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William Henry McManus: four clippings and a disputed death date
Newspaper notices name Ella and Ethel McManus and point to an Oakland funeral, while dates and ages conflict with the family tree.
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Four supplied newspaper clippings add details to the life and family of William Henry McManus, a member of the Drumshanbo McManus family. They also challenge dates currently reported by the family tree.
A short illness in San Francisco
The obituary places William at 717 Folsom Street, where it says he died on a Sunday night following two days of pneumonia. It describes him as a former saloon proprietor near the old City Hall, familiar around the Hall of Justice. A wife and one child survived him, along with brother James McManus, described as an undertaker in Oakland.
Read the obituary source review.
Ella, Ethel and an Oakland funeral
The fuller funeral notice names Ella McManus as William’s wife and Ethel McManus as his daughter. It also names his brother James and a sister, Mrs. William Philips. These are useful leads for marriage, census and burial research; the notice does not identify Ella’s birth surname or the sister’s given name.
The funeral was announced from his brother’s residence at Seventh and Castro streets, Oakland, followed by Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception and interment at St. Mary’s Cemetery. The cemetery register is still needed to confirm burial and locate the grave.
Read the funeral-notice source review.
Which dates belong in the family record?
| Evidence | Death information | Age or birth information |
|---|---|---|
| Supplied tree and GEDCOM | 23 January 1901 | Born 1 August 1843, Murhaun/Drumshanbo |
| The Evening Bee, 22 January 1901 | Sunday night, implying 20 January 1901 | About 40 |
| Death notice | January 20; year contextual | 45; native of Ireland |
| Funeral notice | 20 January 1901 | 46; native of Drumshanbo, County Leitrim |
| Deaths list | No date in the entry | 45 |
The funeral notice supports 20 January 1901 as a reported death date. The user-identified 23 January 1901 issue of The San Francisco Call announces the funeral for that Wednesday. This could explain the tree’s 23 January death date, but how that date entered the tree remains unconfirmed; the civil death record is still needed.
A birth in August 1843 would make William 57 in January 1901. That conflicts with all three newspaper age statements. Age 45 suggests approximately 1855–1856, age 46 approximately 1854–1855, and “about 40” roughly 1860–1861. None establishes a precise birth date. The profile preserves the tree claim alongside the newspaper evidence.
The GEDCOM address is 719 Folsom; the obituary prints 717. That discrepancy also remains open.
Two brothers, two nicknames
The obituary appears to confuse the brothers’ nicknames, describing “Gossoon” as the “King of the Potrero.” Existing research identifies Cornelius (Con) as the Gossoon and Frank as the King of the Potrero. The wording is retained in the source image, without treating it as evidence that they were one person.
Clippings and next research
- Pneumonia obituary.
- Death notice, age 45.
- Funeral notice and cemetery lead, age 46.
- Deaths-list entry, age 45.
Obtain the civil death record, verify the supplied issue citations against the full newspaper pages, request St. Mary’s burial records, and look for Ella and Ethel in household and marriage records. Determine Mrs. William Philips’s identity before connecting her to a named sister.
The supplied Ancestry profile is the tree reference. Kevin also supplied newspaper page 46464145 and a San Francisco Chronicle citation dated 22 January 1901. Kevin confirmed that the death-notice column and deaths-list image both come from the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, California, Tuesday, 22 January 1901, page 1237469304. These two clippings are from the same page, not independent newspaper sources. Kevin also identified the funeral notice as The San Francisco Call, Wednesday, 23 January 1901, page 46464625. Kevin identified the pneumonia obituary as The Evening Bee, Sacramento, Tuesday, 22 January 1901, page 623800881, catalogued by Newspapers.com under The Sacramento Bee. Its “Sunday night” and “tomorrow” correspond to 20 and 23 January respectively. All four clippings now have user-supplied issue identifications.