This is a picture from a newspaper showing where John Thomas, my great great great grandfather's business was after it got washed away in the Johnstown Flood of 1889 in Pennsylvania where I was born. All information in this story was told by my grandmother and her recollection of stories passed down between generations. John Thomas had many siblings and lived in a big family when he eventually opened up a business in Johnstown PA which sat within a mountain range and beside Conemaugh river. During this flood, caused by the South Fork Dam that broke after unprecedented amounts of rainfall, it is estimated that 2,208 people died (the worst flash flood by deaths in US history), mostly being poorer people forced to live at lower elevations where flooding was a major risk. John Thomas was lucky enough to survive the flood but his business did not. Many people are still not found by this flood as they were carried miles away and covered by many layers of dirt and mud. John Thomas went on to recover and have a family who is largely unknown. It is believed that my great grandmother has a bible written in old German that has the birth and death dates as well the dates of the baptism of the Thomas family. 

– PG

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more