2300 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Fairfax, Marin County, California
A 1953 house in Marinda Oaks, the Nielsen family who lived in it for 36 years, and Steve and Linda Leland, who have made it home since 1990.
Scroll to follow the Lelands and the O'Leals from mining camps and Air Force bases to the corner of Sir Francis Drake and San Miguel Court. Solid pins are proven places. Dashed pins are close but approximate.
1884
Who: Frank M. Leland and Mary L. Hart, Steve's great-grandparents Proven by records
Steve's Leland line starts with Frank Milton Leland, born in New York on March 9, 1858. On June 17, 1884, he married Mary L. Hart, a Californian, in the railroad town of Elko. Their son Stanford was born in Nevada about 1885, and Earle, Steve's grandfather, in San Jose in 1888.
1910
Who: The Frank M. Leland family Proven by records
The 1910 census found Frank, Mary and their grown sons in Mackay, a copper-mining town in the Idaho mountains. Earle moved around the West for the next thirty years: the copper-smelter town of Kennett, California, by 1917, Klamath Falls, Oregon, in 1920 and the copper town of Jerome, Arizona, in 1930.
1919
Who: Gilbert Earl Leland, Steve's father Proven by records
Earle Lindsay Leland married Frances Lilian Pearson, a Californian, around 1916. Their daughter Joan was born in Kennett in 1917, and their son Gilbert Earl was born on June 14, 1919. Gilbert's draft card gives his birthplace as Grants Pass. The 1920 census found the family in Klamath Falls.
1930
Who: Gilbert, 10, with Earle and Frances Proven by records
In 1930 the family lived in Jerome, the copper town on the side of Cleopatra Hill. By 1940 Earle and Frances had divorced, and Gilbert was living with his mother in Medford, Oregon.
1940 to about 1960
Who: Gilbert and Terry Leland; Steve is born Proven by records
In October 1940 Gilbert registered for the draft in San Francisco, working for Bethlehem Steel. On February 5, 1942, he married Marie Therese "Terry" Rockefeller, born in Los Angeles in 1922. Her obituary says that after her father, Jose Estrada, died, she was adopted by her stepfather, Charles Rockefeller.
Stephen Anthony Leland was born in San Francisco on July 4, 1947, the third of four children: Terry Anne, Sandra, Stephen and Valerie. Terry worked as a private nurse for newborns and premature babies.
1950
Who: Linda Joy O'Leal is born Proven by records
Linda's father, Tony O'Leal, was an Air Force officer at Tinker Air Force Base. The April 1950 census lists the family in Midwest City, next to the base, with Joan and baby Leland. Linda isn't on it yet. She was born weeks later in Oklahoma City, by a public-records index on May 27, 1950.
May 1953
Who: Linda, 3, with her mother, Jo Anne and Leland Proven by records
After a posting in Hawaii, the family sailed home on the Navy transport USNS Sgt. Charles E. Mower, leaving Pearl Harbor on May 22, 1953 and landing at Oakland on May 27, very likely Linda's third birthday. The list calls her mother "wife of Maj. Antonio O'Leal."
1954, then Turkey
Who: The O'Leal family Likely
In 1954 Winnie was vice president of the officers' wives' club at F. E. Warren in Cheyenne. Then came Turkey. A 1971 newspaper said the family "lived in Turkey, Alaska, Hawaii and other states" until Tony retired in 1958. Linda was very likely with them; no record names her at either place.
1959 to the 1970s
Who: Linda grows up Proven by records
After Tony retired from Hamilton Air Force Base, the O'Leals settled at 381 Miller Creek Road in 1959. Linda was nine. In February 1971 she was still at home: "Linda, 20, Mark, 15 and Gail, 11."
by 1964 to 1969
Who: Steve grows up Proven by records
The Lelands moved to 754 Bamboo Terrace in Terra Linda about 1958, a year before the O'Leals arrived at Miller Creek, about a mile and a half away. Steve's father died in July 1968, "at 754 Bamboo Terrace, San Rafael, for 10 years," and his mother Terry was still there in 1971.
1965 and 1968
Who: Steve, then Linda Proven by records
Steve and Linda went to the same high school, three years apart. In April 1965 the paper ran a photo of five Terra Linda students growing beards for the campus contest, and Steve is second from left.
Linda graduated in June 1968. That spring she won the school's Bank of America award in vocational arts, and in July she made the seniors' honors list.
1966
Who: Seaman Recruit Stephen A. Leland Proven by records
In January 1966, at 18, Steve joined the U.S. Navy for three years. He finished recruit training at San Diego that April as a seaman apprentice. This was during the Vietnam War. Where he served after boot camp isn't in any public record.
1972 to 1997
Who: Linda Proven by records
In June 1972 Linda was "traveling in Europe." When her father died in April 1975, his obituary listed "Linda J. O'Leal of San Francisco."
She married twice in Marin: Bruce C. Bruchler in 1978 (the divorce index lists them in 1980 and 1981), and Calvin C. Greene in 1980. As Linda J. Greene she appears in Marin county records from 1982, including notary bonds in 1982, 1986 and 1992, so she was very likely a notary public.
1990 to today
Who: Steve and Linda Leland Proven by records
On May 31, 1990, Steve and Alexandra C. Leland bought the house from the estate of Elmer L. Nielsen, and in 1993 it was deeded to Steve alone. In September 1997 the house was re-deeded to "Stephen A. Leland and Linda J. Greene," and in February 2002 to "Stephen A. Leland and Linda J. Leland." They married in between.
In 2014 they added a second bathroom so Linda's mother could live with them.
Open hillside, an old railroad line and a 1951 subdivision.
For most of its history this was open grass and oak on the north side of the valley road west of Fairfax. The 1897 government map shows the North Pacific Coast Railroad running up the valley, with no houses near the lot. The road in front is today's Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.
In January 1951, R. W. Bogh of Fairfax, a real estate man, and Mrs. V. S. Loeber of Sleepy Hollow brought plans for a subdivision called Marinda Oaks to the county. The paper described a 12-acre first piece of a 110-acre tract "on the north side of Sir Francis Drake boulevard, fronting on the old railroad right of way. It is just north of St. Rita's Catholic church in the area known as Sacramento Gulch."
By June 1952 the first three houses were finished by builders Bostrom and Ford of San Rafael, with Bogh supervising. The paper said that when the tract was done, "some 400 families will be residents of the community," and that the first houses, at about $19,000, "all contain six rooms, a bath and a half, and a two car garage."
Drag the slider to see the lot from the air. The red line is the lot today.
One family, one phone number, 36 years.
Elmer Lawrence "Buzz" Nielsen Jr. was born about 1919, the only son of Elmer L. Nielsen, manager of the San Rafael branch of the American Trust Company, and Gladys Nielsen of Bayside Acres. He graduated from San Rafael High, the College of Marin and the University of Oregon, after a year at Stanford, and worked in newspaper advertising.
On August 9, 1952, he married Edith M. Clayton, born Edith Murphy in Vallejo, at her parents' Vallejo home. The newlyweds took an apartment in San Rafael, and the May 1953 phone book lists them at 320 Third Street. By February 1954 Edith was "of Fairfax." From May 1954 the phone book lists them on Sir Francis Drake, and from 1956 at "2300."
Their son Mark Charles was baptized in August 1955 and their daughter Dale Rhian in January 1957. Edith was secretary of the Manor School PTA, a Brownie leader, and a member of First Presbyterian in San Rafael and the Sunny Hills Guild of Fairfax. She died on May 14, 1966, at 47.
Elmer stayed. The paper placed him at 2300 in 1967, 1970 and 1973, and a 1989 Stanford alumni directory still listed "Nielsen, Mr. Elmer L., Class '41" at this address, with the same phone number the family had in 1953. He died before May 1990, and his son Mark, as executor, sold the house to Steve.
Parcel 001-171-05.
Steve and Alexandra C. Leland bought the house on May 31, 1990. A 1993 deed put it in Steve's name alone, and in 1997 he and Linda J. Greene took title together. By February 2002 she was Linda J. Leland.
For more than twenty years Steve has been listed in the makers' directory of Knives: The World's Greatest Knife Book, the annual knife yearbook: at a Fairfax post office box in 1996, and at 2300 Sir Francis Drake from 1999 to at least 2018. His 2015 entry reads: "Traditional and working straight knives and folders of his design. Patterns: Hunters, fighters, Bowies, chefs... Does own heat treat. Makes nickel silver sheaths... Part-time maker; first knife sold in 1987. Doing business as Leland Handmade Knives. Mark: Last name."
His knives appear in the yearbook's photo pages too: in 2003 "a small hunter, or bird-and-trout knife," and in 2015 a 10.5-inch double-edged fixed blade and an elk-horn-handled hunter, shown here.
In March 2014 Steve drew the plans and applied to the Town of Fairfax for a 99-square-foot second bathroom on the San Miguel Court side of the house. The lot is smaller than the town's minimum for its slope, so even a small addition needed a use permit. On the form he wrote: "My wife's mother lives here now and we need another bathroom." The town agreed that it "will allow the owners to take in an aging family member," and the Planning Commission approved it on April 24, 2014, with all members voting yes.
Tap a name to open it.
The middle of Tony and Winnie O'Leal's five children: Jo Anne, Leland, Linda, Mark and Gail. An Air Force childhood in Oklahoma, Hawaii, Wyoming and probably Turkey, then 381 Miller Creek Road from 1959. Terra Linda High School, class of 1968, with an award in vocational arts and a place on the honors list.
Europe in 1972, San Francisco in 1975. Married Bruce C. Bruchler in 1978 and Calvin C. Greene in 1980, both in Marin, and was Linda J. Greene in county records from 1982, very likely a notary public. With Steve at 2300 Sir Francis Drake from 1997, and Linda J. Leland by 2002. A trustee of her mother's trust in 2017.
How we know: The 1953 passenger list (birthplace), a public-records index (birth date and the Greene-Leland link), the 1950 census, Marin newspapers, the California Marriage and Divorce Indexes, and the county recorder's index.
Son of Gilbert and Terry Leland. Grew up at 754 Bamboo Terrace, Terra Linda, and went to Terra Linda High. Joined the Navy in January 1966 for three years and finished boot camp at San Diego that April.
Owner of 2300 Sir Francis Drake since 1990. A part-time custom knife maker, Leland Handmade Knives, who sold his first knife in 1987 and is listed in the national knife yearbook from 1996 to at least 2018. Drew the plans for the 2014 bathroom himself.
How we know: The California Birth Index, Marin newspapers, the county recorder's index, the Town of Fairfax file and the Knives yearbooks.
Gilbert was born in southern Oregon and grew up in Klamath Falls and in the copper town of Jerome, Arizona. In 1940 he was working for Bethlehem Steel in San Francisco. Later a salesman for a San Francisco lithograph company, he died in Marin on July 7, 1968, at 49, after a long illness, and is buried at Hornbrook in Siskiyou County, about eleven miles west of Aunt Joanne and Uncle Paul's Eagle Ranch.
Marie Therese "Terry" was born in Los Angeles on September 10, 1922, to Jose Estrada and Rosemary Chouteau Capitain, and was adopted by her stepfather, Charles Rockefeller. She married Gilbert on February 5, 1942, worked as a private nurse for newborns and premature babies, and died in January 2022 at 99. Her service was at St. Anselm Church in Ross.
How we know: The California Birth and Death Indexes, Gilbert's draft card, the 1920-1940 censuses, newspaper obituary indexes and Find a Grave.
Earle was born in San Jose on August 16, 1888, and moved around the West: Mackay, Idaho; Kennett, California; Klamath Falls, Oregon; Jerome, Arizona. Frances was born in California on March 28, 1893. They had Joan (1917) and Gilbert (1919) and later divorced. Both died in San Francisco, Frances in 1967 and Earle in 1976. Frances is buried at Hornbrook with her son.
How we know: Earle's draft card and funeral record, the censuses and the California Death Index.
Frank was born in New York on March 9, 1858, married Mary L. Hart in Elko, Nevada, in 1884, lived in Alameda County in 1900 and Mackay, Idaho, in 1910, and is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. Mary was very likely the Mary L. Leland who died in San Francisco in 1915.
How we know: The Western States Marriage Index, Frank's 1921 passport, the 1900 and 1910 censuses and his son Stanford's 1918 marriage record.
Antonio "Tony" O'Leal was born in Metcalf, Arizona, joined the Army at 22 and retired as an Air Force lieutenant colonel in 1958. Winifred "Winnie" Dewey was born in Hemel Hempstead, England, and came over as a war bride in 1946. They raised five children at 381 Miller Creek Road. Their full story is on the Miller Creek Road site.
How we know: See The House on Miller Creek Road.
The original records behind this story. Tap any one to see it large.