USA > California > Yolo County > The Western shore gazetteer and commercial directory for the state of California Yolo County : one volume being devoted to each county of the state, giving a brief history of each county. > Part 3
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After the treaty with Mexico, by which this State was ceded to the United States, the Commanding General of the Department-Brigadier-General Riley-in accordance with instructions from the Secretary of War, by authority of the President of the United States, became the Governor of the State, for the purpose of administering its civil affairs. It is an established principle that, when territory is acquired by a foreign power, the laws of the Government from which it is acquired remain in force until other laws are enacted by the Government acquiring such territory; hence the laws of Mexico were those in force in this country until the ma- chinery of our own civil jurisprudence should be put in operation. Under the laws referred to the State was di- vided into ten districts, one of which was denominated the Sonoma District, and embraced all that part of the State bounded by the sea; the Bay of San Francisco and Suisun, the Sacramento River and Oregon, and, of course, included Yolo County,
The principal officers in each of these districts were a Prefect and sub-Prefects, who were charged with the preser- vation of public order and the execution of the laws. Their duties, to some extent, corresponded with the duties of Sheriffs and Marshals, a Judge of the First Instance and a District Alcalde. This system of government could not long remain in a land then being rapidly populated with
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American citizens. On the third of June, 1849, General Riley issued a proclamation calling a Convention, to meet at Monterey on the first day of September, to frame a State Constitution. By that proclamation it was provided that the Convention should consist of thirty-seven delegates, four of whom should be chosen from the Sonoma District. Elec- tions were to be held for that purpose on the first day of August, at sixteen designated places in the State, as fol- lows: San Diego, San Juan Capistrano, Los Angeles, San Fernando, San Buenaventura, Santa Barbara, Nepoma, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Juan Baptiste, Santa Cruz, San José de Guadalupe, San Francisco, San Rafael, Bodega, Sonoma and Benicia.
The elections were held, and the Convention met in pur- suance of the proclamation, and completed its labors on the thirteenth of October. The delegates in that Conven- tion, from the Sonoma District, were J. Walker, R. Semple, L. W. Boggs and M. G. Vallejo.
Immediately thereafter, by proclamation of Governor Riley, an election was called for the fifteenth of November, to vote upon the adoption of the Constitution and the elec- tion of officers, in pursuance of its provisions. This proc- lamation designated as the places for holding said election the same as those mentioned for the election of delegates to the Constitutional Convention ; but the fast young town of Fremont was not content to have the election pass with- out letting its voice be heard. Accordingly, on election morning, the polls were opened at that place, and there were nearly twice as many votes cast as in all the rest of the Sonoma District; but the votes were not finally esti- mated. The members of the Legislature then elected con- vened on the fifteenth day of December, 1849, and then organized the first Legislature of the State of California.
At this session of the Legislature, the Sonoma District was represented in the Assembly by J. E. Brackett and J. S. Bradford, and in the Senate, we believe, by Jonas Spect and M. G. Vallejo; but, upon this point, we do not speak with certainty, having no documents at hand from which we can satisfactorily determine the facts.
At this session of the Legislature, Yolo County was given
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HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY.
an existence and a name. And here we may observe to the curious that "Yolo" and " Tulare" have the same origin, and are identical in meaning. Members of the first Legis- lature probably knew but little about Yolo County, except that portion bordering on the river, abounding in " tules," expressed by the Spanish word " tulare " or " tular"-this word the Indians had corrupted to "yolar." Accordingly, when the county was organized by an Act of the Legisla- ture, passed February 18th, 1850, it was organized under the name of "Yola " (statutes of 1850, page 61), but we have not learned how it happened afterwards to be written ' Yolo.
By the Act organizing the County of "Yola," the county seat was established at Fremont. The legislative Acts of the first session, having direct effect upon Yolo County, were as follows: By Act of March 16th, dividing the State into Judicial Districts, it provided that the Eighth District should be composed of the counties of Yolo, Sutter and Yuba. The first term of this court for Yolo County was held at Fremont, on the second day of September, 1850, W. R. Turner, District Judge. The first case upon the calendar is an indictment against Emma Place. The Dis- trict Attorney stated that the witnesses could not be found, and the court, upon its own motion, ordered the case dis- missed. The first case upon the civil docket was Austin & Johnson against Conwillard and others. The last term of the District Court held in this county by Judge Turner was on the second day of October, 1850, for the reason that the State was soon after re-districted, as we shall presently see.
By an Act passed April 4th, 1850, dividing the State into Senatorial Districts, it was provided that the Eleventh Dis- trict should be composed of Yolo, Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Mendocino, Colusa and Trinity, and should elect one Senator, and that Yolo, Colusa and Trinity combined, should elect one member of Assembly.
By an Act of March 2d, 1850, it was provided that an election should be held on the first Monday of April in each of the counties of the State, for the purpose of elect- ing county officers. Of this election the county records afford us no information; but, from court records of that
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year, we learn that Judge G. A. Marguam, now of Port- land, Oregon, was elected County Judge, and B. Frank Brown, County Clerk.
The Legislature then in session passed an Act, April 13th, 1850, establishing the County Courts; provided that the terms of said courts should be held in the months of Jan- uary, April, July and October; also providing for the es- tablishment of Courts of Sessions in each county, composed of the County Judge and two Justices of the Peace, which courts should hold their terms on the first Mondays of Feb- ruary, April, June, August, October and December, of each year. Accordingly, on the first Monday of June, the Court of Sessions met in the town of Fremont, for the transaction of business. There was nothing, however, of importance came before the court at that session. Henry H. Hartley was admitted to the bar as Attorney and Counselor at Law; P. A. Marguam was the Judge of the court; Ferdinand Woodward and Levi B. Austin, Associate Justices, and B. Frank Brown, County Clerk. The court met again in August, the same officers being present.
Let it be born in mind that the Judge of the Court of Sessions was also the County Judge. At this August term the Court of Sessions fixed the salary of the County Judge at four thousand dollars per annum; granted a ferry license, and a license to H. H. Hartley to act as auctioneer in Yolo County, and adjourned. This court met again in Novem- ber, the last term for 1850, and appointed G. M. Keene as County Treasurer, who was the first Treasurer, of the coun- ty, so far as we have been able to learn. The County Court met in July, 1850, Marguam being present as Judge and B. F. Brown as Clerk. The calendar was called, consisting of two cases, one of which was tried and the other dis- missed. The court met again in October, but, having no busines before it, adjourned. This constituted all the busi- ness of the County Court for the year 1850.
A law was passed on the sixteenth of April, 1850, as fol- lows: "Every person who shall feloniously steal, take and carry, lead or drive away, the personal goods or property of another, of the value of fifty dollars or more, shall be deemed guilty of grand larceny, and, upon conviction there-
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HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY.
of, shall be punished by imprisonment in the State Prison for any term not less than one year nor more than ten years, or by death, in the discretion of the jury." A somewhat startling story is told of a conviction, under the provisions of this law, in Yolo County. It is said (though not re- corded) that John C. Murphy, late Judge of Mono County, then a resident of Yolo, was driving a mule-team in the winter following, and got " stalled " in the mud. He chanced to be near a corral of horses running loose, two of which he caught, harnessed and attached to his team, to assist him out of the difficulty. The horses chanced to be the prop- erty of a Justice of the Peace, who arrived in time to catch Murphy " in the very act." He immediately issued a war- rant and placed it in the hands of a Constable for Murphy's arrest. The prisoner was brought into court and demanded a jury trial; but the " court" decided that the province of the jury was only to determine the guilt or innocence of the party, and of the court to pronounce the sentence; and, in this instance, the " court " knew of his own knowledge that the prisoner was guilty, therefore a jury was unnecessary. The " court " then ordered the Constable to take the pris- oner to some convenient place and execute him without delay. As the sentence was about to be carried into effect, Mr. A. McDonald, subsequently a prominent man in the county, arrived at the scene of action, and prevented the execution. Whether this story is all true, or founded in fact, or all false, we have no knowledge; we give it as it was given to us by one of Murphy's personal friends, who professed to give us a true version of the affair.
Let us now turn our attention to the commercial and busi- ness aspects of the county. The heavy floods of the pre- vious winter had washed the bar from the mouth of Feather River, and made that stream navigable to the point where the City of Marysville is now located, and opened up navi- gation of the Sacramento for more than a hundred miles above. This demonstrated the fact that Fremont could not become a great inland commercial metropolis. Mining communities immediately discontinued obtaining their sup- plies from this place, and the town commenced to decline. Still, hopes were entertained that the place might continue
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of considerable importance for retail business, but each day weakened those hopes, and it soon became apparent that Fremont was doomed unless it should remain the county seat.
In the meantime, quite a settlement had been made at Washington, and the interior of the county for grazing and stock-raising began to attract some attention. Yet the pop- ulation of the county, by the removals from Fremont, was . materially diminished in numbers, so that, in the fall of 1850, a correspondent of a New York paper had ranked Yolo County amongst the barren, worthless sections of the State, it being then believed that no considerable portion of the State could be made available for agricultural pur- poses.
1851.
The Legislature again convened, on the first Monday of January, 1851. The Eleventh Senatorial District, consist- ing of the counties of Yolo, Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Mendocino, Colusa and Trinity, was represented in the Sen- ate by Martin E. Cooke, and the counties of Yolo, Colusa and Trinity, constituting one Assembly District, was repre- sented in that body by George W. Crane. An election was held in Yolo County on the twenty-fifth day of March, 1851, at which a re-location of the county seat was to be deter- mined, by a vote of the qualified electors under the pro- visions of an Act of the previous session. The result of the election showed a majority in favor of establishing the county seat at Washington.
Four weeks subsequent to the election, an Act was passed in which it was declared that Fremont should be the county seat. On the eleventh of March, the Judicial Districts, by legislative action, were re-arranged. By this Act it was provided that the counties of Yolo, Placer and El Dorado, should constitute the Eleventh Judicial District. By an Act, passed May 1st, it was provided that the counties of Yolo and Colusa should constitute the Twenty-first Senato- rial District, and should elect one Senator and each one member of the Assembly.
On the twenty-fourth of March, 1851, G. M. Keene hav- ing resigned the office of County Treasurer, H. H. Hartley
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HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY.
was appointed by the Court of Sessions to fill the vacancy, and Humphrey Griffith, Esq., was appointed County Assess- or. By an Act of the Legislature, passed March 23d, 1850, it was provided that: " Whenever a special election is nec- essary to fill a vacancy in any county or township office, the County Judge shall issue an order for such election, desig- nating the office to be filled and the time of holding the election, and shall publish the same in the manner required by the sixth section of this Act." Those who had held the county offices in this county, in the spring of 1851, all ap- peared to have left or resigned; and, since it is certain that no general election was then held in the State, we may per- haps safely presume that a special election was held under that statute; for, early in that season, we find E. A. Harris officiating as Sheriff; G. M. Keene, the former Treasurer, as District Attorney, and H. H. Hartley as County Judge. On the twenty-second of May, 1851, the Court of Sessions being open, made an order as follows: "It is ordered by the court that the Seat of Justice of this county shall be at Fremont-the Legislature of the State of California having, on the twenty-fifth of April, 1851, passed a law to that effect, which law, having been passed subsequent to the election held on the twenty-fifth of March, 1851, for the re- moval of the county seat of said county, annuls said elec- tion."
Notwithstanding this order, for some cause there was never another term of court held at Fremont after July of that year. And the first session of that court was held at Washington, on the eleventh of August following. Hum- phrey Griffith was appointed County Clerk by the Court of Sessions, in July, 1851, and continued to hold that position until December, 1853, having been elected at the expiration of the unexpired term.
· During this year permanent settlement began to be made on the farming lands of the county, with a view of raising stock, but no attention was yet given to the cultivation of the soil. The first settlement of note was that made by A. H. Willard, on a portion of the Gordon Grant. Settlements were also made at Knight's Landing and at other places, and much attention began to be given to the production of
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cattle. The town of Fremont went down. Some of the buildings were moved to Knight's Landing, some to Marys- ville, some to Sacramento, and some onto the plains. The inhabitants abandoned their city lots and dispersed, and nothing remained of the town of Fremont but the name.
1852.
In the Legislature that convened in January, 1852, Yolo County was represented in the Assembly by John G. Parish, in the Senate by Martin E. Cooke. The counties of Yolo and Colusa constituted one Senatorial District.
It was in 1852 that H. H. Hartley was elected County Judge; H. Griffith, County Clerk; E. A. Harris, Sheriff, and Alexander Chisholm, Treasurer. John M. Howell was elected District Judge for the Eleventh Judicial District, composed of the counties of Yolo, Placer and El Dorado. But, of course, the latter did not enter upon the duties of his office until the commencement of the following year.
There was nothing occurred during the year in the gov- ernmental affairs of the county requiring special attention. The agricultural lands continued to be settled, and yet but little attention was paid to the production of cereals. The settlements were materially retarded, in consequence of the extensive Spanish grants-some real and some fictitious- that covered a large portion of the lands of the county that were valuable, either for grazing or cultivation. These led to troublesome and expensive litigations, and were the source of constant turmoils and troubles.
.
Those who had settled here previous to the discovery of gold in the' county, had encouraged an increase of their herds, and the plains were literally covered with cattle. Many new-comers had settled here, and it is said to have been remarkable with what rapidity their herds increased. A story is told of one settler, for the strict truthfulness of which we are not entirely willing to vouch; but it is said that, when he settled, he had barely means to purchase a single ox; that he had no visible means of support except from the increase of his stock; but so incredibly prolific was the animal that, in a little more than one year, the in-
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HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY.
crease amounted to several hundred head of yearlings and calves.
A man by the name of James had settled near the foot- hills, whose stock increased so rapidly that other stock- growers became so incensed against him, that they arrested him and brought him to trial before Judge Lynch. He was found guilty, as charged, and sentenced to receive fifty lashes of a cowhide on his bare back, and to banishment from the county; he received the lashes and left the country, and has not been heard from since!
Our history would not be complete if we failed to notice transactions in courts of Justices of the Peace as well as in courts of more general jurisdiction; but, as Justice's courts are not deemed, in law, courts of record, the only means of knowledge of their transactions is hearsay, and such evi- dence, if admissible, not being sufficient to convict, we give it to the reader for what it is worth. A Justice of the Peace, of good standing in the county, at the time of which we are writing, had a case before him in which the title to a certain mule was involved. The Justice very dignifiedly informed the plaintiff if he would swear the mule was his, it should be so adjudged and taken from the defendant and delivered to him. "Well," said the plaintiff, "I will swear that it is my mule." "When you swear to the mule," said the Justice, "it shall be delivered to you." "I am ready now to swear to its being my mule." "When you do so swear," said the Justice, "you shall take the mule." " I be damned if it ain't my mule," said the plaintiff, "and by G-d I am going to have him." The court considered the evidence sufficient, and adjudged accordingly.
1853.
In the Legislature that convened in January, 1853, Yolo County was represented in the Assembly by Mr. Caldwell, and in the Senate the District of Yolo and Colusa was rep- resented by M. M. Wambough. At the commencement of the year J. M. Howard entered upon the duties of his office as Judge of the District Court.
During the session of the Legislature, May 18th, 1853,
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an Act was passed re-districting the State, in which it was provided that Yolo, Solano and Napa, should constitute the Tenth Senatorial District. The county officers remained the same as the year before; but at the election held in September, Harrison Gwinn, now a flourishing farmer re- siding near Knight's Landing, was elected County Judge to succeed Judge Hartley, R. H. Baskett was elected as Clerk to succeed H. Griffith, and J. W. Gish was elected Sheriff, and H. Meredith District Attorney; all of whom com- menced their official duties the March following.
During this year the settlement of the county was more rapid than formerly, and some attention began to be given to the cultivation of the soil, the planting of some small vineyards and orchards, and the fencing of farms. The soil was found to be of almost unequaled fertility, but from the scarcity of fencing material and high prices of lumber, and the fact of the county being overrun with herds of cattle and hogs, the production of grain was not deemed a very lucrative avocation, especially when the expense of improvements were taken into consideration.
1854.
In the Legislature that convened in January, 1854, the county was represented in the Assembly by Humphrey Griffith, whose term as County Clerk had just expired, and the Tenth Senatorial District, composed of the counties of Yolo, Solano and Napa, was represented in the Senate by Senate by E. McGarry.
On the sixth of February of this year, Judge Hartley held his last term of court as County Judge of this county. It was ascertained that Alexander Chisholm, former Treas- urer, was defaulter in a large sum of money, and on the twelfth of August the Grand Jury of the county presented a bill against him for fraudulently retaining the money; but the funds were never recovered, and Chisholm was not convicted of any offense. His bonds were declared for- feited.
1855.
In the Legislature of 1855, Yolo County was represented in the Assembly by J. H. Updergraff, and Mr. E. McGarry
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HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY.
continued to represent the counties of Yolo, Napa and Solano, in the Senate.
The county officers remained the same as the previous year; but at the general election in September, A. McDon- ald was elected County Clerk; George Bell, Sheriff; W. N. Brooks, Treasurer, and F. Woodward District Attorney.
The Legislature passed an Act, May 7th, 1855, authoriz- ing the qualified voters of the county, at the general elec- tion to be held in September, to determine by a majority vote upon some point as a permanent place for the county seat. The contest was chiefly between Washington and Knight's Landing. It was a close and excited election, but the result was in favor of Washington.
During this year the agricultural interests of the county were greatly increased, and wheat and barley commenced to be raised in considerable quantities as staples, but the scarcity of timber for fencing rendered it difficult and ex- pensive to protect the growing crops against the encroach- ments of the herds of cattle and hogs running at large through the country and prevented very extensive grain- growing operations. People began to conceive that there was a conflict of interest between the grain producers and cattle growers; and the still unsettled condition of the grant-lands rendered titles through the county uncertain, and it, of course, was not settled so rapidly as it otherwise would have been.
1856.
In the Legislature that met in 1856, Yolo County was represented in the Assembly by E. Bynum, the present County Clerk, and in the Senate by his brother, S. Bynum. E. Bynum was elected on what was known as the Demo- cratic ticket, and S. Bynum on the ticket designated as the Know-Nothing or Native American. The contest for one or two years between those two political organizations had been very close, but the latter in the ascendancy. E. By- num was the only candidate elected on his ticket. The county officers chosen at the general election in 1855, at the proper time assumed their official duties; but during the year the sureties upon the Sheriff's bond became dis-
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satisfied with the manner in which he performed, or neglected to perform, his duties, took steps to withdraw their signatures from the bond, and Sheriff Bell being unable to obtain new sureties, the office became vacant, and F. G. Russel, now of Buckeye, was appointed to fill the vacancy, which position he held until the expiration of the term.
On the first of March the Legislature passed an Act as follows: "John Vanarnam, of Washington, Yolo County, is hereby released from any and all liabilities incurred by him as surety on the official bond of Alexander Chisholm, late County Treasurer of Yolo County, and is hereby fully discharged from any and all judgments recovered against him upon said official bond.
It was a rule of the District Court in this county, up to this time, to set days for hearing and determining motions and demurrers, and on those days the roll of attorneys was called at the opening of the court. It may not be uninter- esting to those who were in the habit of attending the courts at that time, and to attorneys at the present time, to give here a roll, as it was called in 1856, as follows: P. L. Edwards, W. R. Cantwell, H. H. Hartley, H. Grif- fith, Henry C. Meredith, Horace Smith, Samuel Ruland, James C. Goods, Ferdinand Woodward, William S. Long, Jolın Heard, W. C. Wallace, B. F. Ankeny, George H. H. Carter, G. W. Bowie, J. H. Gass, J. G. Hyer. Of these, P. L. Edwards, H. H. Hartley, H. Griffith, Henry C. Meredith, Horace Smith, George H. Carter, B. F. Ankeny and John G. Hyer, are now deceased. W. R. Cantwell, J. C. Goods, F. Woodward and John Heard, now reside in Sacramento; Bowie resides in San Francisco; Wallace is Judge of the Seventh Judicial District; Ruland resides in Woodland; Gass broke Sacramento jail and left for parts unknown-further particulars of which may be mentioned if we ever have occasion to compile a history of Sacramento County.
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