Addresses delivered before the California Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, 1913, Part 11

Author: Sons of the American Revolution. California Society; Perkins, Thomas Allen, 1862-1932; Shortlidge, Edmund Douglas
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : California Society, Sons of the American Revolution
Number of Pages: 170


USA > California > Addresses delivered before the California Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, 1913 > Part 11


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He married Rebecca Cary, by whom he had two daughters and a son, Harry M., of Oakland, Cal.


His second wife was Frances E. Smith, now residing in San Diego. He died in San Diego June 23rd, 1911.


DAY.


Franklin H. Day was born in Gowanda, N. Y., Jan. 5th, 1827, the son of Phebe (Root) and John F. Day, and great grandson of Eli Root, a captain in Col. Eastman's Regiment of Mass.


He came to California Aug. 16th, 1853. He was secretary, book- keeper and accountant in banks and business houses until 1891, when he was elected secretary of California Lodge No. 1, F. & A. M., California Chapter No. 5, Royal Arch Masons, and recorder of Cali- fornia Council No. 2, Royal & Select Masters. He held all of the offices until his death.


He was twice married and had two sons, all of whom died many years ago.


He always had a smile and kind word for all and was one of the best known men in Masonic circles in California. He was past master of California Lodge No. 1, F. & A. M .; high priest of Cali- fornia Chapter No. 5, R. A. M .; grand master and grand treasurer of the Grand Council; commander of California Commandery No. 1. grand high priest and grand treasurer of the Grand Chapter, R. A. M .; 32d degree A. & A. Scottish Rite Mason, and a member of the Mystic Shrine.


He died in San Francisco March 6, 1910.


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DUNN.


Robert Kneeland Dunn was born in Thomaston, Maine, Oct. 8, 1857. He was the son of Eliza (Giles) and Thomas Watson Dunn, and great-great-great-great-grandson of Dr. Moses Robinson, a ser- geant in the Mass. Militia.


He went to sea at an early age and became captain of the steamer St. Paul, on the Atlantic Coast. His father was a sea captain also. In 1897 he came to San Francisco and was appointed superintendent of the U. S. Army Transport Dock when it opened at Folsom Street Wharf, and held the position until he retired, a short time before his death.


He was a thirty-third degree Mason and an officer in the Scottish Rite Bodies. He died in Oakland Jan. 28th, 1912. He is survived by a widow, Priscilla M., of Oakland; three sisters, Mrs. Alfred Strout, Mrs. Walter B. Willey and Miss Hallie M. Dunn, and two brothers, Lawrence H. and Richard E., of Thomaston, Me.


EELLS.


Alexander Grimes Eells was born in Dayton, Ohio, March 18, 1862, the son of Susan E. (Grimes) and Marcus Eells, a great-grandson of Jonathan Hall, a private in Wadsworth's Brigade, Connecticut troops, 1776, and also a great-grandson of Charles Greene, a private in Col. John Tapham's Regiment, R. I. troops.


He went to Santa Barbara, Cal., in 1875, where he taught school for a time before he entered the University of California, where he graduated in 1886. He graduated from Hastings College of the law in 1888, and practiced law in San Francisco until his death. He was one of the prominent lawyers of the city and a recognized authority on the Law of Mechanics' Liens.


He was a member of the Commonwealth, Sierra and Chit-Chat Clubs, past president of the Unitarian Club and the Alumni Associa- tion of the University of California, a trustee of the First Unitarian Church of San Francisco for 12 years, and an active member of the San Francisco Bar Association. He was always willing to bear his full share of work and responsibility. He was a regular attendant at the meetings of all these organizations, and gave his earnest sup- port to the good causes which they furthered. His college classmates were very dear to him, and he never missed an opportunity to


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meet with them. It was peculiarly fitting that all honorary pall- bearers at his funeral services were his classmates.


He was fond of the country and of out-door life and took the keenest pleasure in developing his home place near Mill Valley. He usually took his annual outing with the Sierra Club.


He was modest in his bearing and simple in all his tastes. He was direct and straightforward and his integrity was beyond the possibility of a suspicion. He was devoted to his family and was always eager to do whatever might increase their wellbeing and happiness. In his closing days he faced the inevitable with the same quiet fortitude which he had always displayed in health- in the serene consciousness that he had at all times tried to do his duty, as it had been manifested to him.


On October 4th, 1894, at Austin, Minn., he married Caroline Merrifield, daughter of Mary Ann (Rankin) and Joshua Sheldon Judson.


He died in San Francisco Oct. 12, 1911.


He is survived by a widow and three daughters, Margaret, Helen Judson and Harriet Louise, all residing in Mill Valley.


ELLIS.


Henry Hiram Ellis was born in Waterville, Me., June 15, 1829, the son of Cynthia Irish (Cromwell) and Charles Henry Ellis, and grandson of Jerusha (Clark) and Thomas Ellis, a private in the Mass. Militia.


In his youth he was a sailor for three and a half years, and in 1847 was employed in a brass works in Boston, where he learned the business. On Jan. 16th, 1849, he sailed from Boston in the brig "North Bend," and went ashore in the Straits of Magellan; later he took another ship, "Wm. G. Hackstaff," and arrived in San Francisco June 25th, 1849, and immediately started for Lacy's Bar, on the north fork of the American River, where he engaged in mining.


He located in Sacramento and engaged in shipping on the Sacra- mento River, and later he owned the brig "John Dunlap" and made voyages from San Francisco to the South Sea Islands and Mexico, and later established a trading post on Humboldt Bay and built a pack trail to Trinity mines.


In 1855 he joined the police department of San Francisco, where he remained until 1870, when he was elected chief of police-the


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last chief elected by the people. He held the office until he retired in 1877. During the next two years he made a tour of the world. On his return he retired to his country home at "Elliston," in Sunol Glen, Alameda County, where he spent the rest of his life.


In July, 1853, he returned east and married Elizabeth Capen, daughter of General Capen of Dorchester, Mass.


He was United States Consul to the West Indies.


He was a man of strict integrity and always had a pleasant word for every one.


He was a prominent member of the State of Maine Association of California for many years.


He died in San Francisco Dec. 15th, 1909, leaving a widow and six children, Henry C. of Oakland, Philip A. of Niles, Robert of Pleasanton, F. C. of Los Angeles, Mrs. W. E. Ledyard of Sunol Glen, and Mrs. Chas. Riddell of Oak Park, Ill.


He was buried under the auspices of Oriental Lodge No. 144, F. & A. M., of San Francisco.


FIFE.


William Johnson Fife was born in Meaford, Ontario, Canada, Oct. 25th, 1857, the son of Harriet Anna (Johnson) and William Hutchinson Fife, and great-great-grandson of Jonathan Allen of Vermont, a soldier in the Revolutionary War.


When a child, his parents moved to Vassar, Michigan, and later to Cherokee, Iowa. In 1874 he went to the Territory of Washing- ton. In 1875 he helped organize the first militia company in the Territory, which was known as the "Tacoma Rifles," of which he was Ist Lieutenant. In 1876 he entered the California Military Academy of Oakland, Cal., graduated in 1878, and accepted a posi- tion in the academy as post-adjutant and military instructor. He studied law at Columbia Law University, Washington, D. C., and in the Territory of Washington, where he was admitted to the bar in 1884. He was captain of the Tacoma Guard, which became Com- pany C, 1st Washington Volunteer Regiment.


He was appointed chief of ordnance with rank of Colonel, on Governor McGrath's staff, and was Colonel on Governor Roger's staff, he was detailed as chief instructor of rifle practice on account of his long experience in the National Guard. He went to the Spanish-American War as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 1st Washing- ton Regiment, U. S. V., and was mustered out at San Francisco.


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Gen. Chas. King said: "One of the best men in the Washington Regiment is Lieutenant-Colonel Fife. He is one of the best soldiers and one of the most gifted men we have in the Philippines. I look upon Lieutenant-Colonel Fife as one of the finest officers that I have ever known in volunteer service."


He was prominent in social organizations as well as in military life, being a member of the Elks, Knights of Pythias and Red Men.


He died at his home in Hollywood, Cal., June 18th, 1911. His widow, Mary C. of Hollywood, Cal., a daughter, Mrs. Anna F. Chidester of Tacoma, Wash., two sons, Norman T. and Chalmers R., his mother, a brother and a sister survive him.


GAGE.


David Gage, the son of Mary A. (Hamblet) and Joseph Gage, and great-grandson of David Gage, private in N. H. Militia, was born in Pelham, N. H., Nov. 30, 1830.


He was educated in the public schools of his native town. He came to California by way of the Isthmus in 1855, and was engaged in mining at Cherokee, Butte County, from 1856 to 1886, a part of the time in the Cherokee hydraulic mine. He sold his mining interests in 1886, retired and lived in Oakland the rest of his life. In January, 1868, at Pelham, N. H., he married Sybil A., daughter of Emily (Hall) and Simeon Currier of that town.


They had two sons, Henry David and Edward Currier, a graduate of the University of California.


He died at Banff, Canada, Aug. 9, 1909.


He is survived by his widow, who resides at their old home in Oakland, Cal., and two sons, stockgrowers in Butte County, Cal.


GRAY.


Giles Hubbard Gray was born in New York, N. Y., May 16th, 1834.


He was the son of Emmeline Hubbard and Nathaniel Gray. His great-grandfather, Nathaniel Gray, was a private in Col. Ruggles Woodbridge's Regiment of Mass., in 1777.


He was educated in the public schools of New York City and the College of the City of New York, where he graduated in 1853- the first class-and afterward received the degree of A. M. He arrived in San Francisco, Cal., Oct. 31st, 1853, where he began the study of medicine, but soon took up the study of law and was admitted


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to the bar in 1856. He practiced law in San Francisco until 1890, when he retired from active practice. He was a partner of E. B. Mastick prior to 1870, when he became a partner of the late James M. Haven. He was a member of the Vigilance Committee in 1856; President of the Board of Trustees of Laurel Hill Cemetery from 1889 to 1912; a member of the Board of Supervisors in 1863. In 1864 he was elected a member of the Board of Education, where he served six years.


He was one of the organizers of the San Francisco Savings Union Bank in 1862.


In 1871 he moved to Oakland and was elected a member of the State Legislature the same year.


He was Surveyor of Port of San Francisco from 1873 to 1877, a member of the Board of Education in Oakland from 1895 to €


1901, trustee of Mills College, president of the Associated Charities and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.


His father came to San Francisco in 1850, and established the firm of N. Gray & Co., which is still in business ; later, his mother, brothers, Henry M., a graduate of Dartmouth College, Edward P., and George D., both graduates of Amherst College, and his sister, Emma, who married Cyrus S. Wright, a graduate of Dartmouth College, all came to San Francisco.


In 1857 he married Kate Church of Rochester, N. Y., by whom he had two sons and one daughter. His wife died in 1879, and in 1884 he married Mrs. Marianna W. Drinkwater Myrick.


He died in Oakland, Cal., Sept. 25, 1912. His widow and daughter of Oakland, his brother, George D., and sister, of San Francisco, survive him.


HARRIS.


Edwin Frisby Harris, the son of Eleanor Wells (Buck) and John Edwin Smith Harris, and great-grandson of Daniel Buck, second Major 17th Regiment, State Militia, King's District, N. Y., was born in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, the 2nd day of Feb., 1864.


He was engaged in mining in California and Mexico, and for a time was superintendent of the Corrigan-Mckinney mines in Chi- huahua, Mexico. He had acquired and was operating the Colorado Mining Co., Sonora, Mexico, at the time of his death.


He married Louise, daughter of Fannie and August Radell, in Manston, Wisconsin, June 16th, 1897.


He died in Sonora, Mexico, Sept. 13, 1912.


His widow and three children, John R., Elizabeth L. and Lucile W. of Tucson, Arizona, survive him.


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HUBBARD.


Adolphus Skinner Hubbard was born in DuPage County, Ill., July 7, 1838. He was the son of Anne Ward (Ballou) and Theodore Hub- bard, Jr., and great-grandson of Peter Hubbard, Jr., an ensign in N. H. line of the Continental Army.


He was a civilian clerk in the quartermaster's department, U. S. A., for a short time before coming to San Francisco, in 1866.


In San Francisco, Feb. 29th, 1872, he married Mrs. Sarah Isabelle Sanborn, a native of Charlestown, Mass., the daughter of Hannah Goodrich (Holt) and John Sylvester, Jr.


In the early seventies he was employed in the county clerk's of- fice in San Francisco for two years, and was a clerk in the Dental College in San Francisco about fifteen years ago.


He was a member of Oriental Lodge No. 144, F. & A. M., Wash- ington Chapter No. 43, R. A. M., Chicago; Oakland Commandery No. 11, Knights Templar, and Golden Gate Chapter No. 1, O. E. S. He was secretary of his Masonic Lodge for 20 years, and treasurer of his Chapter of Eastern Star for many years; also a member of the Society of Colonial Wars in New Hampshire.


He was made an Honorary Past President General of the Na- tional Society, S. A. R., by resolution, and was one of the enthusi- astic workers in the State Society.


He died in San Francisco Jan. 29, 1913. A widow and one son, Theodore W., of San Francisco, survive him.


HULL.


Clinton Telemachus Hull, born in Ellison, Warren County, Ill., Dec. 12, 1842, was the son of Emily Bishop (Woodworth) and Tele- machus Hull, and great-grandson of Daniel Hull, Lieutenant in 6th Albany Regiment, N. Y. Militia, during the Revolutionary War.


He died in San Francisco May 16, 1910.


He was educated in the public schools of Illinois and Iowa, taught school in California and was a clerk in the postoffice, San Francisco, for 26 years.


He served in the Civil war from 1861 to 1865 in Company G, 11th Jowa Volunteers, was held a prisoner of war in Andersonville. He was seriously wounded in the battle of Shiloh.


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He was a member of Lincoln Post, G. A. R., and California Gene- alogical Society.


He married Eliza A., daughter of William Allen Reed, in Wayne, Iowa, Jan. 9, 1868.


He is survived by a widow, residing in San Francisco, and three children, Frank R. of Grass Valley, Cal., Mrs. Mary Lynip of Al- turas, Cal., and George W. of San Francisco.


KIMBALL.


Charles Loyd Kimball was born in Brookfield, Vt., Jan. 8, 1840, and died in Oakland, Cal., March 12, 1910. He was the son of Charlotte (Hudson) and Charles Wright Kimball, and great-grandson of Jedediah Kimball, a Connecticut soldier in the Revolutionary War. On attaining manhood he went to Fond du Lac, Wis., and engaged in the lumber business. At the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted in the First Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers, and afterward joined Company A of the Fourteenth Regiment, of Wis- consin Volunteers, and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, and after the battle of Shiloh was commissioned Captain in recognition of his gallant service. He served three years and made a brilliant record, both as soldier and officer. At the close of the war he moved to Al- pena, Mich., where he was engaged in manufacturing lumber and building mills for twenty-two years. In 1889 he removed to Healds- burg, Cal., where he was engaged in the lumber business until his death.


In Alpena he served as an alderman and member of the school board, and was commander of his Post of the Grand Army. In Healdsburg he was a member of Sotoyome Lodge No. 123, F. & A. M. He was prominent in church work and his hand and purse were ever ready to assist any movement that had for its object the uplift of humanity and the betterment of the community.


He was twice married, by his first wife he had Fred A. of Alpena, Mich., and Mrs. Georgie A. Oliver of Seattle, Wash.


At Coopersville, Mich., Dec. 20, 1880, he married Mrs. Margaret V. Doane, by whom he had Edna Genevieve Bingaman of Oakland, Cal. He is survived by his widow and three children.


KING.


Charles James King was born in Georgetown, D. C., March 8th, 1844, the oldest son of Charlotte M. (Libbey) and James King, of William, a California pioneer of 1848, the founder and first editor


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of the San Francisco Bulletin, who was shot and killed in San Francisco by James P. Casey, May 14, 1856. His murder caused the second Vigilance Committee to be formed in San Francisco.


His great-grandfather was John Libbey of Durham, N. H., who served in Col. Joshua Wingate's New Hampshire Regiment to Ticon- deroga, in 1776.


King came to San Francisco in May, 1851, where he was educated in public and private schools. He was engaged in business, being a member of the firm of King, Morse Canning Factory, now Pacific Vinegar Works; later business manager of Potrero Commercial and Manufacturers' Association. At the time of his death he was in the assessor's office.


He was a member of Society of California Pioneers, S. F. Tent No. 18, Knights of the Maccabees of T. W .; past master of Pacific Lodge No. 136, F. & A. M., and past high priest, San Francisco Chapter No. 1, R. A. M.


In 1868 he married Ellen A. Crossett of San Francisco, by whom he had Charlotte Elizabeth, wife of Clancey R. McKee of Berkeley, Cal .; Charles B., deceased; Howard L., of San Francisco, and George S. of Los Angeles.


His second wife was Margaretta I. Sage of San Francisco. She died in February, 1912. He died in San Francisco May 4, 1912.


He was a brother of George W. R., of Honolulu; Joseph L., Mrs. Russell J. Wilson and Mrs. S. E. Dutton of San Francisco.


LEWIS.


Azro Nathaniel Lewis was born in Granger, Alleghany Co., N. Y., Jan. 31, 1842. He was the son of Hepsebeth Chamberlain and Na- thaniel Lewis, and great-grandson of Eunice Smith and Enoch Lewis, a private in the Rhode Island troops in the Revolution, and a descen- dant of John Lewis, who settled in Westerly, R. I., in 1660.


He was educated in the common schools of his native town, studied dentistry from 1857 to 1861, when he located in Westerly, R. I., where he practiced for thirty years.


In June, 1870, he married Marie Antoinette, daughter of Welcome and Harriet Stillman of Westerly, R. I. They had two sons, George Welcome, of Alameda, Cal., and Ralph, of San Jose, Cal.


In 1882 he married Miranda Wilmarth, daughter of Nicholas and Martha Sheldon of San Francisco. By the second marriage he had


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three sons, Azro Nathaniel, Jr., Charles Lux and Wilmarth Sheldon, all residing in Alameda, Cal.


In 1893 he came to California and located in Alameda, where he had large business interests and was a director of the Citizens' Bank. He was a member of all Masonic Bodies and was Past Commander of Narragansett Commandery No. 27, K. T., of Westerly, R. I.


He died at his home, 1625 Central Avenue, Alameda, Jan. 4, 1913. His second wife and five sons survive him.


MOORE.


John W. Moore was born in Plattsburg, N. Y., May 24, 1832, the son of Charlotte Elizabeth (Moores) and Amasa Corbin Moore, and grandson of Benjamin Moores, Lieut. and Adjutant in Hazen's "Con- gress Own" Regiment.


He received his early education in the Plattsburg Academy and Williston Seminary, and through private tutorship. He was ap- pointed third assistant engineer U. S. Navy, May 21, 1853, being number one in a competitive examination of seventy applicants, and rose through the successive ranks to chief engineer, August 5, 1861. He retired with the rank of Commodore May 24, 1894, and was advanced to the rank of Rear Admiral, retired, June 29, 1906.


The promotion was for his valuable services rendered during the Civil War. Previous to the Rebellion he took part in a number of expeditions, among them the laying of the first Atlantic cable. He served on the Mediterranean station from 1853 to 1856, and fol- lowing the outbreak of the Civil War served with the Gulf Block- ading Squadron. He was the originator of the plan adopted by the vessels composing Admiral Farragut's fleet for protecting the sides of the ships with their chain cable, and covering the ships with a paint composed of the mud of the Mississippi River, to screen them from view, both of which devices were afterward used, the cable by the Kearsarge in her memorable fight with the Alabama, and the painting of the ships that color by general order of the Navy Department; this was the color of the "war paint" used on all our ships during the late Spanish-American war. He introduced "fighting-tops" to our Navy by protecting the maintop of the Rich- mond with boiler iron, and fitting it for the reception of riflemen and a howitzer to engage and scatter sharp-shooters who hid behind the levees and fired upon our ships while passing up and down the Mississippi River


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After making for himself an enviable reputation in the Civil War, he again served on European stations as fleet engineer, and later was attached to the navy yards at Brooklyn, N. Y., Kittery, Me., Washington, D. C., and Mare Island, Cal.


He also served on a number of boards of inspection, and was inspector of machinery for the Government in 1893 and 1894, and had charge of the Brooklyn Navy Yard during the Spanish War.


He was a member of Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati, George Washington Post No. 103, G. A. R., N. Y., ex-Com. California Commandery Loyal Legion, Veteran Corps of Artillery, Military Society War of 1812 and New York Historical Association.


He married Emily, daughter of the late Capt. Horace B. Sawyer, U. S. N., Nov. 19, 1863. They had five children : Louisa, married John N. Moore, New York; Clarence Sawyer; Minnie, married the late Lieut. William E. Sewell, U. S. N .; Elsie Sawyer, married Robert Mazet, Bolton Landing, N. Y., and Emily S., married Lieut. Claude Bailey, U. S. N. His summer residence, "The Moorings," was at Bolton Landing, on Lake George, N. Y.


*


He died at his winter home, Park Slope, Ridgewood, N. J., March 30, 1913. A widow and two daughters, Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Bailey, survive him.


MOSES.


William Schuyler Moses was born in Rochester, N. Y., August 8, 1827. Son of Elsie Margarita (Carpenter) and Schuyler Moses, and grandson of Benjamin Carpenter, who served under General Stark at the Battle of Bennington, Vt.


He was educated in the public schools at Rochester, learned the trade of carpenter and millwright, which he followed at Niagara Falls, N. Y., and Wheeling, W. Va.


On the 21st day of May, 1849, he sailed from New York on the bark "Alice Tarlton," came around Cape Horn and arrived in San Francisco Jan. 1, 1850.


He was made a Mason in Valley Lodge No. 109 at Rochester, N. Y., March 12, 1849, and was a charter member and the first Master of Golden Gate Lodge No. 30, F. & A. M., San Francisco, in 1852. He was a member of all Masonic bodies, a Knight Templar in California Commandery No. 1, a member of Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. Mystic Shrine, one of the organizers of the Grand Lodge of Masons of Cali- fornia, October 19, 1850, in Sacramento. He organized the Order of the Eastern Star on the Pacific Coast May 18, 1869, when he or-


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ganized Golden Gate Chapter No. 1, San Francisco, the first in the State, and was "Venerable" Past Grand Patron of the Order. He was Past Grand Master of the Grand Consistory of California Scot- tish Rite Masons and had been installed in offices connected with Masonry 135 times.


He built quartz mills at the mines in the early days in California, and was town trustee of Yreka, Cal., for five years.


He was superintendent of Masonic Cemetery in San Francisco for many years.


He was married Nov. 12, 1855, at Fredonia, N. Y., to Addie, daughter of Levi R. Warren.


In San Francisco, September 2, 1911, he married Marguerite E. Robertson of New York, a daughter of the late Charles Robertson of San Francisco, where she was born.


He was one of the best known men in Masonic circles in California.


He is survived by his widow, Marguerite E., a sister, Mrs. Elsie A. Hobe of San Francisco, and a brother, Fred A., of Los Angeles.


PLATT.


Horace Garvin Platt was born in Selma, Alabama, Aug. 26, 1852, son of Cornelia Margaret (Cuthbert) and Rev. William Henry Platt, great-great-grandson of Joseph Clay, Deputy Paymaster General in Georgia and member of the Continental Congress.


He was a graduate of the University of Virginia and came to San Francisco in 1875, when his father was rector of Grace Church. He practiced law in San Francisco for thirty years, and was one of the foremost lawyers in the State. Before coming to California he was instructor in the High School at Louisville, Ky. In 1881 he was an assemblyman in the California Legislature. He was Judge Advocate in the National Guard.




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