THE ALPINE ECHO
February 15, 1962
ECHOES OF THE PAST
The Old Timer
By Neil Galloway
In July 1909, at 25 years of age, I came to San Diego looking for U. S. Government land to homestead, and found it was all on top a mountain.
One of the old time families that homesteaded before I came was named Hancock. They came from Australia to Oregon. The father was so madly crippled with rheumatism that they drove to San Diego in a covered wagon seeking a drier climate. He died before I came to Alpine, leaving three daughters and a niece, none married. They were not young, except for the niece. Mary did the cooking and housekeeping; Elizabeth did the farming; Anna did a little bit of everything, and worked out some, too. They always had a few heads of cattle which Minnie, the niece, herded on the mountains. They were herding them in the valley here when I came. It had been lost to the bank for mortgage. The bank failed and Melicaton Barnett got it for his part of the bank assets that were left. Now, I needed someone to help plow part of my land. I asked Liz, as Elizabeth was called, if she knew of anyone. She said, “What’s the matter with me?” She was then about 60 years old. So she followed a walking plow several days for me from daylight till dark. These were hardy pioneers that made our early day’s his-tory.
Liz could sling a wicked black-snake whip. If one of the horses got balky, she sure could dress him down. They always raised a pig or two. Many times I was asked to get the life out of a pig, but from there on they did not need anybody’s help. They raised a few chickens and a good garden most of the year. They had a spring on the south end of their property, between them and Harbison Canyon, that always ran. The water was carried from the spring in a pail. In later years they had goats instead of cattle. The brush had encroached on the land, and other settlers moved in, so there was not much feed for cattle anymore.
Mr. Hancock had a very complete set of blacksmith tools all, or nearly all, handmade. He even made drills to drill iron. I expect he did a lot of smithy work for the early settlers.
For all that Liz’ hands were badly malformed by arthritis, she did some beautiful needle-work, and when she was 70 years old, I’ve seen her mount to horseback from the ground many times.
The Hancocks worked for me quite a bit. I had 27 acres of nice raisin muscat grapes. They picked them for me. I got $10 a ton, paid them $6.
The Hancocks used to drive a wagon to El Cajon, maybe once or twice a month. I did the same. It took all day to make the 25-mile round trip.
February 15, 1962
ECHOES OF THE PAST
The Old Timer
By Neil Galloway
In July 1909, at 25 years of age, I came to San Diego looking for U. S. Government land to homestead, and found it was all on top a mountain.
One of the old time families that homesteaded before I came was named Hancock. They came from Australia to Oregon. The father was so madly crippled with rheumatism that they drove to San Diego in a covered wagon seeking a drier climate. He died before I came to Alpine, leaving three daughters and a niece, none married. They were not young, except for the niece. Mary did the cooking and housekeeping; Elizabeth did the farming; Anna did a little bit of everything, and worked out some, too. They always had a few heads of cattle which Minnie, the niece, herded on the mountains. They were herding them in the valley here when I came. It had been lost to the bank for mortgage. The bank failed and Melicaton Barnett got it for his part of the bank assets that were left. Now, I needed someone to help plow part of my land. I asked Liz, as Elizabeth was called, if she knew of anyone. She said, “What’s the matter with me?” She was then about 60 years old. So she followed a walking plow several days for me from daylight till dark. These were hardy pioneers that made our early day’s his-tory.
Liz could sling a wicked black-snake whip. If one of the horses got balky, she sure could dress him down. They always raised a pig or two. Many times I was asked to get the life out of a pig, but from there on they did not need anybody’s help. They raised a few chickens and a good garden most of the year. They had a spring on the south end of their property, between them and Harbison Canyon, that always ran. The water was carried from the spring in a pail. In later years they had goats instead of cattle. The brush had encroached on the land, and other settlers moved in, so there was not much feed for cattle anymore.
Mr. Hancock had a very complete set of blacksmith tools all, or nearly all, handmade. He even made drills to drill iron. I expect he did a lot of smithy work for the early settlers.
For all that Liz’ hands were badly malformed by arthritis, she did some beautiful needle-work, and when she was 70 years old, I’ve seen her mount to horseback from the ground many times.
The Hancocks worked for me quite a bit. I had 27 acres of nice raisin muscat grapes. They picked them for me. I got $10 a ton, paid them $6.
The Hancocks used to drive a wagon to El Cajon, maybe once or twice a month. I did the same. It took all day to make the 25-mile round trip.
THE ALPINE ECHO
February 15, 1962
ECHOES OF THE PAST
The Old Timer
By Neil Galloway
In July 1909, at 25 years of age, I came to San Diego looking for U. S. Government land to homestead, and found it was all on top a mountain.
One of the old time families that homesteaded before I came was named Hancock. They came from Australia to Oregon. The father was so madly crippled with rheumatism that they drove to San Diego in a covered wagon seeking a drier climate. He died before I came to Alpine, leaving three daughters and a niece, none married. They were not young, except for the niece. Mary did the cooking and housekeeping; Elizabeth did the farming; Anna did a little bit of everything, and worked out some, too. They always had a few heads of cattle which Minnie, the niece, herded on the mountains. They were herding them in the valley here when I came. It had been lost to the bank for mortgage. The bank failed and Melicaton Barnett got it for his part of the bank assets that were left. Now, I needed someone to help plow part of my land. I asked Liz, as Elizabeth was called, if she knew of anyone. She said, “What’s the matter with me?” She was then about 60 years old. So she followed a walking plow several days for me from daylight till dark. These were hardy pioneers that made our early day’s his-tory.
Liz could sling a wicked black-snake whip. If one of the horses got balky, she sure could dress him down. They always raised a pig or two. Many times I was asked to get the life out of a pig, but from there on they did not need anybody’s help. They raised a few chickens and a good garden most of the year. They had a spring on the south end of their property, between them and Harbison Canyon, that always ran. The water was carried from the spring in a pail. In later years they had goats instead of cattle. The brush had encroached on the land, and other settlers moved in, so there was not much feed for cattle anymore.
Mr. Hancock had a very complete set of blacksmith tools all, or nearly all, handmade. He even made drills to drill iron. I expect he did a lot of smithy work for the early settlers.
For all that Liz’ hands were badly malformed by arthritis, she did some beautiful needle-work, and when she was 70 years old, I’ve seen her mount to horseback from the ground many times.
The Hancocks worked for me quite a bit. I had 27 acres of nice raisin muscat grapes. They picked them for me. I got $10 a ton, paid them $6.
The Hancocks used to drive a wagon to El Cajon, maybe once or twice a month. I did the same. It took all day to make the 25-mile round trip.
February 15, 1962
ECHOES OF THE PAST
The Old Timer
By Neil Galloway
In July 1909, at 25 years of age, I came to San Diego looking for U. S. Government land to homestead, and found it was all on top a mountain.
One of the old time families that homesteaded before I came was named Hancock. They came from Australia to Oregon. The father was so madly crippled with rheumatism that they drove to San Diego in a covered wagon seeking a drier climate. He died before I came to Alpine, leaving three daughters and a niece, none married. They were not young, except for the niece. Mary did the cooking and housekeeping; Elizabeth did the farming; Anna did a little bit of everything, and worked out some, too. They always had a few heads of cattle which Minnie, the niece, herded on the mountains. They were herding them in the valley here when I came. It had been lost to the bank for mortgage. The bank failed and Melicaton Barnett got it for his part of the bank assets that were left. Now, I needed someone to help plow part of my land. I asked Liz, as Elizabeth was called, if she knew of anyone. She said, “What’s the matter with me?” She was then about 60 years old. So she followed a walking plow several days for me from daylight till dark. These were hardy pioneers that made our early day’s his-tory.
Liz could sling a wicked black-snake whip. If one of the horses got balky, she sure could dress him down. They always raised a pig or two. Many times I was asked to get the life out of a pig, but from there on they did not need anybody’s help. They raised a few chickens and a good garden most of the year. They had a spring on the south end of their property, between them and Harbison Canyon, that always ran. The water was carried from the spring in a pail. In later years they had goats instead of cattle. The brush had encroached on the land, and other settlers moved in, so there was not much feed for cattle anymore.
Mr. Hancock had a very complete set of blacksmith tools all, or nearly all, handmade. He even made drills to drill iron. I expect he did a lot of smithy work for the early settlers.
For all that Liz’ hands were badly malformed by arthritis, she did some beautiful needle-work, and when she was 70 years old, I’ve seen her mount to horseback from the ground many times.
The Hancocks worked for me quite a bit. I had 27 acres of nice raisin muscat grapes. They picked them for me. I got $10 a ton, paid them $6.
The Hancocks used to drive a wagon to El Cajon, maybe once or twice a month. I did the same. It took all day to make the 25-mile round trip.
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