News & Events

People who traveled long distances during the 19th century transported their clothes and belongings in bulky trunks. These were sturdy affairs, designed to withstand the rigors of travel and storage on railroads and aboard ships. Trunks were made of wood and covered with canvas or leather. They remained in vogue until they began to be supplanted by luggage at the…

The San Francisco Call, September 15, 1900, noted: “Most of the dead at Galveston were working people, small tradesmen, and some professional men and their families.” August F. Huebner, a blacksmith, lost loved ones in the cataclysm. He and his family lived at 3610 Avenue P. Huebner’s residence was located in Galveston Ward 7, which experienced a massive loss of…

Hurricane season isn't finished yet, folks! Hurricanes have struck during October in the past. One such hurricane swept along the entire Texas coast during the first week of October in 1837. Named the Racer's Hurricane after the British naval ship that it damaged, the hurricane battered the coast between Matamoros, Mexico, and Venice, Louisiana. Below is a letter regarding the…

1900 Storm Victims Who Lived in One BlockThe 1900 Storm systematically destroyed Galveston. Flood tides zigzagged along streets, collapsing houses and killing persons taking refuge inside them. Many residents died along certain streets, such as Avenue O. The 1900 Storm Victim Database includes neighbors who even died in the same block. The following casualties, for instance, occurred in the 170…

Reconstructing History: It's Our Responsibility How to tell the full story and why it's important Saturday, October 19th, 10 am - 12 noon Rosenberg Library, Wortham Auditorium (1st Floor)

Friday, October 18th, 10 am - 5:15 pm Rosenberg Library, Wortham Auditorium (1st Floor) Join the Galveston and Texas History Center for a Genealogy Lock-In at the Rosenberg Library! The Genealogy Network of Texas, the Central Texas Genealogical Society, and the Waco-McLennan County Library Genealogy Center will host a series of live-streamed programs featuring genealogy experts from across the U.S.Come…

The Dinsdale family lived at 2216 27th Street in Galveston in 1900. Thomas B. Dinsdale (enumerated as Densdale in the 1900 census) was born in England in May 1854. He immigrated in 1857 and naturalized. In 1883, he married his wife Minnie. According to the 1899-1900 Galveston city directory, Thomas was proprietor of the Swiss Cottage, a saloon and dance…

Ben C. Doherty & Co. opened at 313 Tremont in August 1915. It offered men’s clothes and tailoring. The firm carried such recognized brands as Hart, Schaffner & Marx and Manhattan. It billed itself as “The Store Quality Made” advertised value and service to its customers. Its founder, Ben C. Doherty, was born in Missouri circa 1878. His wife, Robbie…

John S. Christian, a day laborer, was 45 years old at the time of the hurricane. He was born in April 1855 in Germany. Christian immigrated in 1870 and seven years later married his wife Nancy, who was born in Texas in October 1857. They had six children: John (age 23), Mollie (20), Joseph (18), Edward (14), Bertha (19), and…

The Special Collections Department recently digitized and released the Julius Kauffman slave bill of sale. The receipt documents the sale of a thirty-year-old woman named Louise, an eight-year-old child, and a six-month-old infant. The sale occurred in Galveston on May 13, 1865, one month after Robert E. Lee surrendered at the Appomattox Court House and a few weeks before Juneteenth…

Hundreds of African Americans, mostly in Galveston, died in the 1900 Storm. The cataclysm wiped out entire families; as well, it claimed members of other families. Reverend Morris E. Terrell lost his wife and their four children. The Terrells resided in Galveston’s Ward 11 at 1510 15th Street (at the edge of the region of total destruction). Reverend Terrell served…

Diane Donohoe began volunteering in the Rosenberg Library’s Special Collections Department in March 2000, after retiring from a rewarding career in the legal profession. A passion for genealogical research led her to the Galveston and Texas History Center in the early 1980s. As an avid researcher she wanted to know more about her great grandfather, a French immigrant who was…