The young Englishman bought a ranch on the Rio Feliz, some nearly due south of the town of Lincoln, and went into business as a cattleman. In the town he also set up a mercantile store and bank down the road from the Murphy & Dolan mercantile and banking operation. It had been established a few years earlier by James Dolan, Lawrence Murphy and John H. Riley, all of whom were Irish immigrants. The Murphy-Dolan store was known colloquially as "The House."