The Ritchardson Family of San Francisco

Franzy and Mabel Ritchardson in front of their home at 2970 Pine Street, San Francisco, California June 1930

My maternal Great Grandparents were Franzy (b.1889 in Denison, TX) and Mabel Ritchardson, and they lived in the Western Addition of San Francisco, California. Franzy was the first African American Postmaster General in San Francisco, and Mabel was a contralto singer who performed around the city, singing everything from Bach and Brahms to negro spirituals. Franzy was an active member of the community, volunteering at Booker T. Washington Community Center, and both were active members of their church (First A.M.E. Zion Church on Geary Street).

Oral History Project

During his life, Franzy participated in an oral history project through the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library and the San Francisco African American Historical and Cultural Society called Afro-Americans in San Francisco Prior to World War II . His account of his life is extensive and fascinating (he had a great memory!) Here's a link to the document:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EqkOe_X9kvwJVFCCzhmoqNUTpele7NITbdRIEgjBOtc/pub

Mabel and Franzy at the beach, ca. 1930s

The Pinkney Connection

"I came [to California] in 1917 and I married Mabel Pinkney in 1919...by the way, Pinkney is--the Halls and the Pinkneys and the Osmonds are quite a group in California history because they were Bakersfield people. They homesteaded land in the mountains around Bakersfield and they hod horses and cattle up there...later they abandoned it, just gave it up because there was no profit and nobody wanted to go up there and live, since it was in the mountains....They had a home in Bakersfield too, which was designated a landmark. They moved the house intact from its original site to its present site in Bakersfield." -Franzy Lea Ritchardson

The historical landmark home Franzy speaks of is the Pinkney House, part of the Kern County Museum, was the home of William and Amanda Pinkney (maiden name Boydston), the two married in 1898:  http://www.kcmuseum.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=gal_item_detail&item_id=48

The Pinkney Connection, Santa Cruz Edition

Franzy was my Great Grandmother's second husband,  her first was Elias Pinkney, who left South Carolina for California at age 18 with the A.M.E. church. In 1902 he married Mabel Davis, and they had five children. They lived in Kern County outside Bakersfield, then moved to San Jose in 1904, where Mabel's family was from. Their eldest son was Lorraine Davis Pinkney, b. December 2, 1903. He was named after his maternal grandfather. In 1909 they relocated to Santa Cruz, where Elias found work as a barber shop porter and Mabel took in laundry. In October 1909 Lorraine passed away after a bout with pneumonia, and the family returned to San Jose a year later. Lorraine Davis Pinkney is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Santa Cruz, CA.
    Many thanks to Phil Reader for this great research, here's a link to his full historical account: http://researchforum.santacruzmah.org/viewtopic.php?p=548&sid=e2bdd5d34fe37a3a6e9a09364272c54c

A fun sidenote: Family folklore has it that my Great Grandpa Franzy was considered quite a "catch" back in those days in San Francisco. Many were surprised (and quite a few ladies were angry) that such an eligible bachelor would choose to marry a widow with children. Going back through photos and reviews of her captivating performances (which will be the subject of another post) anyone could tell there was something very special about Mabel!

Franzy and Mabel had one child together, my grandmother, named Franzy Lea Ritchardson just like her dad. She was very active in the Bay Area's creative and social scene, and she will be the subject of another post.