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William Harrison (Harry) was
born September 26, 1868 at the family home in Oak Run. His parents, Daniel
Granvil and Sarah Martha Heryford Hunt were both members of pioneer families
in Shasta County. He worked on the family ranch which expanded to over
thirty thousand acres under the management of Harry and his son George.
Octavia and Flora Irene Atkins
(twins) were born at Balls Ferry August 16, 1873 to Quintus Narcissus and
Martha Adeline Hughes Atkins. Like their future husband they attended local
schools and learned the domestic skills expected of women in those days.
Harry and Octavia were married
in Millville May 1, 1893. They made their home on Clover Creek. They kept
their food in a cave behind the house and raised some of their own food
from the fields and a small orchard which was still producing some fruit
in the middle of the next century. They settled down and started their
family of five:
| Daniel | b. Mar. 31, 1894 | d. Jul 14, 1977 | m. Beatrice Marie Eddy m. Nellie Bryant Holden |
| Elsie May | b. Mar. 2, 1895 | d. Nov. 18, 1958 | m. William Hathaway |
| Roy | b. Aug. 26, 1896 | d. Feb. 25, 1976 | m. Nelita Mae Eldridge |
| George | b. Oct. 20, 1897 | d. Feb. 25, 1966 | m. Cleta Lorraine Meyer |
| Martha | b. Feb. 13, 1899 | d. Nov. 20, 1900 |
Octavia died the day of Martha's
birth and Martha died before she was two years old. Seven years after Octavia's
death, Harry married her twin sister Flora February 4, 1906. They made
their home in Oak Run where they had six more children:
| Flora | b. Oct. 6, 1906 | d. Dec. 9, 1921 | |
| Nelda | b. Feb. 23, 1908 | d. Jan. 7, 1994 | m. Lloyd Macaulay m. Stonewall J. Denham |
| Esther | b. Sept. 29, 1909 | d Apr. 9, 1988 | m. Almon Harvey Taylor |
| Hattie | b. Dec. 12, 1910 | d. Sept. 9, 2000 | m. Robert Bartell Sr. |
| Helen | b. Sept. 4, 1913 | ||
| William | b. Jun. 9, 1919 | d. Mar. 24, 1922 |
The two families seemed like
one and they were much closer than most "step families". Harry and Flora
treated all the children the same and saw them off into the world. Dan
attended Healds Business College and took time for WWI before devoting
himself to the ranch with help from Roy and George. Nelda became a nurse,
Esther and Hattie became teachers and Elsie and Helen were homemakers.
Harry and Flora lived in their
home in Oak Run which was built by two of Flora's brothers. Harry was a
member of the local Masonic Lodge. Harry died of pneumonia January 16,
1922.
This was a very difficult time
for Flora; her daughter Flora had died a month earlier and her son William
died in March. She remained in her own home until her death February 21,
1954. All three are buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Millville.
Source: Shasta Historical Society - Aug 2000
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