Frederick Coombs
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Frederick Coombs (sometimes Willie Coombs and also known as George Washington II) was an eccentric who lived in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
in the 19th century and believed himself to be
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
. For a time he was as popular a figure as Joshua A. Norton, the "Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico", and his deeds were reported in the local newspapers. He left the city after a feud with Norton, who he thought was jealous of his "reputation with the fairer sex" and moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.


Early life and career

Little is known of his early life. According to his own account, he was born in England in 1803. Coombs was apparently a
phrenologist Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. It is based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or ...
by trade, though he was also an accomplished photographer,
daguerreotypist Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwide in 1839, th ...
, inventor, and possibly a
marriage broker Matchmaking is the process of pairing two or more people together, usually for the purpose of marriage, in which case the intermediary or matchmaker is also known as a marriage broker. Matchmaking may be done as a profession for a fee or it may ...
. He had travelled throughout the west during the 1830s giving demonstrations of phrenology, apparently accompanied by a
giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...
and a
dwarf Dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a supernatural being from Germanic folklore * Dwarf, a human or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a sh ...
, and published at least one book on the subject, 1841's ''Popular Phrenology'', in which the features of George Washington's skull are praised on the introductory page. He was interested in railways and designed a type of electric
locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...
that enjoyed some minor success as a curiosity but was never put into large scale production. In 1848, he visited England where he obtained some commissions for the use of his engine, and claimed to have received a proposition to supply his engine to the Russians. He spent five years in England before returning to the United States.


San Francisco

Coombs was active as a photographer in the 1850s on the West Coast. Some time before 1863 he appeared in San Francisco, either claiming to be George Washington from the outset, or by other accounts, setting up his phrenology business and entertaining fashionable society with readings of their skulls. According to this second story, he was generally known as "Professor" Freddy Coombs and resembled George Washington so much that after many comments, he became convinced that he was the former President of The United States and took to dressing in uniform. He wore a
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...
uniform of tanned buckskin, and set up his headquarters at the saloon of Martin and Horton, where he would study maps while planning his campaigns for the Revolutionary War. He was reported to have spent a winter starving himself until he was convinced by concerned friends that the encampment at
Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...
was over. In his office as president, he composed letters to the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
and issued proclamations, just as Norton did. During the day, he would often be seen in
Montgomery Street Montgomery Street is a north-south thoroughfare in San Francisco, California, in the United States. It runs about 16 blocks from the residential Telegraph Hill, San Francisco, Telegraph Hill neighborhood south through downtown San Francisco, ...
wearing a powdered wig and
tricorne hat The tricorne or tricorn is a style of hat in a triangular shape, which became popular in Europe during the 18th century, falling out of style by the early 1800s. The word "tricorne" was not widely used until the mid-19th century. During the 18th ...
and carrying a banner proclaiming himself "The Great Matrimonial Candidate". Initially he, Norton, and the two well-known stray dogs
Bummer and Lazarus Bummer and Lazarus were two stray dogs that roamed the streets of San Francisco, California, in the early 1860s. Recognized for their unique bond and their prodigious rat-killing ability, they became a fixture of city newspapers, were exempted fr ...
drew equal interest from the San Francisco newspapers who delighted in recounting their exploits. Coombs appears in a couple of satirical cartoons by
Edward Jump Edward Jump (1831?-1883) was a French-American artist popular for his drawings and sketches in the United States during the mid-19th Century. Biography Jump was born in Paris, France, around 1831. His early life is not well documented, but he emi ...
alongside Norton and the dogs: in ''Ambling along Montgomery Street'' he appears in the centre of the picture in full uniform holding a banner with the words "And Still They Go Marching On", while in ''The Funeral of
Lazarus Lazarus may refer to: People *Lazarus (name), a surname and a given name * Lazarus of Bethany, a Biblical figure described as being raised from the dead by Jesus * Lazarus, a Biblical figure from the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus * Lazar ...
'' he features as the gravedigger while Norton performs the ceremony. Although short, balding, and rotund, Coombs was pompous and vain, and thought himself to be a ladies' man. He believed this formed the basis of his dispute with Emperor Norton. Norton had torn down some posters that Coombs had put up in Montgomery Street and Coombs reported him to the police. As it was not a criminal offence, the police told him they could do nothing, so in an attempt to raise funds for a civil action, he sold his story to the ''Alta California'' newspaper. When the reporter asked him why Norton would have done such a thing Coombs replied that he "was jealous of my reputation with the fairer sex". This caused great amusement and a few days later the ''Alta California'' published a story mocking both the men in which they reported that the "light of insanity" could be seen in Coombs's eyes. Norton and Coombs, both convinced of their sanity, demanded a retraction, but Norton also issued his own proclamation against Coombs in which he ordered the Chief of Police to: Following the incident, Coombs left the city immediately, presumably for
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, as in 1868 he was discovered there by
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
.


Later life and death

In 1868, Coombs was discovered by Mark Twain in New York City, still believing himself to be Washington and still convinced of the effect of his charms on the ladies, whom he entertained by displaying his legs on street corners. Twain reported that he travelled around New York,
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
, and Washington selling photos of himself visiting
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
's grave for 25 cents. When the
William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...
Mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...
in Philadelphia was proposed for demolition Coombs asked Congress to give it to him. After it was torn down he switched to demanding the
Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...
. Coombs died in New York City on April 9, 1874.


See also

*
Emperor Norton Joshua Abraham Norton (February 4, 1818 – January 8, 1880) was a resident of San Francisco, California, who in 1859 declared himself "Emperor of these United States" in a proclamation that he signed "Norton I., Emperor of the United States" ...
*
Bummer and Lazarus Bummer and Lazarus were two stray dogs that roamed the streets of San Francisco, California, in the early 1860s. Recognized for their unique bond and their prodigious rat-killing ability, they became a fixture of city newspapers, were exempted fr ...
*
Edward Jump Edward Jump (1831?-1883) was a French-American artist popular for his drawings and sketches in the United States during the mid-19th Century. Biography Jump was born in Paris, France, around 1831. His early life is not well documented, but he emi ...


References


External links


Emperor Norton vs. George Washington the Second
at Spots Unknown


Further reading

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coombs, Frederick 1803 births 1874 deaths History of San Francisco 19th-century American people Photographers from New York City California folklore British emigrants to the United States