Irene Colvin Corbett (August 6, 1881 - April 15, 1912) was a musician, teacher and nurse from

Payson, Utah Payson is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo– Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 21,101 at the 2020 census. History Pioneers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints led by ...

and the only

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

to die during the Sinking of the Titanic.

Ancestry

Irene's paternal family came to America around 1677 when Irene's 5th great grandfather John Colvin moved to the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

from

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Irene's maternal family moved to America around 1635 when Irene's 6th great grandfather Zacheus Curtis moved to

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

from

Wiltshire, England Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

Life

Irene was born to Levi Alexander Colvin (1857–1928) and Mary Alice Curtis (1858–1940), Levi was a Mormon bishop and county official who married Mary in 1880. Irene graduated from Provo Academy with a teaching certificate and taught in an elementary school, Peteetneet Academy, a profession she left behind upon her marriage with Walter Corbett on 11 December 1905. Irene and Walter had 3 children together, Walter Colvin (b. 16 December 1906), Kady Roene (b. 5 November 1908) and Mack Colvin (b. 27 December 1910); according to the 1910 census, Irene and her family were living in

Pleasant View, Utah Pleasant View is a city on the northern edge of Weber County, Utah, United States. The population was 7,979 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ogden– Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is a suburban community of Ogde ...

. In the winter of 1911, Irene traveled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to study

midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many cou ...

despite Walter's wishes.

RMS Titanic

Irene traveled to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and boarded the

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that Sinking of the Titanic, sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking Iceberg that struck the Titanic, an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York Ci ...

on April 10, 1912 to return to

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

; Irene was one of only 14 second class women to die during the sinking.''The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City'' (22 May 1912) MEMORIAL IN PROVO FOR TITANIC VICTIM Irene's father, unaware of her death sent a

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

asking about his daughter to which they responded with the following two messages: "

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, April 19, Levi Colvin,

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

. Neither the name of Mrs Irene Corbett nor anything like it appears on the Titanic's second cabin list of passengers as having sailed from Southampton. WHITE STAR LINE." "New York, April 19, Levi Colvin, Provo, Utah. Now find name of Mrs Irene C. Corbett is on the list of passengers having sailed from Southampton, but regret is not a survivor on Carpathia. WHITE STAR LINE." Irene's

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

er remarried in 1914 but died on February 4, 1917 after a mining accident and their children were given to Levi and Mary Colvin.

References

People who died at sea {{DEFAULTSORT:Colvin Corbett, Irene 1881 births 1912 deaths People from Payson, Utah American people of English descent American people of Scottish descent