A War on the Potrero — Examiner report and pistol illustration, 1892

The Examiner, San Francisco, California, Tuesday, 23 February 1892. “A War on the Potrero.” Page number and direct newspaper-page link remain to be established.

The report describes a fire at the Monterey House and subsequent fighting involving the McManus and Welch factions. It contains conflicting accounts of the encounter. The pistol caption attributes the weapon to King McManus; the article records his denial of ownership.

Identity and evidence questions

The text names William McManus and uses “the Gossoon” for a brother. Existing family research associates that nickname with Cornelius. Do not resolve the discrepancy from the nickname alone.
William Phillips is described as Frank’s brother-in-law; his wife is not identified here.
Locations include the Monterey House at 909 Illinois Street, Phillips’s adjoining grocery, and the Union Hotel on Michigan Street. Compare contemporary directories.
Check police and court records before treating accusations, arrests or reported injuries as fully established biographical facts.

King McManus’s pistol, as attributed by the newspaper caption; ownership disputed in the report. Open full-size clipping

Full supplied crop. The adjacent Orphanage Dedication material is a separate article. Open full-size clipping

Provenance

User-supplied files: Frank_McManus_San_Francisco_California_Tuesday_February_23_1892_Gun.jpg and War_in_the_potrero_1892.jpg. The isolated gun illustration is part of the same newspaper report, not a second source.

Read the story and Frank McManus’s profile.