Views of a Trip to Cliff House....Updated!

   What a difference a week makes.....

  If you have read previous posts relating to San Francisco, you know how much I love to use social media to connect with other people interested in the history of the area.  It has helped tremendously with my genealogy research, and has even brought about exciting connections (August 15, 2021 The Jackson Street House).

   Last week I posted a picture of Emma King (my great grandmother) and her father Charles J. King taking a walk on Ocean Beach with Cliff House in the far distance. It was one of three pictures from the King Album that were taken at this location and was probably taken around 1903-1905. After posting, I thought that the above picture would be a good one to share on social media, also. 

   I shared this picture on the FaceBook group San Francisco History to the 1920's to specifically point out the detail of the  Lurline Pier in the middle ground, as I thought the history of the pipeline was interesting and that not many people would know about it.  The post received almost 600 likes and lots of interesting comments.  One member soberly commented that her great grandfather, a grocer on Sutter Street, drowned off the Olympic Pier (the other name for the Lurline Pier) after one of his regular weekly swims in 1907.  It seems he would go out for two to three hours every Friday afternoon and was considered one of the best swimmers in the area. He sadly did not make it back on that day.  Others commented that they too had family pictures taken around the same location. Others had memories of getting splinters from the pier (it was taken down in 1967) or of swimming in one of the several salt water pools the pipeline delivered water to in town.  But the biggest surprise of all was when I got a private message from Gary S.    .........

  In my last post I recommended going to the website cliffhouseproject.com for more  in-depth information on Cliff House history.  Well, as it turns out, Gary is the creator of the website!  He said he loved the photo and asked if I would  consider letting him include the photograph on his website. So, after several back and forth emails and sharing of information, the King Album with the three pictures is now a part of the website.  He was very interested in the middle picture...as he has been trying to figure out what the stand/pavilion to the left of the picture was there for.  This picture was one of the few that he had seen of an up close view.   He said that he works with about a dozen local San Francisco historians and said they love to "deep dive" into photographs like these.  They still don't know what was going on at the pavilion! 

  Here is the full link to the website and to the King Album, which is now a shared part of collective San Francisco history, thanks to social media. 

                                              http://www.cliffhouseproject.com/albums/KingAlbum/album.htm

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    And, I have more information on this picture as well.  After conversations with Mom (Margaret) and her dive into the trunk that holds some of the original glass plates that belonged to Lester F. Hayes, we determined that he did indeed take the picture.  To me it initially looked like a souvenir photograph that had been tinted as were so many postcards and pictures taken at the time. But, he had etched his name "L. Hayes" on the glass negative and then probably developed and tinted it on his own.  He was an aspiring photographer and had a studio on 22nd Street.   Either Nana or Granna added the colored pencil details later on.  That makes this picture even more special. 

  I also updated last week's post and with the help of my daughter added the YouTube video from 1903 taken on Ocean Beach. You are now one click away from being on the same beach as Emma and Charles at around the same time.  The video can also be found under "films" on the Cliff House Project website. 

   

The next big project is to get all the glass negatives scanned and reproduced. There are a few earthquake pictures that will be interesting to explore, as well as several of Nana (Emma) that I have not seen before.  Saving family history is a family effort, but well worth it! Thank you all. 

Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Margaret Elizabeth Hayes Hansen->Emma King Hayes Van Duzer->Charles and Ann King

Friday's Featured Photograph (s) The King Album......Views of A Trip To Cliff House

   This is a tinted picture of the famous Cliff House in San Francisco.  It is in the King Family Album, and is one of three pictures in the album taken of the landmark.  The pictures can be dated to some time before September 7th, 1907, as the structure burned down on that date after having survived the 1906 San Francisco Great Earthquake and Fire.  

    This picture was printed on a heavier card stock than the rest of the photographs in the album and very well could have been a souvenir photograph that was tinted.   It is 10" by 6 1/2".  If you look closely, you can see hints of yellow, blue and pink on the horizon and in the sky, done in colored pencil by someone at a later date.  Perhaps Emma, or maybe her mother Anna made the pencil additions while remembering the visit to Cliff House.  An intriguing mystery! 

The same photograph, enlarged to show the detail of the building and cliff. You can see the pencil additions to the sky. They do not detract from the photograph, but add another layer to the story. 

 

The entrance to the Cliff House.  It looks like you could perhaps purchase souvenirs at the shaded booth on the left.  

 

An enlarged view of the same photograph.  The house was a beautiful structure, built after the first Cliff House burned down in 1894.  This is Cliff House number 2, rebuilt by Adolph Sutro for the grand sum of $75,000.  It was fashioned after a French Chateau. It burned down in the span of two hours. 

  

  I have shared this picture previously, but I will share it again, as it was taken at the same time as the above picture. You can see the Lurline or Olympic Pier in the background.  The pier  was built to protect the intake pipe that provided sea water to the Lurline Baths on Bush and Larkin streets.  Members of the public could rent a bathing suit and swim in either heated or cold pools for 30 cents.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lurline_Baths).

   This must have been a lovely excursion to the seaside, with a long walk down Ocean  Beach. Perhaps it was taken on a Sunday afternoon.  The day looks bright and sunny.  My Great Grandmother, Emma King, is on the left with her father Charles J. King on the right. This picture certainly gives us a sense of place and time.  It is wonderful that we can still go back and revisit this trip to the seaside by opening the album and turning the pages. 

   I would date this excursion at around 1903-04.  Emma looks like she might be around 15-16 years of age, and Charles is wearing a bowler hat typically seen around this time. The King family had previously been living in Grass Valley, California, and had moved to San Francisco around these dates.   They were living on Golden Gate Avenue at the time of the earthquake in 1906. 

Below is a YouTube video entitled Panorama of Ocean Beach and Cliff House (1903) H. J. Miles.  If you look closely in the beginning of the video, you can see windmills in the background.  And lots of bowler hats!

 For more information on Cliff House history, please take a look at https://cliffhouse.com/history/

Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Margaret Elizabeth Hayes Hansen->Emma Lavinia King Hayes Van Duzer->Charles J. King

Friday's Featured Photo(s).......... The King Album: Views of Emma Lavinia King and a Mystery Girl Riding in a Buggy

Original photograph from the King Album.

 

    Welcome Family and Friends to 2022!  

  Today I am sharing this photograph of my Great Grandmother Emma Lavinia King Hayes Van Duzer  (b. 1888 St. Austell, Cornwall  d. 1974 Grass Valley, California).  It is from the King  Family Album.  Date and location are unknown, but the picture was probably taken either right before or after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and somewhere in the Bay Area.   Emma is on the right, an unknown girl is on her left.  This picture may have been taken by Lester Hayes, who later married Emma in 1908. 

Above photograph, enlarged and enhanced for more detail.  I would love to know why these faces are so sour! 

    I have posted this photograph before (July 11, 2021); the young woman on the left looks like the same girl from the top photograph.  She may have been a very close friend or a relative.  Her name and relationship to my Great Grandmother remain a mystery!  Their smiles are playful and beautiful in this photograph, which may have been taken a few years before the above picture.  From the King Album.

   The next three photographs are a series of pictures taken of a young woman, who I believe is the same young lady in the buggy with Emma.  They may have been taken by Lester  Franklin Hayes.  He had a photography studio at 3818 22nd Street in San Francisco after 1906.  

From the King Album.  She may be the same girl riding in the buggy with Emma. What do you think? 

Same young girl with hat. From the King Album.  I shared this picture in a previous post on July 24, 2021.  I believe my Great Grandmother made this hat.  The Edwardian blouse and skirt are stunning, and were most likely hand made also. 

The same young woman.  From the King Album.  She is a mystery. 

  I will continue to post photographs from this album in the future.   It is a treasure trove of family history! 

Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Margaret Elizabeth Hayes Hansen->Emma Lavinia King Hayes Van Duzer

52Ancestors52Weeks Week 52 Theme: Future....Looking Back, Looking Forward and Personal Challenges for the New Year

   The end of this year has me looking back and looking forward.  Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is over for 2021, and I have to say, it did get me in the habit of writing on a regular basis this year!   That was my main reason for starting the challenge.   I hope this year's stories have brought insight and surprises to my own family, as well as to others who also followed my blog during this challenge.  I learned so much from those genealogical journeys too.   

 Looking back on 2020, when I started this blog, I ended the year with 35 posts.  Granted, I did start writing on March 9th, 2020.  But, at the end of this year, I had made 70 posts in 2021!   I did not keep track of how many pictures I scanned, but I really barely made a dent in the boxes and boxes I have in my office.  There is so much left to do.....

  Looking forward  I am writing down some specific goals for this project, so that I have a roadmap for the future, and so my family knows what  I will be up to this year!  As I have so many specific goals I am choosing not to participate in the 52 Ancestors challenge for 2022.  Maybe next year...

These goals are not listed in any particular order of importance,  but here are my own personal challenges for 2022! 

1.  Publish a family book on the Hurd Family with a family tree included (family members have requested a visual tree to look at...).  I think I have researched this family enough to put the posts in book form and share.  With the exception of William Hurd...my only brick wall at this point in time.  That's a whole other project. 

2.  Finish scanning the  Burrows/Hansen family pictures and complete family trees for each family.  Pictures and documents need to be archived in boxes and binders, which I have started to do.  I have a shadow box that I want to fill with WWII items and pictures to document the contributions my Grandfather and his brothers made in the war. 

3.  Keep plugging away on the Burrows Working Tree:  I am working on transcribing family letters discovered this summer and sharing information with DNA cousins from England, Ireland, Australia and the US.  This has been one of the highlights of this last year!  We have made quite a bit of progress on discovering the Burrows in Sligo, Ireland and piecing together a working tree to connect dna matches. 

4.  Finish transcribing my grandfather's letters from his trip to Norway.  I got distracted this year!  

5.  Finish scanning pictures from John Hansen's time in South America.  I need to put his handwritten journal in an archival box.  Once this is done, I would like to republish his journal with his letters and pictures in book form.  I am close! 

6.  The King/Hayes Family!  What can I say?  I barely scratched the surface this year.  I have a Crawford family Bible that needs some attention, my Great Great Grandfather's journal from his trip up the Nile to rescue General Gordon from Khartoum, and lots more San Francisco history to research.  Plus, continued research on the Levers in Cornwall, and their connection to the Kings in Devon.  This in itself is a huge project. 

7.  Finish scanning pictures from the Hayes/Hansen families and get them out of the cardboard boxes they are currently in (yipes!). 

8.  Finish scanning pictures from the Boothby side of the family and get them into binders.  I would love to get those blog posts in book form, also, with family trees.  I'm pretty close. However, the Italian research is not even on my radar at this point.  I need Dr. Henry Louis Gates to come help me with that!  

9.  Visit some cemeteries!  I have several on my "to do" list, located in Reno, Grass Valley, Nevada City and Dutch Flat.  

10.  Search for Affa Hayman....I would like to take a road trip to Heppner, Oregon and locate her grave in the Heppner Cemetery, as well as look at records in the courthouse pertaining to her suicide.   The courthouse has been closed due to COVID, but hopefully will open back up sometime soon.  Family members have expressed interest in coming along for the ride!  Everyone needs genealogy buddies. (see my post from March 26, 2021 for the full story). 

11.  Continue research and documentation on the Bluetts in Cornwall and finish a family tree as far back as I can go with that family line.  There is so much to explore there. 

12.  Visit the house on Jackson Street in San Francisco.  (See my post from August 15, 2021 for the full story).  The current owner invited my family to see the renovations her family is completing on the house; they should be done sometime in January.  This discovery was one of my highlights from 2021! 

13.  Continue with my Boothby/Hayman research back to early New England settlement.  There is some very rich history there that needs more exploration and documentation.  There may be a connection to a Scottish Prisoner of War named Duncan Stewart that needs more research.  Not to mention Royalist leanings during the Revolutionary War....sounds intriguing!

14.  Visit Bower's Mansion (see my post from February 19, 2021 for the full story).  I'd like to find the actual family heirlooms that were donated by the Hurds.  COVID restrictions have eased, so it should be possible this summer.  

15.  Keep up with my Friday's Featured Photo posts.  There are so many pictures to share!

 16.  As always, continue to share my research, stories and pictures with family and friends.  This is why I started my blog!  

  These are some pretty lofty goals.  Some may take a day to complete, some may take weeks to complete, some may take months to complete and  some may never be completed. But I will always move forward with a deep feeling of being connected to my past that gives me such a unique place in the world. I hope I can pass that on to my family and  future family generations to come!  

*****************Happy 2022!**********************