Barker Ledson
Barker Ledson was Steve's grandfather and came to America from England in 1896 at the age of 16. He first landed in Iowa where he worked at his aunt's ranch for room and board. Shortly after he left Iowa for the adventure of working on the railroads. He worked in the Mojave Dessert for five years and was able to save almost all of his earnings. With this little fortune, Barker purchased 600 acres of land near Yosemite. He was just 22 years old. He longed for more excitement though and left for San Francisco, leaving his two brothers to run his ranch. Barker worked for the City Ice Company in San Francisco, and at first was not even getting paid. But his strong work ethic paid off and eventually he became the General Manager. Since Barker's career was a success, he decided it was time to settle down. He met Edna Cunningham in 1910 and married her three years later. Barker died of a heart attack in 1937 at the young age of just 57.