Résumé

Mine foreman, Rossland, BC, Canada, c, 1899-1901.

Constructor, Frank G. Baum and Company, Engineers and Building Contractors, San Francisco, CA, 1907. (See the Crocker-Langley Directory San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1907, p. 550.)

President, Duncanson-Harrelson Company, Building Contractors, San Francisco, CA, 1915. As noted in his naturalization documents, Duncanson was retired in 10/1929. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at San Francisco; San Bruno, California; Petitions For Naturalization, 8/6/1903 - 12/29/1911; NAI Number: 605504; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21, accessed 05/06/2024.)

High School

Duncanson completed high school, as noted in the 1940 US Census, likely in either Amhertsburg or Windsor, ON.

Relocation

Dugald Henry Duncanson was born in Amherstburg, ON, Canada, on 10/25/1862 to Andrew Duncanson and Melinda Nutson. The 1901 Census of Canada indicated he had been born on 10/25/1863. His naturalization paperwork of 1929 listed his birthdate as 10/25/1862, while the CA Death Index indicated it to have been 10/25/1861. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000, accessed 05/06/2024.)

These dubious naturalization documents indicated that he entered the US at Detroit, MI, from Windsor, ON, Canada, on 01/15/1882, aboard a ferry boat, the SS Hope, that plied the Detroit River. He came to CA before 1884, when he married his first wife Julia. He likely lived in that city for at least three years, where both of his children were born. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at San Francisco; San Bruno, California; Petitions For Naturalization, 8/6/1903 - 12/29/1911; NAI Number: 605504; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21, accessed 05/06/2024.)

According to oddly inaccurate naturalization documents, Dugald and Kate Duncanson moved to San Francsico, CA, on 12/30/1900. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at San Francisco; San Bruno, California; Petitions For Naturalization, 8/6/1903 - 12/29/1911; NAI Number: 605504; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21, accessed 05/06/2024.) This proved to be false, as he resided in Rossland, BC, Canada, in 1900.

The 1901 Census of Canada located Duncanson and his wife in Rossland, BC, where they had moved in 1899. The census listed his occupation as "mine foreman." He was likely part of the Gold Rush that descended on Rossland after 1897.

Duncanson likely migrated to the San Francisco Bay Area just after the 04/18/1906 Earthquake and Fire destroyed much of the city. For designers and building contractors alike, this catastrophe proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity. He lived in Berkeley in 1907. (See the Crocker-Langley Directory San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1907, p. 550.)

Duncanson and his wife had a residence at 639 Lake Street in San Francisco, CA, in 1910. (See San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1910, p. 575.)

In 1914-1915, al least, Dugald Duncanson and his wife Kate resided at 2324 Leavenworth Street in San Francisco. (See San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1914, p. 621 and San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1915, p. 629.)

The 1920 US Census noted that Dugald had already been naturalized, which was not true, and that he lived at 698 19th Street in San Francisco. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 28, San Francisco, California; Roll: T625_141; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 298, accessed 05/06/2024.)

On 10/15/1929, Kate and Dugald Duncanson lived at 695 Juniperro Serra Boulevard in San Francisco. In 1930, the Duncanson and his second wife remained on the 600-block of Juniperro Serra Boulevard in San Francisco. The house had a value of $20,000 at the time. Houses in this affluent immediate area ranged from $16,000 to $225,000. Dugald and Kate were prosperous enough to afford to pay a domestic servant, Adriano Ledda (born c. 1897 in the Philippines). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0104; FHL microfilm: 2339933, accessed 05/06/2024.)

According ot the 1940 US Census, the Duncansons lived in Atherton, CA, a wealthy suburb of San Francisco in San Mateo County in 1935. They relocated from Atherton to Long Beach, CA, either before or during 1940, where they owned an apartment at 1030 East Ocesn Avenue. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Long Beach, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00371; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 59-50, accessed 05/06/2024.)

It is likely that Kate and Dugald moved to Santa Barbara in about 06/1943, according to his Santa Barbara death certificate. (This document indicated that he worked as a civil engineer.) He lived at 2418 Santa Barbara Street in Santa Barbara at the end of his life. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. California, U.S., San Francisco Area Funeral Home Records, 1895-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010, accessed 05/06/2024.)

Duncanson passed away from an unknown cancer in Santa Barbara, CA, at the age of 73.

Parents

His father Andrew Duncanson had been born in Scotland, while his mother Melinda Nutson was also born in Amherstburg, ON.

Spouse

Duncanson married twice. He first wed Julia Peterson on 09/17/1884 in Eureka, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Select Marriages, 1850-1945 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2014, accessed 05/06/2024.) This marriage failed by the early-to-mid-1890s. Dugald had filed for divorce by 06/25/1891 in San Francisco. (See "Court Notes," San Francisco Chronicle, 06/26/1891 , p. 5.) According to the San Francisco Chronicle in 1895, Dugald charged that Julia had abandoned the family, and he was awarded custody of the children. (See "Our Wived Ran Away," San Francisco Chronicle, 07/18/1895, p. 7.)

Julia's entry in the 1920 US Census noted that she lived with her daughter Emily and her family in Sahuarita, AZ, just south of Tucson, and was "widowed." (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Sahuarita, Pima, Arizona; Roll: T625_51; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 87, accessed 05/06/2024.)

He then married Katherine Isabel "Kate" Nickerson (born 02/07/1865 in Mt. Eden, Alameda County, CA-d. 03/03/1947 in Santa Barbara County, CA) in 1896 in Sacramento, CA, according to Sacramento County documents. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images, accessed 05/06/2024.) His naturalization paperwork, however, noted that he had married Kate Nickerson on on 11/04/1892. Additionally, this naturalization documents listed her birthdate incorrectly as 02/07/1866. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at San Francisco; San Bruno, California; Petitions For Naturalization, 8/6/1903 - 12/29/1911; NAI Number: 605504; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21, accessed 05/06/2024.)

Kate's parents were Henry Nickerson (born in NS, Canada) and Sarah Quigley (born in Australia). As noted in the 1940 US Census, Kate had completed the 8th grade. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Long Beach, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00371; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 59-50, accessed 05/06/2024.) According to her 04/10/1944 will, Kate ccould no longer write, and was likely incapacitated by age. She left her entire estate to her step-children. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Wills, Probate Records and Related Cases, 1877-1954; Author: Santa Barbara County (California). County Clerk, accessed 05/06/2024.)

Children

Dugald had two children with Julia Peterson, Emily Beatrice Duncanson Williams (born 06/17/1885 in Eureka, CA-d. 04/11/1947 in Santa Barbara, CA) and Andrew E. Duncanson (born 10/14/1889 in Eureka, CA).

In 1929, Emily resided in Salinas, CA, and Andrew in Canada. By the time of her father's death in 1944, Emily dwelled in Santa Barbara and Andrew served as a Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Biographical Notes

Duncanson applied for US citizenship on 10/15/1929 in the Northern District Court of California, and undertook the oath of citizenship on 02/03/1930. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at San Francisco; San Bruno, California; Petitions For Naturalization, 8/6/1903 - 12/29/1911; NAI Number: 605504; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21, accessed 05/06/2024.)