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Well, I was sound asleep. I had to get up and get my husband’s breakfast that morning. He worked from McElroy Stone Yard. And when the jolt came, it was such a loud report, it made such a terrible racket noise that I thought the world had caved in on us. It was about the time you got up in the morning. It was about, wasn’t it about 5.30? Something like that…Well, I jumped out of bed and we stood there and was laughing this poor old man next door. He had his bird cage in his hand, and he didn’t have a stitch of clothing on. But he had his bird cage.
– Florence Widowski from an interview (https://californiarevealed.org/do/b015467d-f120-408e-9bee-44debb5db85f)
We just had the 119th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which struck at 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906. The 7.9 quake was devastating, but the fire that followed was even worse. 3,000 people died and literally hundreds of thousands were left homeless.
But to hear it from someone that was there? In their voice? Brings it all home. Please give this a listen (or even watch it, as it was a recorded interview!). Puts those times into a nice perspective. Remember, if you are researching an ancestor, look for some oral histories around the time or events they lived through. You may learn some of what they were going through
Right now, I’m researching the Queen Mary ship for a piece of historical fiction I’m entertaining. After getting the facts—where she was “born” (a shipyard in England) and where she’s “buried” (as a quirky hotel in Long Beach, California), I’m now listening to the voices that knew her during her time as a cross-Atlantic ocean liner. Honestly, this is more fun than the bmd facts!
Here are some great online archives to check out:
https://www.archives.gov/about/history/oral-history-at-the-national-archives
https://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/admin-programs/oral-history
https://www2.archivists.org/groups/oral-history-section/oral-history-resources
https://oralhistory.org/centers-and-collections/
https://incite.columbia.edu/centers/columbia-center-for-oral-history-research
https://dlc.library.columbia.edu/catalog?f%5Blib_repo_short_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Oral+History+Center
https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/visit/bancroft/oral-history-center
Helpful Links
Events: https://www.californiaancestors.org/events-and-education/
Special Interest Groups: https://www.californiaancestors.org/special-interest-groups-for-members/
Calendar view: https://www.californiaancestors.org/cgs_calendar/
Tips & Talk: Oakland FamilySearch Center Family History Classes: https://www.familysearch.org/en/centers/oakland_california/classes
APR
2025