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How Thomas Eaton and John H. Pyle became acquainted

An important question that must be answered is how did John J. Poill end up in the tiny village of Cloverdale, Lane Co, OR in 1872 to marry Mila Ann Eaton? That is, according to my theory, John H. Pyle fled to San Francisco after committing murder in 1870 and changed his name to John J. Poill. So when and why did he migrate to Oregon?

In my theory, he met Thomas Eaton who was Mila Ann Eaton’s uncle and traveled to Oregon with him and his wife Catherine. The map below shows the locations of the three sites listed above in the San Francisco city directories, 1) Dr. Toland (who treated John J. Poill), 2) the What Cheer (where John J. Poill boarded while being treated), and 3) the location of the hotel where Thomas and Catherine Eaton lived in San Francisco in 1870—71. As one can see on the map below, these three sites are in very close proximity to each other.

The point is that John J. Poill and Thomas Eaton could have easily met in the neighborhood below and become friends in the 1870—1871 time frame. That is, their close proximity living in the same area of San Francisco means they could have met. Then the three (John J. Poill, Thomas and Catherine Eaton) migrated together to Oregon in 1871. Notice that there is no Thomas Eaton in the San Francisco city directory after 1872 (published in Mar 1872) indicating that Thomas and Catherine Eaton had left the city sometime in late 1871.

John J. Poill
Elusive Ancestor Website

San Francisco Locus

Updated

1/7/2015

thorntongale@poill27.info

Dr. Toland

In the 1924 newspaper article, John J. Poill said that he had been treated by “Dr. Toland” in San Francisco. There was a Dr. H. H. Toland, physician, practicing in San Francisco beginning in 1853. His offices were on the SW corner of Montgomery and Merchant as indicated in the following San Francisco city directories through the years (note—each of the following addresses refer to the same location).

“What Cheer”

In the 1924 newspaper article, John J. Poill said while he was in San Francisco being treated by “Dr. Toland” (see above) that he boarded at the “What Cheer.” There is a “What Cheer House” beginning in 1854, at 527 Sacramento as indicated by the following San Francisco city directories through the years (note—each of the following addresses refer to the same location).

Introduction

The bridge between John H. Pyle and John J. Poill is San Francisco, CA. That is, San Francisco is the place where John H. Pyle transformed himself into John J. Poill after committing murder in 1870 to hide himself from the authorities. Fortunately, the historical City Directories (CD) are extensive for San Francisco since it was the largest city on the west coast with a population of close to 150,000 in 1870. On this web page, the city directory entries for the various people in San Francisco important to this story are presented. These city directory listings provide important evidence of the theory that John J. Poill and John H. Pyle were the same person.

Dr. Toland
Source	Name	Address
CD (1852)	Tolland, H. H.	none
CD (1853)	Toland, H. H., physician	153 Mont
CD (1854)	Toland, H. H. M. D.	Nugle’s building, boards at Niantic
CD (1856)	Toland, H. H.	South-west cor Montgomery and Merchant st., up-stairs
CD (1861)	Toland, H. H., physician	office rooms 27, 28, and 29 Naglee’s Building, dwl 1001 Stockton
CD (1870)	Toland, H. H. physician and surgeon	office 27 and 29 Naglee’s Building, SW cor Montgomery and Merchant and president Toland Mdical College, dwl 810 Jackson

What Cheer (Hotel)
Source	Name	Address
CD (1854)	What Cheer House	119 Sacramento street; Robert B. Woodward, proprietor
CD (1856)	What Cheer House	119 and 121 Sacramento street, R. B. Woodward
CD (1861)	What Cheer House	R. B. Woodward proprietor, 527 and 529 Sacramento
CD (1869-12-01)	What Cheer House	R. B. Woodward, 527 Sacramento
CD (1870)	What Cheer House	R. B. Woodward, 527 Sacramento

Thomas and Catherine Eaton

In 1872, Mila Ann Eaton married John J. Poill. Thomas Eaton was Mila Ann Eaton’s uncle. It so happens that Thomas Eaton and his wife Catherine were living in San Francisco from about 1867 to 1871. In the 1870—1871 time frame, they lived in a hotel at First and Mission as indicated by the city directories and the 1870 census.

Thomas Eaton
Source	Name	Address	Indicated Hotel
CD (1867-09-01)	Eaton, Thomas	Laborer with James Brokaw, dwl 12 Sutter	BRANCH Hotel, M O’Neil, 12 Sutter
CD (1869-12-01)	Eaton, Thomas	Sawyer with Mech. Mill & M Co dwl 51 Stevenson
Census (1870)	Thomas Eaton	Laborer	John Donovan, Hotel Keeper James Hart, Hotel Keeper
CD (1871_04_01)	Eaton, Thomas	Sawyer with Wells, Russell & Co dwl cor First and Mission
CD (1872_03_01)	None (as of Mar 1872)