Mary Ellen Pleasant Papers

I stared at the plaque and the four blue gum trees, all that is left of the House of Mystery at 1661 Octavia Street. I heard an icy cold whisper. "Resurrect Me" she said. In stolen moments, I dig through the mislabeled miscellany of a life scattered. At the height of her success in San Francisco in the 1870’s, Mary Ellen Pleasant was worth over $30 million in 1875 dollars. According to her autobiography (Part One - Part Two was never published) she was born on August 19th, 1814 in Philadelphia. Her father was Louis Alexander Williams, a native Kanaka and Mary Ellen, a full blooded African from Louisiana. In 1835, she married a Cuban tobacco grower, James W. Smith, in Boston. He died in 1844 at their plantation in Charles Town, Virginia. A few years later, she married JJ Plaissance, the grandson of Henri Christophe, black emperor of Haiti, and they had a girl, Lizzie. They spent time in New Orleans with Marie Laveau, but were forced to flee upon threat of discovery of their Underground Railroad activities. She came to California on a ship that also carried a young Scotsman, Thomas Bell. In 1857, when Mary Ellen met back up with Thomas Bell, she owned three laundries, a saloon, and investments in the Athenaeum, Dennis and Brown Livery Stables and various other black-run businesses. She contributed $30,000 to John Brown, the new leader in the fight against slavery. A handwritten note was found on John Brown after he was arrested for the raid on Harper’s Ferry. It said: “The axe is laid at the root of the tree. When the first blow is struck, there will be more money and help. - MEP” After her business partner, Thomas Bell died in a fall, his widow, Theresa Clingan Bell, who had always resented Mary Ellen, set about destroying her reputation and taking title to her assets. She was forced to leave the mansion she had built at 1661 Octavia Street, and died in the small apartment of Olive Sherwood in 1904, nearly penniless. Her last request was that her tombstone should read “She was a friend of John Brown’s”, and there in Tulocay Cemetery in Napa where she was buried, that is indeed what appears on her grave marker.

The gravesite of Entrepreneur and Abolitionist Mary Ellen Pleasant in Tulocay Cemetery in Napa, California. Photo taken by CGTripp in 2010.

Designed and built in 1875 by Mary Ellen Pleasant, this mansion at 1661 Octavia Street at the top of Nob Hill was stately and beautiful.

In her autobiography, Mary Ellen objected strenuously to her insulting nickname saying "I am Mammy to no one". Only the first installment of two was ever published, in a publication long since out of print. The first article is published in January of 1902, by Mary Ellen's friend, Samuel P. Davis of Nevada.

Page 5 of the Pandex of the Press Memoirs and Autobiography published January 1902

"The history of her life is given very nearly as it came from her lips. It is full of originality, quaint philosophy and a rare insight into human nature and human motives. Those who know her best will agree in saying that no human being ever read motive with more certainty or pierced the mask of hypocrisy more quickly than she. Coupled with this was a kindness of disposition and genial humor which makes one of the most interesting character studies of the century." - Sam Davis " I have been accused of many things, and under the load of accusation I have held my tongue. I have never been given to explaining away lies, and you can't explain away the truth..."
I was born on the nineteenth day of August, 1814. Some people have reported that I was born in slavery, but as a matter of fact I was born in Philadelphia, at number 9 Barley Street. My parents, as nearly as I know, must have been a strange mixture. My father was a native Kanaka and my mother a full-blooded Louisiana negress.Both were of large frame, but I think I must have got my physical strength from my father, who was, like most of his race, a giant in frame. His name was Louis Alexander Williams. He was a man of great intelligence and had a fair education, judging from his letters. He was a commercial man and imported silks from India. He imported other things, but his main business was silk. My mother's name was Mary, and I was named after her, but I recall very little about her. I don’t think she was as well educated as my father, for I don't remember that she ever wrote me any letters. When I was about six years of age, I was sent to Nantucket, Mass., to live with a Quaker woman named Hussey. I never knew why I was sent there, and about all I know is that my first recollections of life dated from Nantucket.

For a full transcript of "Memoirs and Autobiography" from The Pandex of the Press published January 1902, click here, to download a scanned image of the article, click below.

1902_01_pandexofthepress_mep_autobiography.pdf
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A long interview and thorough story of Mary Ellen Pleasant's life up to the date of publication by the San Francisco Examiner on October 13, 1895 below:

A full interview with Mary Ellen Pleasant published in the San Francisco Call Dec. 29, 1901

A photo of Queen Emma of Hawaii from 1865 is NOT the young Mary Ellen Pleasant, as claimed by Helen Holdredge. The facts are laid out in the article below.

Further research in order by date of publication:

1870 Federal Census showing MEP and JJ - she runs a Boarding House and is worth $15,000. One of her boarders is Newton Booth, California's next governor.

1875 San Francisco City Directory showing MEP and JJ living at Geneva Cottage/Hog Farm. At the intersection of Geneva and San Jose Roads.

1880 Census with MEP living at 1661 Octavia with Thomas Bell, by now married to Teresa Clingan. Profession is listed as Servant/Housekeeper, but she was so much more.

An Orphan's Millions from Oakland Tribune January 1881 - a close look at Teresa Bell's background

1890's Mary Ellen Pleasant Address Book selected pages courtesy of SF Public Library, Helen Holdridge Collection

68-1006 Mauna Lani Point Drive, Kamuela, Hawaii 96743-9776