She became a naturalized US citizenship on February 26th, 1952.

Her husband, who later worked as a chef, died November 10th, 1950 and Kate went on to live with her daughter and her family. In later life she was a member of the Titanic Historical Society. Kate died on January 18th, 1983 at the age of 95 and was later cremated.

Rest In Peace to the Herman Family and George Sweet.