Family feuds: nothing new here. Families have been feuding since, well, since the beginning. Pick a family, find a feud. The book was written by the grandson of Justinian Caire, the patriarch of a French family that immigrated to San Francisco in 1851. Not so long ago. He started a very successful business selling supplies to the mining companies getting established all over California. With his profits, he bought an island. Not just any island, but the largest island off the coast of California-Santa Cruz or the Island of the Holy Cross, formerly part of a Spanish land grant. The island is about 100 sq. miles in size and is about 18 miles south of Santa Barbara.
Mr. Caire started ranching operations with both sheep and cattle, establishing several different sites around the island. Soon he was marketing his products to customers in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. After a few years, he added grape vines and began a winery on the island. This multi-faceted operation was just part of the family business run from its San Francisco HQ. During this time, he and his wife, Albina, had 6 children: 4 daughters and 2 sons. During the summer, the entire family would travel south and live for 3 months or more off the coast, a few hours by schooner from SB. Life was good as the 19th century came to a close. And then, Justinian died unexpectedly. Despite his estate planning(signed last will and testament), trouble began almost immediately.
More later
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