St. Nicholas Hotel 1940 after the Tornado


This photo showing the St. Nicholas Hotel after the tornado of 1940
was taken by George Francis Evans (b. 9 April 1877 in Savannah,
Chatham Co., GA) (d. 3 July 1950 in Phoenix, Maricopa Co., AZ - where the
family moved to help recover his health) (buried St. Mary's Catholic
Cemetery, Jacksonville, Duval Co., FL) He was grocery distributor, traveled
a great deal, and was in Albany on business at the time of the tornado. His
wife Stella Masters Evans (b. 25 Oct 1881 in Savannah, Chatham Co., GA)
(d. 1 Mar 1965 at her home in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Co., FL)
(buried St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Jacksonville, Duval Co., FL) resided in
Jacksonville, FL, with their children that were still at home. Their
daughter Mary was my great aunt (b. January 14, 1907 in North Augusta, Aiken
Co., SC)(d. August 04, 1988 in her home in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Co.,
FL)(buried along side her parents and siblings in St. Mary's - now known as
Evergreen Cemetery - Jacksonville, Duval Co., FL.) Mary was a professional
model and also quite often a traveler, but was at that time visiting her mom
while her dad was in Albany at the time of the tornado.
Although my great grandpa survived the tornado event, he developed a lung
ailment after his exposure to the elements and the conditions after being
ejected from his bed by the violent winds. Although the family nursed him
in climate they thought would be more conducive to recovery, he suffered,
lingered and finally succumbed to the illness he developed in the aftermath
of that storm. The tornado of 10 Feb 1940 took his life as surely as if
he'd been crushed by the rubble in the dawn.
The blue ink is the writing of George Evans, and the part in black that says
"daddy was in this tornado" was written by his daughter Mary.