Margaret Bechstein Hays was born on December 6th, 1887 to Frank and Mary A. Hays. She was 24 years old when she boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg, France. She was accompanied by two friends, Olive Earnshaw and her daughter Lily Potter. Earnshaw and Hays occupied first class cabin C-54. Gilbert Tucker, a young man Hays had met in Europe, cut his visit short to join her on the Titanic. He occupied cabin C-53.