Alexander Van Rensselaer Paterson
Cropped 1890 image of California Supreme Court Justice A. Van R. Paterson.
Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
In office
December 22, 1886 – May 3, 1894
Appointed byElected
Preceded bySamuel B. McKee
Succeeded byWilliam Cary Van Fleet
Personal details
Born(1849-03-02)March 2, 1849
Ogdensburg, New York, U.S.
DiedJuly 27, 1902(1902-07-27) (aged 53)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Spouse
Amy H. Kelsey
​
(m. 1880)​
Alma materAlbany Normal College (B.A.)
Union College (LL.B.)

Alexander Van Rensselaer Paterson (March 2, 1849 – July 27, 1902) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from December 22, 1886 to May 3, 1894.[1][2][3]

Biography

Born in Ogdensburg, New York, Paterson moved with his family to Ohio as child. He was educated at St. Lawrence Academy.[4] He graduated from Albany Normal College in 1872 and thereafter received an LL.B. from Union College. He then moved to Stockton, California to enter into the practice of law.[5][6]

In Stockton, Paterson held a series of public offices. In 1878 and 1879, he ran on the Citizens' Party ticket and was elected City Attorney of Stockton.[7] He resigned from that office to accept the nomination for judge of San Joaquin County Superior Court, and he was elected. In 1884, he was re-elected as judge.[8][9]

In August 1886, the Republican Party nominated Paterson, along with Thomas Bard McFarland and Noble Hamilton, as Associate Justices of the California Supreme Court, and Paterson and McFarland were elected to 12-year terms.[10][11][12] When Paterson took his seat in January 1887, Frank T. Baldwin was appointed to Paterson's vacant position on the Superior Court.[13] On the Supreme Court in 1888, Niles Searls was Chief Justice, while Paterson sat in Department One with Elisha W. McKinstry and Jackson Temple, while Department Two was composed of James D. Thornton, John Sharpstein, and McFarland.[14] In 1899, William H. Beatty replaced Searls as Chief Justice, and John D. Works took the seat of McKinstry in Department One.[15]

On May 3, 1894, Paterson resigned from the court to resume the practice or law in San Francisco with partner Arthur Rodgers in the firm of Paterson and Rodgers.[16] In March 1898, the remaining member, Judge Charles W. Slack of the San Francisco County Superior Court, resigned from the bench and joined the firm.[17][18][19] Paterson's notable cases as counsel include the James Graham Fair will contest, where he was appointed by the court as the representative of the minor heirs.[20][21] He was also the attorney for Clara Kluge Sutro in the contest which was made over the estate left by Adolph Sutro.[22]

Paterson remained involved in civic matters. In January 1899, his name was put forward for United States Senator by the California Legislature.[5][23] In February 1899, he helped draft a bill for the Legislature to create the district courts of appeal to reduce the Supreme Court's workload.[24]

Personal life

On May 5, 1880, while practicing law in Stockton, he married Amy H. Kelsey, with whom he had three surviving children: Kelsey, Majorie, and Ogden Paterson.[25][4] Paterson died at his residence at 1926 Octavia street, following a six month bout of liver disease.[5][26]

References

  1. ↑ "Supreme Court Resignation, Justice Van R. Paterson of the Supreme Bench Reslgns". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 87, no. 57. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 28 April 1894. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  2. ↑ "From the Bench: Supreme Justice Paterson Resigns". San Francisco Call. Vol. 75, no. 139. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 28 April 1894. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Justice Van R. Paterson of the State Supreme Court Has Resigned". Red Bluff Daily News. No. 102. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 29 April 1894. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Johnson, J. Edward (1963). History of the California Supreme Court: The Justices 1850-1900, vol 1 (PDF). San Francisco, CA: Bender Moss Co. pp. 146–148. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 "Judge Van R. Paterson Passes Away Surrounded By His Family", San Francisco Call, Volume 87, Number 58 (July 28, 1902).
  6. ↑ "A Good Man is Dead, Former Justice of the Supreme Court Passes Away". Press Democrat. No. 245. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 29 July 1902. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Pacific Coast News, Stockton Municipal Elections". Los Angeles Herald. Vol. 9, no. 136. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 8 May 1878. p. 2. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Social and Personal". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Vol. 2, no. 7. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 15 July 1885. p. 3. Retrieved August 22, 2017. Judge Van R. Paterson, of Stockton.
  9. ↑ "Carpenter Will Case is Finally Settled". San Francisco Call. Vol. 84, no. 158. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 5 November 1898. p. 2. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Republican State Ticket". Sausalito News. Vol. 2, no. 33. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 23 September 1886. p. 3. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  11. ↑ "City Official Canvas". Daily Alta California. Vol. 41, no. 13600. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 24 November 1886. p. 1. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  12. ↑ "The Supreme Court, From Chief Justice Hastings to Chief Justice Beatty". San Francisco Call. Vol. 78, no. 22. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 22 June 1895. p. 5. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Death of Judge Baldwin". San Francisco Call. Vol. 83, no. 5. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 5 December 1897. p. 3. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Supreme Court". Healdsburg Tribune, Enterprise and Scimitar. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 28 July 1888. p. 1. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Supreme Court Judges". Healdsburg Tribune, Enterprise and Scimitar. No. 25. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 7 September 1889. p. 1. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Supreme Court Resignation". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 87, no. 57. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 28 April 1894. p. 4. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Judge Slack Resigns, He Will Leave the Bench to Engage in the General Practice of the Law". San Francisco Call. Vol. 83, no. 117. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 27 March 1898. p. 7. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  18. ↑ Zook, Edgar T. (March 1946). "Charles W. Slack, 1858-1945". California Historical Society Quarterly. 25 (1): 87–89. doi:10.2307/25155960. JSTOR 25155960.
  19. ↑ "Professor Charles W. Slack". San Francisco Call. Vol. 70, no. 151. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 29 October 1891. p. 1. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Paterson Is Guardian". San Francisco Call. Vol. 79, no. 169. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 17 May 1896. p. 32. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Van R. Paterson Asks for $10,000 From the Fair Estate". San Francisco Call. Vol. 86, no. 83. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 24 August 1899. p. 13. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Battle is On for Sutro's Millions". San Francisco Call. Vol. 84, no. 148. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 26 October 1898. p. 9. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  23. ↑ "They Vote for Senator". Marin Journal. Vol. 38, no. 44. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 12 January 1899. p. 2. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Relief for Overworked Supreme Court Justices". San Francisco Call. Vol. 85, no. 71. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 9 February 1899. p. 7. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Married". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 11, no. 72. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 14 May 1880. p. 4. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  26. ↑ "A Good Man is Dead, Former Supreme Court Justice Passes Away". Press Democrat. No. 245. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 29 July 1902. p. 1. Retrieved August 22, 2017.

See also

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