Saturday, April 15 was the 111th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.

Among those on board were three Cheltenham Township residents: George D. Widener, 50, Harry Elkins Widener, 27, and Edwin Keeping, 33.

George Widener was the eldest son of Widener family patriarch Peter A.B. Widener. He lived in Elkins Park in the palatial Lynnewood Hall mansion with his family. He was elected a member of the first Board of Cheltenham Township Commissioners and became the president of the board.

A patron of the arts, George was also a director of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. His son Harry Elkins Widener (right) was a 1907 Harvard University graduate and a businessman and bibliophile. The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library at Harvard is named in his honor.

Edwin Keeping (left), originally from England, was George Widener’s personal valet. He lived on Keenan Street in La Mott.

To honor the three men, Cheltenham Township schools flew flags at half-mast back in 1912.