Several times in the past, I've written stories about my family when they owned a ranch across the Carson River from Dayton. My great-grandfather Pietro Cassinelli owned and operated the ranch, now known as the Ricci Ranch, from the 1880s until about 1910. These stories included family squabbles, bar fights, Pietro being shot in the back while taking water from an irrigation ditch and lawsuits among some of the family members.

I had done some research on the family and, with assistance from family members and others, was able to make a list of the family members who had lived on the ranch and the dates they were born and died. The list was fairly complete, except for one child who was listed without a birthdate or a date of death.