The Great Galveston Disaster / Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times Including Vivid Descriptions of the Hurricane and Terrible Rush of Waters; Immense Destruction of Dwellings, Business Houses, Churches, and Loss of Thousands of Human Lives; Thrilling Tales of Heroic Deeds; Panic-Stricken Multitudes and Heart-Rending Scenes of Agony; Frantic Efforts to Escape a Horrible Fate; Separation of Loved Ones, etc., etc.; Narrow Escapes from the Jaws of Death; Terrible Sufferings of the Survivors; Vandals Plundering Bodies of the Dead; Wonderful Exhibitions of Popular Sympathy; Millions of Dollars Sent for the Relief of the Stricken Sufferers

by Paul Lester

Among those who were caught in the storm that devastated Galveston on Sunday night were six persons who comprised the family of Peter E. McKenna, a former resident of Philadelphia. According to news received by their relatives in that city, all perished.

When word of the Texas disaster first came it was reported that the entire family had been lost, but it later developed that a married daughter, who lives in Omaha, Neb., was not visiting her parents, as was first supposed, and therefore escaped the death that overtook her relatives.

Peter E. McKenna, the head of the family, was well known in Philadelphia during his youth. His father was one of the pioneers in the religious press. The son followed the profession of his father, and after engaging in the publication of newspapers and religious weeklies until 1862 he sought fortune in the West.

VIEW OF PIER 23, SHOWING VESSEL OVERTURNED BY THE GALE

HOUSE ON CENTRE STREET BETWEEN N AND N½ AVENUES BRACED UP BY A FLOATING CISTERN

DESTRUCTION OF GALVESTON ORPHANS’ HOME