Copyright 2023, CABS for Reflections From the Fence
Written for my family history, published 1997, "The Gehrkes, Descendants of Karl and Charlotte Gehrke, Emmigrants from Germany 1888."
Because the Gehrke clan was living on the Oakland side of the bay, I researched the quake and the aftermath looking for the experiences of those living in Oakland, vs those living in San Francisco. I included this short summary in my book:
"On April 18, 1906 at 5:15 A.M. San Francisco and surrounding area experienced what is commonly known as the “Great Earthquake”. The shock of the quake was felt over an area of about 375,000 square miles, destruction was found over 400 miles south and ran 25 to 30 miles on either side of the fault. The quake produced 135 after shocks on April 18th and 22 more on the 19th. What the quakes did not destroy in San Francisco, fire did. The “Great Fire” burned for four days. The death toll has been set from hundreds to current theories that maybe as many as 3000 died."
"In 1906 there was no bridge between San Francisco and Oakland/Berkeley. Travel between the two locations was done by ferry. Ferries ran frequently, people lived in Oakland and worked in San Francisco."
"The damage in Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley was relatively light (if one considers property damage in excess of $2,500,000.00 light) when compared to the tragedy in San Francisco. Frank Aleomon Leach, former newspaper reporter, at the time of the quake was the superintendent for the United States Mint in San Francisco, and lived in Oakland. He wrote an article, “Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906", which compiler found on the Internet. He tells of buildings dancing lively jigs during the quake, moving as much as a foot up and down. He also tells of the destruction of Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda and his descriptions are the best compiler found."
“Nearly every brick building in town suffered a loss of fire walls, while three of four old buildings were so badly injured that they were subsequently removed......There was not a building in Oakland, Alameda, or Berkeley, that I heard of, that was not shorn of its chimney tops.”
"Fire was a threat to Oakland and Berkeley as it had been to San Francisco, however, only a few alarms for fires went off. Oakland was lucky, the damage was such that they were able to repair their water mains within hours of the quake."
"The death toll in Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda was very low, one of the worst disasters in Oakland was at the Empire Theater where the walls collapsed and five people were killed. Many were injured in Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda, but not many died."
"Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda became the relief center for over 270,000 people from San Francisco. Oakland before the quake had a population of less than 100,000. Committees were organized to meet the refugees at the docks and trains offering hot coffee and something to eat. The refugees were then taken to places to sleep. Shelter camps and hospital camps were organized. It is said that two weeks after the disaster, that every one of the homeless had been cared for."
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Karl and Charlotte (Gehrke) and all of their children, except Hedwig arrived in Alameda in late 1904. Their daughter, Hedwig, with her husband August (Braun) arrived sometime in 1906, and returned to Hawaii in 1908. Karl and Charlotte lived on the Oakland side of the San Francisco Bay until they moved to Michigan about 1911. One can only imagine their experiences and their memories of this historical event.
In my research of this family and sharing of family stories, traditions, some true and some stretching the truth, never once did any of the descendants mention the 1906 earthquake. In hindsight, that strikes me as somewhat odd.
* Sources include articles found on the Internet through the site maintained by the Museum of the City of San Francisco. Research done in Summer 1997.
** Links, URL's, for the most part will not be included henceforth on my posts, (this post is one of the few exceptions) as so many of them change and then I have to come back and try to re-discover and relink. Frankly folks, I have no desire to spend my limited time here on this side of the sod with those kinds of do overs. As researchers, or just members of the internet community, sites such as Find A Grave are easy to find, some are free to use and with the information I am sharing with you, hopefully, you can duplicate the research/findings. That said, I have seen memorials at Find A Grave be removed. If you have questions, I suggest you leave a nice comment for me. OR find the method I have outlined on my blog for contacting me.
***As of today, April 2023, a current site with tons of history, including some incredible photos is A tour of the Great Quake of 1906 by Curbed San Francisco.
**** From Internet Archives, it is possible this link will disappear due to litigation which puts this source in muddy waters. I have included the link. I also downloaded the PDF file of this work for my future reading. The portion about the 1906 earthquake starts on page 313 of this work.
Recollections of a newspaperman; a record of life and events in California
by Leach, Frank Aleamon, 1846-
Publication date 1917
Topics Frontier and pioneer life, Women, Urbanization, Real estate development, Law and politics, Business
Publisher San Francisco, S. Levinson
Collection americana
Digitizing sponsor Google
Book from the collections of unknown library
Language English
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