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Disaster relief

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Letter from Charles S. Francis to William Loeb

Letter from Charles S. Francis to William Loeb

Ambassador Charles S. Francis notes that Professor John Williams Burgess attended Ambassador Charlemagne Tower’s recent dinner at the Embassy in Berlin and will be traveling to Vienna. Due to Burgess’s criticism of President Roosevelt, Francis does not want to entertain him, and asks William Loeb’s opinion on the matter. Francis hopes that Roosevelt approved of unofficial efforts to pressure the Austrian Phoenix Insurance Company to reach an agreement with a committee representing the San Francisco earthquake claimants.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-11

Creator(s)

Francis, Charles S. (Charles Spencer), 1853-1911

Report from W. N. McDonell to Howard E. Ames

Report from W. N. McDonell to Howard E. Ames

Assistant surgeon W. N. McDonell reports to Medical Inspector Ames on activities that he and other naval surgeons conducted during the relief efforts in Jamaica following the earthquake. Many Americans in Jamaica have expressed disapproval of the Governor’s handling of the disaster relief efforts, and McDonell agrees with this sentiment. The U.S. Navy eventually established a hospital ashore because of the many requests for assistance it received.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-20

Creator(s)

McDonell, W. N. (William Neil), 1876-1941

Letter from George H. McConnon to Edwin C. Pendleton

Letter from George H. McConnon to Edwin C. Pendleton

Dr. McConnon reports on the medical relief he provided to Americans, Englishmen, and natives in Kingston, Jamaica, following the recent earthquake. He went to shore and found Americans who were not injured but fearful of mob violence. He dressed wounds and responded to medical needs as they arose, assisted in resupplying medical stores, and treated patients.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-20

Creator(s)

McConnon, George H., 1880-1949

Letter from Douglas L. Howard to Edwin C. Pendleton

Letter from Douglas L. Howard to Edwin C. Pendleton

Midshipman Howard of the USS Missouri informs Captain Pendleton that he took a team of sixteen men ashore to Kingston, Jamaica, following the earthquake. First, they extracted the American Consulate archives. Howard then met up with Lieutenant William P. Scott where they began searching for and recovering bodies. Next they helped the owner of the company Milke Bros. recover a safe and return the contents to the owner, Mr. Milke. They also assisted a Mr. Newton in recovering and opening another safe for him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-20

Creator(s)

Howard, Douglas L. (Douglas Legate), 1885-1936

Letter from Matthew C. Gleeson to C. H. Davis

Letter from Matthew C. Gleeson to C. H. Davis

U.S. Navy Chaplain Gleeson reports to Rear Admiral Davis on the state of Kingston, Jamaica, following the earthquake. According to Gleeson, many of the dead were still lying in the streets and the hospital was overcrowded, with an insufficient number of doctors to attend to the wounded. Gleeson visited Winchester Park, which the Jesuit priests had opened up to the public, where a makeshift hospital had been built. Gleeson notes that there is not an immediate danger of famine, but many are concerned about the possibility of an epidemic resulting from the number of dead bodies still lying in the streets.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-20

Creator(s)

Gleeson, Matthew C. (Matthew Carlin), 1870-1927

Letter from Howson W. Cole to Howard E. Ames

Letter from Howson W. Cole to Howard E. Ames

Howson W. Cole, Assistant Surgeon for the Navy, reports to Navy Medical Inspector Ames his observations and work concerning the relief effort after the earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica. Cole reports that their offers to help care for the wounded were refused by Dr. Karr at the Central Hospital, although Karr did request some medical supplies. This refusal was despite the clear lack of appropriate medical services for all the injured, and Cole provides case-specific examples. Because of the clear need for more aid, Admiral C. H. Davis set up an American Hospital, where Cole and others saw as many patients as possible. Cole provides details for a number of patient cases, and concludes that no matter what Governor James Alexander Swettenham believes, medical aid is “certainly needed and asked for, by the poor wretches who are even yet without treatment.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-20

Creator(s)

Cole, Howson W. (Howson White), 1878-1925

Letter from Charles Walter Tait to C. H. Davis

Letter from Charles Walter Tait to C. H. Davis

Charles Walter Tait, the mayor of Kingston, Jamaica, writes to Admiral Davis to express his “deep and sincere regret that any unpleasantness should have arisen” that would have prompted Davis to withdraw any aid to the city and island after the events of the January 14, 1907, earthquake. Tait asks Davis not to withdraw his assistance.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-19

Creator(s)

Tait, Charles Walter, 1839-1907

Letter from W. Pitt Scott to Edwin C. Pendleton

Letter from W. Pitt Scott to Edwin C. Pendleton

Lieutenant Scott from the USS Missouri reports on his landing team’s work in disaster relief in Kingston, Jamaica. The men under his command assisted in tearing down walls that had been made unstable, removing dead bodies from the rubble, and disinfecting streets and areas where the dead were found. The people of the city were deeply appreciative of their help.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-19

Creator(s)

Scott, W. Pitt (William Pitt), 1873-1942

Memorandum from Dennis H. Mahan to C. H. Davis

Memorandum from Dennis H. Mahan to C. H. Davis

Captain Mahan reports to Rear Admiral Davis the extraordinary work of Navy men in responding to the earthquake crisis in Kingston, Jamaica. Mahan names individual sailors who have performed remarkably well in the dangerous conditions. They commanded the work done on shore, quelled a mutiny at the penitentiary, and repaired the Plumb Point Lighthouse.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-19

Creator(s)

Mahan, Dennis H. (Dennis Hart), 1848-1925

Memorandum from Arthur Bainbridge Hoff to Edwin C. Pendleton

Memorandum from Arthur Bainbridge Hoff to Edwin C. Pendleton

Lieutenant-Commander Hoff, of the USS Missouri, updates for Captain Pendleton accounts of the United States Navy’s aid efforts in Kingston, Jamaica, following the earthquake. This aid took the form of supplies and medical assistance given to hospitals, food and other assistance given to Americans on the island, and dangerous damaged buildings destroyed with gun cotton (an explosive now known as nitrocellulose). The Governor of Jamaica, John Alexander Swettenham, told the Americans not to destroy any buildings without the owner’s approval.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-19

Creator(s)

Hoff, Arthur Bainbridge 1869-1925

Memorandum of events in connection with a visit to Kingston, Jamaica, after its destruction by earthquake and fire

Memorandum of events in connection with a visit to Kingston, Jamaica, after its destruction by earthquake and fire

Lieutenant Gilmer of the USS Missouri provides a detailed description of the United States naval response to the January 14, 1907, earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica. Gilmer explains that the Navy landed in Kingston on January 17, setting up a hospital, landing forces, and providing aid. Gilmer describes the destruction of the city both from the earthquake and the subsequent looting and the various dead victims he sees and living victims he interacts with. After the governor of Jamaica asked the Navy to leave the island, Gilmer interacts with many who request that the Navy stay and insist they are badly needed. The Navy withdraws on January 19, back to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-19

Creator(s)

Gilmer, James B. (James Blair), 1876-1963