Biographies
HON. THOMAS JEFFERSON CLUNIE
The life of Hon. Thomas Jefferson Clunie reads like a romance of the eighteenth century,
and it must be such figures as he that were chosen by Gertrude Atherton and
other writers of California life, when depicting the colorful events of that
period in the state. Born on a sailing vessel off the coast of Newfoundland,
March 25, 1852, his father being a sea captain, he was brought to California
during the fifties by his parents and was educated in the Sacramento public
schools; and after studying law, was admitted to the bar to practice when but
eighteen years of age. The youngest man who ever practiced in the state, he had
three years taken off his minority by a legislative enactment, so that he might
become a lawyer in spite of the law. The legal age for admission being
twenty-one years, young Clunie had a special bill
introduced into the legislature relieving himself of his disabilities as a
minor and allowing him to practice law at the age of eighteen, if he could secure
the necessary license from the supreme court. His
efforts won the passage of a statute by the unanimous vote of both houses,
entitling him to practice law as soon as he might be qualified by an
examination before the supreme court -- the first time
such a thing had been done in the history of California, and it never has been
repeated.
The young barrister immediately began the
practice of law in Sacramento, and he attended strictly to his practice. Of a
pleasing personality, he mixed with the gayest kind of company, but his moral
fiber was of the strongest and he never knew the taste of either liquor or
tobacco, though these virtues were never held up for public administration. He
was a man of abounding vitality and almost boyish spirits, even in mature
years. When twenty-five years of age, his fame as a keen,
dependable lawyer and business man extended up and down the valley, and large
interests were placed confidently in his hands.
In 1875 Mr. Clunie
was elected to the state legislature; he was appointed brigadier-general of the
4th Brigade, California National Guards, in 1876; in 1878 he was a candidate
for Congress, but met with defeat (he was a Democrat in politics). Later he
opened a law office in San Francisco. In 1886 he was elected state senator,
and his election to Congress came in 1888. A fluent speaker, of eloquence and
ability, his services were always at the disposal of his party; he went as a
delegate at large to the national Democratic convention in Chicago, in 1884.
When a boy this eminent man sold papers on
the streets of Sacramento and attended night school to complete his education,
and much of his popularity and renown was due to his ability to see life from
all sides, and to his broad conception of his duty to his fellow-men. He amassed
a fortune during his lifetime, among his realty holdings being the Clunie Opera House of Sacramento, and the Clunie Building of San Francisco. He was an Elk and a
Mason, and was buried with Masonic honors.
Mr. Clunie chose
for his life companion Miss Florence Turton, a native
of Sacramento, the daughter of William Turton, a
pioneer of 1849. Their marriage occurred in Sacramento; and since his death,
June 30, 1903, aged fifty-two years, Mrs. Clunie has
proven herself an able business woman, well fitted to carry on the large
affairs he left in her charge. With the advice and assistance of her two
sisters, the Misses Nellie and Kate Thurton, she has
built and owns the New Clunie Hotel and Theater, on
the corner of K and Eighth Streets, as a monument to her illustrious husband,
and this valuable property is free and clear from debt, an unusual feature in
so large an undertaking.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Reed, G.
Walter, History of Sacramento County,
California With Biographical Sketches, Page 275. Historic Record Company,
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.