Correspondence, 23 April 1906, from Stewart Reid, page 1 |
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Excuse stationary and pencil
San Francisco
April 23/6
My Dear Patre and All,
Just a few hurried lines to relieve your minds, for I am sure you must be most anxious. Evelyn baby and I are alive and well thank God. We have experienced something Patre
Object Description
| Title | Correspondence, 23 April 1906, from Stewart Reid |
| Type of object | Correspondence |
| Source | Courtesy of Barbara Moore |
| Date created | 1906 |
| Description |
Letter written by Stewart Reid to his father ("Patre"), following the earthquake of April 18, 1906. He, his wife Evelyn and infant son [Stewart Ingram] were living in San Francisco at the time. He describes the hardships of living in a ruined city. A related photograph shows the young family outside a tent in Golden Gate Park, temporary shelter after the earthquake. By April 23 (the date of the letter), they had found two rooms to stay in, but food, facilities, transportation and communication were limited . Stewart Reid and Evelyn [Hill?] were married in San Francisco and lived at 928 Ellis St. Their son was born August 27, 1905. Family lore says they were booksellers. |
| Subject |
Earthquake, 1906 Earthquake damage Earthquake relief Reid family |
| City | San Francisco, California |
| Region | San Francisco County (California) |
| Transcript |
Excuse stationary and pencil San Francisco April 23/6 My Dear Patre and All , Just a few hurried lines to relieve your minds, for I am sure you must be most anxious. Evelyn baby and I are alive and well thank God. We have experienced something Patre [page] 2 which, to say the least, is indescribable. One must have lived right here during the past few dreadful days to know anything about it, and one must now view with the naked eye the devastation to have any idea of the calamity which has befallen this great city. Fully two thirds of San Francisco is [page] 3 reduced to ashes and that we are any of us alive is a miracle. I shall not attempt to tell you anything about it all here, that is the particulars, but will write you fully as soon as I get an opportunity. There was no use filing a telegram as there is only one wire and it is being used exclusively for [page] 4 the press and there are thousands of messages waiting to be sent. I am sure this will reach you as soon, however I will watch it closely, and if the congestion is cleared up soon I will wire. Regular mail service has just been established or I would have written sooner. What a time we have had. We are living in two rooms out [page] 5 at Sutter and Baker Streets near Golden Gate Park but we intend going to Sacramento tomorrow if we can get out if town, although there is a report going the rounds tonight that the town will be quarantined tomorrow, smallpox having broken out in several places. We have not suffered for want of food, thank God, of course [page] 6 the food is principally canned goods, poor baby has been living on condensed milk, he is [?]iply fine, however, but trust his dear mother for that, I'll bet he is the best taken care of baby in town. There are a million things to tell you of but I will have to put it off till I write the promised letter. We are sleeping on cots, getting water drop by drop as there is scarcely any and no light but candle light [page] 7 and we are not supposed to have even that. The town is under martial law, and many have been shot dead for disobeying orders. Tonight we are allowed candles until ten o'clock. We are not allowed to use our toilets; there are toilets provided in the middle of the streets at intervals of 10 blocks or so. yesterday was the first day since the calamity that we had bread, of course we have not [page] 8 had any fresh meat. The house we were married in at 932 Van Ness Ave is now nothing but a heap of ashes. You can send any mail to #928 Ellis St. that is the house we were living in at the time of the earthquake it is still standing and we will no doubt live there after a while. The city was burned up to within half a block of it. I must close, Father dear as I have got to write [page] 9 a few lines to Sister Agnes. Good night and God bless you all and save you from an experience such as we have had. We have had half a dozen shocks since the big on the 18th. We have almost grown accustomed to them now. Your loving Son , Stewart Dearest Father & all Much love from baby and I will write as soon as I can . lovingly Your Daughter Evelyn Over [page 10] April 24 a.m. - Another bad shock about eleven o'clock last night. Scared us to death. Stewart |
| Collection | Earthquake of 1906 Digital Collection |
| Repository |
Sonoma State University Library Rohnert Park, California |
| File name | EQ_MO_002 |
| Digital reproduction | Original image archived and displayed at 75 dpm. |
| Related resources |
Earthquakes (Gaye LeBaron Collection file folder) Earthquake reconstruction (Gaye LeBaron Collection file folder) Hoyt Earthquake Photograph Collection Sonoma County Preservation Projects |
| Copyright |
Restrictions may apply. For more information see http://library.sonoma.edu/about/policies.php |
| Date digitized | 2006 |
Description
| Title | Correspondence, 23 April 1906, from Stewart Reid, page 1 |
| Transcript | Excuse stationary and pencil San Francisco April 23/6 My Dear Patre and All, Just a few hurried lines to relieve your minds, for I am sure you must be most anxious. Evelyn baby and I are alive and well thank God. We have experienced something Patre |
| Collection | Earthquake of 1906 Digital Collection |
| Repository |
Sonoma State University Library Rohnert Park, California |
| Copyright |
Restrictions may apply. For more information see http://library.sonoma.edu/about/copyright.html#own |
