Giuseppe Muscio and Angelo Pedrotti on August 1, 1871. It appears that during 

 the Muscio era that most of the extant buildings on the ranch were built. 74 



Giuseppe Muscio was born in Someo, Canton Ticino, Switzerland on 

 October 22, 1846. Muscio emigrated to the United States at the age of 

 eighteen. For five years he worked on the famous Pescadero dairy owned by 

 ex-Point Reyes dairyman Isaac Steele, where he learned the fine art of 

 buttermaking, and also worked in Henry Cowell's lime kilns for a number of 

 years. After buying the ranch in the Olema Valley Muscio married Marianna 

 Albertoli. The couple had eight children, Dante, Eda, Oliver, Lelia, Romano, 

 Henry, Lena and Camillo. Mrs. Muscio died in childbirth in 1888, at age 35, 

 while giving birth to her ninth child, who did not survive. Muscio remarried in 

 1895, to Josephine Giannini. 75 



Little is known about Muscio 's partner Angelo Pedrotti, also a Swiss 

 immigrant. Pedrotti apparently sold his share in the ranch to Muscio after only 

 a few years of partnership. Pedrotti had been leasing the Wilkins Ranch and 

 later leased the Lake Ranch from the O. L. Shafter Estate; he bought a Garcia 

 ranch at the town of Olema before 1892. Pedrotti died at his Olema ranch in 

 1895 at the age of 48. 76 



Muscio owned 66 milk cows in 1880, as well as 30 cattle and pigs and 

 chickens. With the help of hired man John Blasdell, he harvested 60 tons of 

 hay the previous year on 23 acres of his property. His children grew up to work 

 on the ranch, and some of them eventually operated dairies of their own. 77 



Muscio and his family moved to Evergreen, near San Jose, for eight 

 years, from October, 1881 to October, 1889. During Muscio's absence his Olema 

 Valley dairy ranch was leased to Peter Tognazzi, noted by the local paper as 

 having been "long and favorably known as a successful dairyman." After the 

 death of his wife at Evergreen, Muscio returned to the Olema Valley. Tognazzi 



74 Deeds Book E, p. 266, Book G, p. 30, and Book J, p. 240, MCRO; Plat of Road from Bolinas 

 to San Rafael, 1867, CHS; Population and Agriculture Schedules, 9th U. S. Census, 1870. 



7S Guinn, Coast Counties, p. 480; Financing an Empire, p. 513; Population Schedules of the 10th 

 and 12th U. S. Censuses, 1880 and 1900; Marin Journal. November 29, 1888; Muscio family notes 

 courtesy of Fern Muscio Gilliam. Giuseppe Muscio eventually Americanized to Joseph. 



76 Population Schedules, 10th U. S. Census, 1880; interview with Juanita Sweeney, 

 granddaughter of Angelo Pedrotti. 



"Guinn, Coast Counties, p. 480; Population and Agricultural Schedules of the 10th U. S. 

 Census, 1880; interview with Fern Muscio Gilliam. 



172 



