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In 1880, after exploring Western wild places, John Muir married Louie Wanda Strentzel
[1847 - 1905], daughter of a prominent Martinez, California fruit rancher.
Louie shared her husband's love of plants. She always put his needs first. She encouraged him to visit the wilderness and supported his conservation work. Muir was overjoyed with the birth of his daughters. Wanda, their first daughter Wanda was born in 1881 [died 1942], and Helen, their second, in 1885 [died 1964]. Muir was a beloved and doting father. Louie stayed home, while his daughters occasionally traveled with their father.
Louie’s father, Dr. John Strentzel, owned over 800 acres of productive orchards, livestock fodder, and vineyards near Martinez. For the remaining thirty four years of his life, Muir learnt and prospered in the family fruit business. He managed the property from 1880 to 1890.
After Dr. Strentzel’s death in 1890, Muir passed the management of the fruit ranch to his brother David. For the next twenty four years, as Muir’s fame as a preservationist grew; the family’s acreage was leased, sold and subdivided. Income from the family’s operation gave Muir the economic independence to pursue his interests in the natural world and its preservation.
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