History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 57

Author: Mason, Jesse D; Thompson & West. 4n
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Cal., Thompson & West
Number of Pages: 758

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RESIDENCE OF J. M. GARRETSON, SANTA BARBARA.

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opinion that the men whose want of principle and moral cowardice and weakness procured the nomi- nation of this notorious ruffian, are indirectly respon- sible for the death of Mr. Glancey. They knew that Gray was utterly unfit for the position, but for the sake of such dirty work as he might be capable of performing they were willing to sacrifice both the reputation of the party and the interests of the peo- ple of the county. It was unquestionably in the line of Mr. Glancey's duty to rebuke this diseredit- able nomination, and it was evident that he merely gave expression to sentiments which every right- minded Republican and citizen of Santa Barbara shared with him. His taking off was a brutal, atro- cious and cowardly murder, and it is vital to the good repute of the community in which the crime was committed that the punishment of the assassin should be ample and exemplary."

[Extract from Rev. Mr. Weldon's Discourse. ]

** I believe, and I believe that your own deepest convictions go with me, I believe that that deed had never been done, that the arm had never been raised to smite this man to death in our midst, if the sword of justice had not been sheathed in its scabbard in the State of California; had men who had dared to commit sueh crimes in the streets of other towns and citiesin onr commonwealth in which we live; if justiee had been measured out to those who have stricken down their victims as this man was strieken down; if an outraged sentiment had spoken in such wise, courts and juries had never dared to keep the sword of justice sheathed in her scabbard, and I do not believe that this deed had been done in our midst. Then, if we are right in saying this, then not merely that wretched man who smote this man to his death is responsible, but all this common- wealth is responsible. Publie opinion, that potent influenee in modern society, controls courts of justice, and the men whom we elect to high places of author- ity and judgment and power. We all of us, as we express ourselves in the streets, in our offices and at our firesides, as we teach our children, as we give utterance to our opinions and thoughts as to law, justice and retribution in our commonwealth when outraged in this wise, we are making that petent influence in modern society, public opinion. The public opinion of this commonwealth is responsible for this act. Do you remember the solemnity with which the elders of an old Israelitish town were called together to go and wash their hands, as it were, and to lean over the corpse of a man fallen by an unknown hand, saying ' we are not responsi- ble, his murderer is unknown, and solemnly, in the presence of the Lord God of Hosts, we wash our hands of his blood ?' We cannot take that plaee, my fellow- citizens; we know who slew this man, and to-day and to-morrow, and through the coming days, we have a solemn duty before us with reference to this aet. We are to see to it that we solemnly express our deliberate convictions. In such a day as this, this whole community is bound before Almighty God to so hold and so express its opinions, the concen- trated feeling of justice and righteousness and truth in the presence of this deed that courts and juries and Governors shall not dare to sheathe the sword of justice. * * * It is a terrible thing if such a crime as this is committed with impunity. You and I and every man, as we are fellow-men in this community, are responsible for it."

THE TRIALS AND ACQUITTAI

Although the circumstances of the assassination were so atrocious, the funeral ceremonies were hardly over before Gray's friends became active in planning to defend him. Four thousand dollars were raised to employ counsel, and all the technicalities of the law were invoked to delay or thwart justice. Though he had uttered numerous threats that Stearns or Glancey must die before night. Gray plead self- defense, and proved by witnesses that Glancey made the first attack.

The Courts that hitherto had treated Gray with so much leniency, were now, in turn, the object of mueh watchfulness lest the machinery of delays, exceptions, and demurrers should be put in motion to again defeat justice. The defense was so well planned, or the jury was so well selected, they failed to agree, and the case was transferred to San Mateo County, where he was found guilty and sen- tenced to twenty years' imprisonment. Several prominent men, such as ex-Chief Justice Wallace, were engaged in his defense. The accused was per- mitted many privileges rarely bestowed upon per- sons on trial for high crimes, such as visiting and dining at private residences, visiting processions and shows, etc., during his incarceration.

His friends made application for a new trial, which was granted on such singular grounds as to become historical in its character. If the friends of the aecused had conspired to defeat justice they could not have devised a more cunning scheme than to have done precisely what was apparently accident- ally done. The offense consisted in furnishing the jurors with liquors. The statement of Justice Thorn- ton will be considered authentic :-

" The trial commenced on the 1st day of June, 1881, and terminated on the morning of the 12th of the same month, about 9 o'clock, when the jury ren- dered the verdiet and were discharged. The jury was fully impaneled on the evening of the 3d of June, some time after 6 o'clock. As soon as the jury was complete, they were, by the order of the Court, placed in charge of the Sheriff and instructed as to their duties. They remained in charge of the Sheriff, not being allowed to separate until they were discharged on the morning of the 12th. After the jury was complete, and before the cause was sub- mitted to them, on the afternoon of the 11th of June, about 5 o'clock, a period of about eight days, four five-gallon kegs of beer were brought into the room at the Tremont House, where the jury was kept by the Sheriff, of which about seventeen and a half gallons (of the beer) were drank by them; that during the same period a two-galion demijohn of wine was brought in and drank by them; that during the same period some of the jurors drank elaret wine, amounting to three bottles, at their meals; while some of them drank whisky at their meals; that all this drinking was done before the eause was submitted to them on the afternoon of the 11th of June; that on the 11th of June, during the noon recess, two of the jurors procured each a flask of whisky; that one of the jurors (Price, the fore-

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man,) drank nothing. That all the drinking by the jurors was without the permission of the Court, or the consent of the defendant, or of the counsel engaged in the cause, and, in fact, without the knowledge of either of them; that all the beer, wine, and whisky drank were procured by such of the jurors as desired it of their own notion and at their own expense; that the verdict was agreed on about 8:30 o'clock on the morning of the 12th.

"Further, the evidence affords strong reason to suspect that one of the jurors drank so much while deliberating on the verdict as to unfit him for the proper discharge of his duty.

Referring to cases in other Courts :-

" These cases all hold that Courts will not inquire whether the juror was affected by what he drank or not; that the only sure safeguard to the purity and correctness of the verdict is that no drinking shall be allowed.

" It should be added here that if it is necessary that intoxicating liquors of any kind should be drank by a juror, application for leave to do so should be made to the Court, who can make such allowance as will be proper. Jurors should not be allowed to judge for themselves in this matter. A defendant in a criminal case should not be called on to consent; and in any case, when the party consents, if the juror becomes intoxicated, the verdict shall not stand. The purity and correctness of the verdict should be guarded in every way; that the administration of justice should not be subject to scandal and distrust.

" For the reason above indicated, the judgment and order are reversed, and the cause remanded for a new trial. THORNTON, J."

This conclusion was concurred in by Justices My- rick, Mckinstry, Ross, and Sharpstein.

The third trial of Gray occurred in December, 1882, in the same county, and resulted in his ac- quittal.

LIFE OF THEODORE M. GLANCEY.

Mercer County, Illinois, where Theodore Glancey was born, October 19, 1837, is one of the northern counties of the State. He was the son of Joseph Glancey, a pioneer of northern Illinois-a man thor- oughly identified with the early settlement of that section of the State. The vicinity of Rock Island may be said to be included in the section where Mr. Glancey was born, and that it was in the territory of those aboriginal tribes, the Foxes and the Sacs. Joseph Glancey was a resident of that section during the memorable Black Hawk War. He was a well- to-do farmer, commanding the respect and esteem of his neighbors. He operated a grist-mill on Pope River, seven miles distant from Keithsburg, at the point of the confluence of that stream and the Mississippi. Theo- dore, the son, being born on a farm, was early taught the art of farming, and became also a skilled miller, learning the business under his father's tuition. The region referred to, and in which young Glancey received his first impressions of life, was settled by people from the North and South, the population being about equally divided between Carolinians and the Georgians on one hand, and New England immi-

grants on the other. The slavery agitation drew strong lines between these neighbors, and developed the sectional feeling that always existed in such a mixed population in those days. There was no con- servative plane for these people, no middle ground for mutual occupancy, but each dwelt in the atmos- phere of prejudice and feeling in which their early lives had been passed. When Theodore Glancey was about sixteen years of age, he developed a dis- putative and argumentative spirit and a precocity of thought that led him thus early to take an active part in the political discussions of the times, both in public and in private. He was, indeed, a phenomenal youth in this respect, and his high argumentative quality and colloquial gifts made him known where other youthis were unheard of. At a very early age he appeared on the public rostrum as a speaker on the political questions of the day. He was but about nineteen or twenty years old when that memorable campaign made its impress upon the country, in which Douglas and Lincoln were the chieftains of the most remarkable political canvass ever known in the West. During its progress young Glancey was deeply moved, and he followed those political gladi- ators from point to point, listening with a profound eagerness to their joint debate.

The Republican party owed its origin to Ichabod Codding, of Illinois. Glancey, then in his minority, in fact sat at the feet of that father of a party, and imbibed those principles upon which the great organ- ization rested, the basic-stones of its foundation. Glancey was, though a mere youth, present at the first convention of Republicans held in his county, and took an active part in its proceedings and in the formulation of its platform. He shared in all the debates, and commanded attention by the incisive force of his expressed thought. The platform of that Convention was drawn from the platform of the Republican State Convention, which was the produc- tion of Codding himself. That convention sat at Springfield, the capital of Illinois, in October, 1854. The County Convention referred to was held in 1856. The principles enunciated in the Codding charter of the great party and reflected in that lesser one, in the framing of which Mr. Glancey had such a promi- nent part, set out that the purposes of the Republican party were, to bring the administration of the Gov- ernment back to the control of first principles; to restore Kansas and Nebraska to the position of free territory; to repeal and abrogate the fugitive slave law; to restrict slavery to the States in which it then existed; to prohibit the admission of any more slave States into the Union; to abolish slavery in the Dis- trict of Columbia, and to exclude slavery from all the Territories over which the General Government had exclusive jurisdiction. Pledging himself with the earliest breath of dawning manhood to these doc- trines, Theodore Glancey ever after adhered to them, and lived, not only to see them all triumphant, but

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to witness the total abolition of negro slavery in his beloved country effected; but he little dreamed that he would, in the tide and storm of battle, become a participator in that great emancipation, or that he would so soon be called upon to tender his life in defense of his political faith. Entering thus upon the stage of action, living in such an atmosphere, his earliest thoughts and impulses were for the ulti- mate extinction of the institution of slavery, and these found him ready, when the time came, to die, if need be, to effect that end. His mind was of the type that becomes radical in all its views, and he was of necessity positive and radical in his political beliefs and demands. At one time, when in a debate on the slavery question, a colleague declared that slavery should be abolished in the interest of the white race, because the institution was barbarous and because it tended to degrade the white race and arrest the development of its highest possible civiliza- ation, Glancey took the floor and warmly protested against that form of the doctrine of the anti-slavery movement, claiming that even if it could be estab- lished that the effect of the institution of slavery on the white race was beneficient, the right of the negro to liberty would still remain the same. He held that the white race had no right to be even benefited by the degradation and brutalizing of another race, but that each and all men had equal right to be the equal of any other men.

Mr. Glancey showed the same mental and moral independence in religious matters as in all others. While his sense of the magnitude of creation gave him a devotional feeling which he gratified by attending church and often taking part in the wor- ship, his broad conceptions of truth early led him to reject the systems of religion dominated by creeus as bonds calculated rather to retard mental and moral development than otherwise. He regarded the Bible as the outgrowth of ages of thought, rather than a special revelation, an opinion that he held in common with many of the most advanced thinkers of the world. He saw something good in every form of worship and in every church, and treated all with respect. He claimed the absolute right to think for himself on all religious matters unbound by custom or tradition, and conceded the same privilege to all others. He was tolerant in the broadest sense, and would defend the rights of others to free thought with the same firmness that he evinced in asserting his own.

He was educated in the common schools of his section. The schools of northern Illinois had then attained a high standing. He had, however, what- ever advantages were afforded by a brief course in an academy about equal in its curriculum of study to the high schools of this day. All other education was the result of his unaided study and reading, and the exercise of his keen observant faculties, and of his reasoning powers.

On attaining his majority, his oratorical ability

and argumentative powers attracted the attention of Hon. A. C. Harding, who stood at the head of the Bar of that district. He served two terms in Congress by choice of the people of that section, and subse- quently, distinguishing himself in the war of the Rebellion, was, at its close, a Union Major-Gen- eral of volunteers. With this prominent man and able lawyer, Mr. Glancey read law at Monmouth, Illinois, beginning in 1860, and continued with Mr. Harding when he removed'his office to Peoria. Mr. Glancey reposed great confidence in Mr. Harding, and he was one of his earliest and best counselors and advisers. Glancey had just prepared to enter

THEODORE M. GLANCEY.

for himself upon the practice of the law in 1861, when the war of the Rebellion broke out. He was in his office, when one day in the spring of that year, there marched by his window a partially formed regiment of Union volunteers. Suddenly the con- viction of duty entered his soul. Without consult- ing with his associates, without pausing to advise with his old and trusted friend, Mr. Harding, with- out notification to his family, or a moment's hesitation or indecision, he went to his boarding-place, packed up a few clothes, and proceeded at ouce to the mili- tary camp of instruction near Peoria, and enlisted as a private soldier in the Seventeenth Regiment of Illinois Volunteers. From that time on to the close of the war, he was in the service of the United States. In the service his regiment had bitter expe- rience. It was in many battles, such as Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, and at Shiloh suffered severely, Glancey's own company losing the larger portion of its men. During all the fatigues and toils of war, Mr.

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Glancey still found time to write letters to the home newspapers, and while engaged in the duties of the common soldier, kept up a voluminous correspond- ence for publication, and also with friends for their private perusal. Correspondence, unpublished, is now extant that furnishes some exceedingly vivid and brilliant accounts of notable engagements in which he took part. He was at the siege of Vicks- burg, the battle of Port Hudson, in the campaign before Corinth, and other prominent campaigns. He was sent with the band of soldiers that ascended the Yazoo River, and subsequently captured Jackson, Mississippi's capital city, but returned in time to be present at the surrender of Vicksburg. At the close of his military career he was a First Lieutenant. Glancey's soldier-life had in it more of the character of patriotism than self-seeking. He had no ambition for promotion-he might have easily had it; he might have achieved far greater distinction but for that, and the fact that, theoretically, he was opposed to war. At the close of the struggle, Mr. Glancey returned to his home and took the publication of a newspaper, the Keithsburg Observer, and subsequently started the Keranna, at the county seat of his native county. The paper was not, financially, a success. When it failed, he became connected with an older and well-established journal, and after some experience on it, he came to the conclusion to abandon the law and make journalism the vocation of his life. In the interim he was elected Secretary of the Dixon and Quincy Railroad, and after a time Vice-President of the Keithsburg and Eastern Railroad Company. This latter position he held until he came to California. In April, 1872, Mr. Glancey married Miss Inez Will- son, at Aurora, Illinois, a lady of great beanty and highly accomplished. She is now a resident of Calis- toga in this State, and remains his widow. Mr. Glancey came to California in 1873, and settled in Los Angeles, and was editor and general manager of the Los Angeles Herald. Owing to disagreements between himself and the stockholders as to the policy of conducting the paper, he resigned his trust and took charge of the Placer Argus, at Auburn, Placer County, and subsequently he became proprietor of that paper, and made the journal a profitable one. It was successful, and he accumulated some money, and added to it subsequently. by the sale of the bus- iness. At one time he purehased an interest in the Sutter County Bunner, at Yuba City, Sutter County, and edited it for about two years, though residing in San Francisco. At San Francisco he held the posi- tion of general agent and special correspondent of the Record-Union, Sacramento, and was holding that position when the proprietors of the Santa Barbara Press secured his services as editor of that paper.

He engaged in the arduous task of condueting a daily paper with the same devotion to truth and duty that had hitherto marked his career. The articles regarding political affairs were terse, pointed, and fearless. The element that had in times past

held itself above criticism, saw, in the vigorous sen- tences, a future of trouble and the assassination of the editor or proprietor was resolved on. The editor proved the victim, on the evening of the 25th of September, 1880.

The affair is treated at length on another page, and need not be repeated here. He was surrounded by friends in his last moments, and when told that recovery was impossible, he said, " I die for a princi- ple, and would not go back on it if I could." A pro- cession followed his remains to the wharf, where they were transferred to the steamer to be removed to their final resting-place. Mr. Glancey's character was marked by a high kind of independence, a broad generosity, and nncompromising adherence to con- viction. This was not a combination of traits caleu- lated to make him popular among men. His friend- ships were few, and his confidences were bestowed on a still smaller number. His uncompromising spirit as to what he believed to be exactly right, par- took in no sense of a bigotry growing out of a belief in the infallibility of his own judgment. He always held himself bound and ready to make reparation for any wrong or injury done any one, and was as quick to make amends as it was possible for it to be done. He was thoroughly brave but not aggressive. He was never known to retreat before an aggressive adversary, no matter what the opposing strength he must meet. In personal habit he was virtnous and temperate. He practiced and believed in total abstinence, and it grew out of his belief as to what was best for the good of all men, his general philanthropic thought leading him up to total abstinence, just as his sense of the wrong of slavery led him to become an anti- slavery advocate. At the time of his father's death, Mr. Glancey had considerable property fall to him. He had a step-mother, an elder sister, and a brother, and just prior to coming to California, he settled up his father's estate to the very best advantage, and in a very complete manner, and then gave his own share of the assets to his step-mother-an act of marked generosity. He never preferred any claim on the estate for any part of it in his own behalf. He was not possessed of commercial tact or of much financial managerial ability of his own affairs, though faithful to trusts confided to him, and as a conse- quence accumulated no property, and at the time of his death was not possessed of any estate. In per- sonal appearance Theodore Glancey was tall, spare, and angular. He had been accustomed, from earliest childhood, to the robust habits common to Western life, and was an excellent horseman, a good shot, and loved the sports of the chase. He had been an industrious reader, and his taste in reading ran mostly to theological works; indeed, he was very fond of such reading.

Mr. Glancey, in manner and address, was urbane and polite, notwithstanding the strong positive char- acter of his mentality. The cause that led to his death-adherence to a position taken-the cause

J. M. ANDONAEGUI.

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that led to the murderous assault upon him, and the last words of his life, " Tell my friends I died for a principle, and I would not go back on it if I could," afford a key to his character, and are in simple con- sonance with his every act under every trying ordeal through which he was called to pass. To him it was always, and all the time, better to die for a principle of right, than to have acknowledged any error to be truc, or to have played the hypocrite with his own soul. For any conviction honestly entertained, he would at any time have suffered martyrdom, rather than pretend to be what he was not, or profess to believe that which he did not believe to be true. The mortal remains of Theodore Glancey are buried in the cemetery at St. Helena, Napa County. A granite monument is being erected over his remains.

THE ELECTION OF 1880.

There were three parties this season, the Republi- can, Democratie, and Workingmen. The latter party never made any great progress in Santa Bar- bara. The easy-going Spanish people, in former times, were sometimes induced to join a revolution- ary party for a few days, and dash through the country on horseback to the jingling of spurs and rattling of sabres, but they had little admiration for noisy meetings and loud speaking, in fact the whole sand-lot philosophy was abhorrent to them. The most of the Americans were in comfortable circum- stances. There were no poorly paid workmen from shops or factories to swell the ranks of the discon- tented, and most of the interest was raised by some few politicians who expected to gain position by being affiliated with a party that was stronger in other parts of the State. The Republican electors received from 904 to 907 votes; the Democratic, from 700 for Terry to 705 for Shorb. The W. P. C. can- didates received 293 votes.

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History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 57

Author: Mason, Jesse D; Thompson & West. 4n Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Oakland, Cal., Thompson & West Number of Pages: 758

Author: Mason, Jesse D; Thompson & West. 4n
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Cal., Thompson & West
Number of Pages: 758