I don't normally respond to messages that do not include the name of the person who posted, but I'll make an exception in this case.

With regard to Fortune Richard, I'm sure you're well aware that many of the blacks who left San Francisco for Vancouver Island, B.C. returned to California, many to the Bay Area. With the 1906 quake and a loss of many of the records in the San Francisco fire, there might be some information in the IOOF records of burials. I believe the California Genealogical Society (calgensoc.org) has an online database of San Francisco deaths from about 1855-1904 ... it might be worth it to look.

Interestingly, on Ancestry.com, there is another Fortune Richard, this one born in French Canada, who is listed as white in many of the US Censuses, both parents also French Canadian. Is there a chance that this is a son who decided to pass? Perhaps it's a long shot, but one worth pursuing. I mean, how many Fortune Richards can there be?

My two cents. Good luck in your search.

- Lisa B. Lee, PLCGS
Oakland, CA