Mills-Martin Family Records - Person Sheet
Mills-Martin Family Records - Person Sheet
NameDavid Bertrand HUGHES [6179]
Birthabt 1816, New Jersey [6179]
Death17 Nov 1880, San Francisco, San Francisco, California [6180] Age: 73
Memodied age 73
OccupationContractor [6179]
ResidenceSacramento, n. Hyde [6179]
FlagsBrick Wall
Individual Notes
• Jane married at 16 – a man as old as her father – a kind man who was in the S. F. mint. [6, p 5, line 212]

• Watchman at U. S. Mint in San Francisco. [410]

• At the age of fifteen she married a man fifty-eight years old. This man’s name was David B. Hughes. He was probably born around 1807 but I don’t know where. [6177]

• Great Grandfather Hughes came from St. Louis. He had been married twice previously and had two grown sons, Cicero and William. They were bankers in St. Louis. For some reason Grandfather Hughes went to San Francisco where he met Jennie. This was probably in the middle 1860's. Mr. Hughes was a paving contractor, and he was awarded the contract for cobblestoning the streets of San Francisco, which was growing rapidly at that time. His men also built Lotta’s Fountain, a stone monument that still stands at the foot of Market Street. This fountain was erected as a tribute from the People of San Francisco to the famous singer and dancer, Lotta Crabtree, who got her start as a child entertainer in the gold mining camps.
Great Grandfather and Grandmother Hughes had several children. Among them was my grandmother, Alvilda (Dolly) Hughes.
Before the family was raised, Great Grandfather Hughes died. He had cut a corn on his foot and developed blood poisoning. His business partner was an unscrupulous man, and he defrauded the widow and her children of their share of the business. This left them penniless, and the family had to be broken up. [6177]
Census
• 1850 Census: Keokuk, Lee, Iowa. Age 38, b DE. Cooper. [6178]
• 1870 Census: San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Age 47, b NJ. [unclear] Laborer. $1000. [4594]
• 1880 Census: San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Age 72, b NJ. Watchman, US Mint. Parents b PA? [410]
Research
• Could not find in 1860 Census; 14 Mar 2009

• WHO ARE HIS PARENTS?
Spouses
Birthabt 1810, Maryland [6178], [7601]
Death1850 [7601] Age: 40
Census
• 1850 Census: Keokuk, Lee, Iowa. Age 40, b MD. [6178]
Marriage13 Oct 1836, Lewis, Henry, Missouri [6181], [7601]
ChildrenCicero N. (~1838-1922)
 Missouri (~1840-)
 Elias Alonzo (~1842-)
 William W. (~1845-)
 David (~1849-)
Birth12 Apr 1851, Iowa [410, place only], [5333], [7598]
Death22 Oct 1904, Berkeley, Alameda, California [7598, p 2], [7599] Age: 53
NicknameJennie [4594], [6037]
FatherFrederick WALTER (1826-1908)
MotherChristina BAKER (1829-1851)
Individual Notes
• Jane married Hughes. [8, p G25]

• Jane married at 16 - a man as old as her father - a kind man who was in the S.F. mint. ...everyone loved Jane. I used to visit her when she lived in S.F. in the mission [district] (once a year with Mama). [6, p 5, line 212]

• I found my great-great grandmother in your family tree. She was Jennie (you call her Christina Jane) Walters. I’m descended from her daughter Alvilda May Hughes who married James Mead. Their daughter Julia was my grandmother. [6037]

• I looked through my mother's information and found that she knew nothing about the Walters, but she knew a lot about what had happened to Jennie and her family who lived in Oakland, CA. When D. B. Hughes died, his business partner defrauded Jennie, leaving her penniless. The children were sent to various relatives (and non-relatives) to live, and later Jennie married again, this time a man 10 years younger. Eventually, the grown children seemed to have all returned to the Oakland area. [6176]

• My maternal great, great grandfather was a man named Walters. He had at least one child, my great Grandmother, Jennie Christine Walters. Jennie was born in 1850 or 1851. At the age of fifteen she married a man fifty-eight years old. This man’s name was David B. Hughes. He was probably born around 1807 but I don’t know where. [6177]

• After Hughes’ death, Jennie married a man named Chris Cottrell who was a conductor on the Berkeley streetcar system. He was ten years younger than she was. She had a boy and a girl by this marriage. The boy, William, died and the family lost track of the girl, Gussie. [6177]
Census
• 1856 Iowa Census: Washington Township, Bremer, Iowa. Age 4, b IA. Living with grandparents, Daniel and Mary Walter. [7989]
• 1860 Census: Sutter Twp., Sacramento, California. Age 9, b IA. Listed as C. J. Walter, living in household of M. Walter (uncle). [4591], [4592]
• 1870 Census: San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Age 19, b IA. Listed as Jennie Hughes. [4594]
• 1880 Census: San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Age 29, b IA. Father b PA; mother b Germany? [410]
• 1900 Census: Berkeley, Alameda, California. Age 48, b IA. Father b PA; mother b Germany. Mother of 6 children, 2 living. Listed as Christina Cottrell. [5333]
Marriage12 Apr 1866, San Francisco, San Francisco, California [6, p 5, line 212; marriage only at 16], [8, p G25; marriage only], [7987]
ChildrenAlvilda May (1867-1915)
 Julia A. (1869-1959)
 Annie C. (1872-)
 Walter Herbert (1875-)
Last Modified 4 Jul 2025Created 31 Oct 2025 using Reunion 14 for Macintosh
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