Johnson, Mrs. William (Kendle)

LOCAL NEWS ITEMS

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Among the killed in the flood at Hitchcock, eight miles from Galveston, Texas, were William Johnson and wife. The latter was at one time a resident of this county and a sister of Martin V. Kendle, of Nineveh township. Mrs. Kendle, the wife of Thos. Kendle was among the injured. The husband, who had been working in Kentucky the past summer, was here last week to visit his mother, who lives with Martin V. Kendle. Relatives here received news of the destruction of Mr. Kendle’s home and the accident to his wife Sunday; also the death of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson.

The Times (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Thursday,
September 13, 1900, page 5 column 2

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BODIES HANGING

ON WIRE FENCE

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Awful Scene of Death in Stricken
City of Galveston

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Houston, Texas, September 12.—J. W. B. Smith, who was in Saturday night's hurricane at Galveston, reached this city yesterday after having an ex­perience which he will remember the remainder of his life.

He started from the city Monday afternoon and in walking from the foot of Broadway to the Sante Fe bridge, he counted two hundred dead bodies hung up on wire fences, to say nothing of those floating in the water. He con­structed a raft out of planks and in company with Clegg Stewart, made for the mainland, which they reached after hours of exposure.

In every direction crossing the bay they saw the feet of corpses sticking out of the water. Upon reaching land they walked to Hitchcock, Mr. Stewart's home, and found that twenty-five per­sons had lost their lives there and that in addition fifty bodies that had floated ashore had been buried near there.

Mr. Smith is of the opinion that very few persons living west of Fortieth street were saved, and from his obser­vation he is satisfied that over 5,000 persons lost their lives.

Submitted by Mark McCrady, Cathea Curry and Lois Johnson