California
End of 1874
Notable Events
Sacramento Daily Union
Friday, January 1, 1875
STATISTICS
OF CALIFORNIA - 1874
Record
of Matters and Events for 1874
The year 1874
has been remarkable for general good health, and, with few local exceptions,
abundant harvests all over the civilized world. There have been famines in
India and in parts of Asiatic Turkey, and a scarcity of food in parts of one or
two States and Territories of this country; but the crops in the main - grain,
cotton and grapes - In Europe and America have never been better, nor prices
much lower, in the great markets. The piece of the world has been disturbed but
slightly. There has been a brush of war on the west coast of Africa between the
English and the Ashantees, resulting in the
subjection of the latter and in guarantees for the extension of the area of
civilization and the curtailment of the area of slavery. There has been a
short, and at one time very threatening, civil war in the Argentine Republic in
South America, now probably ended; a menace of civil war in Peru, but only for
a few weeks, and now quieted; and a speck of war between China and Japan,
growing out of the interference of the latter empire to punish pirates in the
Island of Formosa - an island upon part of which the Empire of China claims
peculiar rights and privileges bordering on the sovereignty. In our own
country, upon the whole, we ma say considerable progress has been made in the
peace line. The Arizona Apaches have given comparatively little trouble; the
Sioux and Cheyennes have quieted down on
reservations, and only in the far southwest, with two or three of the wildest
tribes, has there been any trouble; and now among the Indians there is peace
nearly everywhere. Mobs, riots and local political conspiracies have kept
several of the Southern States in a ferment, but nothing like a serious or
general civil or social war has been threatened in that part of the country.
Spain and Cuba have continued at war all through the year,
and the condition of neither country appears to be improved at its close.
The most
noteworthy event of the year in the United States was the quiet political
revolution of October and November; a revolution that in two months placed that
party in the minority both in the great mass of the States separately and in
the popular branch of Congress, which for fourteen years had been in an
overwhelming majority, and confident of its ability to defy all opposition.
This event is hailed by good and wise men as a fresh guarantee of the power of
American people for self-government, and is accepted generally by the
demagogues as a warning that no entrenchments are strong enough under our
system of government to shield arrogant, insolent and corrupt rulers from
popular rebuke and indignation. One of the good effects of this quiet political
revolution is already manifest in the considerable reduction of the
expenditures of the Government, by which the burden of taxation will be much
lessened.
The year has
still felt the effects of the commercial and financial panic, but in a less
marked degree than the previous one. The nation has been rather adjusting its
accounts and squaring books than expanding into new enterprises of questionable
utility. The great railway corporations have met with a check beneficial to the
mass of the people. The mines have yielded enormously, especially in the last
three months of the year. The effect of this upon the State of California has
not yet been realized to any considerable extent outside of the city of San
Francisco. But to that city it has contributed many millions of capital, which
is being rapidly utilized in the erection of new and splendid buildings and in
other enterprises of a local character, which have given work to thousands of
laborers at remunerative wages, and a rapid increase to the city’s population.
The Fiji
Islands have been annexed to England as a colony during the year, and new and
valuable steamers have been added to the fleet now conducting trade between San
Francisco and Asia and Australia. For the first time in American history, a
king has visited our country, albeit only the King of the Hawaiian Islands.
European politics are still in fermentation. In France the Republic bargained
apparently, but cannot yet be pronounced out of danger. In Germany the civil
forces of the Empire have been perplexed and baffled by the interference of the
Romish element, but so far the civil authorities have
the mastery. The foreign immigration to the United States this year shows a
heavy falling off from that of 1873, owing to the lingering effects of the
panic, the suspension of railway building, and doubtless in part to the
increasing difficulty of obtaining cheap and good land here as readily as in
former years. Among the notable deaths of the year are those of two eminent
statesmen - one in each hemisphere - Sumner, the great American Senator, and Guizot, the most eminent statesman of France, distinguished
equally in the field of literature and philosophy. The remarkable astronomical
event of the year was the transit of Venus across the disc of the sun, which
was made the occasion by nearly all the civilized world for the taking of
observations to more closely approximate the true distance of the sun from the
earth, and as a corollary from this, the true distance of all the planets of the
solar system from the earth.
The usual
yearly record of notable events chronicled by the Union will be found in this
paper, compiled with care, and supplemented by a vast deal of statistical
information of uncommon utility and interest.
RECORD OF NOTABLE EVENTS
THE
STATE
JANUARY
1-Charles MILLER committed suicide in San
Francisco...Alonzo GILBERT, “Punch.,” died in San
Francisco.
2-The body of John BEDFORD, mate of the steamer
Salinas, washed ashore near San Francisco.
3-Isaac WEAVER hanged at Red Bluff for murder...John
R. SHARPSTEIN appointed Judge of the Twelfth District Court ...Policeman CROON
shot by a desperado in San Francisco.
4-Wm. CODDINGTON, a well-known capitalist, dropped
dead in San Francisco...James LE MAIRE committed suicide in San Francisco.
5-Two men injured, one fatally, by a falling wall in
San Francisco...James BARTON killed by falling from a window in San Francisco.
6-John BAKER, a murderer, arrested and lodged in jail
at Shasta...Central Pacific Railroad office at San Leandro
broken into and robbed.
7-A newsdealer’s clerk in
San Francisco arrested for selling obscene books...BAMBER Bros,. expressmen
in San Francisco, failed...Three men arrested for horse-stealing in
Marysville...Charles BOWERS suicided at Nortonville.
8-Colonel John MIDDLETON died at San
Francisco...George BIX drowned in the bay at San Francisco...John T. TYLER, son of ex-President TYLER, died in San Francisco...M.
RIELLE broke his thigh bone at Vallejo.
9-Louis FAFA dead with a bullet hole through his head
at Yreka.
10-Charles LAWSON discovered dead in his room at San
Francisco...Annie JONES crushed to death by a truck in same city.
11-Boat races at Vallejo; one between NELSON and
STEVENSON declared foul. BROWN won the whitehall
race; California Theater Club the race with the Alerts....A young man named
HUSSEL committed suicide in San Francisco...John RIX drowned in San Francisco
bay.
12-Three men, Annis LOTZ,
Chas. MILLER and Frank BOWAN, arrested for burglary at Watsonville...Trial of Antone HUNCKLER for the murder of his mother, commenced in
San Francisco...Fire Department election in Oakland; STEEN elected Chief
Engineer...Mary SHACKELFORD found dead in her room at San Francisco.
13-John SCOTT and George F. KNOX assaulted E. KHREIN,
in San Francisco, and robbed him...Fred. HELLING found dead in the snow near
Eureka...Suit commenced at Suisun to set aside the election as to the county
seat...Walter VAN DYKE took the place of L.D. LATIMER as United States District
Attorney at San Francisco...Chas. WHITESIDES, formerly of Sacramento, died
suddenly at Napa...Mayor OTIS gave a reception to the Duke of Genoa, in San
Francisco...Lawrence BURNS dropped dead in San Francisco.
14-Mrs. Lulu TORRENCE committed suicide in San
Francisco...Assembly Committee on Public Buildings paid a visit of inspection
to the college buildings at Berkeley...Rev. Dr. HEMPHILL brought into court as
a witness, on a bench warrant, in San Francisco...Alphonse JEROME dropped dead
in Salinas City...Wm. CASEY fatally kicked by horses near Los Angeles...Fire in
Arcata, loss $4,000.
15- Wheat quoted in Stockton at $2.20...MASON’s brewery, in San Francisco, seized for defrauding
the revenue...Heavy storm of wind and rain reported all over Central
California; great danger done.
18-Steamer Colorado arrived from China and Japan at
San Francisco...W.W. SHEDD, at Santa Barbara, killed his wife, and then
himself...Two shocks of earthquake felt at San Francisco.
19 - Severe earthquake in San Francisco...Snow, hail
and rain at Grass Valley...The tide at Valljeo higher
than ever before known...Randolph MITCHELL murdered his wife with a razor, and
then killed himself, at San Francisco...Two horses killed by a freight train at
Oakland, and the driver severely injured.... Louis FRANCISCO shot by one
BICKFORD at Grass Valley...The levee gave way at Colusa, flooding the low
lands.
20-Much damage done by a freshet in San Diego.
21-Emily A. PERRIN sent to the Insane Asylum form San
Francisco...Thos. A. BROWN appointed County Judge of Contra Costa county...Wm. McHUGH arrested in
San Francisco on charges of embezzlement...Heavy storm and much damage at
Mendocino.
22-Fire at Los Angeles; loss, $6,500...Bakersfield
declared by the Fifteenth District Court the county seat of Kern county.
23-Woman named MILLERTON burned to death in a house in
San Francisco...News received of the los of the ship
Panther on Salt Island...Marshal MARTIN, the murderer of Valentine EISCHLER,
hanged at Martinez; the weight of the body caused the rope to entirely separate
the head from the trunk...Jos. WHITMAN found dead at Dutch Flat...Wm. CARPENTER
drowned at Smartsville.
24-Snow fell in the hills near San Francisco...A boy
named Albert LASBACH stabbed by a Chinaman in San Francisco.
25-Chas. A. LAYNER committed suicide in San
Francisco...Peter BORDEAUX found dead in his room at San Francisco.
26-Levi SHEPARD severely injured by the caving of a
bank at Placerville...Benjamin COOKE shot by Chas. SWENSON at Stockton...Wm.
STANTON found drowned in the bay at San Francisco.
27- The Sacramento rose eight feet in twelve hours at
Colusa...John FALEM, manager of the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Company,
died in San Francisco...The San Francisco Evening Post sued for libel by John
H. SEADERS...James SHEPPARD shot by an unknown person near Colusa...A stranger
died suddenly at a hotel in Merced.
28-Supervisor WANGENHEIM, of San Francisco, died.
29-A thief caught pilfering in the Occidental Hotel,
San Francisco.
30-All the employees in the construction department at
Mare Island suspended...Six cases of smallpox reported in San Francisco, and
thirteen in the pest house...At the Lick House, in San Francisco, O.P. KEYES
accidentally shot himself in the hand, the ball also striking a friend in the
leg.
31-Reported that Indians in Siskiyou county are killing the cattle of settlers to save themselves
from starvation...Nine printers of the San Francisco Evening Sun arrested by
the DE YOUNGS for libel.
FEBRUARY
1-Frank GOODBURG, a miner, found dead near Shasta.
2-Gus DE YOUNG, shot at B.F. NAPTHALY, while the
latter was in custody, in San Francisco...Fifty-five additional policemen
appointed in San Francisco.
3-A. BRODERICK, steward of The Marquesas,
knocked overboard near Point Arena, and drowned...Annual exhibition of The
Protestant Orphan Asylum, as San Francisco.
4.-J.B.E. CAVALLIER shot at in San Francisco by a
miner named John O’MABEY.
5-Heinrich NICKEN instantly killed at San Francisco by
The falling of a block from the main-yard of the ship
Columbus...Ex-Judge Pablo de la GUERRA died at Santa Barbara.
6-James HOWDEN, a well-known chemist in San Francisco,
died.
7-John PRITCHARD jumped out of a third-story window in
San Francisco, and was instantly killed.
9-A blast of 231 kegs of powder exploded in a mine at
Sucker Flat...Steamship Vasco da Gama
arrived at San Francisco, in nineteen days from Yokohama...The trial of WILSON
and McCARTY, for murder, commenced at San Diego.
10-Wallace WILLIAMS, a prominent lawyer, died at
Nevada City...Shorty HAYES and John CLARK found
guilty of stage robbery, at Shasta...Heavy gale at San Francisco.
11-Michael BARNES shot by Sam ENNOT in a saloon at
Modesto...Fire in the Chinese quarter, San Francisco; loss, $18,000.
12-Dwelling-house and contents destroyed by fire in
Stockton...Chinaman suddenly died on the Knight’s Landing train, near Woodland.
13-Charles WILLIAMS chopped three of his fingers off
to get rid of going to sea as a sailor, in San Francisco...John CLANCY carried
2,000 feet through a flume at Sucker Flat, and
severely injured...Steamer Colorado sailed, carrying a large amount of flour
for China.
15-Charles THOMPSON stabbed in a San Francisco
dance-house...Bank incorporated at Eureka, Humboldt county...Eugene
McCARTHY shot his brother-in-law, James RYAN, in San
Francisco.
16-Chinese New Year commenced in San Francisco...Mrs.
HEYMAN committed suicide by drowning herself in a pond, near Grass
Valley...August WEINSBANK fell from a tree at Los Angeles and was killed...A
boy named SC***OPKE mortally wounded while playing with a pistol at San
Francisco...A man named GRAHAM was shot by one BLANCHARD, at San Luis Rey; the latter found gagged and hung to a tree the next
morning.
17-Dr. Francis MURPHY, of Ohio, committed suicide at
Santa Barbara, by drowning himself in a well.
18-In a row at Eureka, Jerry SULLIVAN shot Jim HERNEY.
19-Meeting of citizens in San Francisco to request
Congress to grant the city a portion of the Presidio for a public park...Car
and machine shop at Donahue burned; loss, $75,000...Mrs. Catherine LOWER
dropped dead at Los Angeles...Margaret BRAY found dead in her room at San
Francisco.
20-Thomas McCARTY, convicted
at San Diego of killing J.D. GRAY, sentenced to the State Prison for ten
years...Kate RAY recovered $10,000 from P. GEORGE, in a Marysville court, for
breach of promise of marriage and seduction...Matt LYNCH, of the Dispatch, died
in Mendocino.
21-Dr. CLEVELAND and M.J .GILKEY, in a rencontre, at Watsonville, were both instantly
killed...Supreme Court decided the election of NEWMAN as State Harbor
Commissioner to be invalid, and continued MATTHEWSON in office.
22-General display of flags in San Francisco in honor
of Washington’s birthday.
23-A bloody shooting affray near Salinas, in which
John WILSON shot a man named IRVINE, and in return was stabbed by the
latter...A woman named Nellie McGRATH severely
stabbed by Lewis RYAN in San Francisco.
24-Richard O’NEIL fatally shot by a boy in San
Francisco...The body of Captain ALLISON, a well-known citizen, found in the
river near Tehama....A man named ANDERSON found guilty of incest at San
Jose...Engine-house burned in San Francisco; loss, $4,500...A fire destroyed a
building occupied as a millinery store in Santa Barbara.
25-Mad dog shot in San Francisco...Felton engine-house
burned at Oakland.
26-Thomas A. SPRINGER, State Printer, died in San Francisco,
aged 53 years...A blast of 400 pounds of Giant powder exploded at Rincon rock,
San Francisco bay.
27-Funeral of State Printer SPRINGER at San Francisco.
28-MUNTER, Justice of the Peace at Stockton, removed
from office, and fined $500 for taking unlawful fees...Captain Wm. A. THOMPSON,
a pioneer Californian, died at San Francisco, aged 84 years.
MARCH
1-The body of Dr. George CAMPBELL found in the bay at
San Francisco.
2-Willie P. SHAVER, 6 years old, poisoned to death by
arsenic at Lodi...A man expired in a street car at San Francisco...St. David’s
Day celebrated by The Welsh at San Francisco.
3-A coursing match for a purse of $1,000 at
Modesto...ANDERSON, convicted of incest at San Jose, sentenced to ten years’
imprisonment.
4-James SHORT, age 15, instantly killed near Yreka, by
his gun prematurely exploding...The noted Bank Exchange painting “Samson and
Delilah,” sold at San Francisco for $10,250.
5-Geo. MASON committed suicide in San Francisco by
cutting his throat.
6-Two men killed and one fatally injured by the caving
of a bank near San Diego...Robt. MANING convicted of
murdering a Chinaman in San Francisco, sentenced to the State Prison for
life...Robt CURRIE dropped dead
in the Pioneer Woolen Mills, San Francisco.
7-Heavy snow-storms reported in the Sierras...Large
meeting in Stockton to ratify the city charter amendments.
8-Thos. AMBROSE, a well-known detective, died in San
Francisco.
9-Two men detected in an attempt to rob the poor-box
of St. Mary’s Cathedral, in San Francisco.
10-A man supposed to be Chas. P. JONES, of Buffalo,
N.Y., found dead at Santa Barbara...James RAMSEY severely injured at Somersville, near Martinez, by falling down the shaft of a
coal mine.
11-Great rejoicing at Grass Valley and Nevada City
over the passage of the Nevada and Colfax Railroad bill by the Assembly.
12-BLAKELY, ex-Treasurer of Santa Cruz county, on trial for robbing his own office, discharged from
custody...James McPEAK shot by Joseph FERNAID, at San
Francisco.
13-Rev. Father ESTRAGUES, of Mission San Jose,
narrowly escaped drowning in Alameda creek...Colored citizens of San Francisco
wear crape and drape their churches in mourning in memory of Charles SUMNER.
15-Store at Byrnes’ Ferry robbed by Mexican
highwaymen.
16-Municipal elections at Marysville and
Vallejo...Fire at Santa Barbara; loss, $40,000...Col. Oliver P. ROBIE, U.S.A.,
committed suicide at San Francisco by shooting himself through the head...Mary
O’CONNOR, a widow, and her son stabbed seriously by a drunken man named William
HANDLEY, at San Francisco...Daniel ELLIS killed by J. DOUGLAS, near Rocklin.
17-Celebration of St .Patrick’s Day general throughout
the State...Chief SCANNELL assumed control of the San Francisco Fire
Department.
18-Charles MEYERS shot himself at the Presidio, in San
Francisco.
19-San Francisco Supervisors petitioned to prohibit
the sale of liquor in corner groceries...News received of the jumping overboard
from the Great Republic of Lieutenant G. ELA, U.S.N.
20-A man named HAWES drowned in the river at Eureka.
21-Arthur MASON, while in the custody of an officer at
San Francisco, suddenly fell dead.
22-Mrs. Mary O’CONNELL committed suicide at San
Francisco.
24-Fresno City decided to be the county seat of Fresno
county...Geo STOREY, a well-known citizen, seriously
wounded by a rifle ball by an unknown person, at Mission San Jose.
25-Wm. BRADY shot and killed near Marysville by George
BUSHBY...John GREEN found drowned in Stockton Slough...Large railroad meetings
held in Grass Valley and Nevada.
26-Graduating exercises held at the State Normal
School, San Jose... John W. BUETLER, a music teacher in San Francisco, shot
himself through the head.
27-Ed. NULAND, aged 19, hanged himself to a tree on
Main street, Woodland...Widow of E.A. MARCHAUT sued John SAMUEL for $50,000
damages for killing her husband in San Francisco.
28-Captain BARBIER made an ascension in the French
mail balloon, Le Secours, at San Francisco...Wm.
FREIDERCHSON, an artist, committed suicide near the Cliff House, San Francisco.
29-Supervisor James BARRETT, of San Francisco, died,
aged 36 years.
30-Six convicts escaped from the San Francisco county
jail...Steamship Colima arrived at San Francisco in a
disabled condition.
31-Wm. GRIFFEN held to answer for attempted rape of a
girl 11 years old, in San Francisco...Shingle Springs
people hanged Assemblyman GILMORE in effigy.
APRIL
1. Santa Cruz stage stopped and the passengers robbed
by highwaymen...Ellen REEDOINE found dead in San Francisco, in Bud Run
alley...Destructive fire on the corner of Battery and Sacramento streets, San
Francisco; two Assistant Engineers received sever injuries. Another on Mission street, damage, $1,000.
2-The BLACK will case, after fifteen days’ trial,
concluded at San Francisco; the jury believed the testator of unsound mind...Lady
Mac won the five-mile race at Oakland in 13 minutes.
3-Exciting runaway at San Jose, the team dashing into
McLaughlin & Ryland’s bank and severely injuring
James WILKINSON, a colored preacher...The wife of Charles A. SUMNER died
suddenly at San Francisco.
4-John STEWART trotted twenty miles in 58:59 at
Oakland...Two Mexican and two Irish highwaymen robbed a man of $120 near Hill’s
Ferry...Edward CONDON shot and instantly killed Charles KLUGSLEY, in a
photograph gallery at San Francisco, and then killed himself.
6-Bank of Hollister organized,
with a capital of $200,000...An “April fool” joke at Salinas resulted in one
man being killed and another badly wounded.
7-Eldridge M. HOPKINS arrested for the murder of
Michael FAHEY, in San Francisco...Rev. Father POWERS convicted in San Francisco
for an assault on Mrs. Bella BROWN, in St. Patrick’s Church.
8-A young man named CALDWELL found dead in his bed,
shot through the head, and his room-mate, MAXEY, on the floor, mortally wounded
in the side, at San Francisco...Fire in San Francisco; loss $1,000.
9-Valuable coal mine discovered near Monterey.
10-Captain LAMBERT left San Francisco for South
America, with the pardon granted to Harry MEIGGS by the California Legislature.
13-San Jose elected city officers...James H. FLEMING
stabbed and killed in San Francisco by John G. CORBETT.
15-One thousand Grangers had a celebration at
Modesto...Dr. A.A. FARNSWORTH suicided at San
Francisco.
16-G. O’HARA, Danish Consul, died at San Francisco.
17-John TILLY arrested for rape and murder at
Bakersfield...John WILLIAMS drowned at Oakland.
19-A fire at Alcatraz destroyed nearly all the wooden
buildings on the Island...Mass meeting at Shingle Springs, condemnatory of
Assemblyman Gilmore’s course.
20-School-house near Stockton destroyed by
fire...Benjamin OVERMAYER run over by a wagon near Grass Valley, and fatally
injured.
21- City election in Petaluma...An incendiary fire at
La Porte...William RUSSELL, a druggist, killed himself in San Francisco.
22-Colfax nearly destroyed by fire; loss,
$40,000...Serious runaway at Stockton; a horse killed, and Samuel FISHER, the
owner, badly injured.
23-George W. TYLER, an old merchant, died at San
Francisco...Typhoid fever in the San Francisco county jail.
24-Ship James Chester stranded on the beach near San
Francisco...Lady Mac won the five-mile trotting race at San Jose.
25-Fire in San Francisco; loss, $1,000.
27-Wholesale liquor dealers organized in San Francisco
to defeat the woman crusade.
28-Two highwaymen robbed the Santa Cruz stage...A fire
in San Francisco destroyed Eastman’s printing office, and came near burning the
Bulletin and Call offices; loss, $12,000...Arthur HILT, aged 16, thrown from a
horse and killed near Yreka.
29-Isaiah PIERCE and H. EDWARDS captured for robbing
the Santa Cruz stage...Dr. MEARES, quarantine officer at San Francisco,
removed, and Dr. H.P. HUMPHREYS appointed.
30-The San Francisco Chronicle mulcted in the sum of
$3,000 for libeling a Mrs. HOWDEN...Fire in San Francisco; loss, $1,500.
MAY
1-NASH, the murderer, found guilty at Martinez, and
sentenced to imprisonment for life...Child of Dr. BENTLEY, at Lodi, fell into
the river and drowned.
2-Rafael POMBER shot by one GRAHAM, at Castroville.
4-City election held in Stockton and Oakland...Thirty
ladies of San Francisco personally petition the Board of Supervisors to stop
groceries selling liquor.
5-Donald McKAY and his Warm
Springs Indians arrived at San Francisco...Town election at Grass Valley.
8-Governor BOOTH offered $8,000 for the capture of the
bandit VASQUEZ alive, or $6,000 dead.
10-BURKE found guilty of murder at Santa Rosa, and sentenced to imprisonment for life.
12-Grand Encampment, I.O.O.F., met at Vallejo.
13-Fire at Bakersfield; loss, $6,000...Grand Lodge,
I.O.O.F., met at Vallejo...At Hollister, little daughter of Geo. GREEN drank
from a bottle containing a mixture for cleaning silver, and died after three
hours of intense agony...John SHERMER committed suicide at Freeman’s ranch,
near Shingle Springs.
14-Tiburcio VASQUEZ, a bandit, captured near Los
Angeles.
15-Farmers’ Grange organized at Lincoln...Philip FALK,
President of the Page & Panaca Mining Company,
arrested at San Francisco, for embezzlement...F. CREIGHTON, mate of the steamer
Whipple, crushed to death at San Francisco...Mysterious attempt to murder
FERRIS, conductor of a street-car at San Francisco.
16-Ella Lewis beats California Dexter in match
trotting race for $4,000, at Oakland, in three straight heats; best time,
2:27...GLEASON, of The firm of Gleason & Fell, San Francisco, convicted of
getting up a lottery by offering prizes in connection with the sale of dry
goods...Local option elections at Santa Clara and Mountain View;
prohibitionists beaten...Chinaman murdered at San Francisco by an Italian,
without provocation...William LAMPE drowned in Alameda creek, 35 miles east of
San Jose.
17-George W. and Henry W., sons of W.W. YORK of
Marysville, drowned in a slough near that place...John ROBINSON, of Kennebec Hill,
Nevada county, committed suicide by hanging.
18-Frederick KNOTTMEYER committed suicide at San
Francisco...Large eight-hour demonstration at San Francisco, addressed by
Professor CARR...Man named OVEREND, his wife and four children, found murdered
in their house as San Decona, twenty-six miles from
San Diego.
19-Large fire at Vaca
Station...Man named James A. QUINN drowned in a slough near Merced.
24-Earthquake at San Francisco...Gus DE YOUNG, of San
Francisco, arrested at Visalia for misdemeanor.
25-James THOMPSON dangerously injured in a mine near
Calistoga.
26-The bandit VASQUES arrived at San Francisco in
charge of officers.
27-A merchant murdered and his store robbed and burned
at Happy Camp, Del Norte county.
28-Vasquez landed in jail at Salinas City.
29-A ten-year-old boy committed to the Insane Asylum
from San Francisco...George NORRIS fell dead at Woodland...Mary Davis defeated
California Dexter at Agricultural Park, San Francisco.
31-Two young men drowned by the capsizing of a boat at
San Francisco.
JUNE
1-Body of Andrew NELSON found near Colusa, in the
river...Victoria C. WOODHULL addressed 2,000 people at San Francisco.
2-People of Klamath county annexed a portion of their
territory to Siskiyou...Annual meeting of the University Regents at Berkeley...Andrew
VANDEWERFF caved on by a bank at Columbia, and killed...George BUSHBY acquitted
at Marysville of the murder of BRADY...S. HELM, owner of Sam Purdy, The
trotter, died suddenly on the boat between Vallejo and San Francisco.
3-A reservoir at Campo Seco
broke away, carrying off a portion of the town...Hotel burned at Livermore;
loss, $1,000.
5-D’Alva MOSSE, a well-known stationer of San
Francisco, shot and killed himself...John PERRY, once one of the proprietors at
The Calaveras Big Trees, died at Murphy’s, aged 57.
7-Woolen mils of Los Gatos, near San Jose, burned;
loss, $20,000.
8-Oroville won the county seat election in Butte county...Five indictments found against VASQUES for murder
and robbery.
9-Mrs. BRADY of San Francisco suddenly dropped dead in
the depot at San Rafael...Gabriel MENDAROY murdered at Los Angeles by one
FANTANO.
10-Two shocks of earthquake felt at Mission San
Jose...Fire in San Francisco, loss, $10,000...Steamer Ellen sunk at Hathaway’s
wharf, San Francisco.
11-Judge James H. HARDY died in San Francisco...First
wheat of the season arrived at San Francisco from Hill’s Ferry...San Francisco
had two shocks of earthquake...Railroad office at Dixon broken open and the
safe robbed.
12-R.C. HALL, a San Francisco architect, awarded a premium
of $500 for the best plan for the Folsom Branch State Prison...San Francisco
forwarded $5,000 to The Louisiana sufferers.
14-Steamer Prince Alfred ran ashore and sunk six miles
north of San Francisco Heads.
15-A boy threw a stone in San Francisco and killed a
girl named Petra SANDEZ.
17-Tannery burned near San Francisco, loss, $15,000.
18-Residence of H.H. WHALEY, in San Bernardino,
burned...A.P. RIVERSON, a pioneer, committed suicide near Vallejo.
23-James KNAPP, aged 19, drowned or Oroville, while
bathing.
24-Ex-Policeman R.W. M. STONE shot himself through the
heart in San Francisco.
25-Over 15,000 persons attended the Sunday-school
picnic at San Francisco.
28-Residence of John WOLFING, at Sonora, destroyed by
fire; loss, $1,500...Governor BOOTH and party received with enthusiasm by the
people of Yosemite Valley.
29-Two men gagged and bound the Collector of the port
of San Diego, and robbed his safe of $3,000.
30-Wm. S. HOOVER, of Gilroy, committed suicide at the
Cosmopolitan Hotel in San Francisco.
JULY
1- John STEWART drowned himself at Timbuctoo...James
DOUGLAS, Governor of British Columbia, arrived at San Francisco...A
five-year-old boy named THOMPSON drowned in a ditch near Georgetown, and the
body carried by the water over two miles.
2-Bartolo SEPULVEDA convicted at Oakland of the murder
of Otto LUDIVICO, and sentenced to life imprisonment...Fire at San Francisco;
loss, $2,500.
3-Wm. COOPER, of the Sacramento Light Artillery, had
his right arm taken off while firing a salute at Marysville...A dwelling-house
in Petaluma burned; loss, $1,000.
4-The Fourth celebrated throughout the State...Three
fires at Oakland; loss, $2,000.
5-Dr. Julius ECKMAN, The
first Jewish rabbi who came to California, died in San Francisco.
6-The body of J.B. KNAPP found in the river near
Oroville.
7-New savings bank opened in Los Angeles.
8-With the thermometer at 115 in the shade a large
crowd assembled at Merced and laid the corner-stone of the new
court-house...John WELCH, last of the Death Valley party of 1848, died at Los
Angeles.
9-An Indian admitted to citizenship at Los Angeles.
10-Fire on California and Front streets, San
Francisco; loss over $100,000...Henry BALCOM, confined in jail at San
Francisco, died suddenly.
11-Mrs. D.J. WILEY died at Calistoga from the effects
of a stage accident.
12-Aliso Mills, Los Angeles, burned; loss, $50,000...A
destructive fire occurred on Brannan street, San Francisco; loss, $20,000.
13-Mrs. Julia ARMSTRONG, a widow, committed suicide in
San Francisco by hanging herself...The boiler of a steam thresher burst at
Chico, seriously injuring four men.
14-Near Stockton, George JAHLER killed by being
dragged into a thresher while the cylinder was in motion...A paper called the
China News issued in San Francisco and printed in Chinese, under the auspices
of the six companies.
17-P.R. RODGERS attacked by a bloodhound in San
Francisco and horribly mangled...Grand Central Market, in San Francisco opened for
the first time.
19-P. McCORMICK,
a noted detective, died in San Francisco.
20-James P. HOBART caved on in a claim at Gold Flat,
Nevada, and killed...British ship Warrior Queen went ashore near Point Reyes,
and was a total loss; captain and crew saved...VASQUEZ brought before the court
at Salinas for preliminary examination.
22-Western Union telegraph line completed to San Luis
Obispo.
23-George HODGES killed by his brother-in-law at
Copperopolis...Wiley McKAIR sent to the State Prison
for 14 years for rape, from Los Angeles.
24-W.B. BOURNE, a prominent stock broker, committed
suicide in San Francisco...LINCOLN, assistant lighthouse–keeper at Point Reyes,
drowned at the wreck of the Warrior Queen.
26-A balloon race took place from San Francisco,
between Prof. MARTIN and BULSLAY; the latter’s balloon won...A woman killed a
rattlesnake of 16 rattles at St, Helena, by placing her foot upon its head.
27-California Woman Suffrage Convention opened in San
Francisco.
29-James RAMSEY, attache of
Queen’s circus stoned to death by hoodlums in San Francisco.
30-Judge J.S. STARK dropped dead near Calistoga...Fire
at Visalia; loss, $5,000.
31-L. WHITTLE shot and killed by Wm. WEST, near
Shasta...Fire at Oakland; loss, $5,000.
AUGUST
2-An old man named WOODS, at Stockton, thrown form his
horse and killed...Thos. VINTER, aged 15, accidentally shot and killed himself
at San Jose.
4-Oue STUART killed by his brother-in-law, Geo. COX,
near San Luis Obispo...Leland STANFORD elected President of the Bay District
Association, at San Francisco.
6-Charles STRECKLER, a pioneer merchant, rendered
insane by a hurt on the head, at Jackson...C.P.R.R. declared a dividend of $5 a
share.
7-Catholic church at Sonora,
Tuolumne county, burned...Charles E. PICKETT sent to jail in default of $500
for disturbing the Supreme Court of San Francisco.
9-Wheat in the Stockton market quoted at $1 45@ 1
52...Patrick MURPHY, aged 12, killed at Stockton by falling from a tree.
10-Mountains back of Los Angeles reported to be on
fire.
11-Stage from Salinas to Monterey robbed by
highwaymen...Professor CARL dismissed from is professorship in the State
University.
13-Steamship Colorado delayed at San Francisco by a
strike of the crew; she took 400 passengers, 900 tons of freight and $338,000
in treasure for China.
14-Railroad completed between Visalia and Stockton.
17-M. MILES awarded two sections of the work at
constructing the Branch State Prison at Folsom...John A. McGLYNN,
a prominent citizen, died in San Francisco.
18-Mechanics’ Institute Fair opened in San Francisco.
24- Earthquake felt in Humboldt county.
25-Eastman & McIntyre’s printing and book-binding
establishment in San Francisco burned...Work commenced on the Los Angeles and
Anaheim Railroad...British ship Thomas arrived at San Francisco, in 45 days
from Melbourne.
26-John E. BAKER, for murdering George CLINE, and
Charles CROUCH, who killed Mrs. Antonia RADLER, hanged at Shasta...Three
persons badly injured at Petaluma in a runaway accident.
28-Wilson, found guilty of murder at San Diego,
sentenced to State Prison for life.
29-Pacific Transportation Company’s stage attacked by
robbers near San Bernardino.
30-Fire at San Francisco; loss, $35,000.
31-C.D. ANDERSON suicided at
San Francisco...United States Supreme Judge FIELD decided that service of
summons by newspaper publication, in cases where property was under
jurisdiction of the court, would not hold good.
SEPTEMBER
1-ALEXANDER declared not guilty of the murder of Mrs.
STRONG, at Santa Rosa...Los Angeles and Coast Railroad Company organized.
3-Sam FOWLER tried to shoot his father at Santa Rosa,
and then fatally wounded a brother who interfered...General John E. ADDISON
committed suicide at San Francisco...Heavy storm at San Francisco of thunder,
lightening and rain.
4-Mokelumne Hill almost entirely destroyed by fire;
loss, $175,000.
7-BUCKLEY, License Collector, removed from office by
the San Francisco Supervisors.
8-GEIGER, sentenced to life imprisonment for the
murder of Mrs. STRONG, at Santa Rosa...A. DELANO, a pioneer, died at Grass
Valley.
9-Admission Day celebrated at San Francisco...Carl
LUTHER killed at San Fernandino by the bite of a
tarantula.
11-Don Abel STEARNS’ mill at Los Angeles, built in
1855, burned; loss, $40,000.
15-Slight earthquake felt at San Francisco...J.B. McQUILLAN, a well-known newspaper man, died near Chico.
16-Mexicans celebrated their national anniversary in
several towns...Three houses burned at San Juan South
18-FREEMAN & Co’s store,
at Woodland, burglarized ...Several buildings burned at Bodega Corners.
21-Six buildings burned at Davisville,
by incendiaries.
22-A runaway team killed a young man near
Martinez...Investigation commenced into the affairs of the San Francisco Coroner’s
office.
23-John B. FELTON recovered judgement
for $23,611 against San Francisco for legal services in one case...The Petaluma
fruit-drying establishment burned; loss, $2,000.
24-State University opened at Berkeley.
27-Several houses destroyed by fire in Oakland.
28-Local option declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court, at San Francisco...Three Deputy Assessors arrested in San
Francisco for forging poll-tax receipts.
29-Agricultural Fair at Stockton opened...R.W. VAN
SYCKLE, a well-known citizen, committed suicide at Oakland...A $100,000 fire at
Chico.
30-Severe shock of earthquake felt at Calistoga...Fire
at San Francisco; loss, $2,000.
OCTOBER
1. A Miss YOKUM attempted to
murder Dr. C.F. BUCKLEY, in San Francisco...First rain of the season at Shasta.
5-Santa Clara Valley Fair opened...Body of Samuel B.
REED found floating in the bay at San Francisco.
8-J.M. ECKFELDT, of the San Francisco Mint, committed
suicide at Oakland...Grand Lodge of Good Templars in
session at Vallejo.
12-Ex-Governor DOWNEY painfully injured by having one
of the bones of his cheek broken.
13-The First National Gold Bank of Petaluma
authorized, with a capital of $200,000.
15-Dr. BENTLEY, of San Francisco, elected
Superintendent of the Napa Insane Asylum.
17-Major Harry LARKYNS, of San Francisco, shot and
killed near Calistoga, by Edward MUYBRIDGE, The noted photographer...Joseph
BOSTON, a prominent citizen of Santa Clara, suicided
by taking poison.
19-E.E. MORGAN’s Sons, San
Francisco agents of The Grangers, failed for a large
amount...James A. FARRELL, an old resident, committed suicided
at Grass Valley.
20-A boy named ROBERTS run over by a wagon at Modesto,
and killed.
21-Ex-Governor LOW, for German bondholders, commenced
suit in the United States District Court to adjudge the California Pacific
Railroad bankrupt.
23-Six thousand people attended The Mecanic’s Institute carnival ball at San Francisco.
24-Several buildings burned by incendiaries in
Oakland, in different parts of the city.
25-Heavy rain storm reported throughout the State
27- County Judge STANLY, of San Francisco, resigned
his office...Steamer Costa Rica broke her shaft off San Diego....Grand Division
of the Sons of Temperance opened at San Francisco.
29-William H. LEE shot and killed his wife at Santa
Rosa.
30-Hugh, brother of Don Juan FORSTER, fell dead in the
street at Los Angeles...The celebrated trotting horse Gloster
died at San Francisco...Alex. MARTIN appointed melter
and refiner of the San Francisco Mint.
31-Occident beat Judge Fullerton in a race at San Francisco,
in 2:10, 2:18 and 2:22 3/4.
NOVEMBER
1 - A negro named Louis BERRY
killed his father with a hatchet, in San Francisco, while in bed asleep;
deceased was over 70.
2-The trial of Coroner RICE commenced in San
Francisco...Many people left Los Angeles for The Panamint mines.
4-Los Angeles Herald sued for $25,000 by the Water
Company of that city, for saying the water furnished was impure...Panamint reported to be in great excitement over rich
discoveries...Ramon MAGLI shot at Modesto by Under Sheriff AULL.
5-O.H. LA GRANGE took formal charge of the new mint at
San Francisco.
6-E.L. BROWN suicided by
taking poison at Davisville...Joseph McARDIE, second mate of the ship Undaunted, sentenced to
pay $250, and be imprisoned in the State Prison for two years, for beating a
seaman, at San Francisco...Joseph FISHER fell dead in the streets at Chico.
7-Alvinza HAYWARD returned from Japan.
8-Edward McGUIRE shot and
killed his wife with a shotgun at San Francisco.
10-At Lompoc, Santa Barbara county,
1,572 acres of land sold in lots at $70 an acre.
11-Steamer Sacramento burned at San Francisco; loss,
$20,000.
12-Democrats held an immense jollification meeting at
San Francisco...Fire at Chico; loss, $2,500...Fire at San Francisco; loss,
$25,000...California State Grange commenced its annual session.
13-Thirty tons of ore shipped from Panamint
to England.
14-Katie Pense won the great
four-mile race at San Francisco, in two straight heats; time, 7:43 ½ and 7:36
1/4...Governor BOOTH issued a thanksgiving proclamation for November 26th.
15-Several street-preachers arrested in San Francisco
for obstructing sidewalks.
16-A nephew of James LICK brought suit against the
estate for $40,000, at San Jose.
17- A watch and clock factory started in San
Francisco, giving work to over 400 boys and girls... Paul K. HUBBS died at Vallejo, aged 70...The Lick House sold at auction, in San
Francisco, for $920,000.
18-State Temperance Alliance began its session at San
Francisco...Rain reported all over the central part of the State.
19-A daughter of William SHARON presented at her
wedding, by her father, with a gift of $1,000,000, in San Francisco.
20-Coroner RICE, of San Francisco, removed from office
by the Judge of the Twelfth District court.
21-Wells, Fargo & Co.’s treasure-box robbed of
$2,000 near Reading...Fullerton defeated Occident and Sam Purdy at San
Francisco, in three straight heats, in the fastest time to wagon ever made -
2:20 1/8, 2:22 1/4 and 2:21 1/4.
23-A storm in San Francisco damaged property in
basements to the extent of $30,000.
24-FRINK, editor of the Truckee Republican, shot and
killed...Travel interrupted by the storm on the Vallejo railroad.
25-Much damage done and one life lost at Marysville by
the breaking of a levee...Body found at Oakland with the legs and arms cut off.
26-The Sacramento river
reported over its banks at Colusa, doing some damage to grain in sacks...
Joseph FRANCIS shot and killed by Matt BARKER at Georgetown.
27-In Kern county five Mexicans abducted a Mrs. PAYTON
from home, frightfully outraged her and left her to get back as best she might;
she was found nearly dead next morning...W.F. HENDRICKS, of Santa Barbara,
found dead in his bed at the Morton House, San Francisco.
29-KALAKAUA, Hawaiian King, arrived in San Francisco,
and was received with all the honors...Mrs. BROWN, aged 70 run over by a train
at Oakland and fatally mangled...Dwelling-house of G.W. WALRAVEN burned at
Chico; loss, $2,000.
DECEMBER
1-Six Granges organized in San Diego county.
9-McDONALD, the wife-murderer, found guilty at Los
Angeles, and sentenced to imprisonment for life...The United States steamer
Benicia took the Hawaiian King to Mare Island.
4-King KALAKAUA reviewed the Second Regiment at San
Francisco...J.M. SMALLEY, United States detective from Burlington, Vt., dropped
dead at Los Angeles.
7-Edward MADDEN shot and killed at Merced by Henry
GRANICE...Two men, with masks on, stopped and robbed Ben HITCHCOCK near
Salinas...Municipal election at Los Angeles; 1,551 votes polled.
8-Terrible accident on the Central Pacific Railroad
near Boca, by which many were injured and two killed.
9-Twice as much ground prepared for planting about Los
Angeles as ever before.
10-A body of armed men seized the Los Prietos quicksilver mines, near Santa Barbara...Three
“three-card” monte sharps arrested at Stockton and
held to answer before the grand jury.
11-Mrs. Leo WATKINS, at San Leandro,
shot and killed in the street by her husband, who then shot himself...Twelve
wagons loaded with lumber left San Diego for Panamint...In
a pacing race, to wagon, at San Francisco, Longfellow won in three straight
heats in 2:19 ½ - 2:22 - 2:20 3/4.
13-Ex-Senator CHAPPELL, wife and two daughters, in a
pleasure excursion on a hand-car at Reading, badly injured by being thrown from
the car...HEWLETT’s hardware store, at Stockton,
burglarized and then fired by the thieves.
14-Rich cinnabar discovery reported near Murphy’s in
Calaveras county...Castroville narrowly escaped destruction by fire...The hall
used by The Grangers, at Collegeville, near Stockton, burned, with all the
books, papers, etc., of the grange.
15-Thomas BRADLEY, Principal of the San Francisco High
School, removed by that body from his position...Earthquake felt at
Oakland...Martin BULGER, Chief Engineer of the new Mint, at San Francisco, had
his foot crushed by a heavy piece of metal falling upon it...The San Francisco
grand jury found true bills of indictment against MORGAN, ECKSTEIN, and CASEY,
ex-Poll Collectors, as follows: Morgan, 27 for forgery and 1 for felony; Casey
and Eckstein, The same.
16-M. CASTERA, wife and family, murdered by Muddy
river Indians in San Bernardino county...John MURPHY, foreman of The C.P.R.R.
repair shops, at San Francisco, fell between two cars while in motion and was
fearfully mangled and killed...E.A. VEAZLE, Mayor of San Diego, died of heard
disease.
17-J.D. CUSHEOU, Paymaster of the Third Regiment,
N.G.C., a well-known business man of San Francisco, died...John C.F. WUSTER, an
old citizen of Stockton, died.
18-Judge HOFFMAN, at San Francisco, rendered a
decision favoring the position of German bondholders to throw the California
Pacific Railroad into bankruptcy...Frost and ice at Los Angeles...The Great
Republic arrived at San Francisco from Hongkong, with
532 passengers and 2,200 tons of freight, and brought news that on November 17th
a fire had destroyed 1,100 housed at Yodo.
19-Counterfeiters arrested at San Jose by U.S.
Detective FINNEGASS, with their working materials, etc...The various Posts of
the Grand Army of the Republic in San Francisco consolidated into one...Samuel
T. PERKINS, aged 70, dropped dead in San Francisco.
20-At an inquest held in Nevada county
over the Boca railroad accident the jury severely censured the railroad company
for mismanagement.
21-Tobacco crop destroyed at Los Angeles by the frost;
longest cold term ever known there...Body of John D. BURNS found floating in
the bay at San Francisco...Directors of the State Insane Asylum returned to the
State Treasury $13,513.71, surplus of an appropriation for extending the Asylum
buildings.
22-Rumored that six men had been killed in a row at Panamint...Fire at San Luis Obispo; loss, $50,000.
23- General M.G. COBB shot in the street at San
Francisco by a woman named Hannah SMYTHE, and dangerously wounded.
24-DONOHOUGH, proprietor of the Fioto
Hotel at La Grange, shot and killed by a gambler...Captain Robert HALEY, a
well-known steamboat man of this coast, died.
25-Christmas observed universally in California...B.
LOUIS, a grain-dealer, shot and killed himself in San Francisco...A young man
killed himself by cutting his throat with a razor on the sidewalk on Beale
street in the same city.
Transcribed Betty Loose.
© Copyright 2003-2006 by Nancy Pratt Melton