Julius CLARKE

Notes:

CENSUS RECORDS

1910 Census Records
Name: Julius Clark
Age in 1910: 6 [7]
Birth Year: abt 1904 [abt 1903]
Birthplace: Texas
Home in 1910: Arlington Ward 1, Tarrant, Texas
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Son
Marital Status: Single
Father's Name: William E Clark
Father's Birthplace: Alabama
Mother's Birthplace: Alabama
Household Members:
William E Clark 42
Daisy Clark 18
Eula Clark 17
Claude Clark 15
Ruby Clark 13
George Clark 8
Julius Clark 6 [7]

1920 Census Records
Name: Julius Clark
Age: 16
Birth Year: abt 1904
Birthplace: Texas
Home in 1920: Arlington, Tarrant, Texas
Street: East Main Street
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Son
Marital Status: Single
Father's Name: William C Clark
Father's Birthplace: Alabama
Mother's Birthplace: Alabama
Able to Read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Household Members:
William C Clark 57
William C Clark 25
Rubie C Clark 23
Julius Clark 16

DEATH

Julius was killed in the worst industrial accident in U.S. history, the Texas City Disaster. April 16, 1947 the French ship Grandcamp, containing ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded,igniting fertilizer manufactured in Nebraska and Iowa that was already overheating when stored at the Texas City docks. The blast devastated the Monsanto plant and offices, where Julius was working, which were immediately across the slip from the Grandcamp, blew away the warehouses, showered shrapnel from the ship in all directions, and ignited a second ship, the S.S.High Flyer. Released from its mooring by the blast, the High Flyer rammed a third ship, S. S. Wilson B. Keene. Both ships also carried ammonium nitrate fertilizer and were ablaze. They, too, exploded. Surrounding chemical and oil tanks and refineries were ignited by the blast.

The fire had attracted a crowd of spectators along the shoreline, who believed they were a safe distance away. Spectators also noted that the water around the docked ship was already boiling from the heat, and the splashing water touching the hull of the ship was vaporized into steam.

The blast leveled nearly 1,000 buildings on land and sent a 15-foot wave that was detectable nearly 100 miles off the Texas shoreline. People in Galveston 14 miles away were knocked to their knees and windows were shattered in Houston, Texas, 40 miles away.

The initial blast and subsequent chain-reaction of further fires and explosions in other ships and nearby oil-storage facilities killing at least 581 people, including all but one member of the Texas City volunteer fire department and injured over 5,000. Of the dead, 405 were identified and 63 have never been identified. The victims' bodies quickly filled the local morgue, and several bodies were laid out in the local high school's gymnasium for identification by loved ones.




Birth:
Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1932
Name: [Not named] Clark
Birth Date: 5 Mar 1904
Gender: Male
Birth Place: Handley, Tarrant, Texas, USA
Father: Wm Clark
Mother: Julia Clark

Handley was a town in Tarrant County, Texas located between downtown Fort Worth and Arlington along State Highway 180. It's now a part of Fort Worth.

Name:
He was named after his mother, Julia, who died a little over a month after he was born.

Died:
Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982
Name: Julius E Clarke
Birth Date: 15 Mar 1904
Birth Place: Handley, Texas
Gender: Male
Race: White
Residence: Houston, Harris, Texas
Father: W E Clarke
Mother: Julia Hicks
Age at Death: 43
Occupation: Painter, Monsanto Chemical Plant
Death Date: 16 Apr 1947
Death Place: Texas City, Galveston, Texas
Cause of Death: Death resulting from injuries from explosion or fire in Texas City, TX
[Note: this is stamped on the certificate, not handwritten]

Julius married Catherine. [Group Sheet]