John Harris was a 38-year-old Black waiter living in San Francisco around 1900. Historical records and information regarding Harris are minimal. However, according to the 1900 Census, he lived in a boarding house on 224 Minna Street. Boarding houses in the area housed working class whites, Blacks, and Asians and they likely would have interacted.
U.S. Census, 1900
San Francisco, 1892, Minna Street in the foreground.
Courtesy of FoundSF (South of Market)
African American waiter, 1848
Courtesy of Hotel Keepers, Head Waiters, and Housekeepers’ Guide by Tunis G. Campbell.
Eighty percent of African Americans living in San Francisco during this time period found employment in restaurants and hotels. Their employment opportunities were limited because the largest labor unions barred Blacks and Asians from joining.
Black waiters, Sutro's Cliff House, 1906
Courtesy of The Third Baptist Church of San Francisco
As reproduced in African Americans of San Francisco, by J. Adkins
Courtesy of the Maryville Democrat, July 15, 1897
Harris was described as a "well-known colored man . . . a gentleman of culture and refinement."
Harris was listed in the 1900 San Francisco City Directory as a waiter and store clerk at Smith's, 25 Market Street.
Advertisement for Smith's Cash Store,
Courtesy of Hanford Sentinel, June 6, 1901
25 Market Street, 2025
Google Maps
Black service workers at the Palace Hotel, San Francisco
Courtesy of FoundSF (Blacks and Labor)
Waiters instructions, 1848
Courtesy of Hotel Keepers, Head Waiters, and Housekeepers’ Guide by Tunis G. Campbell.
Courtesy of The Third Baptist Church of San Francisco
as reproduced in African Americans of San Francisco, by J. Adkins
"Both young and old men pose in an outgoing manner. This may indicate a sense of hope for a better life in San Francisco."
Author, J. Adkins,
African Americans of San Francisco
Despite historians' efforts, Harris' common name and working-class status have kept much about him unknown. The 1870 Census may be the first record of Harris, until he is recorded in San Francisco around 1900. By the 1902 voter registry, he was no longer listed in the area.
John Harris, age 8
U.S. Census 1870