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t was within his own family where the General experienced his greatest fortune and his greatest losses. By the standards of the day, the General enjoyed a robust and hearty life, but those standards were what they have become today. As we lacked adequate medicines and doctors, raising healthy children was exceedingly difficult. That is why the General himself grew up amidst eleven siblings; families had to be large since disease was bound to claim at least some of the little ones.

Sadly, disease and misfortune claimed their share of the General's family. With his first wife, Rebecca Sanford, who was the sister of his first local employer, the General saw eight children into the world. Only three of them - William Sanford, Joseph Brent, and Hancock - survived. The perils of childhood claimed not only the General's offspring, but his wife as well, for Rebecca Sanford died from complications of childbirth.


In the years after Rebecca's death, I watched the General busy himself with matters of business and state, but I know how he mourned. He took a second wife, Mary Hollister. Although one of the children Mary bore him died in infancy, two daughters--Mary and Lucy--survived.

The General did find joy mingled with the pain of loss. His sons and daughters grew into commendable adults. His sons purchased and developed nearby Santa Catalina Island.

Joseph Brent married his cousin, Katharine Banning, who helped to found the famous Los Angeles Children's Hospital.
Hancock Banning's wife Anne proved equally philanthropic; she founded the Assistance League of Southern California.




Stranded | We Land in San Pedro | Stagecoach Adventures
Harnessing the Iron Horse | A Bay Bows to His Will
The Fulfillment of Family | A Fair & Agreeable Isle