Naming Trends

NAMING TRENDS

Naming children runs in trends. This is evident while perusing census records or just being in a classroom. Maybe even in the office or in the shop where you work. 

RECYCLED NAMES

There was once the reusing of a name after a child with that name died. I first encountered this on my Cleveland line, an offshoot of my paternal grandmother's Cunningham line. Joanna Cleveland, daughter of Moses and Ann Winn Cleveland, was born Sept. 9, 1661 and died Dec. 3, 1667. Three sons were born after her and then another daughter who was named Joanna, born April 5, 1670 and died May 21, 1690. Therefore, should you find more than one child with the same name, don't assume it's a duplication until you've checked birth, baptismal and death records.

BIBLICAL NAMES

These names are timeless. They can be found in every generation; however, their prevalance wanes from what it was in the 17th and subsequent centuries up to about the middle 20th century. When pondering on these names, what comes to mind? Mary, Hannah, Sarah, John, Daniel, Samuel, Joshua? The Bible has many unique names that aren't being used but could be. Our forefathers and mothers dug deep in the Biblical well for names like Abijah, Cyrus, Drusilla, Ephraim, Ezekial, Delilah, Hiram, Jerusha, Nimrod and Obadiah. On several branches of my family tree those more common Biblical names first mentioned, except for Hannah, are present. But also on my family tree is Elizabeth, Delilah, Deborah, Martha, Abigail, Susanna, Miriam, Tabitha and Joanna. These are beautiful names but little used. There are males on my family tree with the names Jacob, Enoch, Cornelius, Abraham, Isaac, James, Zachariah, Joel, Levi, Thaddeus, Hosea, Mordicai, Seth, Moses, Joseph, Aaron, Josiah, Ezra, Philip, and Benjamin. Seth shined bright several years ago but waned, as did Aaron and Jacob. Joshua was strong several years ago, along with Caleb, but they waned also. A  run on Biblical names in a family used to common. Such a run will show up in census records as well as the old family Bible. For example, on my maternal Bible line (but not my direct line), six of Isaac and Elizabeth 'Betsy' Harmon Bible's nine children have Biblical names: Jacob, Joel, Levi, John, James and Mary. Among Isaac Bibles full siblings were Jacob, Abraham and Sarah. Among his half-siblings were John, Elizabeth, Mary and Adam. Isaac and Betsy Bible's son Jacob's seven children all bear Biblical names: Elizabeth, Susannah, John, Ruth, Mary, James and Isaac.  Two of many sites with Biblical names are

http://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-names-from-the-bible_10309862.bc  and http://www.ballina.net/babynames/  or you could just get your Bible out. If it's like mine, there will be a listing of proper names in the back with the concordance and other helps.

FLOWERS AND JEWELS

In the 1890's the trend for girl names were jewel and flower names. The most popular jewels were Ruby, Opal and Pearl. The popular flowers were Rose, Lillie and Daisy. There are two Lillie's on my family tree as well as a Magnolia, Ruby and Pearl. I've seen Ivy, for a girl, on a census I once was perusing. The late mother of a cousin's friend was named Fern. See links at the end to find these names or go to google to search for more information.

VIRTUES

In America's colonial days a child would be given a virtue for a name in the hope the meaning of the name would influence the growing child. This trend was started by the Puritans in the 17th century. On the earliest possible records we could find to peruse, we may find girls with names like Patience, Temperance, Felicity, Prudence, Clemency, Charity, Amity, and three that are on my family tree- Deliverance, Thankful and Unity. Boys weren't exempt from a virtuous name. You may find Clement, Clemente, Christian, Earnest, Justus, Constant, Noble or Reason. Some can be for either boy or girl such as Agape, Deliverance, Fidelity, Honor, Merit, Obedience or Sincere. On my paternal Cleveland line, though not in my direct line, there is a young man named Deliverance Cleveland, named after his mother who had the same name. A list for this type of name for boys is a skimpy list indeed. 

At http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/virtue.html is a long list, gender not noted, of possible virtue names to consider such as Adore, Aspire, Bonny, Comfort, Constance, Harmony, Loyal, Mirth, Radiance, Rebel,  Serendipity, Solace and Valor, to name a handful. On the few sites I've visited to research virtuous names, there is one I haven't seen, if it even can be considered such a name. In John Wayne's 'The Comancheros', Stuart Whitman played a character named Paul Regret. While Regret was a surname, it was given as first name to the Scofield baby born after an Indian Raid on a Texas Ranger outpost. Another name that could possibly be a virtue name is the name of Clint Eastwood's character in 'Rawhide'- Rowdy.

NAMESAKES

Time was names were handed down generation to generation. In some cases, a name may appear through out a whole family generation down to the next, not just on one branch. Cousins share a name that grandpa had that his father had that... well, you get the idea. It doesn't have to be a male name getting handed down. Grandma way back when may have many granddaughters down the line with her name. I firmly believe that all the Johns on my maternal Bible line, are named for ancestor Johann Christian Bible and his father Hans Adam Bible. John in German is Johannes. Both Johann and Hans are short forms of Johannes. The prevalence of one name, and even the middle name it's paired with, can cause confusion for their descendants researching their family history, as I will illustrate in the following paragraph. 

One early trend was to name the first daughter after both grandmothers. Sometimes, however, the daughter would be named for the mother and a grandmother. This isn't so bad unless you encounter what I did when first attempting to research my paternal Gooch and Padgett lines. It was compounded by the custom of first cousins marrying. In the time before computers, when perusing a census was done on microfilm, I began looking into those lines. My paternal grandfather's mother was a Gooch, her mother a Padgett. There were so many Lucinda Janes, Lucy Janes, Eliza Janes and Liza Janes, either surnamed Gooch or Padgett, that I gave up. Say, for instance (and this may not be exact as it's been a while since I dared touch these lines) Lucinda Jane Gooch, whose Jane likely came from her mother Eliza Jane, married a Padgett cousin. She would name her first daughter Lucinda Jane, surnamed Padgett. Well, Lucinda Jane Padgett grows up and marries a Gooch cousin and guess what she names her daughter? What you thus have in a line is Lucinda Jane Gooch > Lucinda Jane Padgett > Lucinda Jane Gooch. Yeah. Frustrating, especially if your information is lacking dates for clarity as mine was. The great-aunt who had gathered the information either found dates lacking in her research or she inadvertently omitted them. Her handwriting was also a handicap. She passed on many years ago and I have no idea what happened to her many spiral notebooks with genealogical information. On my maternal side, Margaret 'Peggy' Stamper Holloway was my 3x great-grandmother. Her granddaughter, my great-grandmother, was Charity Margaret Bible La France. Charity has a granddaughter named Margaret, daughter of son William 'Buster' La France. While there is no certainty, I wonder if my mother's sisters Margie and Peggy were so named as both are common nicknames for Margaret. Aunts were not excluded from consideration. The name Charity itself came from my great-grandmother's maternal aunt, Charity Holloway DeSpain. Another early naming trend involved naming the first son after either his father and maternal grandfather or both grandfathers. When I discovered, on my maternal side, my great-grandfather Walter LaFrance's older most brother, who was the first born, was named Paul Ozwin LaFrance I knew right off he was named for their father Paul LaFrance and maternal grandfather Ozwin Wilcox. Uncles weren't left out either. On my paternal side, the twin brother of my 2x great-grandmother Lucinda Jane Bolton Jones Cunningham was named Erastus Alexander Bolton. His first name was taken from the husband of their maternal aunt Lucinda Jane Cleveland Clark (where my 2x great-grandmother got her name). Alexander was taken from their maternal grandfather Alexander Bolton. Maiden names were useful as well. Still referring to my paternal side, my 4x great-grandmother was Delilah Lee before she married Alexander Bolton. Her maiden name was given to their son Michael Lee Bolton. My mom's sister, Margie, had five daughters. All but one has namesake. My cousin Kathy name her only child Kandy Sue after her sister Debbie Sue who named second daughter Amanda Gail after their sister Sandy Gail who named daughter Joy Marie after Debbie Sue's older daughter who died from crib death. My cousin Peggy Ann opted to pass her middle name down to her daughter Lisa Ann. Their older sister, Lynda Pearl, somehow, for whatever reason, got left out of the honors. If you study your family's names close, you may be able to discern who someone's namesake is. Of course, it could be coincidental that a name appears often and isn't truly a namesake. I think such maybe the case with the many Barbaras, Jennifers and Maries on my mother's side. I will usually make a presumption if I don't know for sure if something sticks out well enough for me. Namesakes, however, can come from more than family. Back to my maternal side, a 4x great-grandfather was James Madison Oliphant. My paternal grandmother had a paternal aunt, Mary Ann Cunningham, who married Benjamin Franklin Ray. I have a cousin on my paternal side whose daughter was named Ashley by her grandfather who was a huge fan of the character with the same on the soap opera 'The Young and the Restless'. Notable names like James Madison and Benjamin Franklin are obvious as to who their namesakes are. But not every Ashley is named for the soap opera character. Sometimes we'll get it, sometimes so we won't.

IN THE FUTURE

If you are expecting, or know someone who is, may I suggest using the nine months to thoroughly research for a unique moniker for the little one due. They should have a name that is theirs, a name that isn't the same as 3 or 4 or 9 during their school years. Look to your family tree, a character from your favorite book or movie, a family friend or a teacher who influenced you. Consider combining names. On my maternal side, a cousin's daughter and son-in-law named their daughter Briley, a combination of Brittany and Wesley.  You can combine 2 or 3 or more names, perhaps using a letter from one and 2 letters from another, etc. Consider a surname for either a first or middle name in an effort to revive it if the line is in danger of dying out, or has died out. Remember, trendy names in and of themselves are nice, but more than a handful is overwhelming. 

Resources I turned to were http://www.behindthename.com 

and http://nameberry.com/lists/category/historic-names. 

Census records can be perused at http://www.familysearch.com and http://www.ancestry.com.

Workin' on a blog

Well, I'm slowly but surely working on my next blog. It'll concern naming trends. Names fascinate me. Odd, huh? Well, I reckon odd is me as I also like cemeteries. 

I am still researching as I don't want to throw anything out there willy-nilly. 

A Letter From Aunt Alice

I did not know Aunt Alice. I heard of her from my paternal grandmother, Hazel Cunningham Butler. Aunt Alice was the sister of my great-grandmother, Mineola Brown Cunningham. Alice and my great-grandmother were two of three daughters of Daniel Robbs Brown and Susan Elizabeth Peterson. The other daughter was Ethel R Brown Brown, she married an unrelated Brown. Their brothers were John Samuel Brown (Sam) and Arthur Brown. Aunt Ethel and family ended up settling in New Mexico. Uncle Sam and his family settled in the East Texas town of Alto. Uncle Arthur and my great-grandmother remained in the Waco, McLennan county area. Aunt Alice and family settled on the Texas coast, in Palacios. Aunt Alice married Cullen H. Chatham September 26, 1915 in Waco, Texas. They were the parents to two children, born in Waco, McLennan county, Texas: Helen born July 7, 1917 and Woodrow born November 29, 1918 and died two days later on December 1. I don't know just when Aunt Alice and Uncle Cullen moved to the coast; however, when he registered for the draft in 1942 his residence was listed as 'Boling, Wharton, Texas'. Their daughter Helen married Jess R. Ryan at First Baptist Church, Galveston, June 3, 1945. Helen and Jess settled in Angleton, Brazoria county, Texas and had four daughters: Jaynith born June 26, 1946; Melanie born August 11, 1954 and died October 9, 1954; Barbara born September 24, 1956 and Rhonda born October 13, 1957.  

Just when Aunt Alice and Uncle Cullen moved to Palacios I don't know. Uncle Cullen operated a service station there. In the letter, undated, Aunt Alice references damages due to a storm, though she didn't use that word it's just obvious by her descriptons, and the loss of the Dunn family with the exception of a son. I knew Aunt Alice died March 22, 1963 (about five  months before I was born) and they were still in Palacios. By doing research, regarding hurricanes in Texas, I deduced it was Hurricane Carla that wrecked the places Aunt Alice names in her letter. She hit the coast September 11, 1961. The next storm, Hurricane Cindy, hit High Island on September 17, 1963, six months after Aunt Alice died. 

The letter, yellowed over time, is written in pencil. Scanning revealed a splotchiness to the yellowing. In addition, the use of a pencil and the lack of lines on the paper, makes the scanned image hard to read, though it can be read fine if you're holding it in your hand.

The letter was sent to my grandmother, the aforementioned Hazel. She is reference by name. Irratic punctuation and capitalization as well as misspellings included, the letter reads:

" Dear all -

Was so glad to get your nice letter it is cool but clear weather sure is fine on Folk who have all there bedding out trying to dry out Hazel this is unbelievable unless you could see it. Salvation army & red cross left out mon. some Solders are still here we are damaged quite a bit our floor & rug dot wet & still stinks Jess & Helen came and he got my rug out & it dried The house is not dryed out good yet but the water didn't get in our houses where we live or out at The place either On East Bay grassy point road all those house gone but 3. Not one thing left at Caraucahua it was 16 ft tidal wave it is a site big machenery came in here & picking & cleaning up & burning it. big old Barge & boats up in peoples yard big oil tanks big ones Cullen has found all his stuff roof on our house torn up & rained in ruined out new paint job, oh I can't begin to tell it. but thank Heaven not live's lost. They picked up a big truck of dead dogs and cattle all over town just ready to burst. You no we didn't get home till on Thursday wouldn't let people come in but I am so glad The water didn't get in our houses Vice president Johnson & Price Daniel was here Mon rode all over town & we will get more Help from government.

well hope you are all fine I no you hate to see Ted go Hazel I saw Ola didn't no we were there from the way she wrote. it is so pitiful She still writes me Hollis lives on Lake.

I didnt tell you we went on to Angleton to see about Helen it was hard hit but they didn't loose a shingle on their house Helen new the Dunn family who was all drown but one boy he is in class with Janyth in Hi school

well guess better get busy & clean up house

Thanks for your nice letter & take care of your selves

Love to all 

Cullen _ Alice"

Ted referenced near the end is my father. He was in the Marines and due to the situation in Cuba in 1961 he was called up and going to California. That also dates this letter. Ola is what my great-grandmother Mineola was commonly called. Before this event, she was showing signs of what was then called senility. However, based on what I've heard about the some of the things she done, I believe that today she would be diagnosed as having Alzheimers. As for Hollis, my grandmother's younger brother, I don't know what Aunt Alice meant referencing his living on a lake.

Facts about Hurricane Carla:

• She was the third named storm.
• She was ranked a category 4 upon landfall, the last of 6 that landed on the Texas coast with that ranking. Carla ranks as the 9th most intense hurricane to affect the U. S. since 1851.
• She made landfall in the Port O'Connor and Port Lavaca area. 
• Her storm surge rose 10 feet above normal along a 300 mile swath from Port Aransas to Sabine Pass. As the extraordinary storm approached the coast, the storm surge eventually reached 10 - 15 feet around Galveston Bay. Port O'Connor, Indianola, Palacios and Matagorda were inundated by tides of 15 - 17 feet above mean sea level. The highest tide reported was 18.5 feet at Port Lavaca. 
• Matagorda was ripped by Carla's strongest sustained winds of 115 mph.. The Air Force Base at Matagorda Island was nearly obliterated.
• Her wind gusted as high as 175 mph. at Port Lavaca. Gusts at Matagorda reach 160 mph and at Aransas Pass, 150 mph. 
• The rain, which she produced quite heavily, peaked at 17.48 inches at Bay City. 
• She was the cause of the largest hurricane-related tornado outbreak at that time. She spewed out 18 of them- 8 in Texas, 10 in Louisiana. The worst was an F4 in Galveston.
• She was the first live televised hurricane. The person who reported live from the Weather Bureau Office in Galveston, and the seawall, was a not yet widely known reporter by the name of Dan Rather. He had a revolutionary idea that changed forever how hurricanes would be seen. To put the storm in perspective, and thus alerting the public of Carla's size, he asked a meteorologist to draw an outline of the Gulf of Mexico on a transparent sheet of plastic which was held over the black & white radar screen (http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=678659n Dan Rather opens up his Reporter's Notebook to an early page, as he remembers where he got his start at CBS: reporting on a hurricane. Since then he's worn it as a badge on his sleeve.)
• Throughout Texas she completely wrecked thousands of homes, farm and other buildings while others experienced some degree of damage. There was $200 million in property damages. Crop damages, mostly unharvested rice and to a lesser degree cotton and citrus, were $100 million.
• In Texas, she claimed 34 souls and left nearly 465 people injured. The causes of death include drowning, tornadoes, electrocutions, and a heart attack.
• In the U. S. Carla's impact, both on approach and her remnants afterwards, was felt far beyond Texas as far east as Florida to as far north as Michigan. She was a bearer of torrential rain, subsequent flooding, high winds and tornadoes. She wrecked homes, businesses, crops, roads, bridges, boats and other vehicles. Carla claimed six souls in Louisiana where 199 were injured, most of those from tornadoes. Two people in Oklahoma were injured by flying debris. In Kansas five souls drowned. Four were from one family as their car was swept off the road and the fifth was the sole occupant of a vehicle swept into a Marmaton River tributary. Missouri reported one death. 
• Outside the U. S., before landing on the Texas coast, Carla made her presence felt in Cuba and Honduras. Afterwards, her remnants blew in to Nova Scotia.
• The warnings issued on September 9th prompted an evacuation of a half of million people living on islands and in low lying coastal areas in Texas and southwest Louisiana (which had been devastated by Hurricane Audrey in June of 1957). At the time, it was deemed to be the largest peace time evacuation in U. S. history. Pardon me while I walk in the weeds to say this evacuation certainly impacted the number of fatalities associated with this dangerous hurricane. Carla claimed 46 souls and injured 465. There wasn't such an evacuation ahead of Hurricane Audrey, which claimed 416 souls in Louisiana and extreme southeast Texas.

Sources for information on Hurricane Carla:

National Oceanic and Atomspheric Association/National Weather Service/Weather Forecast Office Corpus Christi, Tx.: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/crp/?n=hurricanecarla

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Carla

A blog remembering Hurricane Carla:

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/vault/2011/09/50-years-since-hurricane-carla/

Videos regarding Hurricane Carla:

U.S. Weather Bureau Film on Hurricane Carla (c. 1961): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMjueXVV_z0 

Hurricane Carla, Securing boat up the San Bernard River prior to land fall, and aftermath near Surfside, TX: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZinToheL5DI

Hurricane Carla September 11, 1961 Sargent, Texas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv8zl6ZbMnw

This footage is believed to have been taken in the Galveston, Kemah, Seabrook area southeast of Houston.: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQYjHFEXTR0

Galveston's Hurricane Carla - Bill Cherry's Galveston Memories: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6RQFPRpq3Q

FamilySearch Adds 19,206,333 Images to New United Kingdom, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920, Collection

FamilySearch has added 23.9 million indexed records and images this week with new browsable image collections from Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, England, Italy, Mexico, and the United States. Notable collection updates include the 19,206,333 images from the new United Kingdom, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920, collection, the 2,005,113 index records from the United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, collection, and the 930,622 index records from the U.S., New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1925-1942, collection. See the table below for the full list of updates. Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.


Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the world’s historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.


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Collection
Indexed Records
Digital Images
Comments




Belgium, Liège, Civil Registration, 1621-1910
0
3,198,973
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Belgium, Luxembourg, Civil Registration, 1608-1912
0
794,954
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Brazil, Civil Registration, 1870-2012
0
608,365
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Brazil, Piauí, Civil Registration, 1875-2012
0
103,398
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Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Immigration Cards, 1900-1965
132,929
241,847
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Colombia, Catholic Church Records, 1600-2010
0
1,234,380
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Colombia, Valle del Cauca, Miscellaneous Records, 1549-1955
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82,009
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Czech Republic, Land Records, 1450-1889
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128,500
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India, Gujarat Diocese Protestant Church Records, 1854-2012
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39,573
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Italy, Cuneo, Saluzzo, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1942
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470,403
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Italy, Ragusa, Modica, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1942
0
26,653
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Italy, Salerno, Vallo della Lucania, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1929
0
109,257
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Italy, Torino, Torino, Military Conscriptions (Comune), 1790-1886
0
23,904
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Korea, Collection of Genealogies, 1500-2012
0
2,830
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Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Miscellaneous Records, 1570-1842
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121,496
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New Zealand, Probate Records, 1860-1962
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77,458
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Peru, Junín, Civil Registration, 1890-2005
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20,019
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Peru, Lima, Civil Registration, 1874-1996
0
23,232
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Peru, Puno, Civil Registration, 1890-2005
0
11,762
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Poland, Radom Roman Catholic Church Books, 1587-1966
11,043
0
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Russia, Samara Church Books, 1869-1917
442,772
1,232
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Spain, Cádiz, Testaments, 1550-1920
0
91,400
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Ukraine, Kyiv Orthodox Consistory Church Book Duplicates, 1840-1845
651,980
48,922
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United Kingdom, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920
0
19,206,333
New browsable image collection.


U.S., Illinois, Lee County Records, 1830-1954
0
108,387
New browsable image collection.


U.S., Missouri, Cole County Circuit Court Case Files, 1820-1926
0
27,710
New browsable image collection.


U.S., New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1925-1942
930,622
0
Added index records to an existing collection.


U.S., New York, State Census, 1875
0
23
Added images to an existing collection.


U.S., North Carolina, Civil Action Court Papers, 1712-1970
0
35,267
Added images to an existing collection.


U.S., Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953
19,236
25
Added index records and images to an existing collection.


U.S., Texas, Deaths, 1977-1986
0
41,065
Added images to an existing collection.


United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
2,005,113
0
Added index records to an existing collection.

Two Brothers & Their Uncanny Deaths

Family Facts

On October 10, 1872, in Austin, Texas, Johanna Wilcox LaFrance gave birth to her first child, a son. Paul Ozwin LaFrance was name for his father, Paul LaFrance, and maternal grandfather, Ozwin Wilcox.

Four sons and two daughters later, still living in Austin, Texas, Johanna gave birth to her eighth and last child February 15, 1894, a son named Jacob Benjamin LaFrance.

In 1897, at the age of twenty-five, Ozwin (as Paul Ozwin LaFrance was called) married sixteen year old Nora Seay. In September 1898 she gave birth to their only child, a son named Golie LaFrance.

The Dam

In 1871 the idea of a dam on the Colorado river transpired. It was the focus of the municiple elections of 1889. With bonds sold and plans in place, building began in 1890. Three years later, despite numerous set-backs, the McDonald Dam (named for Mayor John McDonald, elected in 1889) was complete. In 1895 the power house was finished. Even after completion, the dam had yet another set back. The economic boom that was promised a result of building the dam wasn't being realized. Then the rains came.

A Calamitous Storm

From the rolling prairie near San Saba county, through the beautiful and rugged hill country, into the Llano basin, through a series of canyons, the mighty Colorado river bursts forth from the Balcones Escarpment at Austin. It's principal tributaries include the Pedernales, Llano, San Saba and Concho rivers along with Pecan Bayou. The tremendous rainstorm of April 5 - 8, 1900 that so tragically affected Central Texas began as two separate storms. One erupted over Val Verde county on the Rio Grande river. The other erupted over Swisher county on the high plains in the Texas Panhandle. Prior to the two merging over Travis county, torrential rain had already fallen along the Colorado river & it's tributaries, from Llano all the way to Austin. The result was catastrophic flooding on the Brazos, Colorado and Guadalupe rivers. 

Destructive and Deadly Flooding

At Austin, from 1 p.m. April 6, 1900 through 4 a.m. on April 7, five inches of rain fell on a saturated, rugged and hilly landscape.  Unlike now, there was no upstream dams to capture excess run off. Swollen by the deluge, the Colorado River surged onward and unbridled. On it's furious trek downstream anything in it's way was gathered by, and carried forth in, the torrent. At 11:20 a.m. on April 7, the floodwaters crested at 11 feet at the top of McDonald Dam. The pressure proved too much for the dam and it crumbled as the middle section gave way. The following is exerpted from The Austin Statesman dated Sunday, April 8, 1900, pg. 7:

From midnight until daylight yesterday morning so terrific was the downpour that creeks were transformed into surging torrents and rivers were swollen to a width of a mile within the hour. It is estimated that within an hour yesterday morning 4 inches of rain fell in this immediate vicinity. By daylight it became evident the situation was serious. The river began rising three feet an hour and by 10 o'clock it had increased to four feet. ...The water rose so rapidly that it soon became evident that the power house would be inundated within an hour. The surging torrent bore on its crest tons and tons of trees, houses and debris by the wagon load. All this immense mass piled up on the crest of the dam very rapidly, forming a solid mass twenty feet high and 1,000 feet thick over which the water surged and fretted before taking its sixty foot plunge over the crest. ...At 11:15 exactly the crash came and a slice of granite eight feet thick, twenty-five feet in depth and 500 hundred feet long rolled out of the middle of the dam and into the river below.... This released the immense quantity of debris, trees and houses and the vast volume of water bellowing on its way down the river carrying death and destruction in its wake.

The powerhouse was destroyed, seven workers there drowned. Two workers miraculously escaped a watery grave. At around midnight, the powerhouse succumbed and fell into the tempestuous river, it's destruction complete. The gem of Lake McDonald, the celebrated steamboat Ben-Hur, was destroyed. Fish camps along the river, consisting of 8 families, each fairly large in number, according the above article, "disappeared with the breaking of the dam." Hundreds of observers that had gathered below the dam to view the spectacle of the flood waters scrambled out of harms way when the weakened dam gave way. For some the escape was quite narrow. Eight men standing at the river's edge when the dam broke were caught up in the torrent but were rescued about a quarter mile down river. 

Also from pg. 7, source cited above, is the following account:

One man crossing the valley south of the wagon bridge was caught by the raging torrents. His buggy and horse were swept away and he himself was landed on top of a telephone post. He swung on there for a while but the water soon undermined the post and it gave way and as it fell the man was seen to go under and never come up again.

This man, based on comparing other accounts, despite a few inconsistencies, is surely Ozwin LaFrance (named erronously as Osborne, Oswald and LaFrantz in other articles). 

The New York Times,  April 8, 1900, no pg. # noted, published a "Special To The New York Times", from Austin, Texas, April 7, reads in part:

Raging Colorado River Engulfs Fifty People At Austin

GREAT DAM BROKEN AWAY

Stream A Mile Wide Sweeps Away Electric Power House Leaving City In Darkness--Over 100 Buildings Destroyed

The great dam across the Colorado River, near this city... was swept away this morning by an unprecedented flood in that river. The break occurred at 11:15 o'clock, causing an instant rise of fully fifty feet in the river below the dam.

... From the meager reports coming in... is estimated that fully fifty people have met death in the floods.

The article refers to two different men, each with their horse and buggy, being swept away. The first is not named. It reads

One man, attempting to cross the roadway leading to the bridge across the river just as the big wave rolled down, was caught and he and his horse and buggy went down with the torrent and were heard of no more.

The second man is named, and his circumstance is much like Ozwin's as has been reported. This second man is Claude Franklin, of South Austin. The article says he was-

... driving along the river road in a buggy on the south side of the bridge when the flood struck him. He was able to get a hold of a telegraph pole and climbed up into the cross-arms, to a position of apprant security. When a large framed house came down the stream, and striking the telegraph pole, broke it off and precipitated him into the flood. He was drowned in sight of many spectators.

I feel confident the unnamed man could well be Ozwin LaFrance. 

The Austin Statesman, Monday, April 16, 1900, pg. 8, column 3, reads:

A Mr. Davis found the body of Paul Osborne Lafrance yesterday at Webberville in a pile of debris on the bank of the river. Lafrance was drowned here near the bridge in the flood of April 7.

The Austin Statesman, Wednesday, April 18, 1900, pg. 3, reads:

The funeral of Paul Osborne Lafrance, drowned April 7 in the flood from the dam, and found last Sunday in a pile of debris on the river bank at Webberville, was held at 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon.

The Dallas Morning News, Monday, April 18, 1900, pg. # not noted, published a report that ran in the Bastrop Advertiser, dated April 17, 1900, reads:

LA FRANCE'S BODY DISINTERRED.

The Man Drowned Below Austin Was Found Near Bastrop

Special To The News

 Bastrop, Tex., April 17. - The body of the man found by W. Bryan in the river above Bastrop, supposed to be that of the missing Mr. La France, was disinterred by his parents last night and taken home for burial. He was caught on the public road just below Austin when the dam broke and sought safety by climbing a telegraph pole. Soon after he reached the top a house struck the pole and he was thrown into the water and lost.

The Bastrop Advertiser, Saturday, April 21, 1900, pg. 3, column 4, reads:

LAFRANTZ'S BODY FOUND

    The body of the dead man taken from the river Friday morning last, by Bill Bryant, at his farm above Bastrop, has been recognized as that of LaFranz, the man who made such a noble battle for life, near Austin, when the Dam broke. It will be remembered that he was caught riding along the river in a buggy, and after climbing to a place of apparent safety up a telephone [post/pole], which was struck by a floating house, knocking him into the water. Friends from Austin came down Monday, recognizing the clothing, even to the patched shoe. The body was taken up and carried back to Austin Monday night. He went to the city that morning after medicine for his wife and was returning home when caught by the flood. He was warned against attempting to re-cross the river, and not heeding the warning, cost him his life. It is supposed his great anxiety about his wife cause him to take the risk.

    Frank Hierman, Clarance L. Woodward and Jos. A. O'Reiley were the parties who came down from Austin, recognized and carried the body back to the city. 

Inconsistency and Confusion

I have to admit, at first reading, I was confused. I found a website where calendars from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries could be found (www.vpcalendars.net). It helped to look at the April 1900 calendar to get a bearing on the dates.

The post, or pole. Telegraph or telephone? Both existed, could have been either. Was it undermined by the force of the torrent or did a house knock it down? Either is possible. The first article mentioned above, from the Austin Statesman the day after the calamity, was an early account, when it was still unknown as to how many died and what all the damage was. Nothing is quite accurate on the first reporting.

And the man who found him, Bryan/Bryant or Davis? I'm inclined to go with Bryan/Bryant who is named more than once. As to Mr. Davis, perhaps he could have worked for Mr. Bryan/Bryant or been a neighbor. It's highly probable that the 'W', as in 'W. Bryan' must stand for 'William' as Bill, so called in the above Bastrop Advertiser of Saturday, April 21, is a common nickname for William. And it would have been easy to either omit, or add, a 't' to Bryan/Bryant. 

While I know I'm drifting into the weeds here, my curiosity compelled me to check census records for Bastrop, 1900. The enumeration district is 2. On sheet 6/B I found a W B Bryant living in Precinct 1. To be sure I looked up the census in Bastop, 1910. Same enumeration district & precinct as 1900. On sheet 15/A, he is listed as Wm B Bryant. Other family names match those in 1900. Still, I checked Bastrop, 1920. The enumeration district is 17 and the precinct is the same as the previous two censuses. On pg. 25 I find W Bryant. Family names match up. In the margin is noted 'Bastrop Road'.  In all three censuses he listed as owning his farm. I feel sure this is the man who found Ozwin LaFrance. 

I don't think Ozwin's parents would have taken part in recovering his body, as reported. It's more fitting the friends, named above, did it for them, as reported in the Bastrop Advertiser Saturday, April 21, 1900 and published in the Dallas Morning News. Looking at the dates on the April 1900 calendar, it seems he must have been buried not long after being found.

Timeline

April 5, 1900, Thursday, two storms began is separate parts of the state, hundreds of miles apart.

April 6, 1900, Friday, the two storms collide over Travis county

April 7, 1900, Saturday, Ozwin LaFrance drowns while attempting to cross the river.

April 15, 1900, Sunday, Ozwin LaFrance was found according to the Austin Statesman article dated Monday, April 16th. This is reinforced by the April 18th Austin Statesman article. All this depite a Bastrop Advertiser article dated Saturday April 21 that refers to his being  'taken from the river Sunday last'.

April 16, 1900, Monday, the Austin Statesman article states Ozwin was "found yesterday". Ozwin disinterred late this night. 

April 17, 1900, Tuesday, it is reported in the Dallas Morning News from a Bastrop Advertiser article that 'Mr. La France was disinterred by his parents last night'. 

April 21, 1900 was a Saturday. The Bastrop Advertiser dated this day refers to Ozwin's body being taken up and carried back to Austin 'Monday', which would be the 16th. 

At the time of this catastrophe happened, Ozwin's younger most brother, Jacob, was 6 years old.

Family Facts

On Thursday, April 1, 1915 twenty-one year old Jacob LaFrance married twenty-eight year old Maggie Wooden. This date was also the 46th wedding anniversary of Jacob's parents, Paul & Johanna LaFrance.

Jacob's Demise

On Tuesday, June 18, 1918 Jacob LaFrance accidently drowned in the Colorado river not far from his Cummins Street home at the foot of Rainey Street. There was no calamitous storm or a swollen, raging Colorado river reeking havoc. 

According to an Austin Statesman article (sent to me without notation of date, but since the end refers to 'last night' I assume the correct date for the article would be June 19, 1918.), Jacob had eaten his supper and then proceeded to the river to bathe. While bathing he was overcome by cramps and began drowning. Camping with his family nearby, actually a short distance away, was one W. Earnest. He went to help Jacob but could not reach the spot before Jacob succumbed and sank. It was Mr. Earnest who notified Jacob's wife, referred to only as Mrs. LaFrance. She ran down the incline towards the riverbed where husband drowned. She was prevented from going very far by neighbors, who had begun to gather to ascertain what was going on. A pulmotor belonging to the fire department was sent to the river to attempt to revive Jacob. Dr. A. S. Woolsley, who had an office in the Littlefield building, responded to a call for a physician. After an hour he declared the effort to revive Jacob as fruitless. 

Parallel 

Now, with this information it seems it would be just coincidence that both Jacob and his older most brother, Ozwin LaFrance drowned. What makes it uncanny is that, according to the article about Jacob's drowning, he drowned at the same spot in the Colorado river as his older brother eighteen years earlier. That section of the river is called 'Satan's Sinkhole'. It may have been a problem in 1918, but it was obscured by a raging river in 1900.

More Revealed on the First Drowning

The article on Jacob's death does tell more on Ozwins (who is referred to as Oswald). The article says that he "was attempting to drive a buggy across a dike which had been submerged with water by a heavy flood. The horse was swept from his feet but Oswald [sic] gained a hold on a nearby telephone post." This supports, in part, the article eighteen years earlier from the above Bastrop Advertiser dated Saturday, April 21, 1900. However, in Jacob's article it is said that after his brother climbed above the water level the post broke off at the bottom. This supports the above Austin Stateman April 8, 1900 article (above). There is a sure discrepancy in Jacob's article regarding his brother's demise. It says Ozwin was found at almost the exact spot that Jacob drowned. It has been firmly established Ozwin was found in Webberville. 

The Dike

About the dike area, referred to in the article on Jacob's death, where Ozwin apparantly tried to cross the river eighteen years earlier. In the previously mention Austin Statesman article on April 8, 1900, it said this of the dike- 

The entire stretch of the dike between the Bouldin bridge and the river bridge at the foot of the avenue was swept away.

EPILOG

Little more than a year after her husband's death, Nora Seay LaFrance married John T. Mangham April 22, 1901. They had a few children. They would eventually settle in Waco in McLennan county. Ozwin's & Nora's son, Golie, married Bettie Brock (I have been unable to find a date). Of Golie and Bettie LaFrance's five children, only one survived to adulthood- Walter Lee LaFrance.

In 1920, Maggie LaFrance shows up in Waco. On the census, she listed as a roomer in the home of Lee and Bessie Merritt. I have be unable to find out if she remarried. I also haven't found a death date for her. 

Sources:

Copies of news articles as cited from the Austin Statesman, Bastrop Advertiser, Dallas Morning News and the New York Times. These were sent to me via snail mail from John Chapman who responded to my inquiry on the Rootsweb Travis County Texas mailing list. I have transcribed from the articles verbatim, errors and all.

Information about the river, dam and weather from the following:

Lower Colorado River Authority:

http://www.lcra.org/about/overview/history/timeline/historycenter.html

'The Austin Dam Publication':

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/books/landscapes/publications/txu-oclc-2564523/txu-oclc-2564523-011.html