In conducting research, I came across the Stutler database, part of the West Virginia Memory Project. Mr. Stutler (1889-1970) was a recognized John Brown authority and created one of the most important John Brown Collections. Stutler took great pride in owning an item Mary had gifted to California Governor Newton Booth at the time of his election from her boarding house in 1871.
The John Brown/Boyd B Stutler Collection database contains many letters referencing Mary. In this link, is 1967 Correspondence to Mr. Stutler from E. N. Cotter. Mr Cotter, another John Brown scholar, states that Mary’s grave-site was lost for a time, then a wooden marker erected. This is not new information, however, he asserts “in 1965, when the Mammy Pleasant’s home in San Francisco was wrecked, the marble slab over the doorway was carved as a memorial marker. The stone was set with appropriates ceremonies on February 12, 1965.” While the erecting of the marker in 1965 with the wording “She Was a Friend to John Brown” is not new, the potential origin of the slab was not noted in the stories I ran across. The Napa Valley Register Feb 13 1965. 2nd Story from Napa Valley Register
A 1967 letter in the Helen Holderidge collection at the San Francisco Public Library dated April 23, 1967 from Mrs Elena Albert of the Negro Historical Society, seems to confirm the above story. Mrs. Albert thanks Mrs Holderidge in obtaining the marble slab from 1661Octavia Street.
