My wife and I recently took a stroll on Nob Hill and discovered a small street named "Cushman." My wife's maiden name is Cushman, so naturally we would like to ascertain "just who is this Cushman Street named after?"

-- Daniel P. Dorsey (erindanny@earthlink.net), July 26, 2004

Answers

Not sure who the street was named after, but there is an intrguing Cushman that comes to mind. Paulien Cushman was a Union spy in the Civil War. She hit the lecture circuits after the war dressed in her Union Army uniform. Her last tour was in San Francisco where, sadly, she committed suicide.

Good luck in your research.

-- Kurt Iversen (iversenk@aol.com), July 27, 2004.

Paul Cushman Fryer (her full name) is buried at the National Cemetery in the Presidio.

-- John Martini (jamartini@slip.net), July 27, 2004.

Oops. Should be Pauline Cushman Fryer.

-- John Martinie (jamartini@slip.net), July 27, 2004.

Pauline actually was first enterred in the Potter's Field at Lincoln Golf Course and afterwards, transferred to the Presidio. Allegedly, she died in a cheap hotel on Market Street.

-- Wolfgang Schubert (sutrohistory@schubert.ws), August 13, 2004.