RIDDELL, Margaret^{[1, 2]}

Abt 1855 - 1890  (35 years)

• Name	RIDDELL, Margaret  [3]
  Birth	Abt 1855  [4]
  Gender	Female
  Census	29 Jun 1870	Pittsburgh, PA (Allegheny)   [4]
  	Maggie Riddel / Age 15 / Female / White /
  Arrival	25 Feb 1879	San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA   [5]
  	Arrived with husband and children in San Francisco from Pittsburgh
  Census	29 Jun 1880	345 Santa Clara Ave, Alameda, Alameda, CA USA   [6]
  	345 Santa Clara Ave, Alameda / Wainwright, Maggie / White / Female / Age 23 / Wife / Occ - Keeping House / Birthplace: PA / Birthplace of Father: PA / Birthplace of Mother: PA
  Death	13 Apr 1890	Glen Riddell, Gilroy, Santa Clara, CA USA   [7]
  Burial	Saint Mary Church Cemetery, Gilroy, Santa Clara, CA USA
  		Maggie Riddell
  Notes	From the Santa Cruz Sentinel, 3 Jan 1890: A WOMAN'S DOWNFALL. Mrs. Maggie Pray In Court Charged With Vagrancy. Mrs. Maggie Pray, a confirmed "hypo" fiend and common drunk, was arraigned before Justice Pfister Tuesday afternoon on a charge of vagrancy preferred by Office Everhart. Mrs. Pray had been without her usual dose for several days, and presented a pitiable appearance. She was trembling in every limb and hardly able to stand on account or extreme weakness. Her mother was with her, the poor woman appearing almost brokenhearted. When asked to plead Mrs. Pray burst into tears and stated that she had been sick on the night in question, and arising, had gone up town to procure medicine. Becoming tired and sick she had sat down in a stairway and had been there but a few moments when tho proprietor called a policeman and had her arrested. "How many times have you been before me?" "This is the first time" "You forfeited $5 twice for drunkenness, did you not, and have been taken up in San Francisco several times?" Mrs. Pray admitted that she had been arrested as stated, but being I almost unable to walk nn account of rheumatism in her limbs, she was often thought to be drunk when, in fact, she had not imbibed anything. A plea of not guilty was entered and trial set for Januarv 3d at 3 p. m. Her mother promised to keen her off the streets until that time, and she was discharged with that understanding. -- San Jose Mercury [8] From the SF Examiner, 18 Jul 1889: RUINED BY MORPHINE A Once Beautiful Woman Found Lying in the Street HER PATHETIC STORY. She Spends Her Last Cent for Whisky and Begs for a Bed. "Help! I'm poisoned" It was 1 o'clock yesterday morning when Officer L. M. Benjamin heard the faint cry issuing from a little alley leading off McAllister street. Peering into the darkness he saw a frail little woman huddled close in the shadow of the building, She was in a helpless condition and moaned pitifully as he picked her up and carried her into the light. She was elegantly attired in a gray walking-dress and wrap. A wealth of flaxen hair hung in disorder down her back. Her blue eyes were half closed and her face as pale as death. The officers placed her in a cab and carried her to the City Receiving Hospital. On the way she told in a half-dazed way that she lived in San Jose. She had come to San Francisco for a purpose, and had taken ergot to accomplish it. At the hospital she gave the name of Mary Brown. There was no odor noticeable of the pungent drug which she said she had taken, and upon again being questioned she said she had taken morphine and whisky. She was treated accordingly, and at 6 o'clock in the morning left the hospital with the matron to go to the Grand Hotel, where she said she was stopping. PENNILESS AND HOMELESS. On the way she said that her name was not Mary Brown, but that she had assumed it to hide her identity; that her family name was Riddell, and that her mother resided in San Jose; that she had been married to a man named Wainwrght. who was at present in Paris, but that her name was now Mrs. Pray. At the hotel it was learned that she had arrived Tuesday afternoon and registered as Mrs. C. D. Bancroft. She was given a room and immediately ordered a bottle of wine. She left there late in the afternoon and had not been seen afterward. When she presented herself at the hotel yesterday morning with the matron of the hospital she was refused a room,as she had no money. She opened her trunk in search of same, disclosing an elegant wardrobe and two empty whisky bottles. She then left the hotel. Inquiry developed the fact that she was once a noted belle of San Francisco. Her parents were wealthy, and she, being an only child, enjoyed every advantage that money could procure. She drove about town in an elegant pony phaeton, her exquisite beauty attracting many admirers. About five years ago she was married to Fred. Pray, the photographer. For a time they lived happily together, but she had acquired a taste for liquor, which soon became uncontrollable. Her first offenses were condoned, but she became so additted to its use that her husband was compelled to separate from her. HER LOVE FOR LIQUOR. She afterward suffered from paralysis, and to alleviate her sufferings used hypodermic injections of morphine. It was but a short time before she was a confirmed morphine fiend, uing large quantities of the opiate. Since the separation from her husband, some two years ago, she has frequently visited San Francisco, and, free Irom the restraint of her parents, indulged in liquor and morphine until at times she has been on the verge of insanity. Time and again has her mother scoured San Francisco in search of her unfortunate daughter and taken her to her elegant home in San Jose. Long and patient have been her endeavors to wean the daughter from her devouring appetite lor liquor, and each time just when she hoped that her efforts were to meet with success has the daughter fallen. Yesterday she wandered about the streets all day, hungry, tired, penniless and friendless. In the evening she went from one hotel to another in search of a bed, but always receiving the same reply, " We have none for you." In her desperation she at last offered her only possession, a tiny silver hypodermic syringe, the instrument of her ruin, to which she had clung to the last, for a place to lay her head. [9]
  Person ID	I5460	Hugh Byrne and Nanette Asimov Lines
  Last Modified	27 Nov 2023

  
  

  Father	RIDDELL, John William,   b. Abt 1829, Erie, PA USA d. 8 Apr 1896, St Mary’s Hospital, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (Age 67 years)
  Mother	Margaret,   b. Abt 1832, Pittsburgh, PA d. 10 Nov 1891, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA (Age 59 years)
  Family ID	F3831	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	PRAY, Frederick Hall,   b. 14 Apr 1851, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA d. 17 Jun 1909, Mission Hill Sanatorium, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA (Age 58 years)
  Marriage	8 Apr 1883	Oakland, Alameda, CA, USA   [10, 11]
  	Reportedly had two ceremonies, the second on or about 8 Nov 1883. This was due to some confusion as to whether Maggie was officially divorced from her first husband.
  Divorce	19 Sep 1889	San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA   [12, 13]
  	“Fred Pray has been divorced from Maggie Pray on the ground of habitual intemperance.”
  Notes	From the SF Examiner, 19 Sep 1889: Mrs. Pray Deaf to Her Husband's Prayers Decrees and Alimony. "In the name of all that is good and holy I have begged my wife to quit drinking," said Fred H. Pray to Judge Levy yesterday morning. "It was no use, though, for she was confirmed in the habit, and her excesses have driven us to ruin, financially and every other way." Mrs. Maggie Pray, the woman accused, made no denial. She was arrested at the Grand Hotel a month aco for being intoxicated. It was disclosed to the court that Mrs. Pray is also addicted to the morphine habit, and a divorce was granted to her husband on tbe ground of intemperance. Three years earlier, this strange item from the SF Examiner, 22 Nov 1886: LOOK ON THIS PICTURE. A Negative Photographer Twice Married but Not Mated. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN-ON AND after this date I will not be responsible for any debts contracted by my wife. FRED H. PRAY. San Francisco, November 17, 1886. In order to ascertain the hidden meaning of this public avowal, an Examiner reporter yesterday called on Mrs. Redell, mother of Mrs. Pray. Said Mrs. Redell: " Well. I will not say anything about it, but I think a piece ought to be put in the papers, stating that he was not good for his own debts, even. Yes; the remnants of his photograph gallery have been sold at auction; he owed General Keyes about $1,500 rent; instead of supporting my daughter, she has had to pawn her jewelry and other effects for them to live on; some of her trunks are now at the Donohoe House, some at a lodging-house on Sutter street, and he owes other bills at hotels where they stopped as long as he could get credit. While they lived in Oakland, their gas bill was shut off twice, and he owes the butcher and the druggist. Well, he left her about three weeks ago when his gallery was closed, and is traveling round the country, camping out. My daughter, Mrs. Pray, heard he was at Congress Springs, and so she and a lady friend went down there to see him. I would not go with her, because I think Mr. Wainright is the proper husband for her. Mr. Wainright was her first husband. He is from Pittsburg, Pa., and is quite wealthy. They came here several years ago; I lived at Gilroy you know. Mr. Wainright, his initials are J. G., got a divorce from my daughter and went East keeping the decree in his pocket, not recording it in order, I suppose, to keep my daughter from marrying. But she married this man Pray. Then, when Wainright returned, he recorded the divorce, and so the marriage was celebrated over again, she being twice married to Mr. Pray. We thought her first marriage to him was not legal because the divorce had not been recorded. No; I do not know whether there is another woman in the scene or not. I cannot imagine what Pray did with his money -- he did not properly support my daughter, and it is not likely any one will credit him, so there is no danger of her running up bills in his name." [12, 14]
  Family ID	F3814	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	26 Nov 2023

  
  

  Family 2	WAINWRIGHT, Joseph Graves,   b. 8 Apr 1847, Pittsburgh, PA d. 12 Jan 1902, Beechwood & 5th, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA USA (Age 54 years)
  Marriage	Bef 1873
  Divorce	Abt 1883  [15]
  Children	1. WAINWRIGHT, Josephine,   b. Abt 1873, Pennsylvania, USA   2. WAINWRIGHT, John R,   b. Abt 1875, Pennsylvania, USA bur. Homewood Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA USA
  Family ID	F3830	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	27 Nov 2023

  
  

• Event Map		Census - 29 Jun 1870 - Pittsburgh, PA (Allegheny) Arrival - 25 Feb 1879 - San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA Census - 29 Jun 1880 - 345 Santa Clara Ave, Alameda, Alameda, CA USA Marriage - 8 Apr 1883 - Oakland, Alameda, CA, USA Divorce - 19 Sep 1889 - San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA Death - 13 Apr 1890 - Glen Riddell, Gilroy, Santa Clara, CA USA Burial - - Saint Mary Church Cemetery, Gilroy, Santa Clara, CA USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos

  Maggie Riddell

  
  

• Sources

  [S1310] Marriages - Pray - Wainright. [S1311] Look On This Picture, an Examiner reporter yesterday called on Mrs. Redell, mother of Mrs. Pray. [S1337] Joseph G. Wainwright, He was married to Miss Margaret Riddell, who died about 12 years ago. [S1325] J W Riddel-in the 1870 United States Federal Census. [S1339] Overland Arrivals. [S1338] Joseph Wainwright in the 1880 Census, 345 Santa Clara Ave, Alameda / Wainwright, Maggie / White / Female / Age 23 / Wife / Occ - Keeping House / Birthplace: PA / Birthplace of Father: PA / Birthplace of Mother: PA. [S1312] John Riddell Obit, John Riddell, a former resident of Santa Cruz, and a brother of D. C. Riddell, died Wednesday at St. Marys Hospital and was buried yesterday in the Gilroy Catholio cemetery, beside his wile and daughter. [S1332] A WOMAN'S DOWNFALL. [S1334] Ruined by Morphine. [S1310] Marriages - Pray - Wainright, PRAY - WAINRIGHT - In Oakland, by Rev. Mr. Ackerly, Fred H Pray to Maggie Wainright. [S1336] M Wainright or Wainwright-in the California, U.S., Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1850-1941. [S1311] Look On This Picture. [S1330] Divorce Matters. [S1331] Yesterday’s Divorces. [S1311] Look On This Picture, I lived at Gilroy you know. Mr. Wainright,-his initials are J. G., got a divorce from my daughter and went East keeping the decree in his pocket, not recording it in order, I suppose, to keep my daughter from marrying.