Born to James W and M. Ellen Smith in July 1845 was daughter Elizabeth Jones Smith, referred to as “Lizzie”. San Francisco articles would cite “Elizabeth J or Lizzie J or sometimes P”..with her differing last names. Some have suggested Lizzie was the daughter of John J Pleasant. We cannot definitively know but the Vital Statistics book in the Charlestown Public Library names James, carpenter, and M. Ellen as the parents. Mary emigrated to California circa 1851-52 and left Lizzie (and her half-sister Emma) behind with a Mrs Martha Steele of Boston for schooling. It is likely that starting a new life, in the reputed rough and tumble of 1850s San Francisco, posed a challenge and was not ideal for raising two young daughters.
Between 1856-1861, John J and Mary Ellen Pleasant acquire land on Washington Street from Raspberry B Phillips. After renovations in 1869 they open their most prestigious Boarding House at that location.
Per research done by the Sunnyside History Project, Lizzie came to California in 1861 and until 1864 is listed as Smith, Lizzie Miss, vocalist, Maguire’s Opera House. At one point, she is listed as living at 59 Stevenson Street, the same address as Mrs. Ellen Smith in 1862. [Side note: Miss Teresa Percy would list 123 Stevenson as her address in 1867.] Lizzie would marry R B Phillips in San Francisco on April 14, 1864.
Mr. Phillips, originally from New York, was a barber with land holdings in San Francisco and Napa counties.. There are several listings for an Elizabeth Phillips in San Francisco City directories. However she is listed as a “widow” which is curious but per an article link below, she stated she never lived with R.B. Phillips. In January 1868, RB was granted a divorce from Lizzie due to “willful desertion”. RB died of gastritis on June 6, 1868. MEP appears to have made his funeral arrangements. The handling of his land and rental payments appears to have caused friction between Mary and Lizzie. Regardless of the divorce, which she fails to mention, Lizzie believed the income from his land was her due. See newspaper article links below.
At some point Lizzie remarried William B Peck who is listed as a chiropodist/foot doctor and saloon owner in the City Directories. Lizzie died in 1878 at the age of 33. According to William Willmore, she reportedly had several miscarriages or saw the death of her young babies with Mr. Peck.
The conflict between Lizzie and Mary Ellen appear to date back to before Lizzie’s arrival in San Francisco. It culminated in Lizzie fraudulently appearing as her mother to collect rental payments for which she was prosecuted. In the heat of the incident Mary denied Lizzie but in the end dropped the forgery charge. Lizzie appears to have been an alcoholic twice incarcerated, first in 1869 for 30 days and again in 1875 for 50 days. Listed below are links to several articles about Lizzie’s difficult life in San Francisco.
Lizzie J Phillips Deeds Land to Pleasants
Background Mordaunt Arson Case 1868
Mordaunt Case Continued August 1868
Mordaunt Arson Trial Testimony Oct 1868
Collected Money & Forgery of MEP Feb 26 1875
Forgery Testimony in Court, SF Chronicle Feb 27 1875
Lizzie’s Odd Life Story, SF Call February 28 1875
Lizzie Peck Charged with Petty Theft May 1875
Elizabeth Peck found Innocent June 1875
Lizzie was buried in San Francisco’s Lone Mountain/Laurel Hill Cemetery. In 1901, with the closure of the cemetery, her remains were moved to Colma, CA. A memorial site can be found here: Link and a Find a Grave link
Lone Mountain/Laurel Hill Cemetery San Francisco (1) Left-Wide view and (2) Right-Original location of Lizzie and John J’s gravesites.
Special thanks to Beth Winegarner, author of San Francisco’s Forgotten Cemeteries: A Buried History for helping to find Lizzie and John J’s final resting spots.
Funeral Director’s Book showing MEP making arrangements for an Elizabeth Clark Logan and two weeks later, William Peck making arrangements for MEP’s daughter, Lizzie.
