Cameron Erskine Thom (June 20, 1825 – February 2, 1915) was a lawyer, a legislator, a Confederate officer in the Civil War and the 16th mayor of Los Angeles, California, from 1882 to 1884.

Personal

Thom was born in

Culpeper County, Virginia Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is Culp ...

, or in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, on June 20, 1825, the son of John Thom, who had been an officer in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

and for 30 years was a Virginia state senator. Cameron was educated in private schools in Virginia and was graduated from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, where he earned a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

.Clare Wallace, Los Angeles Public Library reference file, 1938, with sources as listed there
/ref>"Useful Hands, Brain Stilled," ''Los Angeles Times,'' February 3, 1915, page II-3
/ref> After university, Thom traveled west in a caravan of some 40 young men and arrived in Sacramento in 1849. He gathered gold on the South Fork of the American River, in

Amador County Amador County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,474. The county seat is Jackson. Amador County, located within California's Gold Country, is known as "The ...

, then settled in Sacramento to open a

law office A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

. Thom served in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. He was wounded at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

and ended the war as a captain. Thom was married twice, first in 1858 to Susan Henrietta Hathwell, and then, after Susan's death in 1862, to her sister, Belle Cameron Hathwell, in 1874. He had four children, Cameron DeHart, Charles Catesby, Erskine Pembroke and Belle (Mrs. Arthur Collins of London, England). Thom died on February 2, 1915, at the age of 89. A funeral service in his home at 2070 West Adams Street attracted a "company of several hundred persons," including representatives of the

Society of Colonial Wars The Society of Colonial Wars is a hereditary society composed of men who trace their descents from forebears who, in military, naval, or civil positions of high trust and responsibility, by acts or counsel, assisted in the establishment, defense, ...

, of which he was a founder and

charter member A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

Interment Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

was in Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles.

Vocation

Thom arrived in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1849 during the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

and after a few years of successful mining, he studied law in Sacramento. In fall 1853 he moved to San Francisco, where he worked as a deputy agent for the United States Land Commission, and then to Los Angeles, where he had a similar job. Shortly after arriving, he was appointed Los Angeles County district attorney, and he later won the office in an election. He was also elected Los Angeles city attorney for the 1856–58 term. In 1859–60 Thom was

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

from

California's 1st State Senate district California's 1st State Senate District is one of 40 California State Senate districts. Republican Brian Dahle represents the district, having won the seat in a June 2019 special election after Republican Ted Gaines of El Dorado Hills resigned to ...

, and he was Los Angeles County

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

from 1854 to 1857, from 1869 to 1873 and from 1877 to 1879. He was mayor of Los Angeles from 1882 to 1884, and he was on the Board of Freeholders that framed the first

city charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charter ...

for L.A.

City of Glendale

The land case known as "The Great Partition" of 1871 resulted in the division of

Rancho San Rafael Rancho San Rafael was a Spanish land grant in the San Rafael Hills, bordering the Los Angeles River and the Arroyo Seco in present-day Los Angeles County, southern California, given in 1784 to Jose Maria Verdugo. Geography The rancho includes t ...

into thirty-one sections which were given to twenty-eight different people including for Thom. The land belonging to

Prudent Beaudry Prudent may refer to: *Prudent (name) Ships: * HMS ''Prudent'', a Royal Navy third-rate ship of the line * USS ''Prudent'' (PG-96), a US Navy gunboat * French ship ''Prudent'', a French third-rate ship of the line burned at the Siege of Louisbou ...

, Alfred Chapman,

Andrew Glassell Andrew Glassell Jr. (September 30, 1827 – January 28, 1901) was a Los Angeles real estate attorney and investor. He may be best known as one of the founders of the city of Orange, California. Early life Glassell was born as Andrew Glas ...

and Thom evolved into

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

. Thom, Harry J. Crow, and Thom's nephew,

Erskine Mayo Ross Erskine Mayo Ross (June 30, 1845 – December 10, 1928) was an American attorney and jurist from California. He served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and of the United States Circuit C ...

, along with B. F. Patterson and B. T. Byram, were responsible for the creation of the city of Glendale in 1887.John Calvin Sherer, 1922, ''History of Glendale and Vicinity'', The Glendale Publishing Company (1922).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thom, Cameron E. 1825 births 1915 deaths Mayors of Los Angeles History of Los Angeles California state senators Los Angeles City Attorneys District attorneys in California People of Virginia in the American Civil War Burials at Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles 19th-century American politicians People from West Adams, Los Angeles 19th-century American lawyers People from Culpeper County, Virginia University of Virginia alumni Lawyers from Sacramento, California