ID: Emily (Fairfield) Duncan autobiography, page 14

my parents went down at once leaving we three children only until "things were settled."

When the will was read it was found that my grandfather had left his entire estate to his widow, not even mentioning my mother. As he had always been an affectionate father and there was no reason for him to ignore her, it was felt that this must be due to influence during his old age and illness. There had never been a friendly feeling between my mother and her stepmother and now there was a decided break. Mr. [Wellington] Burnett undertook to have the will set aside. As it seemed probable this would take some time, the family was moved to San Francisco. We rented a cheap little place on the wrong side of Market Street and Albert and I went to school on Golden Gate Avenue.

I don't think Will went to school. He wanted to help the family finances and worked for a while in a picture frame factory. But he was still coughing and the confinement and close air of the factory made him worse so he was taken to a doctor who ordered him out of the city and if possible, to a drier climate. Mary and Gilmore were living in Shandon then and although they had only a little two room house they offered to take him and do the best they could for him, so he was sent down there.

It was at the Golden Gate Avenue school that I suffered so over my shoes. I was wearing a pair that had been bought for me in the country and there was no money to buy others. They were heavy lace shoes, like a boys, and all the other girls had soft kid ones with buttons. Maybe it did no good, anyway, I never forgot it.

I don't know how long it was, probably a year, but at last the will was set aside and the property divided according to law. Mother got several thousand dollars and the Post Street home at the death of her stepmother, who had a "life lease" on it. END