Emperor Norton - Later Years and Death

Later Years and Death

During the later years of Norton's "reign", he was the subject of considerable speculation. One popular story suggested he was the son of Emperor Napoleon III, and that his claim of coming from South Africa was a ruse to prevent persecution. Another popular story suggested Norton was planning to marry Queen Victoria. While this claim is unsupported, Norton did write to the Queen on several occasions, and he is reported to have met Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. Rumors also circulated that Norton was supremely wealthy—only affecting poverty because he was miserly.

A number of decrees that were probably fraudulent were submitted and duly printed in local newspapers, and it is believed that in at least a few cases, newspaper editors themselves drafted fictitious edicts to suit their own agendas. The Museum of the City of San Francisco maintains a list of the decrees believed to be genuine.

On the evening of January 8, 1880, Norton collapsed on the corner of California Street and Dupont Street (now Grant Avenue) in front of Old St. Mary's Church while on his way to a lecture at the California Academy of Sciences. His collapse was immediately noticed and "the police officer on the beat hastened for a carriage to convey him to the City Receiving Hospital." Norton died before a carriage could arrive. The following day the San Francisco Chronicle published his obituary on its front page under the headline "Le Roi est Mort" ("The King is Dead"). In a tone tinged with sadness, the article respectfully reported that, "n the reeking pavement, in the darkness of a moon-less night under the dripping rain..., Norton I, by the grace of God, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, departed this life". The Morning Call, another leading San Francisco newspaper, published a front-page article using an almost identical sentence as a headline: "Norton the First, by the grace of God Emperor of these United States and Protector of Mexico, departed this life."

It quickly became evident that, contrary to the rumors, Norton had died in complete poverty. Five or six dollars in small change had been found on his person, and a search of his room at the boarding house on Commercial Street turned up a single gold sovereign, then worth around $2.50; his collection of walking sticks; his rather battered saber; a variety of headgear (including a stovepipe, a derby, a red-laced Army cap, and another cap suited to a martial band-master); an 1828 French franc; and a handful of the Imperial bonds he sold to tourists at a fictitious 7% interest. There were fake telegrams purporting to be from Emperor Alexander II of Russia, congratulating Norton on his forthcoming marriage to Queen Victoria, and from the President of France, predicting that such a union would be disastrous to world peace. Also found were his letters to Queen Victoria and 98 shares of stock in a defunct gold mine.

Initial funeral arrangements were for a pauper's coffin of simple redwood. However, members of the Pacific Club, a San Francisco businessman's association, established a funeral fund that provided for a handsome rosewood casket and arranged a suitably dignified farewell. Norton's funeral on Sunday, January 10, was solemn, mournful, and large. Paying their respects were members of "...all classes from capitalists to the pauper, the clergyman to the pickpocket, well-dressed ladies and those whose garb and bearing hinted of the social outcast." Some accounts say as many as 30,000 people lined the streets, and that the funeral cortege was two miles (3 km) long. San Francisco's total population was then 230,000. Norton was buried in the Masonic Cemetery, at the expense of the City of San Francisco.

In 1934, Emperor Norton's remains were transferred, as were all graves in the city, to a grave site of moderate splendor at Woodlawn Cemetery, in Colma. The grave is marked by a large stone inscribed "Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico". Adjacent to his plot is one marked for the self-declared "Her Royal Majesty, Empress of San Francisco, José I, The Widow Norton."