General Slocum Disaster 1904

What do a  ship disaster  and the Orlando Public Library have in common?

The steamship General Slocum burned on 15 June 1904 off North Brother Island, New York. Newspaper articles about the tragedy which took the lives of over 1000 persons identify police department employee Inspector Albertson as being on the scene on Brother Island.

Inspector Albertson, later became a Captain in the police department, retiring to the Orlando area. He later donated all his genealogy books to the city of Orlando with the stipulation that they be housed in a library bearing his name.

The Albertson Public Library was the result. And as Paul Harvey would say: “Now you know the rest of the story!”

The original photos are part of the Genealogy Collection at the Orange County Library System.