On the occasion of Victoria's 90th birthday, the family gathers and shares stories of the past Barkley marriages and adventures.
October 10, 1911
"Oh, Janie, it feels so wonderful to have everyone home. Did you ever think when we were sharing that cramped closet of a room, growing up—all these children and grandchildren, and now, we both have great-grandchildren? Tom and Bill, I wonder if they can see them all. I will be honest; I think I have lost count of how many there are of us."
"I have lost count of the Barkleys for sure. Will and Joey's brood have paled in comparison with your cowboys."
"Ha. When you first came to the ranch after Bill died, I remember telling you that I didn't think I would ever have grandchildren—- You had four and I had none—-now my quiver is full and then some."
"When I got off that train after Bill died, only Jarrod had been married. Beth and that poor one-week marriage. Wasn't she the first one buried out in our family cemetery by Tom?"
"Yes, first Beth in 1874 and then Eleanor in 1875. And that baby boy of theirs born too early. Baby Thomas by my Tom. Grandfather and grandson. Jarrod lost his wife and son the same day. My poor boy had his share of grief for five more years, was it? 1880 when he brought Elize back from France. Hard to believe they have been married thirty years. Elize has taken care of us all the last few years. Especially Jarrod after his heart seizure. She helped Miranda run the vineyards when Nick had the influenza and lung fever for so long. Thought we might lose him. And then she took over the stables when Heath took care of Melly when she had the long bout of melancholia after she went through the change."
"Joey buried his twins then in 1877 too. Then Audra's babes. All four of those angels were born too soon."
"I worried we would lose her too. She was bound and determined to have a child. Carl wanted to adopt; he was scared of losing her too. Then she had a healthy baby girl, Caroline, then the next year Junior. Now Audra is expecting a grandchild. It's so bittersweet how life goes."
"Heath and Melly have a set of twins there by the sycamores. A little over to the side. They are real good, helping keep up the graves. Look at them, though, eight children and four grandchildren running around here or hanging on their mother's hip."
"Vic, we have had a blessed life. Look at me and Douglas. Who would have thought? Married for near 32 years, and I was already past the change. He's still struggling with his memory, some days more than others. Always asking where my pink peignoir went? Then he talked to his little daughter, who would be Nick's age. Buried in town by his first wife. Caught himself and got real embarrassed. He still brings me my coffee every morning. I don't know what I'll do if —"She trailed off.
Victoria patted her arm with her blue translucent hand. Her knuckles were significantly larger than her frail fingers.
"Janie, I don't want to outlive my children."
"Me neither, sweet sister. Me neither."
Both ladies shook their heads in unison and settled into their memories comfortably and quietly with each other.
—-&—-
The Barkley mansion was full to the brim with family and well-wishers for the week. The interior electric lights illuminated the exterior gardens and walkways. Jarrod and Heath's homes on each side of the manse were equally shining. Eugene's family from San Francisco was staying in the big house with Nick's family. There was not an empty bed, and the floors were covered with duvets and pallets. Children and cousins were everywhere, making memories that would sustain them for a lifetime.
Happy Birthday Grandma and GramJane! A banner was draped across the porch painted by the grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Victoria's addition to the house: a sitting room, a master suite and two guest bedrooms off the rose garden were filled with flowers, candles, handmade gifts and well-wishers notes. Jane and Douglas McColl's home behind the stables were the same. Aunt Jane's grandchildren and great-grandchildren were interspersed with their Barkley and Wheeler cousins. The young boy cousins delighted to sleep in the adjoining buildings' lofts.
Audra and Carl Wheeler's two children and their spouses were in attendance for the week of festivities from their adjoining ranch.
Uncle Nick rented several large tents on the grounds for games, dining and fellowship. They stayed full as four generations came together to celebrate their matriarchs.
Victoria and Jane's help set up chairs in the rose garden or parlor for the family to come in and out with conversations with the guests of honor. Both ladies walked with a cane; now, a wheelchair was used for extended times. They both suffered from rheumatism, wore spectacles and had some hearing loss. Their hair was snow-white, and their eyes still glistened with a full range of emotion.
Nick's daughter, Maria Victoria, was the oldest grandchild. Her grandmother was delighted when she was born, and it was obvious she had the fiery personality of her parents. She had been the organizing force of the family for this get-together and another—-the first vote for women in California. She herself was college educated and married to a current state senator. She wrote columns for newspapers and championed the underdog. She was the volatile combination of a Mexican anarchist and the middle, impetuous son of Tom and Victoria Barkley.
And she was born with the wisdom of her grandmother Victoria. Reading at four, writing plays and essays, fighting on the playground, riding bareback and racing horses, and playing poker in the bunkhouse with the hands. Devout to her faith and her family, she was the unofficial head of the grandchildren. Mother of four and now grandmother to the first Barkley great-grandchildren, she had the heart of the whole family.
"I have it all set up for tomorrow. Marcus will send the Peerless seven-seater for Aunt Jane and Mother Barkley; Madre Miranda, Aunt Elize, and Aunt Melly can ride in it. Aunt Audra and Aunt Adrienne will ride with me in the touring cars with some of our girls. The rest of the cousins will divide up in the other cars. Most of the younger ones drive anyway. We will all arrive at the courthouse together. I have a reporter ready to show four generations of Barkley women casting their mock votes in the first California election and, of course, for my husband's reelection. The Barkley women led the suffragettes. "
They all laughed and agreed. They learned years before just to acquiesce to Maria Victoria's plans.
Nick would chuckle and say, "It is futile to resist."
As the ladies planned their Election Day coup, the men discussed their plans for the evening. From McColl at 75 to Jarrod at 70 all the way down to their sons and his grandsons, they would have a campout. The Carrington boys, with their sons and grandsons, would be right beside them at Jubal Tanner's dam.
The Barkley and Carrington families donated additional land at the damsite for a park. They built family pavilions for day trips out of the city in autos. The 1910 census of Stockton reached 23,252 people. Jarrod leased a fishing tack store, a filling station and a horseback stable at the intersection of the new park. The men of the family planned an overnight campout to christen the new area for the county.
"Jarrod,—McColl should stay with one of us. Just in case. He kinda got flustered out the other day on the fence line, and i'ffn Heath's boy hadn't found him and rode back with him, I just don't know."
"Of course. I promised two of my grandsons they could sleep outside with me. I am worried about my back and if I will be able to stand up straight in the morning."
"Lotta water went under that bridge, hasn't it? We used to sleep out on the drives and trips all the time. Now I admit, I miss my bed and my Miranda i'ffn I am gone more than a night."
"I concur, little brother. Especially since the scare with my heart last year."
Nick changed the subject quickly. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Jarrod.
"Jarrod, remember breaking Heath out of Mexico? It seems like yesterday and honestly a lifetime ago."
"And again, I concur. Strange, isn't it?"
Jarrod and Nick's had become the same silver as Victoria's. Heath's and Audra's had grayed darker. Eugene's hair had receded and darkened gray too.
And their piercing eyes didn't seem to age a bit, just more crinkles around their eyes. The Barkley eyes seemed ageless.
Jarrod patted his brother on the shoulder. Nick returned the touch. Since his bout with pneumonia and influenza and Jarrod's heart attack, the men felt less invincible.
"Let's go check on those hellions we sired, Jarrod. No telling what that hot Barkley blood is up to."
—&—-
All the married ladies ended up in Victoria's sitting room after they saw their men off to their fishing and camping trip before dawn. The little girls went on a covered wagon trip to the meadows for wildflower gathering, sketching, and a picnic lunch. Their older cousins supervised the younger ones. Several of the hands drove the wagons filled with happy little girls.
Aside from a two-year-old, a three-year-old, a crawling infant, and a newborn, all the children were happily on adventures. Rosita took the older three outside on a blanket, and the newborn nursed under her mother's shawl.
Maria Victoria opened the French doors for fresh air, and the ladies sipped tea and coffee—-as they watched Rosita and the toddlers with smiles. Dining and wicker chairs were brought in, so everyone had a seat. Two of their newlywed granddaughters sat at Victoria and Jane's feet as they did as children. Victoria ran her fingers through their hair as she had for years. Her granddaughter was nineteen and married, but she still was her "Grandmama's little one."
Stories started as they always did of growing up on the ranch and the old days. The younger women thrived on the rich stories. They gleaned much wisdom from the women in their families.
Miranda was fidgeting with her necklace, an extraordinary cross inlaid with large garnets.
"I think my clasp is stuck in my hair."
Maria Victoria got up and pulled back the long black tresses peppered with silver. The front was accentuated with a white widow's peak. Nick would joke that even lightning was afraid of his fiery wife, which was her reward.
Miranda wore the necklace every day, even if it was tucked in her shirt. She would even wear it with her pearls for formal occasions. It was as much of her as her hair.
Her daughter fixed the clasp, "Mother, you might want to have Ben Issacsson look at the chain. It may need a repair."
"Thank you, my niñita."
"You are welcome, Madre."
"You will inherit the necklace as my firstborn to remember your Papa's love for your mama. Garnets mean fire and heart. Us."
"I will wear it with pride, but this whole room knows Nick Barkley's love for his Miranda, his firecracker to his match, queen to his king, fire and wind—-her lightning to his thunder—-Ladies have I forgotten anything?"
The whole room broke into laughter. Miranda shook her head in mock disgust and a grin.
Heath's daughter, Melissa, added, "You forgot his candle in the darkness."
Elisabeth, Jarrod's oldest daughter, "Or the famous mare to his stallion. I was mortified as a child once I realized."
Victoria and Jane laughed along; she whispered to her sister, "It's nice for a time when we can all laugh together as married women and not worry about appearances and such."
Miranda pulled her hair back again, and the necklace glistened like fire as it always did. The younger women never thought of their beloved Aunt without it.
"Nicky bought me this when we married. I came to the valley without good sense. I came to steal a necklace left in safekeeping with the Barkleys. I know, I know. I was young and stupid and full of revolutionary ideas. But I still say that necklace belonged to Mexico and not the aristocracy. Nicholas did the right thing by giving it back to the Mexican counsel.
The older ladies shared a smile; they always enjoyed the story of Miranda coming to the valley as a thief and coming back as Nick's wife.
"Anyway, he bought me this and said, "Cause I love you, missy. You don't have to steal any more necklaces 'cause you got me and one of your own now."
She stared off in remembrance of the rest of the story.
The ladies sighed in appreciation.
Her youngest daughter, Maggie, was twenty-three years old and born when Miranda was forty. There were almost twenty years between Maria Victoria, her oldest, and her youngest. There were six other children in between.
Maggie asked, "Madre? I don't think cousin Peg knows the story. She only married into the family last year."
Peg smiled, "I would love to hear it, Mother Miranda."
The rest of the ladies nodded and encouraged her.
Elisabeth added, "Yes, Aunt Miranda! You are the best storyteller in the family. Well, tied with Uncle Nick."
She narrowed her eyes in jest, "Tied? I think he is a close second."
"Of course, Aunt Miranda. I apologize." She laughed.
"The Carlotta necklace was made for the Empress Carlotta, wife of Maxmillian by the poor people of Sonora. Garnets, pearls and diamonds—-worth 250,000 dollars. Ramone Monteja was an agent and he kept it at his ranchero for three generations. It was not his. It belonged to the people." She spoke with fire…"
