Sixty Years in Southern California, 1853-1913: Containing the Reminiscences of Harris NewmarkNewmark, Harris
History
Sixty Years in Southern California, 1853-1913: Containing the Reminiscences of Harris Newmark
Newmark, Harris
California, Southern; Los Angeles (Calif.)
Norton, a Vermonter, who had first practiced law in New York, then
migrated west, and had later been a prime mover for, and a member of,
the first California Constitutional Convention, and who was afterward
Superior Court Judge at San Francisco, was an excellent lawyer, when
sober, and a good fellow. He came to the Coast in the summer of 1848,
was made First Lieutenant and Chief-of-Staff of the California
Volunteers, and drifted in 1852 from Monterey to Los Angeles. He
joined Bean's Volunteers, and in 1857 delivered here a flowery Fourth
of July oration. Norton was the second County Judge, succeeding
Agustin Olvera and living with the latter's family at the Plaza; and
it was from Norton's Court of Sessions, in May, 1855, that the
dark-skinned Juan Flores was sent to the State prison, although few
persons suspected him to be guilty of such criminal tendencies as he
later developed. Norton died in Los Angeles in 1887; and Norton Avenue
recalls his life and work.
Judge Hayes' successor, Don Pablo de la Guerra, was born in the
_presidio_ of Santa Bárbara in 1819, a member of one of the most
popular families of that locality. Although a Spaniard of the
Spaniards, he had been educated in an Eastern college, and spoke
English fluently. Four times he was elected State Senator from Santa
Bárbara and San Luis Obispo, and was besides a member of the
Constitutional Convention of 1849. Late in 1863, he was a candidate
for District Judge when a singular opposition developed that might
easily have led, in later years at least, to his defeat. A large part
of the population of Santa Bárbara was related to him by blood or
marriage; and it was argued that, if elected, De la Guerra in many
cases would be disqualified from sitting as judge. On January 1st,
1864, however, Don Pablo took up the work as District Judge where
Hayes surrendered it. Just as De la Guerra in 1854 had resigned in
favor of Hunter, before completing his term as United States Marshal,
so now toward the end of 1873, De la Guerra withdrew on account of
ill-health from the district judgeship, and on February 5th, 1874, he
died.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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