Following the Footsteps of My Great Grandparents, 1906-1916

I visited San Francisco last week and took a couple of hours to seek out the homes of my great grandparents George and Fredrikka (Herstad) Allen. They were married shortly after the Great Earthquake of 1906, which took place in the early morning hours of April 18. Since George had just arrived at port on the S.S. Sierra a month earlier, I don't know how long they knew each other. He was a crew member and had been in San Francisco off and on since 1903, so it is possible that they had met before, but they were, apparently, not contemplating marriage. George always said that the earthquake "shook them together."  Fredrikka was already 35 years old and well on her way to being a spinster when they married on June 28, 1906.  I guess I have that devastating earthquake to thank for my existence!

George and "Dikka" Allen, wedding photo June 28, 1906

Their 1906 marriage license lists both of their residences as 595 Fell Street, so I started there.

I don't know if they were living together in this apartment building after the quake or if they listed this address because they intended to live together there after their marriage. I have been told that during the quake, George was sleeping in his bed and a very large picture fell off the wall just barely missing hitting him. He then got his things together and immediately went to Dikka's home to check on her. This is, most likely, that place and it, apparently, survived the quake.

For their next addresses, I scoured the San Francisco City Directories from 1906-1919. In 1907 and 1908, George (and, presumably, Fredrikka) are listed at 114 Divisadero Street.

Now, this address is an apartment tucked under the stairs. In 1907, it might have been a larger part of the house or, possibly, all of it.

My grandmother's sister Flora was probably born in this home in February 1908.

The city directories for 1909-1911 as well as the 1910 Federal Census show the growing family living at 230 Valley Street. That means that my grandmother Wanda was born in this home in December 1909.

The house next door has a plaque on it stating that it was built in 1884. The owner told me that this house was subdivided at some point, but has been restored back to its original condition in recent years. This information tells me that the Allens inhabited this entire home. Isn't it homey? When they walked out their front door, they encountered quite a site.

Saint Paul's Catholic Church, located on the corner of Church and Valley Streets, was first the site of a mission in 1876 and construction started on this tremendous building in 1897. Their site says it wasn't officially dedicated until 1911 when the Allens were living there. Funny, since they weren't religious at all. I wonder what they thought of it.

In 1912 and 1913, the Allens do not appear in the SF city directories at all. I know that George was transferred to Salt Lake City at some point in his career to oversee some stores that weren't doing well, so that may be when they moved. If so, that solves the question of when this photo was taken of George. However, that means that he would have been about 32 in it and he looks a bit older than that to me.

Taken in Salt Lake City, UT, c.1912?

In 1914 and through 1915, the Allens reappeared in San Francisco at this beautiful home at 635 Castro Street. It was strange, when I was walking down the street, oblivious to the addresses, I immediately knew that this was their house.

George was, obviously, doing well at his job with the United Cigar Stores and, as a result, "moving up in the world".

You can probably see from the photos that there are multiple doors on this residence. Undoubtedly, it has been subdivided in more recent years. The Allens, most likely, inhabited the whole house. I would need to check the historic property records to confirm this.

Judging from this detail work, someone has lovingly restored this historic home. It is impossible to know if it looked like this in 1914 when the Allens lived here, but I sure hope so!

This photo may have been taken there.

In 1916, the Allens again disappear from the San Francisco city directories. Luckily, I have George's World War 1 draft record, which lists the Allens residence as 663 Fairview Street, Oakland on September 12, 1918. (I didn't have a chance to visit that residence on this trip, but will likely do so next time I am in the Bay Area.) His draft card also confirmed that by 1918, he was the District Sales Manager for his company. In the early city directories and 1910 Federal Census he was listed as simply a clerk. I also notice that he listed the address of his work as 555 Howard Street, San Francisco (another one to add to my list for next time), so he must have been traveling from Oakland to San Francisco daily. Although I know that he loved to walk long distances, that would be too far even for him, so perhaps he had a gotten a car by then.

By the 1920 Federal Census, the young family had moved to Seattle, Washington, leaving the beautiful city by the bay behind.

I've often visited San Francisco, even working there for weeks at a time on a couple of occasions. I have always loved the city, but hadn't really considered my personal connection to it. It was fun this trip to have an excuse to explore the residential neighborhoods, discovering historic buildings and comfy cafes that we wouldn't have thought to seek out if not for following the footsteps of George and Fredrikka. Visiting the homes of my great grandparents made me feel more connected to this historic city than I ever had before and made me realize, one more time, how so many events, places and people make up the road to our existence.

Sepia Saturday - My Norway Connection: The Herstad Family



The Herstad Family of Trondheim, Norway c. 1885

My father was 25% Norwegian through his mother's mother, Fredrikka Herstad Allen (1871-1953). She was the daughter of Peter Martin and Sofie (Einersen Vibe) Herstad. Pictured above is her family in Stjordalen, Norway. Fredrikka is seated on our far right. Next to her (moving to our left) is her sister Petra, her mother Sofie, her sister Ann, her father Peter and then two unknown people who may be Fredrikka's brother Axel and maternal grandmother Henricha Myhre.
This was a well-to-do family who owned and operated a store in Trondheim, Norway. Family records claim that Peter's father was a standard bearer for the king and his mother was a Danish baroness. I have not been able to substantiate these claims and strongly question their authenticity. However, I am not very experienced with the Norwegian records, so I am sure there is a lot more research to be done before I discover all that I can about the Herstads.
I have pored over the details in this photo in an attempt to get to know this family better. Notice the incredible pipe in Peter's hand and please don't overlook the cute potted plants on the window sill. Their clothes are just exquisite and the vines covering the house are really beautiful. The biggest mystery is the two people on our far left. This certainly appears to be a family photo, so I would think that they are both family members. From the arrangement, one would think that the elderly woman seated next to Peter is his mother, however from researching the Norwegian records, I have found that Peter's mother died when he was only 4 years old. Sofie's mother Henricha Myhre could be the woman pictured. She was only 16 at Sofie's (illegitimate) birth in 1838, so she would be about 63 in this photo. Another possibility is that she is Peter's stepmother Serine (Skott) Herstad who raised him after his mother died, but she would be about 83 in this photo. The person standing behond her is a real enigma to me. Is it a woman or a man? What is he/she wearing? Is it a dress or some kind of uniform? The hair parted in the middle leads me to believe it is a woman, but there are no other women in this family that are not already pictured and the person looks more like a young man to me. Axel was born in 1868, two years before my great grandmother. That would make him about 17 in this photo. Since I learned from an article in the New York Herald that he went to sea when he was 16, this photo might have been taken before he left in 1884. Comparing this person to the drawing of Axel in the preceding link leads me to believe that they are one in the same. What do you think? I welcome any input on this photo.

You can visit other interesting Sepia Saturday posts here.

Surname Saturday: Where to start? "A" for Allen

Since I just started this new genealogy blog, but not my genealogical research - it is difficult to know with which surname to start! There are so many that I have invested inordinate amounts of time investigating, making them very close to my heart. It is tough to choose just one!

I think I will start at the beginning - Allen. On this line, I am very fortunate to have been preceded by two excellent genealogists, my dad's cousins Louise Casey Ware (1938-1995) and Charlotte Casey (1942-1996). They both passed away too young, but left behind a plethora of notes. Louise's sons tell me that the sisters were "obsessed" with genealogy. Hmmmm...? Somehow, that sounds a little bit familiar...

On to the Allens:

George Henry Allen (1880-1965)

My great grandfather George Henry Allen was born in Gypsy Village, Melbourne, Australia on April 28, 1880, to English parents. His mother died when he was only eight years old. Reportedly, his father George Allen (1851-1913) marched him down to the docks when he was about fifteen because he was fighting with his step-mother (who was also his first cousin).  For the next ten years, he sailed the world, until finally settling in San Francisco after meeting and marrying my great grandmother Fredrikka Herstad (1871-1953) in 1906.

George and Fredrikka (Herstad) Allen

George's father arrived in Australia on Feb 16, 1873 on the "John Rennie" with his brother Charles. The rest of the family soon followed on the "Atrato". They were from the village of Stinchcombe, near Cheltenham, England and the family had lived in the Gloucestershire area for generations before setting sail for Australia. There are two family stories in regard to this departure. One is that Queen Victoria (for whom one of the Allens served as green grocer) had given the family land in Australia and the other is that there was some sort of disagreement over an inheritance, causing ill feelings and precipitating the move. I think the second is the more likely of the two, but I have yet to see any documentation of either. Possibly, I will find that there is a bit of truth in both. Thus far, I have only done limited research in England and Australia. Hopefully, it will prove to be very interesting once I dig into this, seemingly, colorful family.

Home of the Allens, built 1750 -Stinchcombe, England

I do know that George Henry's great grandfather was Isaac Allen (b. 20 January 1788), a butcher from Gloucestershire. According to Louise's notes, his parents were Henry and Mary (Gillins) Allen, b.c.1760. That is probably as far as I can get on this line until I finally give in and sign up for Ancestry World Edition. Just writing this post has reminded me how much more research there is to do!

Garden view of Allen residence in Stinchcombe

I received a package a couple of weeks ago from Louise's son with a lot of great surprises. I will write about that soon.