Leon L. Houck and Lola Houck v. The Southern Pacific Company
This document is a page from the transcript of the case of Leon L. Houck and Lola Houck v. The Southern Pacific Company. On September 21, 1886, Lola Houck received word that her nine-month-old child was deathly ill. The child was staying at the home of Houck's parents in Galveston, TX, at the time. Houck bought a first class train ticket on the Southern Pacific Railway to get to her child as soon as possible. She had made this trip plenty of times before, but this time it was different. As Houck approached the train, a young shoeshine boy informed the brakeman of the train that Houck was African American. Houck had a light complexion, which previously gave her access to better accommodations on the railroad. With her race publicly known and due to being a woman unaccompanied by her husband, Houck was vulnerable to mistreatment. Upon boarding, she quickly became the victim of abuse by the brakeman. After enduring a miserable journey in which she was publicly humiliated, she and her husband sued the Southern Pacific Railway for damages. The case transcript reveals that Houck was pregnant, and after being pushed by the brakeman she fell to the ground and suffered a miscarriage.
Case File 1439 for Leon L. Houck and Lola Houck v. The Southern Pacific Company, dated November 5, 1888. National Archives Identifier: 68172217
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