French Hospital

While indexing the Mortuary Files of Valente, Marini, Perata & Co, we noted many deaths in French Hospital.  It appeared that some of the burials were arranged and paid for by the hospital.  A little research shows that it was the earliest private hospital in California and in fact an HMO from it's inception, the first in the United States.  Established in 1851 by the newly formed French Benevolent Society, it first opened it's doors on 30 Dec of that year.  In 1858 it was moved to Bryant Street near the Mission Bay shoreline.

French Hospital [graphic] / Geary Street, Between 5th and 6th Avenues,
Close to Golden Gate Park / San Francisco, California 1913
California History Section Picture Catalog - California State Library
Calisphere

In 1895 a state of the art hospital was built on Point Lobos Ave.  The street was later renamed Geary Blvd and the hospital is located on the corner of 6th Ave.  In the 1960s the original hospital was seismically upgraded, resulting in the original brick facade being replaced by reinforced concrete.  Ascetically not as pleasing, but definitely a better choice for an earthquake prone area.

 In 1989 French Hospital was purchased by Kaiser.  It is now known as Kaiser French Campus.   .

Dr. Claudine Chalmers of the French Mutual Benefit Society is writing a book about French Hospital. The society has a website in development, and you can be notified when it is functional by signing up at http://www.frenchhospitalsf.org/  Dr. Chalmers has written other books on the French in San Francisco you can find more information on her website.

Learn more of the history of French Hospital and the French in San Francisco

• Hiding in Plain Sight - The French of San Francisco
• Blog - The French of San Francisco 
• Paris of the Pacific: Celebrating San Francisco’s Founding French Community
• French Mutual Benevolent Society Collection - California Historical Society - This collection is contained in over 137 boxes.
• History of the French Foundation for Medical Research and Education (FFMRE)
• French Hospital and Family Photograph Album, [1908-1918]
• Various annual reports of the society can be found on Google Books

Looking Across The County Line

Barry E. Hinman

As genealogists we know the importance of familiarizing ourselves with the geography of the area we are interested in. Where is that county in the state? What are the neighboring counties? Where exactly is our town of interest situated and is it near a county line?

We also know that we need to have at least a general knowledge of the history of the area, so that, for example, we know when records of various types begin.

All of this information we can gather from The Handy Book for Genealogists or usgenweb. But what we usually can’t find in such sources as those is the institutional history of the area, which can have a great impact on our ancestors’ daily lives and the decisions they made.

To apply this specifically to San Mateo County and Redwood City, here are two examples. Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City opened its doors for the first time on 25 Oct 1950. Prior to that time, there was in the county only Mills Hospital in Burlingame. Seven miles south, however, just across the creek dividing San Mateo County from Santa Clara County to the south, was Palo Alto General Hospital. Obviously it was much closer to Redwood City than Mills, and it was there that large numbers of Redwood City families went when they had occasion. For that reason, the births of many children who lived in Redwood City are not found in San Mateo County records but in Santa Clara County records.

The old Palo Alto General Hospital building still exists on the Stanford campus, easily visible from El Camino Real, lying just to the south of the front parking lot of the Stanford Shopping Center. Today it is called the Hoover Pavilion located at 211 Quarry Road.

Hoover Pavilion - Hoover Medical Campus

As with birth, so with death. Many Redwood City residents will have died not in San Mateo County but in Santa Clara County prior to 1950. To this day many will be buried in that county as well. Union Cemetery in Redwood City was closed to most burials except those of paupers in 1918, and Holy Cross Cemetery in Menlo Park was for Catholics only. Once again, for those living in southern San Mateo County, the nearest institution was south, across the county line, in Santa Clara County—Alta Mesa Memorial Park at 695 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto. It was much closer than the cemeteries of Colma, and, of course, the climate was much better.

So if you have not found births or deaths or burials of residents of Redwood City or southern San Mateo County look south across the county line.

Santa Clara County Birth Certificates
Santa Clara County Death Certificates

California State Birth Index 1905-1995
California State Death Index  1905-1939 1940-1997

SMCGS Databases Online : Sole Traders

The debut of San Mateo County Genealogical Society's new website brings with it the opportunity to tout some of our great SMCGS offerings.  Over the next few months we will highlight some of the great indexes we have created over the years, starting with our newest.  

Barry Goyette has put together an index of the Register of Separate Property of Married Women and Sole Traders 1856-1913.  While I could tell you about the wonders of California's Sole Traders law, why redo what Judy G. Russell, The Legal Genealogist, does much better.  In two posts published the week of her recent seminar at SMCGS she explained the law and gave examples of what the records might tell you.

Reprise: California’s sole traders - Judy G. Russell, The Legal Genealogist October 30, 2014  

Reprise: Separate property, separate debts - Judy G. Russell, The Legal Genealogist  October 31, 2014

You can the index here:

Index to San Mateo County Sole Traders Register - Barry Goyette 2014

And I am very happy to tell you that you do not need to order these records from the county!!!!  They are available on FamilySearch.  Be sure to start with a page number from the index to search through these browseable records.

 Separate property of married women and sole traders vol 1 1856-1913