Edwin Clay McLellan was one of the many undertakers who were brought to Halifax for the purpose of preparing the hundreds of bodies recovered by the Mackay-Bennett and Minia for burial. To prevent further damage to skin, the lifebelts removed from bodies were generally cut at the four ties and shoulder straps. Edwin kept one as a memento of this “Night to Remember.” The lifebelt was later passed to his grandson who donated it to the Mariners’ Museum in Virginia in 1988. 

It is sometimes thought that the darker stains at the shoulder straps are blood, but the Museum curators never detected the presence of blood as is mentioned in an email dated August 22nd 2025.

"The lifevest came to our collection in 1988, and over the years it has been evaluated and re-evaluated many times by different Conservators.  Our Conservators also do periodic condition checks on everything on display in our galleries, and move these items back through our Conservation Lab for closer checks and treatments as needed.

Since 1988, none of them have reported any blood stains or the possibility that the dark marks on the lifevest might be blood. 

This is significant because if there were any concerns that blood might be present on the lifevest, it would automatically be classified as an object that would require special handling and storage. 

 Our database and object files would have to note the presence of blood, and team members handling the objects would have to be aware of it before handling the object.  And exhibition and storage decisions would have to be modified if blood is present.   

The staining on the lifevest has been  attributed to a number of factors.  Water damage, previous long-term UV damage, age, wear, and embedded dirt down in the fibers of the fabric."

The Museum had cataloged the following measurements:

[Part A] 26-1/2" (length) x 13-3/4" (width) x 2-1/4" (depth),
[Part B] 25" (length) x 13-1/2" (width) x 2-1/4" (depth).
[Total dimensions] 51-1/2" (length) x 13-3/4" (width) x 2-1/4" (depth).