Jamaica--Kingston

Letter from Arthur Bainbridge Hoff to Edwin C. Pendleton

Lieutenant-Commander Hoff, of the USS Missouri, expands upon his report from the previous day on the aid provided by the United States Navy following the earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica. Upon arrival, food and supplies were administered by Paymaster Barron P. DuBois. Hospitals and medical care were assessed by military personnel. Under the command of Midshipmen Douglas Legate Howard, the archives from the U.S. Embassy were protected and removed. Howard’s team went on to assist in removing unsafe and damaged buildings. Another patrol aided local authorities in preventing looting. Supplies were distributed to destitute Americans on the island. Considering the situation, the hospitals were properly functioning and the water supply was untainted.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-18

Creator(s)

Hoff, Arthur Bainbridge 1869-1925

Letter from Lawrence G. Haughey

Assistant Paymaster Haughey requests his leave be extended until he can get transportation back to the base, as he has been caught without transportation back to his naval base. He is not sure that his telegram to the commandant at Guantanamo has gone through.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-18

Creator(s)

Haughey, Lawrence G. (Lawrence Gilman), 1884-1913

Letter from E. F. Hall to D. H. Mahon

Paymaster E. F. Hall reports updates on the U.S. emergency response in Jamaica following the earthquakes. Famine is kept mostly at bay, though certain provisions are difficult to obtain. He notices that there are still many injured people who have not received medical care. With the help of local priests, they assist some injured people in receiving that care. The British troops, however, are not being as helpful as they could be.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-18

Creator(s)

Hall, E. F.

Letter from H. C. Dinger to Dennis H. Mahan

Lieutenant Dinger reports on the damage to the electric power house and ice making plant in Kingston, Jamaica, after the earthquake. He estimates that the electric power house can be fixed in a week and the ice plant will take several weeks.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-18

Creator(s)

Dinger, H. C. (Henry Charles), 1876-1960

Telegram from James Alexander Swettenham to C. H. Davis

Governor Swettenham thanks Admiral Davis for his offer of assistance to Jamaica after the earthquake, but asks that he reembark all sailors and soldiers that he had landed in an effort to provide relief. Swettenham believes that the situation is no longer a question of humanity, but of convenience, and thinks that the present police force in Kingston will be enough to maintain the peace.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-18

Creator(s)

Swettenham, James Alexander, 1846-1933

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

Captain Mahan reports to Rear Admiral Davis about the condition of Kingston harbor, courtesy of John K. Robison, navigator of the USS Indiana.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-19

Creator(s)

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

Letter from Robert A. Abernathy to Dennis H. Mahan

Lieutenant Abernathy describes the USS Indiana‘s relief efforts after the Kingston, Jamaica, earthquake: clearing of King Street and Harbor Street, tearing down unsafe walls, searching for survivors, and disposing of victims’ bodies. Abernathy states that his men, including L. Cresap and W. C. Barker, continued their work until Admiral C. H. Davis sent orders to return to their ship. Abernathy also mentions that Mr. Morrison offered all the assistance he could.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-18

Creator(s)

Abernathy, Robert A. (Robert Andrew), 1880-1961

Letter from John Low Sticht to Dennis H. Mahan

Lieutenant Sticht reports on the United States Navy landing force under his command, which assisted the local forces in quelling a prison riot following an earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica. The warden was pleased with their performance, and others thought that if the U.S. forces had not arrived to help, the case would have been lost.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Creator(s)

Sticht, John Low, 1873-1943

Letter from John Elliott Pillsbury to C. H. Davis

Captain Pillsbury forwards copies of three telegrams to Rear Admiral Davis regarding Kingston, Jamaica, following the earthquake.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Creator(s)

Pillsbury, John Elliott, 1846-1919

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

Captain Mahan provides a detailed chronology of events that occurred and work completed by U.S. forces in Kingston, Jamaica, following the earthquake.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Creator(s)

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

Memorandum from Arthur Bainbridge Hoff to Edwin C. Pendleton

Lieutenant-Commander Hoff, of the USS Missouri, notifies Captain Pendleton that he arrived in Jamaica with fifty men, including Lieutenant William P. Scott, Midshipman Richard S. Edwards, Gunner Robert E. Cox, and Carpenter Harry E. Cooper, and began removing damaged walls and clearing deceased bodies following the recent earthquake. Hoff and six others protected the United States Embassy while its archives were safely extracted as well as stopped looters and protected property.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Creator(s)

Hoff, Arthur Bainbridge 1869-1925

Report from J. F. Green to Dennis H. Mahan

Lieutenant Green reports on the work of his men in Kingston, Jamaica, following the earthquake. The men were split into two parties: one to exhume dead bodies from the ruins and the other to pull down dangerous walls. Green describes in detail the work accomplished by both parties.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Creator(s)

Green, J. F.

Letter from Robley D. Evans to Walter R. Gherardi

Rear Admiral Evans orders Commander Gherardi to prepare his vessel to sail, sending him to Kingston, Jamaica, and thence to Guantanamo Bay. Evans instructs Gherardi to gather any sort of information available. The orders are likely related to disaster relief after an earthquake in Kingston.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Creator(s)

Evans, Robley D. (Robley Dunglison), 1846-1912

Letter from Joseph P. Eustace, et al. to C. H. Davis

Joseph P. Eustace and committee reports that there are a number of American refugees on the Hamburg-American Wharf and requests that Rear Admiral Davis send an officer to investigate.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Creator(s)

Eustace, Joseph P., 1860-1907; O'Donovan, John F., 1864-1918; Goeding, Francis B., 1854-1940; Von Brandenburg, E. V. Broughton (Earl Victor Broughton), 1876-1963

Letter from C. H. Henry to Barron P. DuBois

Rear Admiral C. H. Davis orders Commanding Officer Barron P. DuBois to issue stores from the Missouri to be distributed in Kingston, Jamaica, in response to the earthquake.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Creator(s)

Davis, C. H. (Charles Henry), 1845-1921

Letter from C. H. Henry to Dennis H. Mahan

Rear Admiral C. H. Davis orders Commanding Officer Dennis H. Mahan to issue stores from the U.S.S. Indiana to be distributed in Kingston, Jamaica, in response to the earthquake.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Creator(s)

Davis, C. H. (Charles Henry), 1845-1921

Letter from C. H. Davis to Robley D. Evans

Rear Admiral C. H. Davis writes to Robley D. Evans, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, regarding the situation in Jamaica. Much of Kingston has been damaged by the earthquake and ensuing fire, and is a scene of total confusion, although shipping has not been disturbed. The governor, James Alexander Swettenham, seems to have the situation under control, and has declined assistance from Davis’s men. Davis has respected this, but believes that Swettenham has overestimated the security of the situation, especially away from the main city, and feels that the Missouri should remain until the situation is clearer.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Creator(s)

Davis, C. H. (Charles Henry), 1845-1921

Letter from C. H. Davis to James Alexander Swettenham

Rear Admiral Davis asks Governor Swettenham if he is cleared to use his men as work parties to clear rubble after the Kingston earthquake. Davis believes that he can do much to assist private individuals without interfering with Jamaican government officials.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Creator(s)

Davis, C. H. (Charles Henry), 1845-1921

Telegram from Edwin C. Pendleton

Captain Pendleton describes the aftermath of the earthquake in Kingston. Pendleton reports that over 400 people have been killed, including the Cuban Consul, and 400 more are wounded.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Creator(s)

Pendleton, Edwin C., 1847-1919

Telegram from William H. Orrett to Elihu Root

Vice-Consul Orrett confirms there has been an earthquake, followed by a fire, that has destroyed Kingston, Jamaica. Admiral C. H. Davis arrived in the morning offering aid.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-17

Creator(s)

Orrett, William H. (William Hitchens), 1858-1921