Santa Barbara County History

Transcribed by Peggy Hooper

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Source:
A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Santa Barbara,
San Luis Obispo, and Ventura, California
by Yda Addis Storke
Published in 1891 in Chicago by the Lewis Publishing Co.


BENCH AND BAR. 

The following account of the bench and bar of Santa Barbara County and the 
Second Judicial District in the early days was kindly prepared for the present work 
by Judge Charles Fernald : 

"The bench and bar in newly organized communities must always be an interesting 
subject to all readers, professional and lay as well. The well-being of the community 
in general depends largely upon the character of the bench and the bar, at all times, 
under our system of government. The rights of person and property find their surest 
guaranty in the character of both. Accordingly we have striven to ascertain, as best 
we may at this late date, just how the courts were organized, and the character of 
the judges, magistrates, attorneys and counsellors practicing there from the adoption 
of the constitution and the organization of the courts from 1850 to the election and 
inauguration of Abraham Lincoln in 1861. 

"The judicial system of the State under the judicial act of 1850 and 1851 was radically 
different from that adopted by the new constitution of California in 1879 under the 
influence of the "sand lot," as it has been called. The former was much more simple 
in structure, and we can but think a careful comparison of the two will show the old 
system very much more effective in its scope and practical operation. We have not 
space here to analyze and compare the two systems, and it is not our purpose to do so. 

" The act of April 11, 1851, provided for the organization of a Supreme Court, consisting 
of a chief justice and two associate justices, to be elected by the people. The State was 
divided into eleven judicial districts, and provision was made for the term of six years for 
the election of a district judge for each district, embracing one or more counties according 
to population. The first district embraced the counties of San Diego and Los Angeles, and 
the second the counties of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara County at 
that time including in its territory the present county of Ventura, cut off from Santa Barbara 
in 1872, by an act of the Legislature. The act of 1851 also provided for the organization of 
a superior court of the city of San Francisco, and for a county court for each of the 
counties of the State, with original and appellate jurisdiction, and for the election of 
appointment of county judges to preside over said courts. Also for a court of sessions for 
each of the counties, over which should preside the county judge and two associate justices, 
to be appointed by the judge, or to be chosen by the justices of the peace of the county 
when elected. 

"The term of district judges was for six years and of county judges four years. The district 
court, the county court and the court of sessions exercised substantially the same jurisdiction 
as the superior courts now do under our present judicial system. The county judge also acted 
as surrogate or probate judge, and the court of sessions was charged with all of the duties of 
the present boards of supervisors for each county. 

"As we have had occasion to say elsewhere in speaking of the character of the immigration 
to this State in 1849-50, we now repeat here what is undeniably true, that there came 
to the State in those early days the excellence and culture of the older States east of the 
Mississippi River. It would be difficult to point to a more able body of men, taken 
altogether than those assembled at Monterey in 1850 to frame a constitution for the State 
of California. Such men as William M. Gwin, Winfield S. Sherwood, Henry W. Halleck, L. W. 
Hastings, Jacob R. Snyder, Charles T. J. Botts, Henry A. Tefft, Thomas O. Larkin, Rodman M. 
Price, J. McHollingsworth, Myron Norton, Edward Gilbert, Benjamin S. Lippincott, Thomas 
M. Vermeule, Louis Dent, Abel Stearns and the late Pablo de la Guerra. There were other 
able, experienced men — merchants, lawyers and farmers. The average age of these men 
was about thirty-three years; many of them were less than twenty-seven years of age. 

"And it has been a matter of frequent assertion that the first Legislature of the State of 
California contained more able men than any succeeding one. 

"The first judge of the district court of the second judicial district, embracing, as we have 
stated, the counties of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, was Henry A. Tefft, a native of 
Washington County, New York. At the date of his appointment he was twenty-six years of 
age and resided at Nipomo, San Luis Obispo County. He served but one year as district judge, 
having perished at the steamboat landing at San Luis Obispo in the winter of 1851-'52, in 
endeavoring to laud from the steamer in an open boat during a heavy storm. 

" Henry Storrow Carnes, still living in Santa Barbara, was appointed by the governor of the 
State to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Tefft. Carnes held the office until the 
general election in November, 1852, at which election the late Joaquin Carrillo was elected 
by the people for the balance of the term. Carrillo continued to hold the office until the year 
1863-'64, when the late Don Pablo de la Guerra was elected for the term of six years. De la 
Guerra held the office until his death in 1873. "Walter Murray of San Luis Obispo County, 
was appointed by the governor to finish the unexpired term. Judge Murray died in June, 1875, 
and Eugene Fawcett was then appointed by the governor until the next succeeding general 
election. Judge Fawcett was afterward elected to the office and held the same until the 
adoption of the new constitution in 1879. 

"The first county judge of Santa Barbara County was Joaquin Carrillo. He held the office from 
the date of the organization of the court in 1851 until his election as District judge in November, 
1852, at which time he resigned the office of county judge, and the Hon. Charles Fernald was 
then appointed by Governor Bigler as his successor." 

" Judge Charles Fernald arrived in California in 1849, and in Santa Barbara in 1852. A native 
of Maine, Judge Fernald had acquired much of his legal training at Dorchester, Massachusetts, 
where his favorite recreation had been to attend the court of Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw. In 
attendance upon noted cases, he had had the great privilege of listening to such lights of the 
bar as Webster, Choate, Benjamin R. Curtis, £. R. Hoar, W. R. P. Washburne, etc., etc. Judge 
Fernald was elected without opposition, by the people, at every judicial election thereafter 
until 1861, and held the office until the beginning of 1862, at which time he resigned to enter 
upon the active practice of his profession. At the time of his appointment to the position of 
county judge, Judge Fernald was scarcely twenty-two years of age, but he possessed the rare 
advantage of a thorough and proper training for the discharge of the duties of the office, 
which few young men then competing here possessed. 

"At the resignation of Judge Fernald, Governor Downey appointed as his successor the 
late J. M. Covarrubias, who held the office until the ensuing general election, when the 
late Hon. F. J. Maguire was elected; and he continued to hold the office by election up to 
the time of the adoption of the new constitution. 

" From every point of view, the character, integrity and ability, the Bench was an able 
one, and the records of the Supreme Court show that the decisions of the judges of these 
courts were rarely, if ever, reversed. And when it is considered that during that period 
some of the most important principles of law of real property, the construction of the new 
constitution, the statutes relative thereto, and the rules of the civil law and of the civil 
law as adopted in Spain and Mexico, were often involved and at issue, it will be admitted 
that this is high praise. 

" At the date of the organization of the above named courts there were here and at the 
bar from the beginning men of descent and training ; among them was Edward Sherman 
Hoar, a son of the Hon. Samuel Hoar of Concord, Massachusetts ; he was a graduate of 
Harvard and one of the brightest intellects of all that gifted family. He was the confessed 
leader of the bar of Southern California. Next must be mentioned Augustus F. Hinchman 
of New Jersey, also a graduate of Harvard and a classmate of Mr. Hoar, a man of varied 
learning, culture and acquirements. Judge Fernald having been thus early appointed to the 
Bench, practiced at that time only in the Federal courts, up to the time of his resignation 
in 1862. Next came James Lancaster Brent, a native of Maryland and brother of the attorney-
general of that State, an accomplished orator and advocate, as well as a learned lawyer. 
Brent resided at Los Angeles and was associated with Jonathan R. Scott, a giant physically 
and mentally, who came from St. Louis, Missouri. Although resident at Los Angeles, they 
often appeared before the courts of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Benjamin 
Hayes, a resident of Los Angeles, and afterward judge of the first judicial district for many 
years, often appeared in the courts of this county prior to his election as judge. Myron Norton, 
one of the leaders of the bar of Los Angeles, was often called here in important cases. 

" Then came L. C. Granger, who recently died in Chico, Butte County, a man of recognized 
ability and learning. William J. Graves, who came from St. Louis, Missouri, to San Luis Obispo, 
became well known throughout the State as a man of marked ability at the bar, and deeply 
learned in the law; he was a worthy competitor of the able men before mentioned. Well 
worthy of mention comes Russell Heath, now living at the Carpenteria, who came to this 
State and settled in this county about the beginning of 1851, Mr. Heath was a native of Little 
Falls, Herkimer County, New York, being a lineal descendant of General Heath, of Revolutionary 
fame. He made the journey to California overland on horseback through Northern Mexico. 
From the time of his arrival here, early in 1851, at about twenty-three years of age, he took a 
prominent position at the bar. He was appointed by Judge Fernald, then presiding judge of the 
court of sessions, to the important position of district attorney in January, 1853. He discharged 
the duties of the office judiciously and with great intelligence. In 1856 a strong man was needed 
for sheriff of this county, and Judge Fernald selected Mr. Heath for that position, which he held 
until 1854, and his administration was strong and gave great satisfaction to the people. Since 
that time Mr. Heath has creditably represented this county in the State Legislature two terms. 

" Early in 1852, Eugene Lies appeared here as one amongst the most versatile at this bar. 
He was born in the city of New Orleans, of French parentage. Early in life he was taken 
to Paris, where he was educated and trained to the bar. Returning to this country, his 
parents settled in New York, and young Lies was admitted to the bar in that State, whence 
he came directly to Santa Barbara County, and here commenced his professional career, 
achieving pronounced success. In 1859-60, he was elected to the Legislature of this State, 
and at the close of the session of that year he took up his abode in the city of San Fran- 
cisco, attaining immediate recognition as among the ablest of the bar of that city. He 
was an accomplished linguist, an able lawyer, and a successful advocate. With him was 
associated in practice here and at San Francisco Albert Packard, of Rhode Island. Mr. 
Packard had early come to this State and settled in Los Angeles. He was recognized as 
a man of unusually strong intellect. Then last, but not least, must be mentioned Charles 
E. Huse, from Newburyport, Massachusetts. He was a graduate of Harvard, where he took 
a course of study for the ministry, afterwards adopting the profession of law, becoming a 
painstaking, laborious and zealous practitioner. There were many others who occasionally 
appeared in our courts, such as Parker H. French, the late D. S. Gregory, and until his death 
recently Superior Judge of San Luis Obispo County; Hon. Francis J. Maguire, afterwards 
County Judge; E. O. Crosby, who had been a member of the Constitutional Convention, and 
Walter Murray, of San Luis Obispo, a laborious, reliable and successful practitioner up to 
the time of his appointment to the bench, as before stated. 

" All of these men were lawyers of marked ability and learning, and compared favorably 
with the members of the bar in any part of the State. And, while later on in the '70s 
men like Fawcett and other able young men came to the bar here, we feel warranted in 
expressing the opinion that the men we have named were altogether exceptional in point 
of ability and learning. They had to deal with new questions and principles in settling the 
law in many of its branches, and well their work was done, as the reports of their cases 
in the Supreme Court will abundantly show." 

The machinery of government of Santa Barbara County went into working in August, 
1850: Joaquin Carrillo was county and probate Judge. The first case brought before 
him regarded the estate of James Scott, deceased, who had been a partner in trade of 
Captain Wilson. The will was approved, and N. A. Den and Pablo de la Guerra were 
appointed appraisers. 

When Henry A. Tefft took his seat as judge of the Second Judicial District August 5, 1850, 
John M. Huddars acting as Clerk, Eugene Lies, of New York, was admitted to practice, 
and he was sworn in as interpreter and translator. Jose Antonio de la Guerra y Carrillo 
having been judge of the Court of the First Instance, the records of that court were 
demanded from, and refused by, the Alcalde Joaquin de la Guerra, perhaps to show 
contempt for this new court which superseded the old authorities. 

The court ordered made a county seal, described as follows: 

" Around the margin the words. County Court of Santa Barbara County., with the 
following device in the center: A female figure holding in her right hand a balance, and 
in her left a rod of justice; above the figure a rising sun, and below, the letters CAL. 

The first district attorney was Edward S. Hoar. He returned in 1857 to his old home 
at Concord, Massachusetts, it is said that the clerk of this court was a mighty hunter 
and fisherman, and that he was wont to carry about in his coat-pocket the memorandum 
book which contained the only court records kept for some months. Judge Fernald pro- 
nounces this story apocryphal, however. 

The first sheriff was Jose Antonio Rodriguez; he was killed early in 1850, on the present 
site of the gas wells at Summerland. He was leading a party of some fifty men in pursuit 
of those who murdered the Reed family at San Miguel, in San Luis Obispo County, and, 
disapproving of the reluctance of his followers to close with the murderers, Rodriguez 
dashed forward and tore from the saddle one burly fellow, who thereupon raised 
himself upon his knees and killed the sheriff with a shot-gun. One of the miscreants 
plunged into the sea and swam out beyond the kelp, where he was drowned; the others 
were captured, tried, and shot at Santa Barbara. 

The next sheriff was named Heavy. He was waylaid and shot on the Santa Ynez 
mountains. 

J. W. Burroughs was the first county clerk, auditor, coroner, and justice of the peace. 
His deputy was A. F. Hinchman, now of San Francisco. Nicholas A. Den was made fore- 
man of the first grand jury, but the names of the other jurymen were not recorded. A 
better record was kept of the next session, held April 7, 1851; the following persons 
were empaneled: Antonio Arellanes, John Kays, Rafael Gonzalez, Octaviano Gutierrez, 
Manuel Cota, Raimundo Olivera, Estevan Ortega, George Nidever, Augustus F. Hinch- 
man, Jose Lorenzano, Juan Rodriguez, Ygnacio Ortega, Antonio Maria Ortega, 
Guillermo Carrillo, Edward S. Hoar, A. F. Hinchman, Jose Carrillo, Lewis T. Burton, 
Augustin Janssens, Joaquin Carrillo, Vicente Hill. Eight individuals were fined $25 each 
for not answering to their names on this panel. The grand jury found indictments for 
murder against Guadalupe Sanchez and Francisco Figueroa, and offered a complaint 
against the jail as unfit for use. In the case of the People vs. Francisco Romero et al., 
the witnesses were discharged, and the sureties relieved, as the defendants had es- 
caped from custody, because of the jail's insecurity. 

The roll of attorneys of Santa Barbara County shows the following names: 

J. L. Barker, A. T. Bates, I. R. Baxley, S. W. Bouton, J. J. Boyce, R. B. Canfield, 
J. G. Deadrick, Charles Fernald, William Gallaher, G. H. Gould, E. B. Hall, F. Leslie 
Kellogg, Thomas McNulta, Walter H. Nixon, A. A. Oglesby, Joseph J. Perkins, S. S. 
Price, A. E. Putnam, J. T. Richards, C. A. Storke, W. C. Stratton, J. W. Taggart, B. F. 
Thomas, C. A. Thompson, J. B. Wentling, H. G. Crane, W. N. Haverly, C. F. Carrier, 
J. F. Conroy, W. P. Butcher, W. C. Gammill, Grant Jackson, W. S. Day, E. R. McGrath, 
Eugene W. Squier, Walter B. Cope and Paul R. Wright, all of Santa Barbara; 
B. F. Bayley and W. W. Broughton, of Lompoc; S. E. Crow and Caleb Sherman, of
 Santa Maria. 

Many of these are not now engaged in active practice. 

Among those now actively engaged in the practice in the center of the county, promi- 
nently stands Hon. Charles Fernald, whose biography is given at length elsewhere. 

J. J. Boyce is a native of Utica, New York, where he was born April 28, 1852. He entered 
the law office of Seymour & Weaver, upon arriving at majority, and pursued for a time 
the study of law. He came to Santa Barbara in 1876, and resumed his law studies under 
the instruction of Judge Fernald. He was admitted to the practice of law by the Supreme 
Court, in 1878, and has since been actively engaged in the practice of his profession at 
Santa Barbara. 

R. B. Canfield graduated from Columbia, in 1862, and studied law in the law school 
attached to his alma mater. He came to the Pacific Coast in 1865, and. spent three years 
in the mines in Nevada. In 1868, returning to New York and resuming his legal studies, 
he was admitted to the New York State bar, in 1869. In 1876 he came to Santa Barbara, 
where he has since resided. Mr. Canfield was married in 1873 to Mrs. Davidson. Mr. 
Canfield is a keen lawyer, with a judicial brain. He is quiet and unobtrusive in his 
habits, and does not seek notoriety. By appointment he has for a year or more presided 
over the Superior Court of this county, and has won golden opinions from his constituency. 

Ephraim B. Hall is a native of Virginia, born in 1823. He has occupied in his native State 
many offices of great trust and responsibility. At one time he was Attorney General of 
the State, and at another judge of the nisi prius courts of the county in which he resided. 
He was also a loyal member of the convention that passed the ordinance of secession, 
by which Virginia attempted to sever its relations with the sister States. He is now 
declining the active business of the county. 

Thomas McNulta was born in New York in 1845. He possesses to a large degree the 
confidence of the community. He was admitted to the Illinois bar about 1871, and 
for several years practiced law with his brother, Hon. John McNulta, at Bloomington, 
Illinois. Coming to Santa Barbara in 1874 he soon became a prominent member of 
the local bar. He has, at various times, held the office of city attorney and district 
attorney, and has had charge of many important cases. He is an eloquent speaker, 
somewhat inclined to be impetuous. 

B. F. Thomas was born in Missouri, February 22, 1846. He studied law with ex- 
Congressman Tully, of San Jose, and was admitted to the bar January 13, 1874. His 
first labor in a legal way was at Guadalupe in this county. In 1875, Mr. Thomas be- 
came district attorney and filled the office with credit. He is a slow thinker, but of 
great industry and perseverance, by the aid of which he has become a prominent 
member of the local bar, and has secured a lucrative practice. 

Jarrett T. Richards was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1842. After spending 
three years in Europe in classical study, he returned to his native land, and entered 
Columbia College Law School, where he graduated in 1866, receiving a special prize 
of $150 for a thesis on municipal law. After graduation he went to Erie, Pennsylvania, 
where ho alternated the practice of law with editorial work. In 1868 he came to Santa 
Barbara, and formed a law partnership with Hon. Charles Fernald. He has been mayor 
of Santa Barbara and city attorney. In 1879 he was nominated for Associate Justice of 
the Supreme Court, but with his ticket was defeated. Mr. Richards is a strong and 
classical writer. His mind is eminently judicial, and he is probably better fitted to act as 
a judge than as a pleader. His advice is much solicited. 

W. C, Stratton was born in New York December 14, 1826. He was a resident of 
New Jersey from 1849 to 1856, coming to California in the latter year. In 1858 he 
was elected to the Legislature by the Democrats of Placer County, and then became 
Speaker of the House. From 1860 to 1870, he was librarian of the State Library. In 
January, 1873, he came to Santa Barbara, and was for several years attorney for the 
city. Mr. Stratton has a lucrative practice, which he has obtained by thorough study of 
his cases. He is a good jury pleader, and coming into court with his cases thoroughly 
understood and properly prepared, he generally is successful. 

W. S. Day was born in Smith County, Tennessee, on the 14tli day of March, 1848; 
was educated in the common schools of Illinois. Began the study of law in 1872, at 
Jonesboro, Illinois, under Judge Monroe C. Crawford, and was admitted to practice 
before the Supreme Court of Illinois in June, 1874. He then practiced law in the city of 
Jonesboro from 1874 to 1888, holding during that time the positions of State's Attorney 
and member of the Legislature. He removed to Santa Barbara in June, 1888, and at once 
formed a partnership with Paul R. Wright, an old and respected attorney of the city of 
Santa Barbara, under the name of Wright & Day. Mr. Day is a clear, methodical thinker, 
and has in his short resilience at Santa Barbara added to his previous excellent reputation. 

S. S. Price was born in Morristown, New Jersey, on the 27th day of January, 1840; 
was educated at Lombard College, at Galesburg, Illinois, and was studying law at Jersey- 
ville, Illinois, at the outbreak of the war. He enlisted in Company F, Fourteenth Illinois 
Infantry in 1861, and followed the fortunes of that regiment until the battle of Shiloh, in, 
which he was badly wounded, necessitating his discharged. Having partially recovered 
from his wounds, he renewed his legal studies at the Law School of Michigan University, 
where he graduated in the spring of 1865. Opening a law office in Salem, Missouri, he 
practiced for three years and more in Dent County, and then moved to Falls City, Nebraska. 
From 1869 until 1883 he was actively engaged in legal pursuits at Falls City, and moved to 
Santa Barbara in 1883. His old wounds having disabled him from active practice, his work 
in Santa Barbara has been that of an adviser and counsellor rather than advocate. In 1886 
he was elected District Attorney. 

Walter B. Cope is a son of Hon. W. W. Cope, of the Supreme Court Commission. 
Walter B. Cope came to Santa Barbara a few years since, and at the last election but 
one he was chosen for District Attorney. The election of November, 1890, has placed 
him upon the bench of the Superior Court of this county.