Galveston Chronicles: The Queen City of the Gulf ed. by Donald Willett (review)

Donald Willett’s edited collection Galveston Chronicles: The Queen City of the Gulf features a series of articles about some of the most noteworthy people and events in Galveston’s long history. With articles stretching from the pre-Hispanic period to the early twentieth century, this collection highlights some of the major themes in both the history of Galveston and the history of Texas more broadly.

The volume opens with an article by collection editor Donald Willett, exploring the history of Galveston Island’s first inhabitants, and the relationships between the Karankawa Indians and the bands of pirates who first called Galveston home. Willett also contributes an article discussing the Battle of Galveston during the Civil War. Other articles in this collection take a more biographical approach to Galveston’s history. Margaret Swett Henson uses the life stories of Michel Menard, Samuel May Williams, and Thomas McKinney to explore the world of land speculation and entrepreneurship in early nineteenth century Galveston. Eliza Hopkins Stephens explores the legacy of the Kempner family for the development and success of the city of Galveston, and Edward Simmen chronicles the life of famous Galveston artist Boyer Gonzales.

The most interesting chapters in the collection for this reviewer were the articles by Merline Pitre and Robert Shelton utilizing the biographical approach employed in other chapters to explore African American history in Galveston. Pitre tells the story of George T. Ruby, the black state senator elected during Reconstruction, and explores how he managed to gain acceptance and even praise during that notoriously contentious period. Shelton, meanwhile, explores the life of Norris Wright Cuney, a politician, businessman, and community leader in early twentieth century Galveston. I would have liked, however, for the collection to feature an article on the history of slavery and antebellum race relations, given the importance of the institution in Galveston relative to other Texas cities.

Two other highlights of the collection are Bill O’Neal’s article on the history of professional baseball in the city and David G. McComb’s exploration of “The Great Galveston Storm.” O’Neal notes that from the first appearance of baseball in Galveston among Union soldiers during the Civil War, amateur and professional baseball has been a mainstay of life in the city. On a more somber note, McComb recounts the unparalleled devastation wrought by the hurricane that hit Galveston in September of 1900. With an estimated death toll of six thousand people, the great Galveston hurricane remains “the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the United States” (119).

While many of this collection’s articles are interesting, readers should be aware that Galveston Chronicles is clearly intended for a public audience. Though most of the collection’s entries are written by historians, the tone and subject of the articles, along with their lack of footnotes, makes this volume extremely accessible for the interested public, if something less than edifying for other historians. The collection provides short, easy-to-read snapshots of some of the Queen City’s most important and famous events and people, and for that reason it should be of broad interest to non-specialists interested in Texas history.