Red McManus shield with boar headsGreen McManus shield with a griffinMcManus Stories

McManus Stories

Frank McManus: King of the Potrero

The Union Hotel, neighbourhood rivalries, and an unusual newspaper story about a bear named Whisky.

Frank McManus, known as the King of the Potrero

Interesting research & stories · San Francisco

Frank McManus’s story brings us into the world of San Francisco’s Potrero: the Union Hotel, business and political rivalries, and a colourful newspaper account of a bear named Whisky. The surviving reports offer a vivid view of the neighbourhood, although their dramatic language needs to be read alongside the family research.

Frank features in From Murhaun to Potrero, based on Catriona McManus Kelly’s family narrative, with additional research and source material collected on McManus Family History.

Read the full story on McManus Family History
Frank McManus, King of the Potrero →

Also explore Whisky the Bear at Frank’s Union Hotel and the From Murhaun to Potrero series, where the original articles, family connections, and sources are brought together.

Continue with Con McManus’s San Francisco story.