USA > California > Santa Barbara County > History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 81
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111
When the settlement of the country forbade the success of such crimes as were practiced by Pico's or Power's gangs, the settlement of the land question produced a new crop of vices. The loose manner in which grants had been made, and the facility with which new ones might be made or old ones extended, had the tendency to undermine the honor of the judiciary and all. connected with the courts. It could hardly have been otherwise. Land in all ages has formed the basis of wealth and respectability. He who would not strain a point to obtain a rancho, a principality, is honorable, indeed. The wonder is, not that perjury and forgery were sometimes com- mitted, but that a border war did not occur such as kept the highlands and lowlands of Scotland in a turmoil 200 years since. That the land troubles were settled with so few murders is creditable, very creditable, to all parties.
Another source of crime was the vice of gambling, which, perhaps, was as common in Santa Barbara as in any community of its size in the State. It is true that betting on horses was common in early times; whole ranchos were sometimes lost and won on the speed of a mustang. The country around the Guad- alupe was famous for its fast horses, and the owners
were not slow to bet money on them; but it was mostly among the owners. There was little coin among the common people to bet on horse-racing or anything else, consequently there were no profes- sional gamblers who delt monte or faro, night after night, or both by day and night, to crowds oť fasci- nated victims to the habit.
After the herds of cattle became valuable all this changed. Dozens of gambling-places were started, where the chink of coin was heard through the day and night. Homicides and brawls were frequent, but not more so than in other parts of California; in fact, any mining town in 1850 to 1860 would have shown a larger list of crimes than Santa Barbara. There were reasons for this: first, perhaps, that the mild and uniform climate induced a condition of repose; second, that the native population never indulged in the fiery liquors drunk so much among the miners and residents of the towus, that made the good man bad and the bad man worse, for not until the American came had the natives seen a man drink a tumbler of whisky. Drunkenness was rare among them, and a raving maniac, charged with whisky, was never seen until he was imported.
Another source of crime was in the mixed charac- ter of the population. The Mission Indian, deprived of his home, as he was taught to consider the mission buildings and grounds, felt it no crime to take his own again, and was often guilty of larceny, fre- quently driven to it by absolute want. The attacks on the Missions of San Buenaventura, Santa Barbara, and Santa Ynez were owing to this feeling. Sisa Creek (Thief Creek), sometimes called See-saw Creek, was so named from the numerous raids on the herds made from that quarter.
Lust and jealousy, as every where else, have claimed its victims. Sometimes in early days the favored admirer of a beauty was the victim of the rejected snitor, and, as everywhere else, the violator of the honor of a family met a quick retribution.
As a whole, Santa Barbara has been remarkably free from crime. Much of that which did occur was the work of temporary residents, a short sojourn- ing of a bad element.
Some of the homicides have been noticed in con- nection with the accompanying events; others will be found mentioned in the chronological list of noted matters. A detailed account of the crimes would be unwholesome and unwelcome reading for the patrons of this work. A few notable ones, not particularly connected with the general history, will be mentioned.
On the 17th of Jannary, 1864, the bodies of a mar- ried couple,
MR. AND MRS. WILLSON CORLISS,
Were found, partially consumed in the blackened ruins of their house, which had been burned the night before. From circumstances it was easily dis- covered that a murder had been committed, but the lack of evidence prevented the fixing of the crime
343
MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS.
upon any party, and so, as in the great majority of criminal cases, the criminals went unwhipped of justice. In the following summer, a similar crime was committed on
SAMUEL BARTHMAN,
Who was murdered, robbed, and the body concealed in the woods between the Ranchos La Purissima and Lompoc. Lying there concealed, it was only discovered through the buzzards congregating around the spot, when it was found decomposed and par- tially devoured by wild animals. After a time the murderers, two in number, were apprehended, whereof one escaped conviction and the other got off with the light penalty of thirteen years' confinement.
THE MURDER OF ABADIE.
On the 24th of June, 1868, Mr. Domingo Abadie, a respected citizen of Santa Barbara, and the head of a large family, was assassinated near his house, and in the presence of several persons, by Francisco Xavier Bonilla, aged about twenty years. The cir- cumstances were these: Abadie had become the agent of the owner of La Laguna Rancho, on which the Bonillas, father and two sons, were staying. Whether their interests conflicted or not, is not known; but at any rate, young Bonilla sought a quarrel with the victim, whose retort brought about the shooting which caused his death. After firing the four shots, each of which struck the deceased, the mur- derer mounted a horse and made his escape. It was supposed he had gone to the city of Santa Barbara, and assumed female disguise, which prevented his recognition by the officers. The brother of the vic- tim meanwhile offered a reward of $2,000, which excited the cupidity of a friend of Bonilla's, in whose house he had found refuge. By this individual he was delivered to the Sheriff, and being put upon his trial, was speedily convicted of murder in the first degree. The righteous sentence of the law was never inflicted upon him, however, for through the efforts of his friends, he secured gubernatorial clem- ency, having his sentence of death commuted to thirty-five years' imprisonment.
This case excited considerable attention from the fact that a serious charge was made against Pablo de la Guerra, when he was a candidate for Judge, of harboring him in his house. It was proved, how- ever, that he was absent at the time.
THE KILLING OF BROPHY
Was an incident of the efforts on the part of settlers at the Sespe to rid themselves of a gang of horse- thieves who were troubling the neighborhood in December, 1870. It seems that Brophy, with two other criminals, was known to be stopping at Levick's ranch, whereupon a posse of settlers was formed, who, arming themselves, proceeded to the suspected house, and, surrounding it, demanded the inmates' surrender. Resisting arrest, Brophy, the leader,
was instantly killed. and Smith and Hardy captured. The attacking party gave up their prisoners to the authorities, but Hardy afterwards escaped from jail.
FAUSTINO LORENZANA.
Under the head of " Captured at Last," an issue of the Times, of the year 1874, has the following an- nouncement :-
" A desperado by the name of Faustino Lorenzana, was found in the vicinity of the big grapevine at Montecito, last week, and on refusing to surrender, was shot and killed by Deputy Sheriff Ames and posse. He was regarded as one of the worst men in the State, being recognized by parties from Santa Cruz as the man who shot the Sheriff of that county about five years since. He is also thought to be the villain that lassoed Mrs. O'Harra in her door-yard, and dragged her through the field a year since."
The next on the list of tragedies was the
MURDER OF SARAH J. SHEDD
By her husband William W. Shedd, followed by the suicide of the latter. Domestic difficulties had caused the separation of the unhappy pair, and a divorce sought by the wife on the ground of her hus- band's cruelty and intemperance. Finding reconcilia- tion impossible, the murderer resolved upon his atro- cious crime, and entering the bedroom of his sleeping wife under cover of the darkness, he stabbed her to death, and cheated the hangman by blowing out his brains. This happened in the town of Santa Barbara, on the 18th of January, 1874.
The affairs thus far recounted possessed but little more than a local interest, for neither the circum- stances nor the personalities of those engaged were striking enough to elicit long-continued attention and recollection. The reader comes now to the story of a crime, which bears a more general interest than its predecessors, that is the notorious
MURDER OF NORTON
By his wife and her paramour, Jack Cotton, other- wise called Captain Lockman. This startling trag- edy was enacted on the night of the 6th of April, 1875. The circumstances, as elicited at the trial, are here presented in a condensed form. John C. Nor- ton, a rancher, residing on Rincon Point, married, and the father of two children, was murdered by shooting, and buried in the sand-hills a short distance from the house. The weapon used was a shot-gun, heavily loaded with sIngs. The tragedy occurred somewhat after midnight, and was unsuspected by the neighbors, who were told by Mrs. Norton and Cotton that the man had gone to Los Angeles. Shortly after the two left, still unsuspected, and stay- ing awhile in Los Angeles, returned to the Rincon, telling people that the husband had died suddenly while in the neighboring county. Next proceeding . to dispose of the property, the guilty pair left for parts unknown. It was not until the last of the following month that the crime was discovered.
344
HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.
Meanwhile the murderous pair had successively vis- ited various parts of the State, at last locating in Wadsworth, Nevada, at which place they were ap- prehended, and returned to Santa Barbara for trial. It appeared upon their examination that the crime was the result of an immoral intrigue between the woman and Cotton, who was a farm-hand in the employ of Norton. Each endeavored to throw the blame upon the other, with the result of conclusively proving their mutual guilt, and they were both found guilty of murder in the first degree, with the penalty affixed by the jury of imprisonment for life, and they are now undergoing that sentence. These are the leading particulars of a murder that created wide- spread comment throughout the State.
One of that numerous and dangerous class of Spanish-Americans who pattern their acts on the plan of Tiburcio Vasquez and Joaquin Murictta, enacted a part of his wild career in this county, and on being overtaken by justice, was tried and sent to State Prison for life for the
MURDER OF LANTERIO,
An Indian. Trinidad German was a Mexican, who had, at the age of twenty-four years, imbued his hands in the blood of several men, and committed numerous outrages of less note. At the Los Alamos Ranch be rode up to the door of Lanterio, a helpless cripple, and calling him out, observed to him that he had lived long enough, and drawing a revolver, put an end to the Indian's life through the agency of three bullets. Riding on, he met a fellow-countryman, Juan Ramirez, and without waiting for provocation shot him twice, dangerously, and then made his escape. In another part of the State he got into difficulty, drew his ready revolver, settled the dispute, and found himself in prison for one year. After get- ting out, he turned his attention to the comparatively tame occupation of robbing stages, operating in Sierra County to good advantage, as the passengers on the Downieville stage found to their cost one morning. Running off horses in the San Joaquin Valley was the means of closing his career. Being arrested therefor, he was identified and returned to Santa Barbara, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to imprisonment for life for murdering Lanterio. Thus ended the career of one whose exploits bid fair to rival those of any of the celebrated cut-throats of California.
MURDER OF G. B. TRABUCCO.
Trabucco was an old man of Italian birth and of humble occupation, who, by industry and economy, had accumulated several thousand dollars, which it was known he kept near him. His home was in a lonely house near the Ortega Hill, some six miles from Santa Barbara. On the 24th of December, 1881, some persons having business with him on that morning, found his body in the house much mutilated, with the appearance of having been dead for two or
three days. From the appearance of the surround- ings it was judged that he was first stunned with a blow on the head, and then tied, after which he was dragged from place to place and tortured for the purpose of inducing him to reveal the hiding-places of his money. He was stabbed and shot several times while being thus dragged about the premises, as was proved by the pools of blood in various places. When the murderers were satisfied they finished their work by shooting him and cutting his throat from ear to ear. No clue was ever obtained of the perpetrators.
DICK FELLOWS.
. A year ago the public were startled by a series of stage robberies in the western part of the county, that had such general resemblance to each other as to fix the act on one man, and that man Dick Fel- lows. As his character of work was well known, the man was soon arrested and placed in jail. A great deal of sympathy was evoked in his favor. The following letter was one of many that was written to the authorities asking for mercy :-
Los ANGELES, February 15, 1882.
TO THE SHERIFF OF SANTA BARBARA -- Dear Sir: You may remember the old lady that spoke to the prisoner you had in charge on the Orizaba, last trip down. I believe his assumed name is Dick Fellows. The crime was for robbing the express box. I know the real name of that man; his father was one of the first lawyers in the United States, and an uncle is a Senator. There is no taint of crime in the family. His first offense came by drink and the hasty ele- ment of the South. This time he was not able to get employment, starved, branded, and was so long- ing to get back to his old father and friends. His mother is dead. I wanted him to call on his friends to help him. He said, " They know nothing of the condition that I am in, and I would sooner die or go to prison than grieve my old father and disgrace my friends; no, I will take whatever will come." This man is brave and generous, no meanness in him or any of his family blood. He has for years been a sober man, and I am certain that if Wells, Fargo & Co. would not condemn this man, would give him employment, he would prove himself altogether worthy-trustworthy and competent. Or if they' would help him to go to his father, or give him decent clothes to go with, it would be the wisest thing they could do. He is a natural born leader, and when it is known among highwaymen that one suffers for crime, they all stand together. If he is again sent to that school tor criminals, the effort to reform him will be hopeless; for force would never make you or me better. This man is truly penitent. I am an old lady nearly seventy years; I am not well, not able to write. Let us forgive as we hope to be forgiven, and though a brother fall many times let us lift him up. You must see that this man is not a constitutional criminal, and he never would again commit a crime. I have had, formerly had, much to do with prisoners; I don't want this man to confess his crime and to send himself to prison. Wells, Fargo would be wise to let this man go and give him some employment, the gen- erosity would disarm highwaymen. Please give the inclosed letter to the prisoner; Dick Fellows I believe is the name. Send this note to Wells, Fargo
345
MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS.
at once, please. I only set out to write a line, and this is badly written, but I can't write more now. May God move you all to help this man, and he in the future will be a power for good.
He has undoubtedly a good education, and has written some very good things for the papers while in confinement. His appeals for mercy not being heeded, he made an attempt to escape. One morn- ing when the jailer came to his room he was not to be seen. The jailer, fearful that his prisoner had escaped, commenced making an examination of the premises. Dick was perched up above the jailer, and when circumstances looked favorable he jumped on the keeper, knocked him down, and, taking away his pistol, turned the key of the door and fled. In a few minutes half the people in the neighborhood were in pursuit Several horses were hitched along the road, but he selected one who was crazy with rattleweed and Dick soon came to grief, being thrown to the ground and considerably bruised. The mercy asked for was not granted, and he went to prison.
OFFICIAL ROSTER.
Governors of the Colony, Territory, and State of California from the year 1767 to 1883 :-
SPANISH GOVERNORS.
Gaspar de Portala from 1767 to 1771
Felipi Barri
1771 “ 1774
Felipe de Neve
1774 " 1782
Pedro Fajes 60 1782 " 1790
José Antonio Romea 1790 “ 1792
José Joaquin de Arrillaga 1792 " 1794
Diego de Borica 1794 " 1800
José Joaquin de Arrillaga 66 1800 " 1814
José Arguello .. 46
1814 " 1815
Pablo Vicenti de Sola
1815 " 1822
MEXICAN GOVERNORS.
Pablo Vincente de Sola 1822 " 1823
Luis Arguello
1823 " 1825
José Maria Echeandia
1825 " 1831
Manuel Victoria
1831 “ 1832
Pio Pico
1832 " 1833
José Figueroa =
1833 " 1835
José Castro
1835 " 1836
Nicholas Gutierrez
1836 «
Mariano Chico
1836 4
Nicholas Gutierrez.
66
1836 44
Juan B. Alvarado
60 1836 " 1842
Manuel Micheltorena
1842 " 1845
Pio Pico
1845 " 1846
AMERICAN MILITARY GOVERNORS.
Com. John T. Sloat 1846
Com. Robert F. Stockton 1846
Col. John C. Fremont. 1847
Gen. Stephen W. Kearney 1847
Col. Richard B. Mason 1847
1849 Gen. Bennett Riley
STATE GOVERNORS.
Peter H. Burnett 1849
John McDongall 1851
John Bigler
1852
J. Neely Johnson 1856
Jobn B. Weller 1858
Milton S. Latham
1860
Jobn G. Downey
1860
Leland Stanford
1862
Frederick F. Low
1863
Henry H. Haight
1867
Newton Booth .
1871
Romualdo Pacheco
1875
William Irwin 1875
Geo. II. Perkins 1879
Geo. Stoneman
1883
STATE SENATOR.
Pablo de la Guerra was elected in 1850 for two years. Antonio Maria de la Guerra was elected in 1853. Pablo de la Guerra again elected in: 1856; tenure of office changed from two to four years. Romualdo Pa- checo was elected as joint Senator from Santa Bar- bara and San Luis Obispo Counties, and elected from Santa Barbara in 1861, and served two years and resigned, being elected Lieutenant-Governor in 1863, and Juan Y. Cota was appointed to fill the vacancy, and was elected at the general election the same year. Patrick Murphy elected in 1865. Romualdo Pacheco elected in 1869. George Steele elected in 1873. E. H. Heacock elected in 1879.
ASSEMBLYMEN.
The following persons were elected to the Assem- bly as follows :-
J. M. Covarrubias, 1850, 1852, 1853, 1855, 1856, and 1859; Henry Carnes, 1850; A. F. Hinchman, 1852; Chas. E. Huse, 1852; P. C. Carrillo, 1854; Russel Heath, 1857; Eugene Lies, 1858; C. W. Dana, 1861; Ramon J. Hill, 1863; W. T. MeElhaney, 1868; J. A. Barry, 1869; J. H. Cooper, 1871; A. G. Escon- don, 1873; W. A. Hayne, 1875; Milton Wason, 1879; re-elected in 1880.
DISTRICT JUDGE.
Like the office of County Judge, the name of Henry A. Teft is the first to appear, it being in 1851. On July 5th of that year, Henry Carnes was ap- pointed to fill the vacancy caused by the drowning of Judge Teft, at Port Harford, while endeavoring to board a steamer on his way to hold court at Santa Barbara, and on January 26, 1852, Joaquin Car- rillo was appointed, and by election held the office until Pablo de la Guerra was elected in 1863, who, in turn, held it until just before his death (which occurred February 5, 1874), when he re- signed, when Walter Murray was appointed, and after his death Engene Fawcett. who had been elected at the September election, was appointed in November to fill the unexpired term, which position he held until the office was superseded by that of Superior Judge, to which he was elected, September,
346
HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.
1879, taking his scat Jannary 6, 1880, and dying three days later. D. P. Hatch was elected to the office of Superior Judge in the autumn of 1880.
COUNTY OFFICERS.
The publishers of this work designed giving the readers a full and correct list of the persons who have held office, but find the records so imperfectly kept, and often, too, in Spanish, that the task is well nigh impossible. The officers elected in early years, especially those whose business was mostly clerical, were frequently incompetent, and had to intrust the work to a deputy, who often signed his own name as principal. Sometimes they did not even qualify, being satisfied with the empty honor of an election. Occasionally there was found a necessity for an entire change in the course of a single month. The following list is given as an approximation, the best attainable under the circumstances :-
COUNTY JUDGE.
For this important office Henry A. Teft seems to have been the first incumbent in 1850.
From 1851 Joaquin Carrillo filled the position until 1853, when Charles Fernald was appointed by Gov- ernor Bigler, and at the September election of that year he was elected, and held the office by re-election until 1861, when, at the September election, José Maria Covarrubias was chosen, and in 1863 J. F. Maguire was elected, and held the office by re-elec- tion from term to term until his death, June 17, 1879, and R. M. Dillard was appointed, who filled the place until the office was superseded by that of Superior Judge, Eugene Fawcett being elected.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
In 1850 we find Edward S. Hoar filling this posi- tion, and also a record of his appointment to the same position January 1, 1851, and that on May 25, 1852, A. F. Hinchman was appointed. In November, 1852, Charles Fernald was elected and resigning April 4, 1853, Russel Heath was appointed. February 16, 1854, Charles E. Huse was appointed; and again on November 16, 1854, Henry Carnes was appointed to hold until the next election, which was in Sep- tember, 1855, when Charles E. Huse was elected. May 5, 1857, Huse was again appointed. At the September election that year, R. G. Gleason was chosen, and Albert Packard at the election of 1858. In September, 1859, Samuel Heath seems to have been elected, but in October of the same year Russel Heath filled the position by appointment, and resigned in June, 1861, Charles E. Huse being appointed, and in the following September was elected. In Sep- tember, 1863, S. R. I. Sturgeon was elected, and re- elected in 1865. In 1867, W. T. Williams was chosen, and re-elected in 1869; J. H. Kincaid in 1871; re-elected in 1873; B. F. Thomas in 1875; Thomas McNultain 1877; J. H. Kincaid in 1879, and re-elected in 1881.
COUNTY CLERK.
The first Clerk was Henry Carnes, who filled the office by appointment. In 1851, J. W. Burroughs officiated, and resigned April 14, 1852, Charles. E. Huse being appointed in his place, and in the fall of 1852, Burroughs was elected. In 1853, George D. Fisher elected, and re-elected in 1855 and 1857. There seems to have been some trouble in the Clerk's office during the latter part of Fisher's administration, and a commissioner was appointed to take charge of bis books, and in September, 1857, Eugene Lies was appointed, and on April 10, 1858, Charles E. Cook was appointed, and was elected to the position Sep- tember, the same year, and re-elected September, 1859. In September, 1861, F. A. Thompson was elected, re-elected 1863, and again in 1865, 1867, 1869, and 1871. H. P. Stone elected in 1873, and re-elected in 1875. In 1877, J. B. Wentling was elected. In 1879, A. B. Williams was elected, and re-elected in 1881.
COUNTY RECORDER.
The duties of this office were performed by the County Clerk.
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR.
The records with regard to this office are very deficient, and we can give no connected list.
In 1852 Raymundo Carrillo was elected. In 1855 H. B. Blake elected. In 1856 E. S. Dean elected. In 1857 L. T. Burton elected. In September, 1858, Thomas Dennis elected, and in November of the same year John Nidever was appointed, after which time we get no trace of the officer.
COUNTY SHERIFF.
In 1850 Thomas Warner was appointed to this office, as was also J. W. Burroughs, and in 1851 Bur- roughs was elected. In 1852 both William Twist and Valentine W. Hearne seem to have had possession of the office. On August 10, Hearne resigned and Charles Fernald was appointed. At the November election that year Wm. Twist was elected, and served until February, 1854, when Russel Heath was ap- pointed and afterwards elected to the office in Sep- tember, 1855. Joaquin de la Guerra was elected Sep- tember, 1857, and on March 22, 1859, Albert Chatan- neuf was appointed, and afterwards elected, Septem- ber, 1859, but failing to qualify, Thomas Dennis was appointed, October 3, 1859, and was elected in 1860, and re-elected in 1861. In 1863 José Ramon de la Guerra was elected. In 1865 Arza Porter was elected. In 1867 N. A. Covarrubias was elected, and Arza Porter in 1869. N. A. Covarrubias elected again in 1871, and re-elected in 1873, 1875, and 1877. Charles E. Sherman in 1879, and re-elected in 1881.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.