Tuolumne
County
Biographies
THOMAS CAROLUS BIRNEY
While the disposition to do honor to
those who have served well their race or their nation is prevalent among all
enlightened people and is of great value everywhere and under all forms of
government, it is particularly appropriate to, and to be fostered in, this
country, where no man is born to public office or to public honor, or comes to
either by inheritance, but where all men are equal before the law, where the race
for distinction is over the road of public usefulness and is open to everyone
who chooses to enter, however humble and obscure he may be, and where the advantageous circumstances of family
wealth count, in the vast majority of cases, for but little or nothing. According to a true democratic doctrine they
should never for anything at all. Under
our system, whose very existence depends upon the virtue of the people
themselves, who are not only the source of all political power but on whom also
depends the very existence of our free institutions, those who have
distinguished themselves in the public service, whether in statesmanship or in
arms or in whatever sphere of usefulness, should not fail of recognition. Mr. Birney has long been an active factor in
the public life of California and has left the impress of his individuality
upon the legislation of the state. His
residence in Tuolumne County dates from 1857, and through the intervening years
he has ever labored for the welfare of his community and of the entire
commonwealth.
A native of Ohio, Thomas Carolus Birney was born in Cuyahoga County on the 17th
of March, 1835. His father, Timothy
Birney, was a native of County Down, Ireland, and obtained his education in
that country. When nineteen years of age
he crossed the Atlantic to Canada, but after a short time he removed to Ohio,
where he found and married Miss Jane Carroll, a native of Westmeath,
Ireland. In 1842 they removed to
Livingston County, Michigan, the father purchasing a farm in that locality,
upon which he spent his remaining days.
He lived to be over eighty years of age, and his wife passed the
eighty-fourth milestone in life’s journey.
In 1852 he had visited California, making the journey by way of the
Isthmus of Panama. He was accompanied by
his two sons, Timothy and Charles, and in his mining ventures met with a fair
degree of success. After some time he
returned to his farm in the east, taking with him gold enough to gain a good
start in business. Eight sons and two
daughters were born to this marriage, but only three of the number is now
living, and Thomas C. Birney is the only representative of the family in
California.
As stated Mr. Birney came to
California in 1857 and worked in the different mining camps until 1863, meeting
with only moderate success. In the fall
of that year he was elected district assessor on the Democratic ticket and so
capably filled the office that he was re-elected and served for four years. He was then chosen as tax collector of
revenue district No. 2 in Tuolumne County, and later, by popular suffrage, was
made county assessor, in which position he served with credit to himself and
satisfaction to this constituents until the fall of 1875. He was continued in that office altogether
for six years, or until, December, 1875, when he resigned, having been elected
a member of the state legislature. He
represented his county in the general assembly in a creditable manner, devoting
his best efforts to the welfare of the community and for the advancement of the
social, moral, material and political interests of the state.
For some time Mr. Birney was engaged
in the lumber business, and in 1878 he became connected with quartz mining,
which industry proved to him a gratifying source of income. He opened the Keltz
mine and took out considerable gold, and then sold his interest for three
thousand dollars, after which he prospected for a time. In 1881 he was again elected to the
legislature and served during the regular session and a special term. He has always been an active member of the
Democratic Party, attending its conventions and doing everything in his power
to advance its success along legitimate lines.
His prominence as a political leader is well merited, for he has a
thorough understanding of the issues before the people and his patriotic spirit
is well known. With local interests he
is actively and deeply interested in securing a successful termination of all
movements that are inaugurated. He is
now serving as the president of the Tuolumne County Agricultural Association
and is devoting much of his time toward the conduct of creditable county
fairs. He is also a representative of
the mining interests, having been one of the heavy stockholders in the Ham &
Birney mine, in which he did considerable development work and then sold the
mine for fifteen thousand dollars. He is
now a half-owner of the Bald Mountain mine and part owner and lessee of the Tansey mine, both of which he is operating, maintaining his
residence at Sawmill Flat in order to be near his mining interests. He also has a good home in Sonora.
In 1869 Mr. Birney was united in
marriage to Mrs. Catherine Smith, whose maiden name was Boyle. She is a native of New York and by her former
marriage had a son who has been adopted by the subject of this review, and is
now known as E. G. Birney, an active businessman of Sonora.
Mr. Birney has been a valued member
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for the past thirty years, representing
both the subordinate lodge and the encampment.
While undoubtedly he has not been without that honorable ambition which
is so powerful and useful as an incentive to activity in public affairs he has
ever regarded the pursuits of private life as being in themselves abundantly
worthy of his best efforts. He has
subordinated public ambition to public good and has sought the benefit of
others rather than the aggrandizement of self.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 249-251. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.