page_title: Whaley House (San Diego, California)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Whaley House (San Diego, California) / Whaley family / History
context_page_description: The Whaley House is an 1857 Greek Revival style residence, a California Historical Landmark, and museum located in Old Town, San Diego, California. It is currently maintained by Save Our Heritage Organisation.
  The Whaley House was the home of Thomas Whaley and his family. The house was built where there once was a graveyard. At various times it also housed Whaley's general store, San Diego's second county courthouse, and the first commercial theater in San Diego. The house has "witnessed more history than any other building in the city".
context_section_description: Thomas Whaley, of Scots-Irish origin, was born on October 5, 1823 in New York City, the seventh child in a family of ten. Whaley took over his father's successful business relations, then left New York on January 1, 1849. He traveled to San Francisco, during the California gold rush, where he engaged in business. He then went to San Diego in September 1851. Two years later, Whaley went back to New York and married Anna Eloise Delaunay on August 14, 1853. Together they returned to California, arriving in San Diego on December 7, 1853. On August 22, 1857 the Whaleys moved into their new home, now known as the Whaley House.
   Thomas and Anna Whaley had six children, Francis Hinton (December 28, 1854), Thomas Whaley Jr. (August 18, 1856), Anna Amelia (June 27, 1858), George Hay Ringgold (November 5, 1860), Violet Eloise (October 14, 1862), and Corinne Lillian (September 4, 1864). Francis Hinton was named after a business partner. Thomas Whaley, Jr. suffered from scarlet fever at 18 months and died on January 29, 1858.
  After the death of baby Thomas and the loss by fire of their store, Thomas and Anna moved to San Francisco. In January 1859, Whaley turned his affairs in Old Town over to Frank Ames, a Wells Fargo agent. In the summer of 1868, Thomas invested some of his new capital of stock in merchandise and headed back to San Diego. Thomas fixed up the old Whaley House, and Anna and the rest of the family arrived back home to San Diego on December 12, 1868.
  On January 5, 1882, Violet Eloise Whaley and Anna Amelia Whaley were both married in Old San Diego. Violet married George T. Bertolacci and Anna Amelia wed her first cousin, John T. Whaley, son of Henry Hurst Whaley. Two weeks into Violet's marriage, as the couple was traveling back east on their honeymoon, she awoke one morning to find her husband gone. Bertolacci, as it turned out, was a con artist and, as Violet and her family later learned, had only married her for the substantial dowry he believed he would collect upon the marriage. Due to the restrictive morals and societal standards of the time period, Violet was essentially shunned by polite society upon returning home, not only without her husband, but also unchaperoned, something proper ladies simply did not do in late 19th century Victorian society. Violet and George's divorce was finalized approximately a year later, but Violet never recovered from the public humiliation and betrayal, and suffered from depression. Violet committed suicide by shooting herself in the chest with Thomas's 32-calibre on August 18, 1885. She was then 22 years of age. Her suicide note reads thus:
  Mad from life's history,
  
  Swift to death's mystery;
  
  Glad to be hurled,
  
  Anywhere, anywhere, out of this world.
  — Violet Whaley, Save Our Heritage Organisation
  The suicide note is a passage from 'Bridge of Sighs', a poem by Thomas Hood. This particular poem is also offered up by Edgar Allan Poe, as an example of painting with words; he spoke of it and it was referenced in his published works during his lectures.
  Corrine Lillian was engaged at the time of her sister's death, but her fiancé broke off the engagement due to the scandal it raised. After these tragic events, Thomas Whaley built a single-story frame home for his family at 933 State Street in Downtown San Diego and the family moved into the new residence, leaving the Whaley House vacant for over two decades.
  Francis Whaley married Susan E. Murray in Mendocino, California on December 31, 1888. On December 14, 1890, Thomas Whaley died due to ill health at the State Street address. Anna Amelia Whaley died at Modesto, California on December 12, 1905.
  Meanwhile, the old Whaley House remained vacant and fell into disrepair. In late 1909, Francis Whaley undertook the restoration of the building and turned the home into a tourist attraction, where he posted signs promoting its historicity and entertained visitors with his guitar. Anna Whaley, Thomas's widow, Corinne Lillian, Francis and George all lived in the old Whaley House in 1912. On February 24, 1913, Anna died at 80 years of age. A ye
caption: Thomas Whaley
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