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The Milburn Homestead

Family History, Recollections and Lore
       Compiled by Dennis E. Milburn
 
Hard Cover 8.5 x 11 150 pages, numerous photos, many in color.

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  Introduction  Table of Contents

Introduction

In April of 2010, I was visiting with my siblings at our family’s ranch in San Luis Obispo County, California. As usual when we get together, we reminisced about growing up and recounted some of the old stories we had heard from our parents and grandparents. On the drive back to my present home in Montana, I got to thinking about those old stories of life in the early days of our ranch. I began to realize this oral history, that we enjoyed reliving so much, was about to disappear and be lost forever. Those early stories had been told by my great-grandparents to my grandparents. They, in turn, passed them on to my parents, who retold them to us. With each telling, some of the detail is lost. Each succeeding generation relates fewer of the tales to their children. I decided I would try to capture as much of this old family oral history as I could on paper. I soon realized that the stories, without context, did not seem adequate. I then tried to tell some of the history of our ancestors, but it was difficult to decide who to include and where to start. Eventually, it became apparent to me that what really tied the people and stories together was the family homestead. So, the brief history that I have tried to present, is the story of the Milburn Homestead from about 1880 to the present. The tales open a small window to provide a glimpse of what life was like on the homestead, for four generations of Milburns.

My intended audience is the children of my generation, and generations of Milburns to come. I hope they will gain an appreciation and perspective of their ancestors’ lives. If others have a chance to read this, I hope they will also understand a little of what life was like for the settlers in the old El Dorado and Pozo Districts of San Luis Obispo County. It is not, in any sense, a complete history. Rather, my effort provides a set of fleeting snapshots of the people that established the Milburn Homestead and maintained it down through the years. They were real people, not just names on a family tree. They loved, labored, enjoyed success, suffered failure, endured hardship and tragedy.

I need to acknowledge, and thank, my brothers, Douglas and Loren; and sister, Lisa Kim, for their contributions and suggestions. I often found that we each had somewhat different recollections of the stories and events that I have documented. I have tried to meld these recollections, as best I could, to capture the essence of our family history. A special thanks to Lisa Kim for taking the time to sort through a lot of old photos and documents and for preparing a chapter of her memories. I must also thank my wife, Debbie, and daughters, Shelly and Amanda, for their hours of editing and organizing old photos for this project.

The Ballagh, Fly and Milburn families were drawn together by their respective selection of homestead sites in, what was called at the time, the El Dorado District within the San Jose Valley of San Luis Obispo County. Their families became joined together by marriage and formed the foundation for the next generation. I have chosen to start with the families of William Milburn, Robert Ballagh and Martin Fly as they were the first of their line to migrate to California and establish homesteads in the area where I grew up.

This narrative may provoke some chuckles, perhaps a few tears, hopefully, a well-deserved respect for what people endured and accomplished through their hard work. To the best of my knowledge and memory, all of the events related are true and accurate. Each of the events described has been passed down as family oral history and, I believe, has never been documented.

Dennis E. Milburn May 10, 2011

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Table of Contents

Milburn Family Tree

Vicinity Map

Homestead Map

Introduction

Chapter I, The Homestead Years, 1880-1900

Chapter II, The Next Generation, 1900-1924

Chapter III, The Third Generation, Part 1, 1924-1945

Chapter IV, The Third Generation, Part 2, 1945-1994

Chapter V, The Fourth Generation, 1994-Present (2011)

Chapter VI, Lisa K. Milburn Law Cava
Growing up In Pozo, Childhood Memories
and Later Life

Chapter VII, Dennis E. Milburn, 1948-Present (2011)
My Life and Times

Notes

 

 

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