30 years ago I was in a San Francisco thrift store on Mission street, flipping thru a bin of framed pictures. In the middle of the stack, this one came up:
I was suddenly frozen – floored by this stark black and white photo of a very mysterious bearded man with piercing eyes. My brain screamed: WHO IS THIS GUY!
I paid $3 for it and brought it home. Of course, I hung it on the wall. On the front was the name Frederic van Norstrand and the date Sept 22, 1938. The words “In Amicitiam” I was able to determine was Latin for “in friendship”. On the back of the picture was written his name again and the date and time of his death at 81 years of age in San Francisco. The name and date of death was enough to begin an online search thru old San Francisco directories and voter records. Over the years, I continued intermittent research and only recently did I uncover significant details of his life that provided me with clues that formed his character and pushed him towards his esoteric vocation.
He was born in 1891 in Bradford, Pennsylvania, the son of insurance salesman Fredrick Groves and his wife Flora. Thus began an unfortunate series of events that indicated that he probably had an unstable life during his youth. Around the age of 20 young Fredrick Groves is a seaman working on ships traveling thru the West Indies. In 1914 he is hooked up with a woman named Sylvia Abrahams, who lived in Jamaica (and seems to already have a husband named Harry Morgan). By 1916 Sylvia has two children with the last name Groves. Also in 1916, Fredricks mother Flora, is back in the US and divorced from her husband. Then in 1918, Sylvia in Jamaica dies (influenza?) leaving Fredricks two children without a mother, probably while he is at sea.
In 1923, Fredrick arrives in New York as a seaman on the SS Barcelona sailing from Kingston, Jamaica. He brings his two children, Sylvia age 8 and Paul age 9 with him. Then in 1924, he is a on a ship bound for India and his two children are staying in NYC with a family named Heymans. In 1930 his daughter Sylvia, age 15, is in an institution for Seaman’s Children. Records indicate that his career as a sailor continued thru the early 30s.
Perhaps it is that trip to India which caused him to radically re-invent himself as an Astrologer and Tarot card reader. By 1938 he has moved to San Francisco and is living at 635 Montgomery street. His mother Flora is dead and he has changed his last name to van Norstrand, which is his mother’s maiden name. In 1940 he is at 1462 Clay street, apartment 11 and his occupation listed as “metaphysician” – which if you look up the definition is “one who practices the metaphysics of mind-cure”.
Now I began to understand what is behind those piercing eyes. In 1948 he is at the same address and his occupation listed is “astrologer”. His wife is listed as a woman named Geraldine.
During the 40’s and 50’s he developed quite a reputation in the City as an astrologer advising prominent San Francisco women. He also produced a hand drawn tarot deck and published some books on the subject.
He died in 1971. That picture is still hanging on my wall. I never did find out who Geraldine is.