Ezra Gerry's Death After the Larchmont Wreck
After the destructive wreck of the Larchmont, multiple accounts spread of the disaster across the nation. Newspapers as far as California reported of the casualties and destructions of the wreck. Like many tragedies, this disaster, even for a split second, was able to bring a country that was in social turmoil together to mourn the loss of the 150 lives that were presumed to be lost that night.
At this point in history, segregation was growing and Jim Crow Laws were being put into place. Jim Crow Laws are laws or societal practices that are based around segregation of African Americans. At a point, the Federal Government did not enforce the 13th and 14th amendments in some parts of the country as strictly as other parts might have. The Southern United States is one of the most well-known areas for these practices. Cities and some states began to create “whites only” and “colored only” sections in public areas. These ideas migrated into Pensacola. In 1905, The Pensacola News Journal reported that the city council passed an ordinance stating that streetcars would be separated into “white” and “colored” sections despite the mayor’s veto. Even though this issue mainly remained at a local government level, it caused tension across the entire nation in reference to the creation and regulation of the Jim Crow Laws. In 1907, this disaster occurred during a high level of tension within the United States. The news of this disaster spread far and quick bringing everyone from different backgrounds together. People of all races, genders, and economic levels were able to see these articles and band together if only for a minute, to rally behind those that survived and to mourn the lives lost.
Of those 150 lives lost, one was that of a Pensacola man, Ezra Gerry, who was a steward on the Larchmont. Accounts of Gerry missing at the time of the wreck went as far as Topeka, Kansas and his death was mentioned as far away as Montgomery, Alabama. When news of the wreck reached Pensacola, Gerry’s grandmother, Georgia Goodlow, telegraphed the owners of the ship about Gerry being on the ship. According to an article from The Pensacola News Journal, Ezra Gerry’s body was recovered and was identified as one of those lives that were lost during the wreck. Ezra Gerry’s funeral was held in Rhode Island with local Pastor Rev. S. W. Smith officiating. While officiating the funeral, Rev. S. W. Smith discussed how he did not believe the captain of the Larchmont to be at fault for the disaster like some might have thought. At the time of the wreck, the cause of the collision was unknown. Many accounts addressed the idea that the captain of the Larchmont to be culpable and others believed the captain of the Harry Knowlton to be culpable. Many investigations began to be done in the light of these accounts and many people, such as Rev. S. W. Smith, spoke out about who they saw as at fault for this disaster.
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