 San Francisco’s concern in the wreck of the Titanic was
increased yesterday when it became known that Dr. Washington
Dodge, assessor of San Francisco; Mrs. Dodge and Washington Dodge
Jr., their 5-year-old son, were among the passengers on the lost
steamer.
No news of any kind has been received in San Francisco by the
immediate relatives and friends of the Dodges, so it is not known
whether they were among the rescued passengers.
Just Offered Bank Job.
Dr. Dodge was returning with his wife and son from a tour of Europe.
Recently he was proffered the position of first vice president of the
Anglo and London-Paris National Bank and obtained a
sixty-day leave of absence from his office as Assessor.
The health of Dr. Dodge had not been of the best when he obtained
the leave of absence and one of the objects of the tour abroad was to consult a specialist in Paris.
The family spent most of its time in Paris. The Dodges were due to
return to San Francisco on April 25.
They had made special arrangements to leave Paris in time to be
booked as passengers on the maiden voyage of the great liner.
Long in Public Eye.
Dr. Dodge, a graduate of the medical school of the University of
California, was a familiar figure in the public life of San Francisco for
more than fifteen years.
In 1896 he was elected a member of the Phelan Board of
Supervisors. Two years later he was elected Tax Assessor by a
majority exceeding 5,000 votes.
When he ran for re-election under the new charter his majority was
17,000.
Since that time he ran successively and was re-elected,
invariably being among the city officials polling the most number of
votes.
Sails Before Schedule.
Mrs. Eliza Dodge, mother of Dr. Dodge, received a letter from him in
Berkeley about three weeks ago, saying that it was not his intention
to sail for thirty days.
Evidentally he changed his mind at the last moment to avail himself
of the opportunity of sailing on the initial transatlantic voyage of the
largest steamship afloat.
Dr. Dodge’s marriage seven years ago with Mrs. Fontaine, widow
of the French sugar magnate, attracted much attention among the
social set of San Francisco. It was Dr. Dodge’s second marriage,
his first wife being divorced. Henry Washington Dodge, a youth of 21,
is a son by the doctor’s first marriage and lives at the family
home here.
Mrs. Dodge is a daughter of the Rabbi Vidaver. She spent her
girlhood in this city.
Miss Vida Fontaine, a daughter of Mrs. Dodge by her first marriage, is
attending a private school in San Mateo.
The Dodge home is at 2129 Laguna street.
San Francisco Examiner
April 16, 1912
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