John Greer
From Palo Alto Wiki
John Greer, an Irishman, left his ship in San Francisco in 1850 and sailed a small skiff down the Peninsula, looking for the proper place to settle. He stopped by chance at Rancho Rinconada del Arroyo de San Francisquito, fell in love with Rafael Soto's daughter Maria Luisa, married her and eventually came to own the Soto's land. Since Maria Luisa was the widow of the owner of 12,000 acres around the area where Woodside now stands, the Irishman became an important leader in the community.
Historian and newspaper editor Elinor Cogswell writes that, "Captivated by the beauty and fertility of the country, he quit the sea and began to explore inland. Captivated even more by Maria Luisa, whom he met at the Soto place, he won the widow's hand and settled down to make a go of a new kind of life."
The Greer family's mission bell cattle brand is the oldest recorded brand in the state.
