The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-04-24
AGED SIX SCORE.
Claudia Herrera's Life
and Death.
A MEXICAN W0MAN'S CAREER
She Lived for Many Years in
AFFECT Poverty.
MEXICAN WOMAN'S CAREER
FRIENDS HAVE SUPPORTED HER.
Up to Two Years Ago She Earned
Her Own Living by Doing WASH
ing and Homework.

Bowed low under the weight of six score
years. Claudia Herrera, Mexican woman.
died last Saturday. She died in little
rookery at Pollard place. on Telegraph
Hill. where she has lived during the last
years of her life.
No. Pollard place is not prepossessing
in appearance. 1t is small, bur is occupied
by several families. and so crowded are the
inmates that "Old Claudia Herrera" had
but two rooms. both of which would make
no more than small room for herself and
for the companion who had become at
tached to her toward the close of her long
life. The old woman lived for the last two
years on the bounty OF her friends. Mrs.
de Laveaga paid her rent and often placed
more than one silver piece in her witbered
palm. The neighbors and her companion,
a Mexican woman named Petro Il. de
Recheri, supplied her with the little that
she needed to eat and she led not I'M
happy existence until the weight of the
years she had lived fell upon her suddenly
ana without particular Warning Within
two hours on last Saturday afternoon she
became childish, her eyesight failed, her
voice became a whisper and then she died.
AS the old woman and her compani Cd
were very poor Mrs. Recheri at first hesi-
tated about applying TO an undertaken to
bury the body, and so it lay In bed until
yesterday morning. Then it was taken to
an undertaken and from there it Will be
buried.
AS it lies upon q pail awaiting the
funeral services to-day the body of the old
woman plainly shows the marks of her
great age. Her hair, once black as the
hair of all Spaniards. is white as snow and
strangely enough is thick ana long. Her
eyes are sunken. her lips are thin and
drawn tight over the toothless gums, the
chin is prominent and the hands are with
cred until but the bones and sinews are
left.
Up to two years ago, Claudia" as the
old woman was known by old and young
on the hill, earned moderate but suffi-
Client pittance by washing and cleaning
houses. She was a familiar figure on the
streets as she came and went TO her WORK,
and her age won the respect Of even the
street gamins, who RETAINED from COM
ment upon her appearance. She walked
with slow aud hating step, bent nearly
TO the ground, but she never used cane.
She could read even at the time Of her
denth, but she never learned 10 write.
Mothers never allowed their daughters to
learn to write In my time" she used to say
in her quaint old Spanish. "for they were
afraid the girls would write TO the young
men,"
or her early lie the old woman fire.
ouently spoke, but never in such a manner
as to ALLOW anything definite to be CLEANED
from her words. From what she did say,
those who knew her learned that she was
married when she was about %. A daugb-
ter was born to her during this union. 10
three years her husband died, and in an
other year she was married again. and not
until his wife was % did the husband die.
The daughter was the cause of
"Claudia's" removal from her home. pear
Chihuahua in Mexico, to California. The
girl married against the wish and the
choice of her mother, and so the mother
left her and came TO this city in about
1s49. She always said she would never
have anything to do with her daughter,
and never made any attempt 10 communi-
cate with her until eight years ago. Then
she relented, and asked her companion.
Mrs. Richeri, to write letter for her. The
letter was never written.
"Claudis" was very proud of her age.
and frequently spoke of it until few