The 1900 Storm is recognized as the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. Approximately eight thousand people died on Galveston Island. Several thousand more were lost on the mainland.
It is impossible to provide a full accounting of the victims. In September 1900, Galveston’s population was much larger than the 37,789 residents enumerated in the 1900 federal census. Beach season was then in effect, prompting excursionists to flock to Galveston’s beaches and attractions. Businessmen were in town. Others arrived to see local friends and families.
On Saturday, September 8, 1900, an intense, rapidly evolving storm of brief duration wiped out entire neighborhoods, claiming many who could have reported others as victims. In the aftermath, few bodies were recognizable. Most bodies were burned; few were buried.
In the weeks after the hurricane, newspapers, including the Galveston Daily News and Houston Daily Post, printed ever-growing lists of the dead. The lists were often incomplete, with inaccurate, ambiguous, and conflicting information. This was understandable given the massive number of casualties.
Between 2014 and 2018, Rosenberg Library staff undertook a comprehensive effort to verify the identities of 1900 Storm victims. The resulting database will eventually be uploaded to the Galveston and Texas History Center’s website and accessible to the general public.
This project is ongoing. Many victims can be identified by using Galveston city directories, the 1900 federal census, and other sources. However, the identities of others can only be conjectured. Some names will remain phantoms, lost to history.
The Galveston and Texas History Center presents a multipart series profiling the identities of selected victims of this long-ago cataclysm.
In 1900, persons who lived west of Galveston’s city limit at 57th Street were said to reside “down the island.” The 1900 Storm claimed approximately 1,200 people on the west end.
Victim lists record Patrick Clancy, his wife, and five children. The 1899-1900 Galveston city directory listed him as a cotton screwman. He resided in the Kinkead Addition (north side of Avenue Q 1/2, between 61st and 62nd streets).
According to the 1900 census, Clancy was a 35-year-old day laborer. He was born in Ireland in June 1865, immigrated in 1870, and married in 1886. His wife, Nora Clancy, age 30, was of Irish extraction. She was born in Massachusetts in March 1870. The couple had four living children: “Fany” [Fanny] (age12), Ella (9), Daniel (7), and Joseph (3). Fanny was born in Kansas, whereas the other children were from Texas. Fanny, Ella, and Daniel attended school.
Victim lists frequently recorded the number of children lost in families. In many instances, the number of child victims was at variance with the number of dependents enumerated per household in the 1900 census.
Often, nothing is as it seems in conducting 1900 Storm victim research. Victim lists are rife with omissions and errors, as well as duplications and misspelled names. In some instances, the spelling of a surname appears to approximate the actual name. For example, “Karvet” appears to be a rendering of “Corbett.”
This inference can be explained by the victim accounting process. In most cases, victim lists were compiled from reports made by next of kin, friends, and others. Individuals supplied the names of persons known or believed to have been at Galveston at the time of the hurricane. If the person making the report had a peripheral connection to a victim, that person may have spelled the surname phonetically.
Census databases, such as Family Search and HeritageQuest, can help with unraveling the identities of obscure victims. The goal is to find a best match by searching various permutations of the surname.
Victim lists include a mystery decedent whose last name was “Darffe “(first name unknown). He died with his wife and two daughters. Galveston city directories published during the 1890s listed no one named “Darffe.”
“Darffe” could have been a rendering of “Duffy.” The 1900 census enumerated Peter A. Duffy, who resided at 3928 Avenue K with his wife, three sons, and two daughters. However, his name appeared in the 1901-02 Galveston city directory, with six other persons residing with him.
Unless more information comes to light, the identities of the “Darffe” family members will remain unknown.
1900 Storm victim lists record the loss of a Mrs. Dinter (first name not known) and her daughter.
The 1899-1900 Galveston city directory listed Theresa Dinter (widow of J. H. Dinter), who resided at 1606 Avenue M 1/2 (Galveston Ward 11). This ward sustained heavy losses, as was true for Galveston’s other coastal wards.
According to the 1900 census, Theresa Dinter was a 35-year-old seamstress. She was born in Texas in January 1865 and was of German extraction. She had two living children, John (17 years) and Carrie (11). Both children were born in Texas. John Dinter was a saddler.
Theresa and Carrie Dinter died in the hurricane; John Dinter survived. According to the 1899-1900 Galveston city directory, his employer was Galveston Saddle and Harness Co., located at 505 Tremont. The firm’s downtown location suggests that John was at work on the day of the hurricane.
The heads of families who lived “down the island” (Justice Precinct 2) in 1900 typically were farmers, dairymen, or laborers who worked in Galveston.
The Galveston and Texas History Center’s 1900 Storm victim index includes ambiguous entries for a Mrs. Figge (first name unknown) and her four children. The 1899-1900 Galveston city directory did not list a Figge family, although it did not list many west-end residents.
Henreta Figge, the head, was a widow 43 years of age. Of German heritage, she was born in Texas in December 1856. Residing with her were four sons: Charles (16 years), Friedrich (13), Oscer (10), and Wil (9). The sons were all born in Texas. Charles worked as a farmer, whereas the others attended school. Henreta’s father, Henry Brandier, was also a member of the household. He was born in Germany in September 1824.
The loss of so many children and the elderly in the 1900 Storm is especially poignant. One wishes that these victims could have realized full lives or lived out their final years in peace.
Thomas C. Torr, his wife, and their five children were among the many families wiped out in the 1900 Storm. Torr, a plumber, resided at 2727 Avenue P (Galveston Ward 8) according to the 1900 Galveston city directory.
The Torr family was still living at the same address when the census enumerated its members in June 1900. Thomas C. Torr, 37 years old, was born in Louisiana in August 1862. He married in 1884. His spouse, Emma T. Torr, was 33 years of age. Of German heritage, she was born in Texas in May 1867. The couple had five living children: William (age 12), Julius (8), Joseph (6), Florence (3), and Hazel (9 months). The children were all born in Texas. A boarder, Edward Bagnall, a 16-year-old day laborer, was also a member of the household. Whether or not he died in the hurricane is unknown.
The 1900 Storm claimed many members of the working class. Among the heads of families who died were laborers, longshoremen, and cotton screwmen, as well as florists, cabinet makers, and blacksmiths.
According to the Galveston and Texas History Center’s 1900 Storm victim index, Richard Felsman, a blacksmith, died with his wife and five children at 46th and Broadway. The 1899-1900 Galveston city directory listed his surname as “Felsmann.” He worked at 2914 Broadway and resided at 4527 Broadway.
According to the 1900 census, Rich Felsman, 43 years old, was born in Germany in August 1856. He immigrated in 1887 and married one year later. Martha Felsman, his wife, was 34 years of age. She was born in Germany in April 1866 and immigrated in 1888. The couple had five living children: Otto (age 11), Freda (9), Elza (7), Clara (5), and Richard (10 months). The children were all Texas natives. Otto and Freda were school students.
Richard Felsman’s mother, Pauline Weizzer, a widow, lived with the household. She was 65 years old and had three living children. Weizzer was born in Germany in February 1835. She immigrated in 1890. She too died in the hurricane.
HeritageQuest and Family Search are valuable census tools for conducting 1900 Storm victim research. Nevertheless, they contain transcription errors. (The handwritten census schedules are another source of misspelled names.)
Among the hurricane’s victims were August W. Warnke, who resided at 4115 Avenue S. He died with his wife and five children.
HeritageQuest transcribes his surname as “Wamke.“ August W. Warnke, a 34-year-old laborer, was of German extraction. He was born in Louisiana in September 1865, and married in 1888. Jane Warnke, his wife, was born in May 1868 in England. The couple had five living children: Auther (age 9), Hattie (8), Royden (6), Edith (4), and Edwards (3). Auther, Hattie, and Royden were born in Louisiana. The 1900 census did not enumerate the birthplaces of the other two children. Auther Warnke was a school student.
The Warnke family lived at 4115 Avenue S (Galveston Ward 7). This ward suffered exceptionally heavy casualties. Examination of a map of the 1900 Storm’s destruction reveals that the Warnke residence was close to the beachline that was completely lost in the onslaught.
In 1900, African Americans worked in Galveston as longshoremen and cotton screwmen, as well as in other working-class occupations. Racial segregation and lower socioeconomic status meant that black Galvestonians lived in smaller houses closer to the shoreline. The 1900 Storm decimated the local African American population.
The Galveston and Texas History Center’s 1900 Storm victim index lists John Washington and his four children as decedents. The list also lists Mrs. Washington (no first name given).
The 1899-1900 Galveston city directory listed John Washington (black) as a hack (passenger wagon) driver. He resided at 1111 Rosenberg.
According to the 1900 Galveston County census, John Washington, 33 years old, was African American. He was born in Texas in June 1866 and married in 1889. Washington worked as a longshoreman. Lillie Washington, his wife, was 30 years old. Born in Texas in June 1869, she was the mother of five living children: Tillie (age 11), Clarance (10), Genevia (9), Verneta (7), and son Carrol (2). The children were all born in Texas. Tillie attended school.
When the 1900 census was enumerated, the Washington family had moved to 4416 Avenue T 1/2 (Galveston Ward 7), close to the shoreline. The ward experienced almost complete destruction and a huge loss of life.
Clarance Washington appears to have been the only family member who survived. The 1903-04 Galveston city directory listed Clarence Washington, yardman, residing at the home of Dr. James E. Thompson, 3224 Broadway.
(409) 763-8854 ext. 126
gthc@rosenberg-library.org
Galveston and Texas History Center
Rosenberg Library
2310 Sealy Avenue
Galveston, TX 77550
Open Tue-Sat 9-6
Directions & Maps
