Jamaica--Kingston

In an unsent draft of a letter to Senators Elkins and Scott, President Roosevelt explains his reasons for removing Thomas W. Cridler as Assistant Secretary of State and replacing him with Herbert H. D. Peirce. Roosevelt, and McKinley before him, believed that although he could be an able consul or representative at the St. Louis Exposition, Cridler does not have the qualities to be a good assistant secretary of state. Cridler was too involved in politics in his current position.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-28

President Roosevelt informs Senator Scott that Senator Henry Cabot Lodge did not have anything to do with Thomas W. Cridler being transferred from the State Department to the consulship of Kingston, nor with his being replaced by Herbert H. D. Peirce. The decision was made by Secretary of State John Hay and was made in the interest of public service.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-26

President Roosevelt directs the Department of State to refer to the concluding part of his letter of April 10 regarding documentation of the incident with Governor of Jamaica James Alexander Swettenham. Roosevelt instructs that the reports from those involved, including Admiral Robley D. Evans, Rear Admiral C. H. Davis, Father Mathew Carlin Gleeson, the ship surgeon, and all officers, be readied for publication. At some point, the affair “may see the light,” in Great Britain, and Roosevelt wants “immediately to produce our whole case in answer.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-24

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-10

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Recipient

Root, Elihu, 1845-1937

President Roosevelt confides to Sir George Otto Trevelyan the contents of several letters and reports regarding the diplomatic aftermath of the earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica. Trouble has arisen after Governor of Jamaica James Alexander Swettenham asked Rear-Admiral C. H. Davis to remove the marines he had ordered to assist with the relief effort. Roosevelt compares Swettenham to American diplomates Herbert Wolcott Bowen, B. Storer, and Maria Longworth Storer who had caused him trouble in the past.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-04

President Roosevelt has read Secretary of the Navy Metcalf’s report on Admiral C. H. Davis’s response to the earthquake near Kingston, Jamaica, and wishes Metcalf to commend Davis on Roosevelt’s behalf. To Roosevelt, they represent the “best traditions of our navy in thus rendering distinguished service to humanity.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-01

Senator Lodge writes to President Roosevelt about the career implications for Admiral C. H. Davis should Atlantic Fleet Commander Admiral Robley D. Evans retire. Lodge feels that Davis deserves the position more than Admiral Caspar F. Goodrich and that Evans’ actions in Jamaica after the 1907 earthquake should not be held against him. Lodge adds that his sister-in-law’s health continues to deteriorate and that according to the doctors she should have died several days before.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-09

Ambassador Carter, Secretary of the American Embassy in London, thanks President Roosevelt for his letters, and for having his daughter Mildred stay at the White House. Carter discusses the response of the British public and press to the “Jamaica incident.” This likely refers to the inadequate relief provided by British Governor of Jamaica James Alexander Swettenham to Jamaican residents after the Kingston earthquake, and the subsequent intervention by American Rear Admiral C. H. Davis. The reaction in Britain is one of “amazement, indignation, and mortification.” However, Roosevelt’s answers to British Secretary of State for War R. B. Haldane’s and British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Edward Grey’s telegrams “had a most soothing effect.” Carter also references an earlier conversation he and Roosevelt had about Swettenham, in connection with the Panama Canal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-25

Oliver D. Norton reports on his work in Kingston, Jamaica, following an earthquake that had left many wounded. Norton remarks on the unsanitary conditions of the city and the state in which he found the overcrowded hospitals. He praises the actions of the Jesuit priests and sisters who tended to the sick and wounded.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-21

Acting Secretary of the Navy Newberry sends information about a number of battleships to President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-21

Captain Mahan forwards lists of “Medical and Pay Department stores” sent to Kingston, Jamaica, which were not returned. The enclosed lists include sugar, butter, and other food stuffs, as well as muslin, chloroform, and boric acid.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-21

Rear Admiral Davis submits a report to Secretary of the Navy Metcalf about his actions at Jamaica, providing relief following an earthquake there. In particular, Davis notes the actions taken by his sailors, and Jamaica Governor James Alexander Swettenham’s request for them to withdraw.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-21

Commander Beehler sends news to the Navy Department regarding the locations, needs, and plans of Admiral Charles Henry Davis and Admiral Robley D. Evans and their respective ships.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-21

Captain Pendleton sends a list of officers who engaged in work in Kingston, Jamaica, following the earthquake. Pendleton reports that the work of these officers and the men under their command merits the highest praise and their conduct was excellent. He notes that “practically the whole ship’s company volunteered for this duty” and at times there were more volunteers than could be employed. Pendleton also lists the names of Americans who left Kingston on the USS Missouri.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-20

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

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

A three page list of supplies left behind by the USS Missouri, USS Iowa, and USS Indiana for hospitals to assist those hurt in the earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-20

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

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

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