Mirth at Los Gatos

You just never know what you will find about your family when you start searching newspapers.  The social notices or "society pages" contain great details about the lives of our ancestors.  I found this article in the San Francisco Examiner at Newspapers.com.  It was published on May 2nd, 1900, 122 years ago.  It details an outing of the Young Men's Institute, which is a Catholic men's fraternal organization founded in San Francisco in 1883. Eight members of my family are listed among those attending the event: Mrs. A Doherty (Ann), my 3rd great grandmother, her son,  J. (John) Thomas Doherty, my 2nd great-grand uncle, his sister Mrs. E (Ewen) Davidson (Eliza), my 2nd great grandmother, and her sister Mrs. L (Louis) Levenberg (Lillie), my 2nd great-grand aunt and the wife of their cousin William McKeon, Mrs. W (William) McKeon (Jeanette), along with the ladies' 3 children, Edna McKeon, age 1, Loretta Levenberg, age 2 and Claire Davidson, my great-grandmother, age 3.

The Goldens in San Francisco, Part 2

Uncle Con Murphy, Aunt Marg Murphy, my grandfather Bob Golden, my great-grandmother Anna Murphy Golden, Dan Murphy

Last time we left off with Aunt Marg Murphy's 2 years of living in San Francisco, the first of the family to do so.  But we're supposed to be talking about Goldens in San Francisco.  During the time Aunt Marg was living there, at 846 Bush St. and later 305 23rd Ave., family lore has it that Marg's older sister Anna Murphy Golden had a spat with her husband and left Butte with the younger children.  This is confirmed by an entry in the 1928 San Francisco City Directory which lists "Golden, John H (Anna) h305 23d av" Here is what it looks like now.

And here is another bit of evidence: a photo of my grandfather, Robert E. Golden. On the back is written "May pageant, 1928. Alamo School, Robert E. Golden."  And where is Alamo School? 250 23rd Ave., San Francisco, CA  Just a 2 minute walk 305 23rd!
Bob was 10, his younger sister Margie was 7, and his brother Paul was 13.  I don't have anything to show that Paul was in San Francisco, but I assume Margie probably was, just because she was younger. How long did they stay? Not sure. The family story is that Grandpa John Henry drove out and picked up his wife and children. In the 1929 San Francisco directory, Aunt Marg is still listed as living at 305 23rd and working for Mack Truck, but there isn't a listing as clear as the 1928 one for Anna.  There are a couple of A. Goldens, and a Mrs. Annie Golden, but not at a familiar or nearby address.
By 1930 the census has everyone back in Butte, including Aunt Marg.  Well, except for John Henry, Jr., known as Jack.  He was in Washington, DC, attending Georgetown Medical school.  He boarded at 1431 Clifton St. NW which still looks like a pretty nice place to live.

This is his entry in the 1930 Domesday Book, the Georgetown yearbook.

Jack met his wife Julia Clements in Washington, DC where her father was a physician as well. Jack and Julia were married in San Francisco at St. Cecelia's Church on June 29, 1931.  So, why did they get married in San Francisco when her family was in Washington, DC?  Presumably he had starting working and she came out to join him. I think I need to do some more research before I continue with the story.

The Goldens in San Francisco

I wanted to try and determine what originally brought the Goldens to San Francisco as it is quite important to our family history.  My grandparents, Bob and Betty, met in San Francisco, so really, the connection to the city is key to my existence!  I also wonder how Mame Towey figures in all of this, as she ended up in San Francisco as well, and the question is, did the Goldens already know her, or did they meet there.
So, let's meet all the players and develop a timeline.
We are talking about the family of John Henry Golden, Sr.(1873-1949) and Anna Honora Murphy Golden (1883-1958).  These are my great-grandparents.  John Henry was born in Ireland and came to the U.S. in 1889, first to Helena, Montana and then to Anaconda and eventually Butte, where he and Anna were married in 1904.  Mary Agnes "Mame" "Yonovera" Towey was a cousin/family friend/patient whose connection to the family hasn't been quite determined, but her family, the Toweys and the Goldens came from the same area of Ireland-Ballaghadereen, County Mayo (now Roscommon).

The first record I have of any of the family connection to San Francisco is actually not Mame or any Golden, it is a Murphy.  Margaret Murphy (Aunt Marg) was Anna's younger sister and in the 1920 census, she is living with John Henry and Anna in Butte at 1101 W. Broadway.  From the stories I have heard, she was a great baker.  She made the family Christmas fruitcake (a tradition still on-going) and my Mom and her cousins and siblings have memories of amazing Parker House Rolls.  Anna and Marg's sister Ellen died in 1919 at the age of 28, and their father, Michael Murphy died in April 1920.  The 1918 Butte City Directory lists Murphy, Margaret clk Heilbronner r 1101 W Bway and the 1923 directory has her there still.  But, in 1926, we find her in the San Francisco City Directory, the listing being "Murphy, Mrgt clk Mack Internatl Motor Truck Corp r46 Bush". How do we know this is the same person? Aunt Marg's obituary has details:

That just ties all the details together, doesn't it?  Her last San Francisco directory listing is in 1929, and in the 1930 census record she is back in Butte.  There is more to this story that needs uncovering though.  Family lore tells of a suitor she was not allowed to marry, and there are whisperings of a romance in San Francisco and certainly the Stock Market Crash of October 24, 1929 must have had a part in her return to Butte.  But sadly, no verifiable facts. Now, Anna and Marg's sister Christine died in Yakima, Washington in September 1929, but that doesn't seem like a reason she would return to Butte.  I also have questions on why she went to San Francisco in the first place.  It seems so far away, and I wondered what travelling there was like in 1926.
So, besides being the sister of Anna Golden, what does Aunt Marg's excursion to San Francisco have to do with the Goldens' connection to that city? Stay tuned for The Goldens in San Francisco, Part 2, coming soon!

My Irish Family in Early San Francisco

This is my great-great-great grandmother, Ann McLaughlin Doherty (1835-1915), who lived at 35 Elsie St. We believe that is the location of this photo. She is recorded at this address in the 1907 San Francisco City directory. She lived here until her death. Her son John continued to live there through the mid-1930's. Her daughter, Ann Doherty Coxe, lived next door at 33 Elsie with her husband Edgar and son William. She lived here until her death in 1921. In the 1930 census John is listed at 55 Elsie with his nephew William living next door at 53 Elsie. I am wondering if the street was re-numbered. In 1936, at the time of John's death, he was living with his sister Mrs. Elizabeth Levenberg at 55 Elsie.
Ann was born in Ireland, about 1835.  Her sister Kate also came to the United States and lived in San Francisco as well. Ann and her husband Roger Doherty had arrived in New York by 1861, for the birth of their son, William. Daughter Ann was born in New York in 1865.  Ann and Roger had four more children: Mary, Elizabeth, Lillie and John, all born in San Francisco, CA.  From at least 1880 to
after 1890 the family lived at 823 Harrison. Roger died in 1891 and was buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery, which was located between Masonic and Parker, and Geary and Turk.  He was later "removed" to Holy Cross in Colma, (no actual remains were found to re-bury).
Ann and family lived on Harriet St.; I found listings at both 17 and 45 Harriet.  After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the family relocated to the Bernal Heights neighborhood, which is the Elsie St. address shown in the picture above.
Ann's oldest grandchild was my great-grandmother, Claire Davidson Steele, a.k.a. Mammy (1897-1993).
Happy St. Patrick's Day to all my Irish family!

John Thomas Doherty

I decided to spend the rainy Sunday doing some genealogy, so I went over to http://www.sfgenealogy.com/ to see what was new.  They are always posting new resources there, and yesterday I was in luck!  I found San Francisco Mortuary Records, scanned images of records from several San Francisco mortuaries, all indexed.  Since I have several family branches in San Francisco, I started plugging in names to see what would turn up.  I found a record for John Thomas Doherty (1876-1936). 

John was the youngest child of Roger and Ann Doherty, my great-great-great grandparents.  I did not have the date of his death, so it was great to find this record.  There is also a lot of information that I already had that is further confirmed by the same information in this record from the funeral home.  His parents' names are confirmed as Roger Doherty and Ann (McLaughlin) Doherty.  The order for the funeral was given by Mrs. Elizabeth Levenberg, John's sister, better know to us as "Peeps".  Their address is given as 55 Elsie St., San Francisco.  This is in the Bernal Heights neighborhood.

I had John's birth date from his WWI draft registration card and it is confirmed here as 18 Jun 1876.  He died at San Francisco Hospital of carcinoma of the esophagus and bronchopneumonia.  I found a record for one other relative, Blanche Davidson Rommel (1881-1949), the younger sister of Peeps' first husband (and my great-great grandfather), Ewen Davidson (1872-1898).  Ewen was Claire's (Mammy) father.  I'll keep looking!

Grandma Golden

Jean Elizabeth Golden
Our beloved mother passed away peacefully on Friday, July 31, 2009. She was born April 7, 1921, in Fresno, California to Andrew and Claire Steele. Betty graduated from St.Therese school and from San Francisco College for Women. She married Robert Golden in Fresno in 1944. They established Golden Insurance Agency where Betty worked for 40 years. Betty was a lector and Eucharistic Minister at Our Lady of Victory Parish. She was a member of Third Order of St. Francis, YLI, Serra Club and a volunteer for Catholic Charities. She was preceded in death by Robert, her loving husband, of 54 years; her brother, Br. Andrew (Don) Steele, FSC; and her grandson, James Stone. Betty is survived by her nine children and their families, Mary Ann and Tom Paloutzian, Susan and Don Sturges, Bill and Shirley Golden, Catherine and Jerry Johnson, Margaret Golden, Patti and Tom McMurry, John and Maureen Golden, Janet Golden, and Michael Golden; 26 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren; her siblings, Bernadette Steele and Thomas and Anne Steele; her sister-in-law, Virginia Golden; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Visitation will be held at Whitehurst, Sullivan, Burns & Blair Funeral Home, on Thursday, August 6, 2009, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. followed by Recitation of the Holy Rosary at 7:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, on Friday, August 7, 2009, at 1:30 p.m. Interment will follow at St. Peter's Cemetery.

Happy Easter!

This is a picture of my mother, Mary Ann, with her great grandmother, who was called Peeps.
Peeps was born Elizabeth Agnes Doherty on July 9, 1870 in San Francisco, CA to Ann McLoughlin and Rogerty Doherty.
She was married to Ewen Davidson, and had a daughter, Claire (Mammy to her grandchildren and great grandchildren). Ewen died, and she later married Louis Levenberg (Pop), after his wife, her sister Lily, also died. (Lily and Louis had 2 daughters, Mildred and Loretta). Peeps had 3 more children, Joseph (Bud), Elizabeth (Beth) and Louis (Lou).
Peeps died July 21 1949 in Fresno, CA. She is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, CA.

Aunt Beth

From the Fresno Bee Republican
15 May 1935

Elizabeth Terese ParsonsApril 24, 1911 - December 15, 2008 (97). Wife of the late Charles Andrus Parsons; mother of Charles "Cap"/"Shali" Parsons (deceased) and Lois Parsons Fragomeni; Grandmother of Justin Parsons, Angela Fragomeni, and Annette Fragomeni; sister of Claire Steele, Mildred Lloyd, Loretta Noel, Louis Levenberg, Francis "Bud" Levenberg all entered eternity before their sister; many nieces and nephews and extended family. Beth was a member of St. Emydius Church her entire life, St. Vincent de Paul, Legion of Mary and the San Franciscans. Beth was a native San Franciscan who ventured to China in 1935 to marry her sweetheart. She lived overseas until 1938 traveling between China, Hong Kong, Korea and the Philippines. She had to pack up a household 5 times to go cross country after her naval officer husband was reassigned. Beth's love for traveling didn't stop there, she traveled the globe into her mid 80's. Beth loved to play bridge and was a master player competing in tournaments here and in Hawaii. Although her hobbies and love for travel took her all over the world, she loved San Francisco best. Friends are invited to attend the Vigil: Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 5 pm at St. Emydius Church and the Funeral Mass: Friday, December 19, 2008 at 10 am at St. Emydius Church with burial at the San Francisco National Cemetery, Presidio SF, CA In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Cancer Society West Bay Region 235 Montgomery St. SF, CA 94104

Recent Random Records

I've started to send for records that aren't available on line. Here are a few I've received recently for people in my mom's family:
This is a death notice for Ewen Davidson (Mammy's father) from the San Francisco Morning Call.

This is Rosa Steele's (Chickie's mother) death certificate. You can click on it to see it up close. It says she was born in Genoa, Italy, and that her father's name was Mathew Rossi.

Here is Ann Doherty's (Mammy's grandmother) death certificate. It doesn't tell us much that we (I) didn't already know, but it verifies her date of death, 14 Oct. 1919, and that she is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery (Colma, CA).

Levenberg Obituary

The Library of Congress has a collection of historical newspapers which are available to view on-line. I found this:

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1901.

LEVENBERG—In this city, December 25,
1901. Lillie, dearly beloved wife of Lewis
Levenberg, mother of Loretta and Mildred
Levenberg, daughter of Anne Doherty, and
sister of William and Thomas Doherty, Mrs.
E. L. Coxe and Mrs. E. Davidson, a native
of San Francisco, aged 27 years 1 month and
6 days.
Friends and acquaintances are respectfully
invited to attend the funeral to-day
(Friday), at 1 o'clock, from her late residence,
45 Harriet Street, thence to St. Patrick's
Church for services at 1:30 o'clock.
Internment Holy Cross Cemetery.

OFFICERS and members of Minerva Parlor
No. 2, N. D. G. W.—You are notified to attend
the funeral of our late sister, Lillie
Levenberg:, to-day (Friday), from her late
residence, 45 Harriet Street.
MARY CREIGH. President.
ANNIE L. DONALDSON. Secretary.---------------------------------------
N.D.G.W. is the Native Daughters of the Golden West
You can view the actual newspaper page here.
You can do your own searches at http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/home.html

Yonovera revealed

I received quite a few responses to my last post about Mame, and so, with a few new clues, I started digging around and discovered quite a bit! The biggest tidbit came from the 1955 San Francisco City Directory which lists Phillip and Yonovera Garnett, the president and secretary-treasurer of Foundation Garment Inc., living at 1000 Mason St., Apt. 403 in San Francisco. This building is the Brocklebank Apartments and is located across the street from the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill. Finally I had a name to search for in the California Death Index! I found the death record and then had the all-important birthdate and location. The records came tumbling! I haven't found any record with the name Mame, but apparently that is the name she went by, so that's how I will call her. This is a summary of what I've found so far:
Mary Agnes Towey was born 5 Oct 1878 in Providence, Rhode Island to Patrick H. and Margaret (Henery) Towey, who were both born in Ireland. She was their oldest child and had 3 younger sisters, Margaret, Dorothy (called Birdie) and Annie. The family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota around 1881 and lived at 2377 Ellis St. In 1898, the St. Paul City Directory lists Mame's occupation as a clerk with the Northern Shade Cloth Co. and she continues to work there at least until 1905. In the 1909 St. Paul directory we find her family still, but Mame is not listed. In 1910, Mame and her sister Dorothy are living in Seattle, Washington at 1729 Boylston Ave., and Mame is an apartment house manager. Her name is written as Yono V and this is the first instance I have found of her use of the name Yonovera. All records from this time on are for Yonovera Towey, and later, Yonovera Garnett.
On the 4th of September 1921, we find Mame returning to New York from Glasgow, Scotland on the ship "Columbia". Her address is the Hotel McAlpin which was located at 1300 Broadway in New York City. The McAlpin was an oppulent 1,500 room hotel which opened in 1912, and at that time was the largest hotel in the world. On the 9th of September 1922, Mame is on the ship "Carmania", returning to New York from London. Her residence is 276 5th Ave., New York City.
In 1935, Mame is living in San Francisco when she files for a patent for her design of a Girdle and Brassiere. The US patent # is 2036510, and it was issued April 7, 1936. I have copies of the documents which include drawings, descriptions and Mame's signature. On September 8, 1936 Mame is issued a Canadian patent for the same Girdle and Brassiere. It is Canadian patent #360383. Yonovera Towey is the inventor, and H.W. Gossard Co. is listed as the owner.
Sometime between 1944 and 1950 Mame marries Phillip J. Garnett. (The 1944 San Francisco City directory lists Phillip living at 68 Presidio Ave., and Mame living at 1000 Mason St., but both in the Foundation Garments business.) On January 3, 1951 Yonovera Garnett arrives in San Francisco from Honolulu, Hawaii. I couldn't find any other passengers on the ship with names I recognized.
Phillip died in 1956. Mame died in San Francisco on May 24, 1964.
I have compiled the e-mails that I received about Mame from Martha Golden, Mary Cannon, Fr. Paul, my mother and grandmother on Ancestry.com in the "stories" section on Mame's page.

Auntie (cousin) Mame?

I have been trying to find records for Mame Tuohy (not sure of the spelling). I was told that she was born in Ireland, was a cousin of John Henry Golden, that she married someone named Garnet, and died in San Francisco around 1955. She was present at the wedding of Bob and Betty Golden, and I think I was told that she paid for Aunt Margie (Sheldon) to go to school at the San Francisco College for Women. Are my facts correct? Does anyone have any other information that would help locate her in the 1930 census or the California Death records? So far I haven't been able to find anything.