One family legend that has been told for years is that of my husband's grandmother, Ethel Theresa Reussing, living with her family in a cable car after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. I guess there could be stranger places to live but if this story is true, I can't think of too many.
Ethel Theresa Reussing, c. 1906
Ethel was born 11 March 1894 in San Francisco and was the fourth child, and first daughter, of Carl and Cecilia (Gorham) Reussing. In 1900, the family was enumerated in San Francisco at 117 Langton Street. Sadly, two of the older children had died before 1900 so were not living with the family. Using Zillow, I found a current townhome nearby on Langton Street and it stated that it was built in 1906. That leads me to believe that the family home was, in fact, destroyed in the earthquake .
1900 United States Federal Census; San Francisco, California; Roll T623_101; Page 7B, Enumeration District 56
Looking at a current map, Langton is not too far from Market Street which is a major transit artery for the city and has carried horse-drawn streetcars, cable cars, electric streetcars, electric trolleybuses, diesel buses. While cable cars no longer operate on Market Street, the surviving cable car lines terminate directly adjacent to the street at its intersections with California and Powell Streets. (Wikepedia).
Due to this horrific disaster on 18 April 1906, 3,000 people lost their lives, 28,000 buildings were destroyed, and 250,000 of the city's residents were left homeless. My husband's grandmother, Ethel Theresa Reussing, was one of them.
So what is a family to do? With a need to find a place to keep the family safe, family legend says that Ethel's father, Carl Reussing, and a neighbor found an empty cable car and moved their families in. Pretty creative if you ask me!
Photo courtesy of San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)
I can't even imagine two families packed into a cable car but considering what was going on around them, it was probably a pretty comfortable way to live while they were finding a new home. I don't know if they were in the cable car for 1 day, 1 week, 1 month....or even if it happened at all.
By 1910, the family had secured a new home and were living at 47 Goethe Street in Daly City (San Mateo).
1910 United States Federal Census; Township 1, San Mateo, California; Roll T624_104; Page 4A, Enumeration District 0048.
I'll never know for sure if this happened or was a family legend. But my imagination finds the thought of it fascinating.
Edited to add a newspaper article that a reader shared with me. Looks like people DID live in cable cars!
The United Railroads has tendered the use of its entire system to Mayor Schmits for the benefit of the people during the present crisis. Free transportation will be furnished the people over the lines of the company for themselves and their baggage. The company's cars standing in the streets and all of its car barns not destroyed are also free for the use of the people for the purpose of shelter and lodging.
San Francisco Examiner, 24 April 1906
I hope they found something between 1906 and 1910 - that's a long time in a cable car! Of course, it's about the size of a motor home, and they can be quite comfy. If only they had Pinterest back then to show them how to fix it up cute.
ReplyDeleteHaha. A reader just shared a newspaper article with me which I've added to the original post. And the best part was that I was able to add pictures without problems.
DeleteI'd bet they were in that cable car (if the legend is true) only a few days. I think Carl would have wanted to get his family out of downtown SF as soon as possible! =)
ReplyDeleteHowever long it was things worked out pretty well for them :-)
DeleteWonderful video! I was surprised to see how many cars were on the street as early as 1906. And when people lived in the cable cars, did that mean those cars were not being used for transit? Or did people have to vacate each morning when the cable cars starting running?
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Debi. I love that you found when the "new" house was built indicating that their home had been destroyed by the earthquake.
I sure hope they did’t have to get on and off - wouldn’t that have been a pain.
DeleteDeb, that is a unique family story! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteFact or fiction is the question.
Delete