Description
Josephine Simoneau Fussell, daughter of Jules Simoneau, received and compiled most of the letters and other family memorabilia.
Jules Simoneau's great grandson, Tom Ussery, and his wife Gia Ussery, donated the materials to the Robert Louis Stevenson
Club of Monterey. The Stevenson Club donated the collection to the California History Room of the Monterey Public Library
on the behalf of the Usserys.
Background
Josephine Simoneau Fussell was born Feb 23, 1877 in Monterey, California and died May 23, 1973, also in Monterey. She was
the daughter of Jules Simoneau and Martina Feliz. Jules Simoneau, a French restaurateur, born in Nantes, immigrated to California
and was a pioneer of Monterey, California. Simoneau befriended Robert Louis Stevenson during his stay in Monterey during
1879. His daughter, Josephine, lived all her life in Monterey, residing in the Simoneau House at 456 Van Buren Street. She
married Manuel Machado. After Machado's death during the First World War, she married Thomas Fussell. She was known locally
as "Mrs. Monterey" and was known for her wealth of information about early Monterey. She was a member of what was called
the "Larkin Street Gang" of early pioneer Montereyans. Although only two years old at the time of her father's contact with
Stevenson, Mrs. Fussell was a frequent resource for the story of her father's friendship and care of the writer, who was ill
at the time.
Isobel "Belle" Osborne Field was the daughter of Fanny Osborne and stepdaughter of Robert Louis Stevenson. With her mother,
sister, and aunt, she stayed a few months in Monterey at the boarding house of Maria Ygnacia Bonifacio, known as the Sherman
Rose, in 1879. Stevenson followed Mrs. Osborne, whom he later married, to Monterey. Isobel Osborne married artist Joseph
Dwight Strong who also resided in Monterey for a period. After his death, she married Edward Salisbury Field and lived in
Santa Barbara. She authored a memoir describing her life and experiences, including her time with Robert Louis Stevenson.
She died June 26, 1953, in Santa Barbara.