27 /.. in Pennsylvania, and they decided to cast their lot there. They made a down payment on the mineral rights on several thousand acres in Adams and Wheeler Canyons and in the Salt Marshes of Santa Paula Creek. - The:i-r~_,_efforts were crowned with success. They managed to drill a total of twelve wells during the year 1884. However, as seemed par for the course, hard luck still plag- ued them. The oil was very heavy and had little kerosene content, which was of prime importance at that time. Consequently, their oil had little value; and all they were able to market that year was hardly enough to enable them to drill more wells. They were kept solvent and operational only by the occasional dividends from some leases they still held in Pennsylvania. Finally, the knowledge and experience of these two pioneers in the oil business began to pay dividends. They both suspected that the heavy asphal~ tic oil they were pumping from their shallow wells was a by-product being pushed to the surface by a larger and deeper deposit. This led them · to brcing· Mr. John Irwin, a geologist and cousin of Mr. Stewart, from Pennsylvania to study the situation. Upon his advice they began drilling deeper wells. Their suspicions were confirmed when they struck a major pool of high grade crude. Immediately they were on their way to success. With the prospects of expanded operations, and upon the advice of their bankers, Hardison and Stewart formalized their partnership, and incorpor- ated the Hardison and Stewart Oil Company, the fore-runner of the Union Oil Company, which became one of the largest in the oil industry. As their business grew they saw the necessity of attracting some "big money" to enci.ble them to compete with others in the business. The best prospect they found was a Mr. Thomas Bard. He had drilled oil wells on the vast acerage owned by some friends. When they failed to produce oil in quantity he turned to I the business of buying properties of distressed investors for a large stock syndicate. This proved to be very profitable, and he entered the millionaire class. His only private holdings at that time were the Mission Transfer
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