The city of San Francisco has played a very large part in my family's history, on both my maternal and paternal sides. It is of course much different now than it was at the turn of the century, or even in the 20's, 30's and 40's. Big cities have a way of evolving and changing with the times. For my Great Great Grandfather, Charles King, San Francisco provided an opportunity to get back on his feet financially and allowed him to continue to work in his building and carpentry trade. In my post of July 11, 2021, I shared this picture of a home he had built in the city in 1907. Since that post, I shared this photograph with the private Facebook group San Francisco History to 1915 to see if I could pinpoint an address and if the house was still standing. I have discovered not only the complete address, but I have been in contact with the current owners! (I am not adding the actual house number to this story). I have since researched the original families that lived in the home after its construction in 1907. Life in the city was a little different then.
The home looks a little different today, but is still standing thanks to the sturdy construction methods my Great Great Grandfather used.
Then.......
The members of the group helped locate the home on Jackson Street, San Francisco, just a block from the Presidio. There was an address on each pillar, so the home was originally two living spaces. According to a member of the Facebook group, the home was built by Charles J. King and Charles Berwin for the grand sum of $14,925 (taken from the San Francisco Call March 7, 1907 Real Estate announcement). Charles Berwin is found on the 1910 US Census and did indeed live at this Jackson Street address. He was a 47 year old merchant who owned a furrier business on Geary. He lived with his wife Anna and his 8 year old son Ralph H. and 7 year old daughter Edith. Both Charles and Anna were born in the United States, but their parents were from Germany. They lived in this house with another person named Rose Reynolds who was born in Ireland and came to this country in 1909. She was 30 years of age, unmarried, and her occupation was listed as "Servant". So, the Berwin family was in a financial position that enabled them to have a home built in a beautiful neighborhood and to live in relative comfort with the help of a in home domestic worker. It is hard to say what Rose's exact duties were, but she may have done everything from cooking to laundry to child care.
By 1920, Charles was living on 3rd Avenue with Anna and was listed in the Directory as an importer of fine furs. His business was located on Powell Street. I am not sure how long the Berwins lived on Jackson Street; Charles is listed as living on Jackson Street in the 1917 Directory, but they are not there by the 1920 US Census. Charles passed away in 1929.
The Berwins lived next door to the Levy family. Moses Levy was born in California, but his parents were born in Germany. His wife's name was Rose and her parents were from Russia (Polish) as well as Germany. He was jewelry merchant. They lived with their 19 year old son Lester who worked in the clothing business. This family had two domestic workers; Hannah Landstrom who was a recent immigrant from Sweden, aged 23, and Tamaska Yaki, a 22 year old male from Japan. Both were listed as "Servants--Private Family".
Both of these families were a part of the great city's growth after the 1906 earthquake. They became a part of middle and upper middle class business owners who were taking advantage of the growing economy as well as an increasing equality of opportunity. My Great Great Grandfather would be included in this socioeconomic status.
Now..
The house looks a little different than it did 114 years ago, but you can tell it is the same house. The pillars are gone as are most of the beautiful ornamental details. The exterior is now a non descript neutral stucco. A garage was added underneath the first floor, and stairs were added to the front door as the elevation was changed.
You can really see how much the whole street elevation was changed with the addition of garages under the homes. I'm not sure what decade that occurred. The property now consists of three living units, a garage and guest quarters behind the garage. Those are interesting changes made in 114 years!
Some wonderful members of the Facebook group located and notified the owner of my post, and we have since been in touch. I have shared several pictures of Charles King and the pictures that were taken as the house was being built with her, which she was thrilled to receive. She is currently in the process of renovating the exterior of the house, and will use the original photographs to restore the wonderful details that my Great Great Grandfather used in 1907. She has even extended an invitation for our family to visit when she is done! I cannot wait! Family history coming full circle. Besides, there is a beautiful stained glass window in the dining room that may be original to the house that I would love to see in person. And, I would love to know more about the current owners.
Another member of the group who is a builder mentioned the construction that was used to build this home. It was called platform/western style framing, and was superior to the balloon framing of the Victorian homes. Balloon framing relied on framing a whole group of vertical walls, tilting them up and then fastening the floor to the studs after. This resulted in a fire hazard potential as there were spaces between ceilings and floors that were interconnected to wall cavities which could allow a fire to quickly spread directly to the roof. He made the comment that he had worked on many San Francisco homes, and he could tell this was a sturdy, well build home. He also mentioned that it was originally clad in stucco to provide a more durable envelope for the structure, as opposed to wood.
This was a fun post to write. Coming to the very large and growing city of San Francisco gave Charles King the opportunity to start fresh after his bankruptcy issues in St. Austell, Cornwall. St. Austell must have seemed tiny and quaint compared to San Francisco! He made the most of the Great Earthquake of 1906 and helped build the city into a more modern and up to date place than it was before. I can imagine that he was excited to learn new building methods and put them into use. I can't imagine what he would think of the city these days. This particular neighborhood is still relatively quiet and might just look very close to how it did in the early 20th century (minus the cars and garages....)!
He and my Great Great Grandmother Anna eventually moved to a more rural part of the Bay Area in Santa Clara where they spent many happy years on "The Ranch".
Relationship Reference: Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Margaret Elizabeth Hayes Hansen->Emma King Hayes Van Duzer->Charles and Anna King from St. Austell, Cornwall, England.
Wow! What a fantastic journey you have taken me on. This is a real success story for using social media platforms for good, genealogical good at that. I look forward to reading more once you are able to see the home in person. Thanks for sharing!
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