SAN FRANCISCO >> The mysterious little girl holding a single flower, found buried in a casket underneath a San Francisco home — captivating the Bay Area’s curiosity — has been identified.
Edith Howard Cook, the second born child and first born daughter of Horatio Nelson and Edith Scooffy Cook, died Oct. 13, 1876, at the age of 2 years, 10 months and 15 days, according to nonprofit Garden of Innocence, which spent a year trying to identify her. The girl was buried in the family plot in the Yerba Buena section of the Odd Fellows Cemetery two days after she died. That year, Ulysses S. Grant was president and San Franciscans had their first opportunity to ride the Transcontinental Express to New York in under four days.
“We’re really excited. They did a lot of crazy work to find out who she was,” said Garden of Innocence volunteer Erica Hernandez, whose organization released a detailed nine-page report Tuesday. “All the information that should’ve been kept by the cemetery wasn’t kept.”
The girl had been given the name “Miranda Eve” last year shortly after a family found her in her airtight metal casket in the Lone Mountain neighborhood of San Francisco during a remodeling project. The casket contained a leaded glass window through which they could see a 2-to-3-year-old girl holding the flower. The resident turned the ornate casket over to the Garden of Innocence, a charity that buries unclaimed children, to handle the girl’s affairs.
Funeral home records show Edith died from marasmus, or severe undernourishment. It’s not clear what caused the illness, but in late 1800s urban living could have led to an infectious disease, the nonprofit said.
Information released Tuesday reveals that Edith was born into two prominent families in the world of commerce and society. Her mother was born into a San Francisco pioneer family, as her father Peter Scooffy was an original member of the Society of California Pioneers.
Horatio Cook and Edith Scooffy married in 1870 and baby Edith’s father tanned hides and manufactured leather belts. He also served as Consul for Greece.
After her death at a young age, Edith’s parents had another daughter, Ethel Cook, who was declared by a Russian nobleman as the most beautiful woman in America, the nonprofit reported.
Young Edith was given an ornate burial. A mortician who assisted with her reburial last year found she was clothed in a white christening dress embellished with elaborate lace work, according to the nonprofit. She wore ankle high shoes similar to “baby booties,” and tiny purple “false indigo” flowers were woven into her hair and on a long necklace, similar to a rosary, according to the report.
The mortician also clarified that what was believed to be a single red rose in the girl’s right hand was actually a purple Nightshade flower. Roses, eucalyptus leaves and baby’s breath were also placed along her body.
