Ida Straus

Rosalie Ida Straus (née Blun; February 6, 1849 – April 15, 1912) was a German-American homemaker and wife of Isidor Straus, U.S. Congressman and co-owner of the Macy's department store. She and her husband died during the sinking of the Titanic. Early life and relations Rosalie Ida Blun was born in 1849 in Worms to Nathan Blun (1815–1879) and his wife Wilhelmine "Mindel" (née Freudenberg; 1814–1868). She was the fifth of seven children, including Amanda (1839–1907), Elias Nathan (1842–1878), Louis (1843–1927), Augusta Carolina (1845–1905), Moritz (1850–1858) and Abraham Blun (1853–1881). She emigrated to the United States with her family. In 1871, Ida Blun married Isidor Straus (1845–1912), a German-Jewish American businessman. The couple was considered especially close by their friends and family. When Isidor traveled as part of his duties as a U.S. Representative for New York, or as co-owner of Macy's, they exchanged letters daily. She and Isidor had seven children: Jesse I. Straus (1872–1936) who married Irma Nathan (1877–1970), and served as U.S. Ambassador to France, 1933–1936 Clarence Elias Straus (1874–1876) who died in infancy Percy Selden Straus (1876–1944) who married Edith Abraham (1882–1957) Sara Straus (1878–1960) who married Alfred Fabian Hess (1875–1933) Minnie Straus (1880–1940) who married Richard Weil (1876–1917) Herbert Nathan Straus (1881–1933) who married Therese Kuhnt (1884–1977) Vivian Straus (1886–1974) first married Herbert Adolph Scheftel (1875–1914) and second, in 1917, married George A. Dixon Jr. (1891–1956) Among her great-great-granddaughters are singer Mikaela Mullaney Straus, known by her stage name King Princess, and Wendy Rush (née Weil), the widow of Stockton Rush who founded the deep sea tourism company OceanGate and lost his life on a dive in a submersible in 2023 to the wreck of the Titanic.