Yesterday morning, we received an anonymous donation of materials to the San Francisco History Center. One timely piece is the handwritten letter from Abbie to Julia. Abbie describes waking up to the Earthquake on April 18, 1906. Her parents gathered up the children, got dressed and went to Lafayette Square. At 6:30 in the morning, they counted 18 fires.
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| Dear Julia from your friend Abbie, April 25, 1906, p. 1 | |
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The letter continues for four pages describing the moments immediately following the earthquake and the fires. By 11 in the morning, the family had to evacuate their home.
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| Dear Julia from your friend Abbie, April 25, 1906, p.2 | |
On the third page of the letter, Julia describes how their store and home were burned to the ground. They have all of their dogs, but could only find one cat. The letter is written a week after the event, but they were still wearing the same clothes.
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| Dear Julia from your friend Abbie, April 25, 1906, p. 3 |
The last page of the letter includes the address for Julia to write to as well as a hand-drawn map of the burned area of San Francisco.
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| Dear Julia from your friend Abbie, April 25, 1906, p.4 |
This recent letter donation will be added to the collection of personal accounts of the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. The personal accounts are listed in the
San Francisco Ephemera Collection . "Earthquakes. 1906. Personal Accounts" starts on p. 85 of the online guide. You may read the letters when you visit the
San Francisco History Center.
Researching the San Francisco 1906 Earthquake and Fire is a popular topic in the San Francisco History Center.
On the 105th Anniversary, we provided some helpful resources to begin the research process.
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