To lay just a little ground work......... My husband's grandmother: Elizabeth WARREN HUMPHREY was born in 1876 Manchester, England.  Uncle brought her to SF when she was 16 to be Mistress of his home and he 3 live-in maids... She was sent to Finishing School and to Manners From Madam School.  She was married to CF Humphrey in 1899.  The home and maids came as a wedding gift from her Uncle.  The wedding was well written about in the SF newspaper.  She lived to be 94 years old. In a letter to her son many many years later, she recalls a story about the "Chippies". "Last night I was trying to think back to make clear to myself what made me act so idiotically in Maxine’s but to do that one has to transport oneself to one’s state of mind at that time.             In S.F. the regular promenade after the theatre was from Powell down Market to Maskey’s on the right side of the street – South was the slum side of cheap shops and cheap people.  No one ever went there except for parades perhaps.  When we passed Dupont St. we craned our necks hoping to see the painted women beckoning to the men from brightly lit windows.  It will be hard to believe now when everyone (but lazy me) uses make-up that that was their sign.  There was never any reason for going on Dupont St. because it was nothing but a center of vice – no shops.  There was a great to-do when the district was cleared and the women scattered all over the town instead of being confined to the one locality, But Grant Ave now is far removed from Dupont St. as our minds were then from Shreve’s on it now.  This night in Paris was mild, the lights brilliant, and instead of taking a carriage as everybody did in those days we walked down the Boulevard de C’Opera.  Then these three women walked behind us making remarks about us and finally one of them came up and took my husbands arm.  He shook her off but they kept on following us until we turned into Maxine’s.  My head was full of Zola, Victor Hugo, Balzac with their pitiful stories of how women landed in that sort of life but it was my first experience of being in actual contact with a ‘chippie.’  We entered this brilliantly-lighted room with a long, long, bar filled with elegantly-dressed women – all with very elaborate hats, all staring at me.  I suppose I had on the usual bit of gauze on my hair but no hat.  These three women had no hats (a sign of their profession at midnight on the streets) and as near as I can think what made me drag my hand out of your father’s arm, pick up my train and run out of the place was the fear of being taken for one of them.  It makes me laugh now to think of what those staring women and their escorts must have thought about the scene – and my poor husband!!!" Thought you might get a laugh out of this Jim.  Beth Out of the Attic .. www.Beth-website.net Friends don't let friends get a DOG ! Cats Rule ............ Dogs Drool ! -----Original Message----- From: James R. Smith <jim@historysmith.com> To: Doug Urbanus <firstboy@pacbell.net> Cc: Quenci Scott <quenci@sbcglobal.net>; casanfra@rootsweb.com Sent: Wed, 7 May 2008 10:15 am Subject: Re: [CASANFRA] San Francisco, Ca. 1848-1854 I can't vouch for this but... I saw a fascinating special on the San Francisco PBS station this past eek. It was called "Madams of the Barbary Coast," and told the story of he prostitutes of San Francisco and the bawdy houses that flourished uring the Gold Rush era. I remember as a young child going through the area of town still called, n the 1940s "The Barbary Coast." You'd be hard pressed to find it now, s it is filled with designer warehouses and places to buy expensive tuff for your fabulous apartment. But when I was a kid it had some of he more seedy of the area nightclubs. Up on Broadway St. there were the lubs that had not yet gone totally topless and were, in themselves, isque, but a couple of blocks away whatever dubious quality existed on roadway disappeared. What I found funny in watching the special was learning that the names f some of the streets I know so well came from the prostitutes who orked the city in the late 1800s. Maiden Lane, for example, is now the ome of exclusive boutique shops, but was named for the "girls" of San rancisco. I was amused to learn that Clementina St., on which was ocated the sister convent school to my high school, was named for one f San Francisco's prostitutes, as were Harriet St. and Clara St. and robably several others. http://airypersiflage.blogspot.com/2008/03/on-naming-of-things.html Cheers, im - James R. Smith Author: San Francisco's Lost Landmarks ISBN: 1884995446 www.HistorySmith.com <http://www.historysmith.com/> oug Urbanus wrote: >This book may give you the information you need about Harriet St. You can find t at the SF Main Library in the History Room. Nob Hill Street and Alley Names" by Michael D. Lampen, Archivist Grace athedral, San Francisco, 1998. 979.461 L196n Quenci Scott <quenci@sbcglobal.net> wrote: I have just discovered a deed of sale from my g-g grandfather Col. Devereaux J. Woodlief to a Mr. Simons in 1849 in San Fran. The location was Bryant St. approx. near 4th St. Was that area a residential community at that time or commercial? Can anyone tell me anything regarding Bryant St. I did notice on the city map right in the area of Bryant and 4th, that there were several streets with Ladies names. Does anyone know when those streets were named.? I am interested in the Street named Harriet. Thanks for any information Regards, L.Scott 300 Jacaranda Dr. Danville,Ca. ************************** Visit SFGenealogy.com! http://www.sfgenealogy.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CASANFRA-request@rootsweb.com ith the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of he message ************************** Visit SFGenealogy.com! http://www.sfgenealogy.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CASANFRA-request@rootsweb.com ith the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of he message http://www.historysmith.com/> ************************** isit SFGenealogy.com! ttp://www.sfgenealogy.com ------------------------------ o unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CASANFRA-request@rootsweb.com ith the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of he message