Dunsmuir House was built at Oakland, California, in 1899 for Alexander Dunsmuir who came to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1878 to manage the family business. The house was intended to be a wedding gift for his new bride Josephine, a divorcee with two children. Due to his mother's disapproval Alexander had refrained from marrying her for many years, finally doing so on 22 Dec 1899. Alexander was 46 years of age, and Josephine was 50, although she stated on her marriage certificate that she was 38. Alexander didn't get to live in the house with her as he fell ill and died while on their honeymoon in New York City. His new bride returned to live there but died of breast cancer soon after in 1901.