Evelyn and George Hertslet embarked on a journey from England to California in 1885.
George’s brothers and a friend accompanied the two on their voyage across the Atlantic, and the family purchased a ranch at Burns Valley where a good-sized English community was based.
Being only in their 20s, the couple probably knew what a culture shock awaited them, but being young, they figured that they would adapt quickly to these life changes.
When the party reached their destination, they had about 500 pounds [$2,430 U.S.] left to buy their farm, build a house, and acquire livestock and other necessities.
If they had no other outlets to acquire more revenue, they would only have 100 pounds [$486 U.S.] a year to live on between all of them.
Born and bred accustomed to city life, Evelyn had to get used to bumpy dirt roads, living in a remote area, washing clothes and making almost everything from scratch by herself
George and his brothers, previously stock exchange workers, also had no experience whatsoever with outdoor labor, let alone farm life.
Despite all of that, they gave their all into roofing their new home, building fences, tending to animals and other strenuous tasks.
Eventually George would partner up with a gentleman named Beakbane, and get into the real estate business.
The main goal of the two partners was to encourage more English to relocate to the Burns Valley colony which had also established the game of Cricket in the area. The love for this game soon spread to other Lake County residents who came to enjoy and compete in it.
Evelyn wrote detailed accounts of her experiences on the ranch. One thing she didn’t count on though was the loneliness that she would experience, and having no one to understand her being so.
She mentions that “of course the boys, after working and joking together all day” didn’t understand her depression and thought she was just dissatisfied.
Another hardship was the weather. Evelyn wrote of it being 102 degrees at 9 o’clock in the morning. Preparing and cooking meals was an ordeal for a time. Evelyn continues, “I have not got over my disgust at touching raw meat, and especially the innards, the liver was most repulsive to touch and cut up.”
Evelyn eventually came to take great pleasure in her newly acquired cooking skills and in her farm animals, her “beloved” cow Becky and her calf in particular.
She wrote about the calf’s antics of trying to steal milk from its mother as she tried to extract some for herself. The calf would flick its tail in her face so she would have to brush it away, and then the calf would quickly move in and suckle.
Animals were such a big part of their life that George would even dream about them. “He [George] wakes me up three or four times with pouncing about in the wildest manner, and one night when he was clawing about all over the bed, I asked him what the matter was and he said he was catching the chickens!”
The Hertslets only lasted about 18 months before they realized that despite all of their efforts to make ranch life work for them it wasn’t going to happen.
Although it must have been a sad realization they had to have been satisfied with their efforts. They were not cut out for ranch life, and it was time for them return to England.
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