The Great Galveston Disaster (1900) by Paul Lester. 1st Edition. Presented to me for Christmas from all three of my kids, but given on Thanksgiving Day, Nov 24, 2022.

If you live in Galveston, or have ancestors who have lived there and survived, or died, in the hurricane on Saturday, September 8th, 1900, then you definitely should read through this book, and you will probably give this a much higher rating and review. But, if you want to know more about the hurricane in a more engaging read, then you will want to read “Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History” (1999) by Erik Larson.

Paul Lester’s accounts were written and published within just a couple of months after the hurricane, in 1900, the same year the hurricane hit the coast of Texas.

This book may contain the first true accounts and many of the first photos, but Paul Lester only told the story. You don’t get the feeling of personal survival accounts, and there wasn’t any organization of the material. The accounts are random, going back and forth and, at times, literally, repetitive sentences, paragraphs and sections. Although, you do get more survival stories from Lesters account. He drops a lot of names of locals and officials of Galveston, and officials from out-of-state who helped in Galveston’s recovery. This book could have been improved by a names and business index for genealogical purposes. It is needed!

What you do get is pretty much a day-to-day account of exactly how a city reorganizes and rebuilds after a natural disaster such as this. He focused more on the daily activities within the two weeks after the storm on how the officials of Galveston organized cleanup of debris and dead bodies of humans and animals and how the living were handled.

The first order of business was getting control of anarchy in the streets with a strong police and military force. Marshall law was declared and thieves were to be killed on the spot. It was estimated that about 8,000 of the 38,000 residents of Galveston were killed and the thieves were coming in for the goods. One black man, who was shot down, was found to have 23 fingers with valuable rings in his pocket. Others were cutting off parts of ears with valuable earrings. They were looting the houses of the rich. They were all shot down, at least 125, mostly black men, before control was established.

By the fourth day, the stench from the thousands of dead bodies and animals was so intense and becoming dangerous, they began moving out all women and children and men who were not involved in cleanup out to the mainland by boat, then sent by train to Emancipation park in Houston, where there were tents and provisions set up for the survivors. Supplies (clothing, food, water, meds), which were mostly donated by people and businesses throughout the U.S., were trained to Texas City, then transported to Galveston island by boat. There were also 1,100 tents strung out on the island for those staying and helping with cleanup. Train loads of lime and carbolic acid were sent by the U.S. government and used as a disinfectant and scattered everywhere…because dead bodies, humans and animals, were quickly putrefying in the hot sun by Monday, just 1-1/2 days after the hurricane.

It took about a week to rid the city of the dead, by either massive sea burials, which they learned wasn’t a good idea, as most washed back up onto shore with the incoming tides. Outside of Galveston, 20 miles either way, thousands of bodies were reported along the beaches, from Texas City to Bolivar, where 1000 bodies, which had been swept across Galveston Bay from Galveston, was reported to be found on the beach and in the marshes. They then decided that mass cremation was quick and absolutely necessary, along with spreading thick layers of lime and carbolic acid everywhere, to avoid an epidemic issue, such as typhoid and other virulent fevers.

The next order of business was then working on main waterlines, flushing gutters, and getting the streets lit to curb activity of thieves. Once communications was set up to outside world, then the engineers main focus was rebuilding a stronger railroad bridge of steel, 10 feet higher than the old bridge, over Galveston Bay to get supplies in and people out. Only ones who were fit and able to help, had to help in recovery in order to be fed and clothed. The idle people were not fed or clothed, and were either forced into working by the bayonet, or forced to leave the island one.

NOTABLE (and very true) QUOTE

P. 314: “Such a disaster puts aside all superficial distinction, and man comes to regard man as a fellow being without prejudice as to color or social position.” Rev. J. Kittredge Wheeler, Fourth Baptist Church, Ashland Boulevard and Monroe Street, Galveston.

RESEARCH

The Lawrence, a 200-ton propeller, was the only steamer carrying people from Galveston to Texas City. (p. 279) (September 1900). Need to research more on this steamer to see if it has anything to do with my family.

My 2nd great-grandparents, Capt. Joseph Washington Lawrence (a boat builder) and Louisa Matilda (Taylor) Lawrence, lived in Galveston on September 17th, 1875, the day a major hurricane swept down the coast of Texas from Sabine Pass to the mouth of the Rio Grande (pgs. 102 & 500). Although it is known for wiping out Indianola, near Victoria, Texas, and killing 150 people there, the storm brought in flooding several feet deep on Galveston island. The city hospital was flooded, vessels were wrecked. Buildings crumbled and washed away. Thirty lives were lost.

Joseph and Louisa Lawrence had two children born in Galveston, Laura Lawrence, who was born 19 Aug 1875, one month before this hurricane of 1875, and George William Lawrence, born in 1876. Laura died, sometime between 1875 and June 1879, and was buried somewhere there in Galveston. WAS LAURA A CASUALTY OF THE HURRICANE OF 1875?

The family was living in Battles Wharf, Alabama, by June 27, 1879, for the birth of their 3rd child, Rosella (Rosa) Lawrence. ( )

Title page:
The Great Galveston Disaster. Containing a Full and Thrilling Account
of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Time
Including Vivid Descriptions of the Hurricane and Terrible Rush of Waters;
Immense Destruction of Dwellings, Business Houses, Churches, and Loss of Thousands of Human Lives.
Thrilling Tales of Heroic Deeds; Panic-Stricken Multitudes and Heart-Rending Scenes of Agony; Frantic Efforts to Escape a Horrible Fate; Separations of Loved Ones, etc.
Narrow Escapes from the Jaws of Death
Terrible Sufferings of the Survivors; Vandals Plundering Bodies of the Dead; Wonderful Exhibitions of Popular Sympathy; Millions of Dollars Sent for the Relief of the Stricken Sufferers
Profusely Embellished with Photographs Taken Immediately After the Disaster
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Sounds a bit like Katrina; apparently we haven't learned much. Portions of this book are available online here.

For a less hysterical treatment of this hurricane, see Isaac's Storm by Erik Larsen.