The House on Miller Creek Road

The land belonged to James Miller, an Irishman who came overland to California in 1844 and in 1846 bought 680 acres in the Las Gallinas Valley. The creek below the house carries his name. Miller gave land for the little Dixie School in 1864, and his family ranched the valley until the 1930s. By 1955 the hillside was part of the Teixeira Ranch, still cattle and dairy country.

Drag the slider to watch the same spot from the air. The red outline is the lot.

195219651997200420112022

Marinwood begins

In the fall of 1955 developer Gerald G. Hoytt and his company, Marinwood Builders, Inc., opened Marinwood with eight furnished model homes, calling it the "City of Tomorrow." The ads offered one-story ranch houses and "the Famous 1½ Story 'Hoytt 50 Per Cent More' Homes," with three or four bedrooms, two baths and a GE color kitchen. Veterans could buy with no down payment.

By April 1956 all 500 homes in the first three units had sold, at $16,000 to $20,000 each, and foundations were in for more than 200 homes in Unit 3, the section that includes this lot. The Mary E. Silveira School opened in November 1956. The county built a bridge to Lucas Valley Road in 1958-59, and in April 1960 the Lee Brothers market opened at Marinwood Plaza, drawing 5,000 to 6,000 people the first night.

On April 25, 1956, Marin County issued the building permit for 381 Miller Creek Road to Marinwood Builders, Inc., as both owner and contractor. It is stamped "Master Plan #3, Elevation A": floor plan number 3 with exterior style A, one of about two dozen looks the company got out of seven floor plans.

Built

1956, by Marinwood Builders, Inc.

Original size

1½ stories: 785 sq ft down, 400 up, 375 sq ft garage

Lot

7,590 sq ft

Today

2,512 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2½ baths

Owned by the family

1959 to 2017

One phone number

GR 9-7205 (phone numbers once began with letters), later 479-7205, on every building permit from 1971 to 2011

The first family, 1956-1959

The O'Leals were not the first family. The April 1956 phone book has no one at the address. The June 1957 and April 1958 books list "Uggla B E." Bo Edward Uggla, who went by B. Edward, was a Swedish immigrant and an auditor for Electrolux, later its assistant controller. His wife Elsie, born Elsie Fuchs in Chicago, was executive secretary to the president of Electrolux. Her 2003 obituary: "They lived in Oakland, San Francisco, and Marinwood and then were transferred back to Chicago." No deed from those years has been found, but they were very likely the first buyers.

Who owned it

1. 1956Marinwood Builders, Inc. builds the house (permit April 25).
2. 1957-58B. Edward and Elsie Uggla, the first family on record.
3. 1959Lt. Col. Antonio and Winifred O'Leal, by the April phone book.
4. 1975Tony dies. Winnie keeps the house.
5. 1982A deed adds Elliott G. Dodge Jr. to the title after their 1981 marriage.
6. 2003Elliott dies. Winnie keeps the house, now in a family trust (a legal plan for who gets it later).
7. 2017February 24: a sworn statement of Winnie's death and the sale deed, signed by her son Leland, who handled her affairs, are recorded the same day. Sale price $920,000.

How the house grew

1. 1971A 199 sq ft family room with a wall heater, $3,000. Owner Antonio O'Leal; contractor E. L. Griffin of Novato.
2. 1977An addition to the dining area, $4,452. Owner "Mrs. A. O'Leal."
3. 1978-80A remodel, including turning space (likely the garage) into living space.
4. 1979-82An attached carport, 176 sq ft, with Winnie as owner-builder. An inspector sent it back in 1982 because it did not match the drawing, then it passed.
5. 1980A solar hot water system with an 80-gallon tank.
6. 1990-92A bathroom addition, $5,472, built by Elliott as owner-builder "E. G. Dodge."
7. 2009A new flat roof.

When the O'Leals arrived in 1959, Marinwood was still new. The children were Jo Anne, Leland, Linda, Mark and baby Gail. The San Rafael paper mentions the family often:

1. 1960"Col. and Mrs. Antonio O'Leal" help run the Marinwood school carnival.
2. 1961Tony, working a Christmas-season job at the post office, is struck by a mail truck and breaks his leg. He is in "good" condition.
3. 1968Leland, "of 381 Miller Creek Road," is nominated to the U.S. Air Force Academy.
4. 1971Winnie becomes president of the Marinwood Guild of Sunny Hills, which raised money for Sunny Hills Children's Services. The paper calls her the "English born wife of a retired Air Force officer."
5. 1972-73She leads the Marin County Reserve Officers Ladies Association. Mark, 17, and Gail, 13, are living "at the family home."
6. 1975Tony dies on April 22.

"A memorial service for retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Antonio O'Leal of Marinwood will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in the chapel at Hamilton Air Force Base. O'Leal died Tuesday in Letterman Hospital, San Francisco, a few days after suffering a heart attack ... He was a veteran of 32 years' service ... More than half his military career was spent overseas in England, France, Germany, Panama, Hawaii and Turkey ... He was born in Metcalf, Ariz. ... Following cremation, his ashes are to be taken to Arizona."Daily Independent Journal, San Rafael, April 24, 1975

Winnie stayed in the house for 41 more years. She met Elliott Dodge in 1977, and they married in 1981. Elliott died in 2003. Winnie died at home on September 28, 2016, survived by her brother Peter, her five children, four stepchildren, 13 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

Tony's mother's family can be followed for six generations, to the 1720s, through the Catholic church books of the old mission towns founded by Jesuit priests of Chihuahua: San Francisco de Borja, San Lorenzo, Baqueachi, Carichí and the mining town of Cusihuiriachi. His father's family stops at Francisco Leal: no record found so far names Francisco's parents or the town in Sonora he came from.

Line by line: Tony's mother's mother, the Parras

1. 1728Juan Crisóstomo Parra is baptized at San Francisco de Borja, son of Francisco de la Parra and Tomasa de Rivera, a family written "Española." He marries Rafaela Lozano, born 1730, daughter of Jacobo Santiago Lozano and María de la Concepción Jayme, "mulatos." Six generations before Tony. Proven.
2. 1781Their son José Antonio Parra, "mestiso," marries Juana Mónica Romero, "mestisa," daughter of Francisco Rosalio Romero and Guadalupe Martínez. Five generations before Tony. Proven.
3. 1781Their son José Ignacio Parra is baptized "un niño mestizo." In 1815 he marries María Josefa Enríquez, daughter of Rafael Enríquez and Josefa Balderrama. Four generations before Tony. Proven.
4. 1818Their son Antonio Parra is baptized. In 1846 he marries Francisca Carballo, later called Estrada, "of unknown parents." Great-grandparents. Proven.
5. 1865Their daughter Refugio Parra is born. Tony's grandmother.

Tony's mother's father: the Olivas and Ordóñez families

1. 1761Juan Simón Ordóñez is baptized "un niño mestizo" at Cusihuiriachi, son of Juan Jacinto Ordóñez and María Rosalía Frías Delgadillo. In 1780 he marries María Andrea Henríquez, daughter of José Basilio Henríquez. Five generations before Tony. Likely: the 1780 couple is very likely the "Juan Ordóñez and María Andrea Henríquez" named on the 1822 and 1825 baptisms.
2. 1780sDon Rafael Olivas and Doña Gertrudis Mendoza are raising children at San Lorenzo. Five generations before Tony. Proven by name on the 1825 baptism.
3. 1816Their son Don Francisco Olivas and Doña María de los Reyes Ordóñez, Juan Simón's daughter, baptize their first known child at San Lorenzo. Four generations before Tony. Proven.
4. 1825Their son Anuario (Jenaro) Olivas is born at Tutuaca, "un niño español." He marries Librada Chaves. Great-grandparents. Proven.
5. 1861Their son Encarnación "Chon" Olivas is baptized in Chihuahua city. Tony's grandfather.

Librada Chaves's family: the Chaves, Solís and Cano de los Ríos lines

1. 1780sDon Félix Chaves and Doña María Gertrudis Pérez; and Don José Zaragoza Solís and Doña Petra Morales, of the Valle de Carretas, whose 1784 baby is written "un niño español." Six generations before Tony. Proven, except Petra's surname, which is likely.
2. 1800Don Demetrio Chaves and Doña Rosa Solís baptize children at San Lorenzo; and Don José Apolinario Cano de los Ríos and Doña María Josefa Ruiz Galdeano live at Baqueachi. Five generations before Tony. Proven.
3. 1822Don Albino Chaves, "Español," born at Carretas in 1802, marries Doña Guadalupe Cano de los Ríos, "Española," at Baqueachi. Four generations before Tony. Proven.
4. 1836Their daughter Librada Chaves is baptized at San Francisco de Borja. Tony's great-grandmother.

Tony's father: the Leals

1. 1885Francisco Leal is born, about this year, in Sonora. His parents and hometown are not known.
2. 1903He marries Josefa Olivas before a justice of the peace, a local judge, at Metcalf on December 30, written "Francisco Lical." Tony is born there in October 1904.

Winnie's family goes back to Lewis and Martha Dewey of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, about 1777, and to brush makers, chair makers and carpenters of Southwark, Shoreditch and Camberwell in London. For English records after 1812, much of her side comes from copies of the original books rather than the books themselves; the pages that survive in view are shown here.

Winnie's father: the Deweys of Cheshunt

1. 1777Lewis Dewey is born about this year. He and Martha raise a large family at Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. He is buried there in 1840. Winnie's Four generations before Tony. Proven as William's parents by his baptism.
2. 1798Their son William Dewey is born on August 8. In 1821 he marries Susannah Salmon at Cheshunt, and he farms there. Great-grandparents. Proven.
3. 1833Their son Robert Dewey is born at Cheshunt. In 1871 he marries Sarah Rosamond Bidwell, born in Spitalfields about 1845. By 1881 he farms 400 acres. Grandparents. Proven; Sarah's maiden name likely.
4. 1877Their son Conrad Dewey is born in London. In 1912 he marries Claudia Daisy Harvey in Fulham. Winnie's parents. Very likely; the 1945 marriage certificate will prove it.

Winnie's mother: the Harveys and the Suches of south London

1. 1805Thomas Harvey is born in Southwark on December 28. A brush maker, he later manages a brush factory. He marries Mary Ann. Great-grandparents. Proven. His parents were likely Thomas Harvey and Sarah Christian.
2. 1816Sidney Such is born in Shoreditch, son of John and Hannah Such (likely). An office-chair maker, he marries Mary Ann, very likely Mary Ann Grimwade, born in Newington in 1818. Great-grandparents.
3. 1879Henry Edward Harvey, a carpenter born in Southwark in 1856, marries Martha Eleanor Such, born in Newington in 1857, at Camberwell. Grandparents. Proven.
4. 1891Their daughter Claudia Daisy Harvey is born in Camberwell. Winnie's mother.

How sure is each link?

• A person is added only when a record names them as someone's parent, child or spouse. A name that merely matches is left out or marked possible.
• Proven means an original record states the relationship, or two separate typed lists of records agree. Likely means only one such list, or a strong match, such as the only man of that name and age in the parish.
• Every Mexican church entry quoted here comes from the original church book, and each label is read against what the same priest wrote for other families on the same page.
• A word on the 1846 marriage that can look like "Indígena" (Indigenous) is the surname Enríquez: "Josefa Anrriq.z".

Some of the new records

The U.S. government's Indian census rolls (1885 to 1940) and its Native American birth and death records have no Leal or O'Leal. The Olivas families on those rolls are California Mission Indians, with no tie to this family. That is expected: the rolls list only people enrolled at U.S. reservations and agencies, and Tony's family came from Mexico.

The real answer is in the Mexican church books. Until about 1822, priests in northern Mexico wrote each person's casta, or caste, in the register: español (Spanish), mestizo (mixed Spanish and Indigenous), indio (Indian) and others. San Francisco de Borja, where Tony's grandparents married, began in 1645 as a Jesuit mission to the Rarámuri (Tarahumara) people.

His mother's mother's family: the Parras

Tony's grandmother was Refugio Parra. Her father, Antonio Parra, was the son of José Ignacio Parra and Josefa Enríquez. When José Ignacio was baptized at San Francisco de Borja on July 31, 1781, the priest wrote that he baptized "un niño mestizo," a mestizo boy. His godfather, Ysidro Parra, is called mestizo too.

By the church's 1815 announcement of his wedding the same man is written "esp.l," Spanish. Labels like these often shifted as a family settled in and rose. A younger brother's 1793 baptism has "Ind.o" (Indian) in the margin, but that priest wrote it next to nearly every baby on the page, so it is a weak label.

1. 1781José Ignacio Parra is baptized at San Francisco de Borja, "un niño mestizo."
2. 1815He marries Josefa Enríquez there. The church's announcement of the wedding calls him "José Yg.o Parra, esp.l."
3. 1818Their son José Antonio Parra is baptized there.
4. 1846Antonio Parra, "hijo de Ygnacio Parra y de Josefa Anrríq.z," marries Francisca Carballo, "de padres no conocidos."
5. 1865Their daughter Refugio Parra is born (1900 census: July 1865, Mexico).
6. 1882Refugio marries Encarnación "Chon" Olivas at San Francisco de Borja.
7. 1886Their daughter María Josefa is baptized at Paso del Norte. The entry names all four grandparents: Anuario Olivas and Librada Chávez, Antonio Parra and Francisca Estrada.
8. 1904Josefa's son "Antonio O. Leal," Tony, is born at Metcalf, Arizona.

Going further back, José Ignacio's parents were themselves written "mestiso" and "mestisa" at their wedding in 1781, on pages where the same priest wrote mission couples as "Yndios." His father's mother, Rafaela Lozano, was the daughter of a couple written "mulatos" in 1730, a word for people with African ancestry, often mixed with Spanish and Indigenous. On the same page the Parra baby is written "Española."

His mother's father's family: the Olivas and Chávez lines

On this side every entry says Spanish, on pages where the same priests wrote Indian for other families: Carmen Chaves in 1813, "una niña española"; Fermín Olivas in 1816, "un niño español," two entries from "un niño yndio"; Albino Chaves and Guadalupe Cano, married in 1822 at Baqueachi, "español" and "española"; and Anuario Olivas in 1825, "niño español." In 1900 the U.S. census marked the whole family "W," for white, as it did most Mexican families then.

His father's family, and Winnie's

Francisco Leal was born about 1885 in Sonora. He married Josefa at Metcalf on December 30, 1903, but no record found so far names his parents or his hometown, so the Leal side cannot be checked. Winnie's family was English on both sides, traced back to Hertfordshire farmers and London tradesmen of the 1700s and early 1800s, with no sign of Native ancestry.

So, was the family story true?

Yes, in part, and the records show more than the family story. On Tony's mother's side the church recorded mixed ancestry for several generations. José Ignacio Parra was baptized "mestizo" in 1781, and so were his parents. On the Ordóñez line, Juan Simón Ordóñez was baptized "mestizo" in 1761 and later written "español." These families lived in Rarámuri (Tarahumara) mission country, so a Native ancestor there would most likely have been Rarámuri, but no record names a tribe. The 1730 "mulatos" show African roots too, which were common in colonial northern Mexico. No one in Tony's direct line is ever written "indio." No record ties the family to a U.S. tribe. A DNA test of one of Tony's children or grandchildren would show how much of each there is.

• How Tony's first marriage ended, between 1940 and 1945. His 1945 English marriage certificate will say whether he was a bachelor or a divorced man, and give his father's name and job. A copy is on its way from England.
• What became of Francisco Leal after 1914, and who raised the three boys. His Arizona death certificate, if he died there before 1977, would answer it.
• The Leal grandparents in Sonora. Too many Francisco Leals were born there in the 1880s to pick one, and his 1903 marriage gives no parents. Brother Frank's 1957 Arizona death certificate, or Tony's 1975 California one, may name them. One candidate, not linked: Juan Francisco Leal, born 1884 at Sinoquipe, son of Quirino Leal and Elisea Salcido.
• Proof that Conrad Dewey was Winnie's father. Everything points to him, but no record names him as her father yet. The 1945 marriage certificate will.
• Older Mexican marriages. San Lorenzo's marriage books for 1795 to 1858 can't be seen, so the weddings of Anuario Olivas and Librada Chaves, and of Francisco Olivas and Reyes Ordóñez, cannot be read.
• Francisca Carballo's parents. At her 1846 wedding she is written "de padres no conocidos," of unknown parents, so her line cannot be followed.
• How much Native ancestry Tony had, and from which people. The records show a mestizo ancestor in a Rarámuri mission town but never name a tribe. A DNA test of one of Tony's descendants would give a percentage.
• Where the family lived from 1910 to 1926. They are missing from the 1910 and 1920 censuses.
• Tony's wartime commission and service. His Army service papers should be at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, though many Army files of that era were lost in its 1973 fire.
• Where in Arizona his ashes were taken, from his 1975 California death certificate.
• The 1950s deeds and prices, builder to the Ugglas and the Ugglas to the O'Leals. The county's list of deeds only goes back to the mid-1970s; the older books are at the Marin County Recorder in San Rafael.
• Winnie's father's later businesses: the tea garden, greyhound tracks and hotels of her obituary. The 1921 census and the 1939 Register of England would name them.