| Welcome to the Great Galveston Storm Website (Note: Mic Barnette, the author of this site, formerly wrote a weekly genealogical column in the Houston Chronicle, Houston, Texas. To read some of his back columns visit his website at: http://www.geocities.com/barnette_geo/) (Update: The Geocities website went out of business and the columns no longer exist on that website. Mic later had many of those columns on a website called Bravepages but that website is no longer viable. Mic has a number of the columns and intends to place them back online as time allows) Also, this site is still located on freepages of Rootsweb at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~barnette/ However, several years ago Ancestry bought the Rootsweb site and has since stopped allowing updates and other activities there. So, it has been transfered to micbarnette.com On the 8th of September 1900 one of the largest and most horrific tragedies to ever occur in the United States struck Galveston Texas. It stands as the single worst storm in United States history covering Galveston Island with between 8 and 15 feet of water and killing between 7,000 and 10,000 people. This website is a precursor to an envisioned future publication dedicated to identifying and knowing somethingabout the people who died in the Great Galveston Storm. The people who died in the Great Galveston Storm were live, vibrant, breathing people. In many cases more than one person in a family perished. In other cases, whole families died. The world has moved on, but, the victims of the storm should not be forgotten. The Great Galveston Storm of 1900 occurred prior to the time hurricanes had names. It is simply referred to as The Great Galveston Storm or the 1900 Galveston Storm. Its windswere clocked at over 100 miles per hour when the wind gauge broke. The whole Island of Galveston was covered by at least 6 to 8 feet of water from a storm surge and it is estimated that between 7,000 and 10,000 died. This storm remains the highest death toll from a natural disaster in American history. Much has been written about the Galveston Storm. Most of what has been written, however, has been the stories of those who survived the Storm. This website, on the other hand, is an attempt to identify as many as possible of those who died during the Storm. The Galveston newspapers published the names of about 5,000 persons who perished. In many cases the article says Mr. Jones, his wife and three children died. A goal of the project is to identify which Mr. Jones and give names, ages and other information to his wife and his children. The website will be a work in progress. Initially it will list the names listed in the newspaper which will be listed on this page. By perusing the city directory it is hoped the above list can be suplemented with information to place the family in their respective census enumeration district neighborhoods. While not posted on this website at this time, information from the 1900 City Dirctory has been compiled and in the author’s research notes. By adding information from the 1900 Galveston federal census it is hoped even more information can be discovered. This phase of the research is ongoing. By compiling all the information on a website it is hoped descendants or relatives of the deceased will visit the site and offer even more information to help give life to those who died. When all the work has been completed a book may be in order. Anyone visiting the website is urged to contact Mic Barnette at mic@barnettesbooks.com with information on anyone who perished in the Storm. If you have photographs of people who died or places affected by the Storm they may be considered for inclusion on this website. You will be duly credited for the information you provide. Before the Storm Galveston was on of the largest and most important business centers in the State. While the City and Island have recuperated, it has never attained its former stature and importnce it once had. In addition to the names of those who died, the website has a list of the people, cities, churches, companies and other entities that contributed to relief funds to help the survivors of Galveston try to recover from the Storm and begin a new life. The Story of the Tragic Great Galveston Storm is broken into a timeline of topics Be sure to read the story of the Storm in the: Before the Storm The Approaching Storm During the Storm After the Storm Since the Storm Those Who Died Relief Fund Links to other websites relating to the Storm Books and Sources and a listing of sources, books and the like will also be on the website. |
