The Story of Isidor and Ida Straus
Among the most famous love stories from Titanic’s tragic voyage is that of Isidor and Ida Straus, the elderly couple who chose to stay together rather than part ways. The wealthy merchant couple–Isidor co-owned the famous department store Macy’s–were one of the few First Class couples who perished in the sinking. And their story is as heartbreaking as it is beautiful.
Isidor Straus came from a family of immigrants who, in 1854, moved from Germany to Georgia when he was a child. From a young age, Isidor was a man of business. He first became a clerk for his father’s dry goods business. Following the Civil War, Isidor moved with his family to New York to help establish their family’s new business in earthenware called L. Straus & Sons. Business flourished, and soon Isidor became involved in the R.H. Macy & Company department store, running the store’s china and glassware department along with his brother, Nathan.
New York would change Isidor’s life. He fell in love with Rosalie Ida Blun, and from the beginning, it seemed their relationship was meant to be. Not only were they both of German-Jewish descent, having emigrated from Germany, but they also shared a birthday: February 6. The two married in 1871.
While Isidor established and strengthened his presence and influence in New York, Ida became a very busy mother of seven. Together, they demonstrated devotion to their children and each other. Mrs. Samuel Bessinger, Isidor’s cousin, once said, “Theirs was the love of husband and wife so beautiful among old couples who have weathered life’s storms together. Two more devoted lovers could scarcely be found.”
In this undated photo, prior to the sinking of the Titanic in which both Isidor and Ida Straus lost their lives, the couple poses in a studio portrait.
“Their lives were beautiful and their deaths glorious.” This bronze plaque, a memorial to Isidor and Ida Straus, was presented by Macy’s employees after the sinking. The plaque is located just inside the Memorial Entrance.
Following a trip to Germany, Isidor and his beloved Ida booked First Class passage on board Titanic. During the night of the sinking, Isidor and Ida made their way to the Boat Deck. Isidor and several other passengers tried to convince Ida to board Lifeboat 8, which was already filled with about 25 other First Class passengers and crewmen. When Isidor was offered a seat due to his age, he replied that he would not go before the other men. Ida, refusing to leave her husband, said, “I will not be separated from my husband; as we have lived, so will we die together.” They were last seen sitting on deck chairs, facing fate by each other’s side.
Isidor’s body was recovered, but Ida’s body was never found. She is memorialized on her husband’s grave in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York. Today, Straus Park is on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, and there is a plaque at the entrance to Macy’s Department Store honoring Isidor and Ida Straus.
Love creates roots of devotion, and while no longer still blossoming, history will remember the beautiful, fierce commitment shared by Isidor and Ida Straus and their legacy of love.
