San
Joaquin County
Biographies
HON. BRADFORD S. CRITTENDEN
Among the enterprising citizens of
the busy and rapidly expanding city of Tracy, is the Hon. Bradford S.
Crittenden. He is a member of the
representative law firm of Crittenden & Hench, both of whom are authorities
on irrigation laws. A native of Ohio, he
was born in the vicinity of Olmsted Falls, on January 20, 1876. His father, Samuel Crittenden, was a pioneer
of the golden west, whose ancestry dates back to colonial days. In 1891 the family removed to Merced County
and located on a ranch in the Cottonwood district. Samuel Crittenden married Miss Lemira Bradford, a direct descendent of the historic
Governor Bradford of Massachusetts. Mr.
and Mrs. Samuel Crittenden reside in San Jose, California, and he is a
prominent member of the G. A. R. of that city.
Bradford S. attended the Newman
grammar school, which he successfully finished in 1893. The hardships which befell the ranchers on
the west side during several of the years following made it imperative that he
do his share of ranch work, and consequently his education was obtained through
hard work and sacrifice, but he was enabled to attend, at broken intervals, the
Academy of the Pacific at San Jose. His
vacations were spent doing a man’s work in the grain fields on the Crittenden
ranch, as well as other hard work; 450 acres of the original tract are still
owned and operated by Mr. Crittenden, but improved methods are used their
cultivation. He entered the College of
the Pacific in San Jose and was graduated from that institution in 1903 with a
B. L. degree; then entered the University of California and in 1907 received
his B. A. degree, having completed his work with Dr. Taylor, in charge of the
Hastings Law School, which was at that time connected with the University of
California. On May 20, 1907, he was
admitted to the bar and was also honored with a Master’s degree by the College
of the Pacific. Mr. Crittenden then
opened law offices in San Francisco and engaged in general law practice; and
for a time maintained offices in San Jose.
The marriage of Mr. Crittenden
occurred in San Jose and united him with Miss Edith McChesney,
a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. C. McChesney, who
settled in San Jose in 1891. Mrs. McChesney was closely related to the late George Kasson, an
extensive land owner of the San Joaquin Valley, located on the lower west
side. Mr. McChesney
was the executor of this large estate and Mr. Crittenden became his legal
advisor; the estate consisting of some 6,000 acres of land. Mr. McChesney
passed away in 1918, his wife surviving him one year. He was born in Ohio, while his wife, whose
maiden name was Martha E. Cowdery, was born in New
York, where she was also married. Upon
coming to California the parents settled at San Jose, and there Mrs. Crittenden
attended both the Academy and the College of the Pacific, where she became
acquainted with Mr. Crittenden. She
graduated from the conservatory of music of the College of the Pacific, and was
thereupon engaged as teacher of the piano at her alma mater for two years
before her marriage. Two children have
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Crittenden:
Edith Eudora and Bradford M.
During 1915 Mr. Crittenden located in Tracy and one year later brought
his family from San Jose. His intention
was to devote his entire time to his ranch work; but realizing the
opportunities of this growing and prosperous community he formed a legal
partnership with George M. Hench, a former colleague. In August, 1917, they succeeded the law firm
of Neumiller & Ditz as legal advisors of the West
Side Irrigation District; they are also attorneys for the Naglee-Burk
Irrigation District, a corporation comprising some 3,000 acres near Tracy; they
handled all matters pertaining to the bond issue for the West Side Irrigation
District. This able lawyer is also
attorney and assistant manager for the River View Land & Water Company,
owning extensive property between Banta and old San Joaquin City, a few miles
east of Tracy, which includes an irrigation system and power plant. Mr. Crittenden personally owns a tract of 800
acres on the San Joaquin River, near Banta, 300 acres of which were reclaimed
by leveling, and on which large crops of barley have been produced. Nearly $10,000 has been spent in improvements.
In politics, Mr. Crittenden has
always been a staunch Republican and during 1918 he was appointed city attorney
of Tracy; and is also a member of the Assembly for the nineteenth district and
is serving on a number of important committees with efficiency and
capability. Fraternally he is an active
member of the Masonic Blue Lodge, Council, Commandery and Shrine, his
membership in the latter being in Islam Temple, San Francisco, and he belongs
to the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias of Tracy. Mr. and Mrs. Crittenden are members of the
Methodist Church of Tracy and have contributed generously to all branches of
that organization. Mrs. Crittenden is
the president of the Woman’s Club of Tracy.
She has extensive property interests in San Jose, California, which are
personally looked after by Mr. Crittenden; while socially always a favorite,
she is a prominent member of the Pal’s Club at the state capital. During the World War, Mr. Crittenden was
active in all the war drives and served as president of the entire committee
and was a prominent “four-minute man.”
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
803. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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