Santa
Clara County
Biographies
JUDGE LAWRENCE ARCHER
In the annals of Santa Clara county
no name shines with a brighter luster than that of Judge Lawrence Archer, a
resident of San Jose for more than half a century, and for nearly fifty years a
prominent and influential member of the legal fraternity of California. In
political circles, also, he had been an important factor, holding various
offices of trust and responsibility, and filling each and every position with
ability, dignity and integrity. Possessing uncommon personal force, genial wit
and vigorous mental powers, he was a leader among men during his entire active
career, and his popularity was ever unquestioned. A son of John Archer, he was
born November 11, 1820, in Pickensville, S. C., of
English ancestry. A Virginian by birth, John Archer removed to South Carolina
when a young man, and was thereafter employed in agricultural and mercantile
pursuits in different parts of the state, including Abbeville, Greenville and
Pickens. He died in Abbeville county in 1843. His
wife, whose maiden name was Ann Moseley, was born in Virginia, married in
Abbeville district, S. C., and died in 1836. Of the nine children that she bore
her husband, seven grew to years of maturity, Lawrence, the youngest son, being
the only one that ever came to the Pacific coast.
Brought up near Anderson Court
House, S. C., Lawrence Archer attended the local academies, and afterward
studied for a short time at the University of Virginia. Returning to his native
state, he then began the study of law with Armstead
Bert, of Abbeville. Migrating to Yazoo county, Miss., in 1841, he was admitted
to the bar in Benton in 1841, and was there engaged in the practice of his
profession for two years. Being obliged then to go north on account of his
health, Mr. Archer located in St. Joseph, Mo., which was but only a
six-months-old settlement, becoming a pioneer lawyer of that city. In 1848 he
was elected district attorney and served until May, 1852, when he resigned to
come to California. Leaving St. Joseph May 10, 1852, with a party, some of whom
traveled with ox teams, and some on horseback, he came via the South Pass and
the old Truckee route, making a very quick trip, arriving in Sacramento August
20, 1852. Although virtually an invalid, Mr. Archer practiced law in that place
until the following November, when the entire city was nearly destroyed by a
big conflagration. Removing then to San Francisco, he remained there two
months, when, in January, 1853, he took up his residence in San Jose, and has
since been numbered among its most respected and valued citizens. The city was
then at its very worst, the seat of government having been transferred to
Vallejo and later to Sacramento.
Continuing his professional labors,
Mr. Archer met with unquestioned success, being actively identified with the
prominent criminal and civil cases of his day, his practice extending into
Santa Cruz, Monterey, Alameda and San Mateo counties. In local affairs he
rendered excellent service, for two terms being mayor of the city. Elected
county judge, he served from 1868 until 1871, when he resigned on account of
being nominated as congressman for this district, which then included the San
Francisco district and extended to Mexico. The Democratic ticket, on which he
was nominated, was defeated by three thousand votes. During the session of 1875
and 1876 Judge Archer was a representative to the state legislature, and was
chairman of the committee on corporations. In this capacity he prepared a bill
to regulate passenger fares and freight rates, and this, the Archer bill, was a
clear proof to the people that others besides those directly interested in the
transportation of people and freight could intelligently treat the great
question that then confronted the people. The bill was defeated in the senate,
but the subsequent agitation of the problem resulted in the passage of the
railroad commission bill.
In 1867, soon after his return from
New York, where he had spent nearly two years with his family, Judge Archer
began to make extensive improvements on his home estate, and in 1868 erected
his present palatial residence, which, with its beautiful park, is an ornament
of the city and a credit to his good taste. The judge is much interested in
horticulture, and has a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres, adjoining San
Jose, forty acres being devoted to the culture of fruit of different kinds. In
1900 Judge Archer retired from active pursuits, giving up his law practice to
his son, Leo B. Archer, who is proving himself a worthy successor to his
talented and honored father.
Judge Archer was first married in
St. Joseph, Mo., to Louise Martin, who was born in Hamilton county,
Ohio, and brought up in Lafayette, Ind. She died in San Jose, Cal., leaving one
child, Mrs. Louise Kelley of Chicago, Ill. In San Jose, Cal., Judge Archer
married Alice Bethell, a native of Evansville, Ind.
The judge and Mrs. Archer are the parents of two children: Lawrence, a
manufacturer residing in Chicago, Ill.; and Leo B., an attorney in San Jose,
and his father’s successor. In educational matters Judge Archer has always
evinced a warm interest. He was a member of the first board of regents of the
University of California, serving as such for thirteen consecutive years, and
was for many years a member of the board of trustees of the state normal
school, belonging to the board when it established a normal school at Chico. He
is a member of the State Bar Association, and of the Santa Clara County
Pioneer’s Association. In politics he is a Democrat, although not radical in
his views, and has been very prominent in the party ranks. In 1884 he went to Chicago
as a member of the national convention that nominated Grover Cleveland for
president. The judge was a delegate to the Nicaraguan Canal Convention in St.
Louis, and as a representative of the commissioners presented the claims of the
commissioners the same year to the Democratic convention, to which he was a
delegate.
Transcribed By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: History of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast
Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 1285-1286. The
Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Cecelia M. Setty.