Clara MacBeth
{{Short description|American heiress and cruise passenger}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| birth_name = Clara Louise MacBeth
| image = Clara MacBeth undated photo.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Undated photo of MacBeth
| birth_date = {{Birth based on age at death|99|1970|02|10}}
| death_date = {{Death date and given age|1970|02|10|99}}
| known_for = Living on a cruise ship for 14 years
}}
Clara Louise MacBeth (1870 or 1871 – February 10, 1970) was an American heiress and long-term passenger on cruise ships. In 1971, the Guinness World Records listed her as the "Most Indefatigable Cruise Passenger". She lived on RMS Caronia between 1949 and 1963, a period of 14 years. It cost her $396 in daily fare to live on the ship with her traveling companion Madoline Frank. Without accounting for inflation, Cunard Line received $4{{nbsp}}million from her in tickets.
An only child, MacBeth was born to James and Elizabeth MacBeth. Her father made his fortune through inventing a dynamite detonator. He owned a large amount of real estate in Brooklyn and Queens, and stock in Long Island Bond and Mortgage Guarantee Company. After her father died in 1929, MacBeth inherited $719,788 ({{Inflation|US|719788|1931|fmt=eq|r=-5}}) from him. After her mother died in 1933, she inherited $708,391 ({{Inflation|US|708391|1933|fmt=eq|r=-5}}) from her. MacBeth served on the board of directors of the Long Island Bond and Mortgage Guarantee Company in 1931.
MacBeth died at the age of 99 in 1970. She left an $11{{nbsp}}million estate ({{Inflation|US|11000000|1970|fmt=eq|r=-5}}), two-thirds of which she bequeathed to her long-time financial adviser Henry Hottinger, and one-third of which she donated to the New York Community Fund. She gave $300,000 ({{Inflation|US|300000|1970|fmt=eq|r=-5}}) in a trust to her traveling companion, Madoline Frank, and $20,000 ({{Inflation|US|20000|1970|fmt=eq|r=-3}}) to her Caronia waiter.
Early life and family
Clara Louise MacBeth{{cite news |date=March 13, 1895 |title=A. C. Burnham's Pupils. They Give an Enjoyable Entertainment at the Criterion. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111424748/the-brooklyn-citizen/ |newspaper=Brooklyn Citizen |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016194038/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111424748/the-brooklyn-citizen/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }} was born in 1870 or 1871 to James and Elizabeth MacBeth and was an only child.{{cite news |date=February 28, 1970 |title=Former Resident to Receive $15,000 Yearly for Life |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111424803/the-post-star/ |newspaper=The Post-Star |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016194117/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111424803/the-post-star/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }}{{cite news |date=September 4, 1933 |title=Deaths: MacBeth—Elizabeth |newspaper=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1222051526}} |page=11 }} She was a student of the gymnasium proprietor Avon C. Burnham and participated in a drama performance at Criterion Theatre in 1895.{{cite news |date=March 11, 1895 |title=Recital in the Criterion |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111424856/the-standard-union/ |newspaper=The Standard Union |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016194158/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111424856/the-standard-union/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }} Joined by an organist, she recited the tale of "The Tramp", a performance the Brooklyn Citizen stated was "excellently done" and The Brooklyn Daily Eagle said was "loudly applauded".{{cite news |date=March 17, 1895 |title=Burnham's Entertainment. An Evening of Recitals at the Criterion Theater. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111424940/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/ |newspaper=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016194300/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111424940/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }}{{cite news |date=March 17, 1895 |title=At the Criterion Theater. Mr. A. C. Burnham's Pupils Entertained Their Friends. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425011/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/ |newspaper=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016194353/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425011/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }} At the Christian Endeavor society's strawberry festival in 1897 at the Rochester Avenue Congregational church, MacBeth performed recitations that The Brooklyn Daily Eagle called "spirited and pleasant".{{cite news |date=May 26, 1897 |title=C. E. Entertainment |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425042/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/ |newspaper=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016194419/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425042/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }}
Her father invented a dynamite detonator, which made him wealthy. He died in Jamaica, Queens at Hotel Whitman in 1929 on November 14 or November 17.{{cite news |date=June 13, 1934 |title=Elizabeth Macbeth Estate Is Placed at $827,774 Net Value. Bulk of Fortune Goes to a Daughter — Chauffeur Is Included as Legatee |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425579/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/ |newspaper=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016195141/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425579/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }}{{cite news |date=November 21, 1929 |title=MacBeth Leaves Estate to Widow |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425621/times-union/ |newspaper=Brooklyn Times-Union |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016195221/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425621/times-union/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }} Having earlier been the chair of the Jamaica-based Long Island Bond and Mortgage Guarantee Company, he was its chairman at the time of his death and owned a large amount of stock in the company as well as substantial real estate in Brooklyn and Queens.{{cite news |date=January 5, 1931 |title=MacBeth Estate Totals $1,467,076 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425678/times-union/ |newspaper=Brooklyn Times-Union |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016195315/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425678/times-union/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }} He bequeathed $1,467,076 ({{Inflation|US|1467,076|1931|fmt=eq|r=-5}}) to relatives and friends; most of his estate was split between his wife and daughter with each receiving a share of $719,788 ({{Inflation|US|719788|1931|fmt=eq|r=-5}}).{{cite news |date=January 6, 1931 |title=Estates Appraised |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425730/times-union/ |newspaper=Brooklyn Times-Union |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016195357/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425730/times-union/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }} Having inherited his shares in the company, Clara MacBeth was a member of the Long Island Bond and Mortgage Guarantee Company's board of directors in 1931.{{cite news |date=May 3, 1931 |title=Guarantee Firm Building Ready. L. I. Bond and Mortgage Co. to Move Into Jamaica Home Wednesday. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425791/times-union/ |newspaper=Brooklyn Times-Union |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016195458/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425791/times-union/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }} Her mother, Elizabeth MacBeth, died at Hotel Whitman, on September 2, 1933, leaving $708,391 in her estate ({{Inflation|US|708391|1933|fmt=eq|r=-5}}) that largely came from her husband's bequest. Aside from giving her nephew and brother-in-law $5,000 each, a chauffeur $2,000, and some other relatives $12,500 altogether, Elizabeth gave the rest of her assets to Clara.{{cite news |date=June 13, 1934 |title=MacBeth Estate Is $708,391 Net. Mortgages and Notes Comprise Largest Assets; W. H. Parkinson Left $279,048. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425856/times-union/ |newspaper=Brooklyn Times-Union |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016195559/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425856/times-union/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }}{{cite news |date=September 15, 1933 |title=H.E. Shirk Left $10,000 Estate |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425905/times-union/ |newspaper=Brooklyn Times-Union |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016195629/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111425905/times-union/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }}
Living on cruise ships
In 1908 and 1909, MacBeth joined her parents on the Hamburg America Line ship SS Moltke when it visited Asia.{{cite news |date=June 11, 1909 |title=On Summer Trips Abroad |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111426106/times-union/ |newspaper=Brooklyn Times-Union |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016195918/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111426106/times-union/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }}{{cite news |date=February 1, 1908 |title=The Travelers |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111426158/brooklyn-life/ |newspaper=Brooklyn Life |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016200002/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111426158/brooklyn-life/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }} She was a passenger on RMS Franconia's 1935 Southern Hemisphere world cruise."Two Hundred Passengers on Franconia See Hawaii" (pages [https://web.archive.org/web/20221016200118/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111426257/hawaii-tribune-herald/ 1] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20221016200216/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111426318/hawaii-tribune-herald/ 2]). Hawaii Tribune-Herald. February 2, 1935. Archived from the original (pages [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111426257/hawaii-tribune-herald/ 1] and [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111426318/hawaii-tribune-herald/ 2]) on 2022-10-16. Retrieved 2022-10-16 – via Newspapers.com. She lived on the RMS Caronia between 1949 and 1963, a span of 14 years.{{cite news |last=Amon |first=Rhoda |date=February 23, 2003 |title=Here's the Life: Retire to a Ship, Meals Included |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111426380/newsday/ |newspaper=Newsday |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016200305/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111426380/newsday/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }}{{cite news |last=Amon |first=Rhoda |date=February 9, 1997 |title=Cruise Lines Still Woo Older Crowd |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111426425/newsday-nassau-edition/ |newspaper=Newsday |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016200346/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111426425/newsday-nassau-edition/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }} The daily cost of living on the ship for her and Madoline LaBelle Frank, the widow who joined her, was $396.{{cite news |last=Kreiss |first=Margaret |date=April 14, 1971 |title=Pencil Me In |newspaper=Sacramento Bee }}{{cite news |date=March 9, 1971 |title=Hard-to-believe facts fill new record book |newspaper=The Chicago Defender |id={{ProQuest|494292988}} }} Without accounting for inflation, Cunard Line received $4{{nbsp}}million from her in tickets. While living on the ship, the fares approximately cost MacBeth $20{{nbsp}}million, according to a 2013 book.{{cite book |last=Crossley |first=Harley |orig-year=2009 |date=2013 |title=From Ocean Liner to Cruise Ship: The Marine Art of Harley Crossley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IjuIAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT125 |location=Stroud, Gloucestershire |publisher=Amberley Publishing |via=Google Books |isbn=978-1-4456-2345-0 |accessdate=October 16, 2022 }} MacBeth visited Moore-McCormack's SS Brasil, where she met her traveling companion Madoline Frank's daughter and son-in-law Esther and Stanley Yurgartis, who worked onboard respectively as a waitress–cabin attendant and chief boatswain.
During the North Cape itinerary, the crew anointed her the "ice queen" at a party.{{cite book |last=Miller |first=William H. |author-link=William H. Miller (writer) |date=2008 |title=Under the Red Ensign: British passenger ships of the '50s & '60s |url=https://archive.org/details/underredensignbr0000mill/page/37/ |location=Stroud, Gloucestershire |publisher=The History Press |via=Internet Archive |page=37 |isbn=978-0-7524-4619-6 |accessdate=October 16, 2022 }} MacBeth rarely left the ship when it reached a port.{{cite news |last=Deitch |first=Joseph |date=January 20, 1991 |title=New Jersey Q&A: William H. Miller; Recalling the Heyday of Ocean Liners |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/20/nyregion/new-jersey-q-a-william-h-miller-recalling-the-heyday-of-ocean.html |newspaper=The New York Times |id={{ProQuest|108584775}} |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016211517/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/20/nyregion/new-jersey-q-a-william-h-miller-recalling-the-heyday-of-ocean.html |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }} Asked whether she would visit Sydney when the ship docked there, she replied, "I visited Australia in 1949. I don't think I'll bother getting off again."{{cite news |last=Harding |first=Maria |date=January 25, 2002 |title=Oh, no, not Hong Kong again; Who chooses round-the-world cruises? Maria Harding heaves her wardrobe on board the QE2 to find out |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/sail-away-from-the-january-blues-6349431.html |newspaper=Evening Standard |id={{ProQuest|329571737}} |page=63 |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016211626/https://www.standard.co.uk/sail-away-from-the-january-blues-6349431.html |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }} During her time on the ship, her cabin steward and waiter remained constant and she stayed in the same room.{{cite book |last=Miller |first=William H. |author-link=William H. Miller (writer) |date=1985 |title=The Last Atlantic Liners |url=https://archive.org/details/lastatlanticline0000mill/page/30/ |location=London |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |via=Internet Archive |page=31 |isbn=0-85177-320-6 |accessdate=October 16, 2022 }}
In June 1969, she was on the SS Statendam on an itinerary that included Tilbury, Torquay, Glengariff, and New York.{{cite news |date=June 21, 1969 |title=Today in the World: Tilbury |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111431879/evening-post/ |newspaper=Bristol Evening Post |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016211850/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111431879/evening-post/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }} In July 1969, MacBeth stayed on the Queen Elizabeth 2 for four back-to-back sailings. The 1971–1972 copy of the Guinness World Records listed MacBeth as the "Most Indefatigable Cruise Passenger".{{cite book |last1=McWhirter |first1=Norris |author-link1=Norris McWhirter |last2=McWhirter |first2=Ross |author-link2=Ross McWhirter |orig-year=1962 |date=1971 |title=Guinness Book of World Records |edition=10 |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofwo00ster/page/392/ |location=New York |publisher=Sterling Publishing |via=Internet Archive |page=392 |isbn=0-8069-0004-0 |accessdate=October 16, 2022 }} In his 2006 book, the maritime historian William H. Miller called her "the all-time record holder for cruising".{{cite book |last=Miller |first=William H. |author-link=William H. Miller (writer) |date=2006 |title=Doomed Ships: Great Ocean Liner Disasters |url=https://archive.org/details/doomedshipsgreat0000mill/page/82/ |location=Mineola, New York |publisher=Dover Publications |via=Internet Archive |page=82 |isbn=0-486-45366-9 |accessdate=October 16, 2022 }}
Death and estate
MacBeth died on February 10, 1970, at 99 years old. At the time of her death, she owned an apartment located on One Fifth Avenue in Lower Manhattan in New York City.{{cite news |date=February 26, 1970 |title=Adviser Is Left Two Thirds of $11M Estate |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111431963/daily-news/ |newspaper=New York Daily News |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=October 16, 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016211944/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111431963/daily-news/ |archivedate=October 16, 2022 }} She had spent little time at the apartment as for 70 years she boarded various cruise ships. She created a will on December 17, 1954, to distribute her $11{{nbsp}}million estate ({{Inflation|US|11000000|1970|fmt=eq|r=-5}}). MacBeth gave two-thirds of her money to her long-time financial adviser Henry Hottinger, praising him in the will for giving "invaluable and friendly suggestions" regarding her finances. The New York Community Fund received one-third of her funds. She gave her long-time traveling partner, 68-year-old Madoline Frank, $300,000 ({{Inflation|US|300000|1970|fmt=eq|r=-5}}) in a trust. Annually for the rest of Frank's life, $15,000 ({{Inflation|US|15000|1970|fmt=eq|r=-3}}) would be distributed to her. In her will, MacBeth gave her RMS Caronia waiter $20,000 ({{Inflation|US|20000|1970|fmt=eq|r=-3}}).{{cite news |last=Robertson |first=Michael |title=Some facts about the QE II |date=August 2, 1983 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle }}