Chat room created related to this question:

Thank you, fbrereto. More than to say it doesn't seem to be Pine, I can't make out the address showing on the 1880 census. One the other hand, the city directories (from 1878 and forward) suggest he was a resident of San Francisco or that immediate area from at least 1878 onward. Do you agree?

@GeneJ Yeah I would agree, those dates make sense.

The real mystery for me is where he came from. I know he was born in New York, but other than that I have no information about his whereabouts, history, etc., before that time. It's like the opposite of Kaiser Soze - and like that poof he appeared.

("that time" being 1880 or so in San Francisco)

Have you ever inquired about Shreve archives?

He was also a member of quite a few posh clubs of San Francisco.

I haven't asked about the Shreve archives, though I suppose an email to them wouldn't hurt. I had also assumed the posh clubs of SF would be disinclined to reveal information about their members, but it has been almost 100 years so maybe they would be more forgiving.

Just emailed Shreve & Co. Fingers crossed :)

The posh clubs may have archives. Another thing bothered me, but only in passing, is that I didn't find a passport about him.

Yep: Ancestry.com:

Passport Applications, 1795-1905 > 1888-1890 > Roll 321 - 19 Mar 1889-30 Mar 1889 > 550

That's the earliest passport application I could find. If you can find anything earlier I'd love to know about it!

He was married four days after this passport was filed, so I'm guessing it was to go on his honeymoon through Europe. That's pretty cool, I hadn't realized that until just now.