HON. EUGENE ARAM

   Prominent among the leading law practitioners of Sacramento is the gentleman whose name heads this review, who has won a distinguished position in connection with the jurisprudence of central California.  He is one of the native sons of the Golden state, his birth having occurred in the ancient and interesting city of Monterey on the 26th of January, 1848.  He is the youngest of the four children of Joseph and Sarah A. (Wright) Aram.  His father was one of the early pioneers who aided in laying the foundation for the present development and progress of California.  He was born in Oneida county, New York, March 24, 1810, and his boyhood days were spent on his father's farm.  On the paternal side he was of English lineage and on the maternal side of Scotch and Irish descent.  His father, Matthias Aram, was a native of Yorkshire, England, and came to America toward the close of the eighteenth century and married Sarah Tompkins.  He served with distinction in the American army in the war of 1812.  

   Captain Joseph Aram, the father of our subject, married Miss Mahala Birdsell and in 1835 they moved to Ohio where the young wife died eighteen months later, leaving an infant daughter, Sarah M., who is the widow of the late Rev P. Y. Cool and resides in Los Angeles, California.  Subsequently he married Miss Sarah A. Wright, a native of Vermont and a representative of the early colonial families.  She was the daugher of Seaman and Fanny (Briggs) Wright, her birth occurring near Montpelier, Vermont, November 14, 1811.  Seaman Wright  was a native of Vermont, born  September 12, 1782.  His wife Fannie was born June 12, 1788.  They were the parents of eight children: Lydia, N.L.M., Sarah A, George S., Peter, Daniel H., Elias M., and Francis D., only one of whom survives--Colonel Elias M.--who resides in Cleveland, Ohio.  In 1840 they removed to Joe Daviess County, Illinois, where Mr. Aram engaged in farming and lead-mining until 1846.  In that year he crossed the plains to California and played an important part in the early history of the state.  He aided in laying the foundation for the present prosperity and progress of the commonwealth and his name is inseparably interwoven with its annals. He was a member of the first constitutional convention and also the first legislature of California.  A man of strong individuality, of keen intellectuality and of marked force of character, he was well fitted for leadership, and a spirit of patriotism prompted him to render effective and beneficial service to the new state.  His wife, who bravely shared with him all the hardships of pioneer life, died in 1873.  He passed away March 31, 1899 at San Jose, California, and is survived by only one brother, John Aram, of Grangeville, Idaho.  By their union there were four children namely: George, who is now deceased; Jennie E, who became the wife of A.E. Pomeroy, and died in 1868; Martha who died in 1858 and Eugene, our subject.

    Eugene Aram, the youngest of the family, acquired his education in the public schools of San Jose and in the University of the Pacific.  He was graduated at the latter institution with the class of 1870, and immediately afterward began the study of law in the office of Judge D.S. Payne, of San Jose.  He applied himself diligently to the mastery of the principles of jurisprudence, and after three years was admitted to the bar. He has practiced his profession continuously since and is classed among the leading and successful lawyers of Sacramento.  For a few years he engaged in practice in Arizona, and in 1885 was elected to the legislature of that territory.  In 1896 he took up his residence permanently in Sacramento and entered into partnership with General J. L. Hart.  He has already secured a large patronage here and is a stalwart Republican and has been a delegate to many of the conventions of the party.  A close student of political issues, his sound judgment in such matters has made him a leader in the ranks of the party, and in 1895 and 1897 he represented the sixth district for the state senate.

    Mr. Aram has won for himself very favorable criticism for the careful and systematic methods which he has followed in the practice of law.  As an orator he stands high, especially in the discussion of legal matters before the court, where his comprehensive knowledge of the law is manifest and his application of legal principles demonstrates the wide range of his professional acquirements.  In connection with the legislative interests of California, his course has been marked by devotion to the public good.  He has studied closely the questions at issue uring the sessions of the senate and his careful consideration is manifested in the earnest and able support given to the measures which he believes will prove beneficial to the commonwealth.  In professional, political, and social circles he has gained the high regard of those with whom he has been brought in contact and all who know him esteem him for his sterling worth.

  On the 17th of March, 1875, Mr. Aram was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth J. Jasper, a native of California, and a daughter of J.M.C. Jasper of Wheatland. Her death occurred on March 6, 1892.