I live in coastal Mendocino county, in northern California. I moved here with my mother and brother in 1969, after my parents divorced. My mother had some friends in the area.
My parents were both born in Pasadena, in southern California. My mother's grandparents, along with her father and his brother and sister Ella (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stoner-1103 ), moved to southern California around 1907. My grandfathers sister Ella's two children moved to Little Lake district, Mendocino county, California, sometime between 1920 and 1955. My great-aunt Ella died there in 1955; she must have moved in with one of her children sometime after her husband died in 1927, and moved there with them.
(Ella Secrist, center, back row, with brothers and parents.)
I wish I had known about this and asked my grandfather about it before he died, but I didn't. I knew only that Ella's daughter, Mae Steadman (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Secrist-134 ), had died in a convalescent home in Willits. My mother took us over to visit her once, probably about 1975, after she found out where she was. It was a 2-hour drive "over the hill" to visit Mae. It was not too long after that that we heard she'd died.
I recently learned that Mae's brother, John Secrist (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Secrist-133 ) also lived in Mendocino county, and was probably the first to move there, as he was counted there in the census of 1940.
In theory, I could have 2nd cousins living right over the hill, that I don't even know exist. I am going to be researching these people this week, and adding to this post what I learn.
John Secrist with mother Ella, 1916 (age 10), Long Beach, CA
Wed: I found John Secrist in Little Lake township (Willits area) of Mendocino county in the 1930 census. He was in Long Beach, CA, in the 1920 census. He was listed as a farmer, and had, or worked in, a goat dairy. I had a milk goat when I was in High School. Got up early to milk it before school.
The 1940 census listed him as the farm foreman, but didn't mention the goats. It said he had competed only up to the eleventh grade in school; unusual in my family. His father was a carpenter, but he apparently did not follow in his footsteps.
Fri: I learned that John had 2 sons, who both left the area after his death, both moving to Nevada, and from there one moved to Oregon, the other to Idaho. The 2nd son, Bob (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Secrist-136 ) died last year at his home in Oregon. His obituary mentioned that he worked with his father in a sawmill business in Willits, CA when he was young. He ran a farm supply in Elko, Nevada, succeeded by Hardware &Tire store, Surplus store and Firewood company. His children live in Nevada and Oregon.
The other of John Secrist's sons is Dave Secrist, who seems to still be alive, and living in Twin Falls, Idaho. I did not make him a page, as I hesitate to do that to someone who is alive without their permission. He is famed for writing a book of cowboy stories, which includes his own memories of riding horses and ranching as a child in Willits. The book is titled "Long Winding Trails", and he has a website for it, with some excerpts, at www.longwindingtrails.com/ . I am buying a copy of his book, and I e-mailed him photos of his family and his grandmother, to share with his branch of the family.
Monday
The Secrist family in Long Beach, around 1913. Son John moved to the Willits area before 1930. Mae moved there, with her husband, later. Mother Ella moved there after her husband died.
I have not found out exactly when Mae and Vern Steadman moved to Willits, but it was between 1942 and 1955. Another of my 2nd cousins had a picture that Verne painted while living in Willits, on a slice of a redwood log, which I photographed.
May 25th: I received my 2nd cousin Dave's book in the mail a few days ago, and have been perusing it. Goes to show what you can't learn from census records, and that a family story can be much more detailed. It turns out that Mae and Vern were actually the first to move to Willits, not John and Sarah.
Mae and Vern were married in 1915 in Los Angeles county. There is a census record for Mae and Vern living in Long Beach, CA in 1940. Her parents lived in Long Beach. One might assume they lived in the area the whole time. I learned that Vern had some bit parts in early movies. Then sometime after they were married, they spent a summer panning gold along the Yuba river. It didn't pan out, so they followed the rodeo circuit for a "short time", Vern making money in the rodeo. They they took a buggy trip north to Eureka and back. The next year, they made another trip up to the Willits area, which they had taken a liking to on their trip the previous year. They found a place to live east of Willits, and moved there. Her brother, John and his wife, Sarah, moved up to join them in Willits in 1927, which was the year their father died. He bought a homestead nearby.
Mae and Verne, at some point, moved back to Long Beach, probably because of the aging mother, I imagine, and opened an archery and tackle shop. They later moved back up to Willits, bring the mother along.
Mae and Verne moved back to Long Beach, when
