Contra
Costa County
Biographies
RANDAL
H. LATIMER
RANDAL H.
LATIMER.
At the time of his arrival in Contra Costa county,
in July of 1878, Mr. Latimer was a young man of twenty-four years,
ambitious, enthusiastic and enterprising.
Since then he has steadily worked his way forward until he has won an
assured rank among the attorneys of this portion of California, and has served
with recognized ability in the office of district
attorney. He is one of the many
progressive citizens whom Missouri has furnished to the Pacific coast. A son of Randal Latimer, he was born in
Saline county, Mo., January 28, 1854, and
received a common school education, supplemented by a complete course in Mount
Pleasant College, where he took special studies in chemistry. After his graduation from college in 1877, he
remained in Missouri for a year, and on the 4th of July, 1878, landed in
California. On the 1st of October, with
his brother, R. K. Latimer, he opened a drug store in Concord, Contra
Costa county.
In the spring of 1879 he purchased his brother’s interest and continued
alone until November, 1880, when he sold the business. His next enterprise was the opening of a drug
store at Walnut Creek, Contra Costa county, and this
he conducted until January, 1883, when he sold out.
In
the meantime Mr. Latimer had become interested in the study of law, which
he believed would prove more congenial than pharmacy. After completing the regular course he was
admitted to the bar August 4, 1884, and soon afterward began practicing at
Walnut Creek, where he built up a growing practice. However, he realized that the county seat
offered better opportunities for a lawyer than any of the outlying villages,
and acting on this belief, in 1886 he moved into Martinez, where he has since
made his home in a residence erected under his supervision. While in Concord he served as justice of the
peace, and in Martinez has served as a notary public. In 1901 he was appointed to fill the unexpired
term of C. T. Brown in the office of district attorney, which position he held
until January, 1903. In his professional
work he is assisted materially by his ability as a writer and speaker, as well
as by the possession of reasoning faculties unusually well developed.
The
marriage of Mr. Latimer united him with Miss Medora Garner, who was
born in Missouri and accompanied her father, Richard Garner, to California,
settling in San Benito county at an early age. The fraternal relations of Mr. Latimer
include membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is past
grand; the Masonic blue lodge; and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, in
which he is past master.
Transcribed by Donna Toole.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 907-908. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Donna Toole.
Contra Costa County Biographies