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Category: Merralls
Aeroplanes, automobiles, and alternative medicine: The love story of William and Temperance Merralls
The story of William Augustus Merralls (1852–1914) and Temperance Laura Clarke Neely Merralls (1865–1930) during their life together. Related posts and information on main Merralls page.
By Amy O’Hair
William Augustus and Temperance Laura Merralls were remarkable and eccentric residents of early Sunnyside. William left a legacy to the neighborhood—the Sunnyside Conservatory, a city landmark on Monterey Boulevard, which he built about 1902.
When they married in 1909, they were both in middle age, William a widower, Temperance a divorcee. William’s inventions were innovative, and wide-ranging; Temperance brought an interest in alternative medicine and healing. They were devoted to each other, but had just five years together. Rare photographs from their last year together are first seen in this article.
The match was anchored in a deep love, but it was also a meeting of minds. They shared interests and beliefs, rooted both in the Baptist faith and a complete confidence that human progress was positively furthered by new discoveries and ideas.
Dreaming on Sunnyside Avenue
Living in the house at 258 Sunnyside Avenue (now Monterey Blvd)—with its extensive grounds surrounding the Conservatory, the couple were outliers in an otherwise working-class neighborhood.
An Inventive Life: Temperance Laura Merralls at Home on Sunnyside Avenue
See this page for all things related to Merralls and the Sunnyside Conservatory.
As part of the next meeting of the Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project, an original short monologue will be presented. Saturday 10 December 2016 at the Sunnyside Conservatory, 3 – 5 pm, with a social hour to follow. Newly discovered materials about the Merralls also presented during the meeting.
W.A. Merralls: Inventor and Entrepreneur of Sunnyside
By Amy O’Hair
Sunnyside Conservatory is this neighborhood’s only city landmark, and certainly our premier historical treasure. People who have never heard of Sunnyside come from all over the Bay Area to get married or celebrate other events in its beautifully restored building and grounds. But who was the man who built it? Some history has been written about him, but not all of it has been complete or accurate; the roles his two wives played in the story have also not been fully told.
[See this page for all things related to WA Merralls and the Sunnyside Conservatory.]
William Augustus Merralls with his first wife Lizzie A. Merralls built the Sunnyside Conservatory about 1902. William was a prolific and creative inventor, turning his hand to everything from machinery for extracting gold to refrigerators to automobile starters, and registering over twenty patents in as many years. (Here is a full list.) The Conservatory was a special place to keep and display the many special plants he acquired on his travels.[i] He may have picked a modest neighborhood to settle down in, but his ideas and his ambitions knew few limits. Continue reading “W.A. Merralls: Inventor and Entrepreneur of Sunnyside”