It’s unclear why or when street signs started misspelling it “Cecilia”, but this street honors Cecelia Cudahy Casserly (1874-1954), youngest daughter of meat baron Michael Cudahy, who subdivided this land in 1907 and named its streets after his four girls. (Elizabeth and Clara streets still exist; Mary Street got coopted into Live Oak.) Born in Milwaukee and raised in Chicago, Cecelia Cudahy married John Bernard Casserly (1863-1924), a San Francisco lawyer and son of a U.S. Senator, in 1897. The couple had four children and split their time between SF and their 4 acre estate in Hillsborough, CA. More than just a socialite (and amateur harpist), Cecelia Cudahy Casserly was big in Democratic politics: she was a DNC delegate, a national voice in the repeal of Prohibition, and an unsuccessful Congressional candidate in 1928. Her defeat was at least partly due to her 25-year-old son John Jr. falling fatally ill that autumn, forcing her off the campaign trail. From the mid-1930s onward, she lived in New York City and Wilton, CT.
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