Nevada
County
Biographies
JOHN R. TYRRELL
John R. Tyrrell, whose name is found
on the roll of leading law practitioners of Nevada County and among the
representative citizens of Grass Valley, is a native of England, his birth
having occurred in the town of Hale, on the 30th of January,
1868. His father, Samuel Tyrrell, was
also a native of England and at an early age learned the blacksmith’s trade,
which he followed throughout his entire life.
He came to American in 1868, and for a time was engaged as a mine
machinist at Virginia City, Nevada, after which he came to Grass Valley, making
a permanent location at this point. His
wife and family joined him a year or two later and he was continuously employed
as foreman blacksmith in this section of the sate up to the time of his death,
which occurred July 10, 1890. His wife, whose maiden name was Alice Jones, was also of English
birth, her parents being James and Jane (Oliver) Jones. On the paternal side the ancestry can be
traced back to the Welsh and for many generations representatives of the name
were wholesale merchants in Wales. The Oliver family belonged to the French
nobility and held large landed estates in France.
John R. Tyrell was the third of the
family of five children, all of whom are yet living. He was reared and educated in Nevada County,
pursuing a commercial course in a business college at San Francisco. He served an apprenticeship as a machinist in
the Union Iron Works in that city, but during that time devoted all his leisure
hours to the study of law, after the work of the day was done, for it was his
desire and intention to become a member of the legal fraternity. The acquisition of knowledge in this way
prepared him to enter Hastings Law College, but circumstances intervened to
prevent him from carrying out his plans and he returned to Grass Valley, where
for two years he was engaged successfully in dealing in hay and grain; however,
he never abandoned his plan of becoming a member of the bar and worked
continually to that end. In 1893, under
the new charter of Grass Valley, he was elected a justice of the peace and
police judge for a period of four years, and in the prosecution of his duty he
found an excellent opportunity to continue his law studies. Improving every spare moment, after holding
the office for a year he passed a creditable exam before the Supreme Court and
was admitted to practice in 1895, since which time he has been a member of the
Grass Valley bar. A close student, he
has a comprehensive knowledge of the various branches of jurisprudence and has
been very successful in conducting criminal as well as civil cases. He prepares himself with great thoroughness
and precision, and when before a court or jury is ready to meet every possible
attack and to give his authority for the position which he takes concerning
litigated interests. There has come to
him a liberal patronage and he is now occupying a position of distinctive
preferment in connection with the bar of his adopted county. Mr. Tyrell is also interested in mining, and
at the time of this writing is associated in the work of developing the old
Lincoln mine, of which he is now the owner, under the name of the Independent
mine, which promises to become a very valuable property in the near future.
Mr. Tyrrell has also been
prominently connected with the military companies of Grass Valley and for
several years he was a member of the California National Guard. During the Spanish-American War he held the
rank of first lieutenant of the Eighth Regiment of California Volunteers, and
remained in active service during the war.
Politically he is a staunch and steadfast Republican and has rendered
his party valuable service as a member of the county central committee, for
which he was the secretary for four years.
He was elected a state senator at the last election to represent the
people of the third senatorial district, comprising the counties of Nevada,
Sierra, and Plumas, by the largest majority ever received by any candidate for
that office, and in his own county (Nevada) he ran over four hundred ahead of his
ticket, thus confirming his position as a popular honorable young man,
appreciated by the people. His term of
office will expire December, 1904. The
cause of education finds in him a warm friend and he is now a member of the school
board, and formerly served as secretary of the board of school trustees. Popular in fraternal circles, he is
identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of San Francisco, the
Knights of Pythias of Auburn, the Ancient Order of Foresters of Grass Valley,
the B. P. O. E., of Grass Valley, and the Improved Order of Red Men, also of
Grass Valley. In the last named he has
filled all the offices, and is now one of the leading grand officers of that
lodge.
Mr. Tyrrell was united in marriage
on the 3rd of September, 1889, to an estimable young lady, Miss
Minnie M. Harding, a daughter of Samuel Harding, one of California’s prosperous
farmers who came to the Pacific coast from the Blue Grass state. They have an interesting family of three
bright sons, Samuel E., John B., and Park S.
For all these years Mr. Tyrrell has been to the people of Grass Valley
the personification of honor and honesty in all life’s relations and his public
service has been most commendable. He
holds friendship inviolate and in business life he is most true and faithful to
the trusts commended to his care. He has
reached a position of prominence and influence as a citizen and lawyer with which a much older man might well be satisfied.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 350-351. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Nevada County Biographies