San Mateo County Records: Estray Notices

Estray, in law, is any domestic animal found wandering at large or lost, particularly if the owner is unknown.

The Estray Act of 27 Mar 1897 provided that anyone that found any estray or domestic animal upon his property or on the roadway adjacent to his property may take the animal into possession and have a statutory lien on the animal for all the expenses incurred for its care.

The person who is holding the estray must file a notice with the Department of Agriculture within 5 days of impounding it.

An authorized inspector could take possession of the animal.  The inspector must try to find the owner and turn the animal over in exchange for the handling expenses.  If the owner did not come forward within 14 days the animal could be sold with the net proceeds (after paying the expenses) going to the Dept of Agriculture.  The owner could claim the net proceeds within a year.

Some of the Estray Notices filed in San Mateo County can be found in various drawers in the County Record Depository.  Here is an index of those found to date.

Dr	Date	Found by	Where	Description
5	1910	Barron, Andrew S	Owl Dairy - Beresford 2nd township	4 calves
5	1907	Conti Bros.	Colma	one mare, 2 yr old colt, 6 m old colt held for damages to yard
5	1909	Corey & Rease	Pebble Beach Hotel Pescadero	1 sow 2 barrow black
5	1909	Cramer, Charles	Belle Air Park San Bruno	Roan Colt
5	1902	Dotta, Louis	Ranch north of Pescadero	2 year old heifer
5	1910	Emhoff, Frank	Ranch Pescadero	dark bob tailcow
5	1905	Enos, Manuel	South San Francisco	2 wk calf
5	1898	Gillogley, Peter	San Pedro	bay mare about 8
5	1903	Greene, B S	Colma	bay mare
5	1903	Griffin, M S	Colma in potato field	3 heifers
5	1897	Hall, Asa	San Carlos	bay colt
5	1904	Marceau, F	Lake San Andreas	sorrel colt
5	1908	Picaso, Andrew	Ranch Pescadero	Bull and Heifer
5	1902	Regley, CP	Twelve Mile House	black horse about 8
5	1897	Silva C	Ranch near San Bruno on mission road	red milch cow
5	1896	Wilber A		appraisal of lost property - Bicycle
61	1918	Holberton, George	NW Side of Whipple 1 mile from RC	55284A and 55325- 43 Holstein
61	1940	SF Union Stock Yards		81441

Learn more about Estray laws:

• Animal Law in California  Michigan State University Animal Legal and Historical Center  
• Statutes and Amendments to the code 1897
• Prior to 1897 Estray Law in San Mateo County was governed by the Estray Act of Apr 27, 1868 - Section 2637 General Law of California  .

San Mateo County Cemeteries: Hills of Eternity

In Judaism death is viewed as a natural part of life. 




In 1850 the Congregation Sherith Israel established a cemetery in the area now known as Pacific Heights (Vallejo St. between Gough and Franklin) in accordance with the two basic principals that are part of the natural life cycle: k’vod ha-mayat — the dignified and respectful treatment of the dead — andk’vod he-chai — the honored treatment of the mourners.


Ten years later they dedicated a second cemetery the area that is now Dolores Park.  On 22 Jan 1867 the San Francisco Bulletin (V.XXIII I.89 P. 3) reported the incorporation of the Hills of Eternity Cemetery Association.....  

Twenty one years later, on 30 Nov 1888 the Bulletin (V.LXVII I.47 P. 3) reported the opening of a new cemetery in San Mateo County..

Click here to read entire article

Hills of Eternity Memorial Park (Giboth Olam ) consists of twenty acres of  the foot of the San Bruno Mountains.  Endowed care helps keep the landscaping throughout the cemetery.  In addition to in ground burials, the Portals of Eternity Mausoleum, which was designed in neo-Byzantine style by Samuel Hyman and Abraham Appleton in the early 1930s, and the Gardens of Eternity Mausoleums offer above ground burial and niches for cremains. 


Hills of Eternity has designated sections for several Bay Area synagogues including: Congregation Beth Am, Congregation Beth Jacob, Congregation Kol Emeth, Congregation Or Shalom, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, and Peninsula Sinai Congregation.

Three of the four Jewish Cemeteries in Colma, Home of Peace, Hills of Eternity, and Salem Memorial Park, share staff and record-keeping.  Contact the office for help in locating burials within the cemetery.

Hills of Eternity Memorial Park

1301 El Camino Real
Colma CA 94014
(650) 755-4700

Hours   8:30 to 4:00, Sunday through Friday.

For more information:

Congregation Sherith Israel
FindAGrave 13032 Burials listed 80% photographed
Cemetery Travel: Week #116
Roni & Jerry's Genealogy - Portals of Eternity shows a map for the mausoleum as well as some pictures inside and out.
American Jewish Archives - Congregation Sherith Israel - San Francisco 1866-1900
International Jewish Cemeteries Project

San Mateo County Places - Brisbane

Brisbane, CA - Sharon Hart Darlin  - Some rights reserved

 Nestled between San Bruno Mountain and the San Francisco Bay,  at the southeast corner of the Guadalupe Valley,  Brisbane consists of 3.1 square miles of land and 17 square miles of water, the Brisbane Lagoon.  A portion of the Rancho Cañada de Guadalupe la Visitación y Rodeo Viejo which also included San Bruno Mountain, the Visitacion Valley district of San Francisco and Bayview district in Daly City, Brisbane was originally platted in 1908 with the name of Visitation City.

Seven Mile House - turn of century
Built in 1853 - Sports Bar and Grill today

The hope was to draw those who had been displaced by the earthquake to the area which was easily accessible by the Southern Pacific Railway line that ran just east of the site.  Originally the railroad planned extensive terminal facilities just north of town, with plans to employ over 1000 workers.  The panic of 1907 delayed those plans and the relatively high cost of the platted lots contributed to the very slow growth of the area.

In the 1920s Arthur Annis, stating that the name Visitacion City a handicap as it lay too close to the San Francisco district of the same name, proposed the name Brisbane instead. Conflicting stories state the name came from the port city of Brisbane, Queensland (Annis' daughter's version) or from newspaper columnist Arthur Brisbane who had a home in the area.

The railroad yard was finally built during World War I but it wasn't until 1929 that the area began to grow.  Annis sold lots during the depression by offering payments as low as $16 a month. By 1933 there were more than 400 homes.  Soon the area had a Fire Department, a resident physician, churches and numerous civic and social organizations.

Brisbane was incorporated in 1961.  In 2010 the population of the thriving community was 4282.

Brisbane is known as the City of Stars because of a holiday tradition established over half a century ago. At the start of the Christmas/Hanukkah season, many residents and business owners place large (3'-8') illuminated stars, on the downhill sides of homes and offices throughout the city. The Chamber of Commerce has been active in enabling the stars to be given out free of charge to both businesses and residents since it's inception in 1944.

For More Information see:

• City of Brisbane
• Brisbane - Wikipedia
• A Brief History of Brisbane. California
• Spread of City along Peninsula - SF Call
• Brisbane Chamber of Commerce
• Brisbane Municipal Code
• Brisbane - City Data
• Images of America - Brisbane - Arcadia Publishing
• 1938 Map showing Visitacion City
• Why Brisbane?
• Same, Same but Different: Brisbane CA
• Born of Fire: In Praise of Brisbane Volunteers, Brisbane Fire Dept. Commemorative Committee 1992  (oral history available in SMC Library - Brisbane)
• A Spirit of Independence: A History of Brisbane before Incorporation", Oral History Associated, SF 1986
• Brisbane, City of Stars: The First Twenty-Five Years 1961-1986 The Associated, Sausalito 1989 (oral history available in SMC Library - Brisbane)