Los
Angeles County
Biographies
HARRY KING SARGENT
An able member of the Los Angeles
bar, Harry King Sargent has a background of more than thirty-five years of
practical experience as a lawyer, and has also achieved prominence in the field
of science. He was born in the Province
of Nova Scotia on the 19th of November, 1865, a son of the Rev. John
Payne and Elizabeth (King) Sargent. The
father was an archdeacon of the Episcopal Church and lived and died in
Canada. His labors were performed in the
Qu’Appele district, near Regina, in the Province of
Saskatchewan. He settled there in 1880
and was among the first pioneers in church work. His wife passed away in 1908.
Harry K. Sargent was graduated from
the Windsor Academy in 1880 and afterward studied under his father, who was a
professor in Qu’ Appelle
College. As a young man, from 1884 to
1889, he was a member of the Northwest Mounted Police of Canada, and for his
services in the Riel Rebellion was awarded the Victoria service medal. Before the expiration of his enlistment he
attained the rank of sergeant. It is an
interesting fact that for his valorous participation in the Riel Rebellion he
was awarded a bonus of three hundred dollars, which, however, was not paid to
him by the Canadian government until October 17, 1932, forty-seven years after,
and then he received it by official act of the Dominion Parliament. This singular story was featured by the
Associated Press and found its way to a feature place in many of the leading
newspapers of the United States and Canada.
During the time Mr. Sargent was with the Canadian Mounted, and likewise
during his school years previously, he had become interested in the law, and
after he was mustered out he went to Portland, Oregon, and there applied
himself to the study of law. While in Portland
in 1897 he was admitted to the Oregon bar and for twenty years he engaged in
highly successful practice in the Rose City.
In January, 1918, Mr. Sargent came to the city of Los Angeles,
California, was admitted to practice on his certificate, and since has followed
his profession here. He is located at
215 West Fifth Street and has been accorded a liberal clientele, which is
steadily growing in volume and importance.
Studious by nature, he has not only added to his store of legal
learning, but has also acquired a comprehensive knowledge of astronomy,
becoming widely known as a lecturer and writer on that subject. He also corresponds with scientific
societies. In addition to his practice,
he was connected with the Alien Custodian Commissioner during the World War,
faithfully discharging the trust reposed in him.
On August 5, 1899, while a resident
of Portland, Mr. Sargent was married to Miss Florence A. Swope, and they became
the parents of a son, Richard Strong, who met death by drowning at the age of
twenty-six years.
Mr. Sargent is a Republican but has
avoided political office, preferring to discharge the duties and obligations of
citizenship in a private capacity. Along
the scientific lines in which he is interested, he now (1933) holds the
presidency of the Southern California Academy of Sciences. At the time he moved to Oregon, he joined
Portland Lodge, No. 142, B. P. O. E., with which he has been affiliated for
thirty years, and is also past master of James Madison Lodge, No. 572, F. &
A. M. He is a member of the Masonic
Club; the “233 Club,” a Masonic organization of Hollywood, California; the
Astronomical Society of the Pacific; the American Association for the
Advancement of Science; the Los Angeles Bar Association; and the State Bar of
California. Mr. Sargent resides in Los
Angeles at 523 South Rampart Avenue.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. IV, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 205-206, Clarke Publ.,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPIES