Charles Henry Bryan (October 20, 1822 – May 14, 1877) was a politician and jurist 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 ...

, who served as an associate justice of the

California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...

Biography

Bryan was born on October 20, 1822, in

Ellicottville, New York Ellicottville is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 1,317 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Joseph Ellicott, principal land agent of the Holland Land Company. The town of Ellicottville includes ...

. By 1833, the family moved to Ohio. He was well educated and

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

. His father,

John A. Bryan John Alexander Bryan (April 13, 1794 in Berkshire County, Massachusetts – May 24, 1864 in Menasha, Wisconsin) was an American diplomat and politician from New York (state), New York and Ohio. He removed to Ellicottville, New York, and was ...

, was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

diplomat, and his brother-in-law,

John B. Weller John B. Weller (February 22, 1812August 17, 1875) was the fifth governor of California from January 8, 1858 to January 9, 1860 who earlier had served as a congressman from Ohio and a U.S. senator from California, and minister to Mexico. Lif ...

, was a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

and

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

. In September 1851, Bryan ran for District Attorney of

Yuba County Yuba County (; Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 81,575. The county seat is Marysville. Yuba County is included in the Yuba City, California Metropolitan Statistical A ...

against incumbent Jesse O. Goodwin. In June 1852, he was elected a delegate to the state Democratic convention held in

Benicia, California Benicia ( , ) is a waterside city in Solano County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the ...

, on July 20, 1852. In 1854, Bryan was elected as a Democratic member of the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

from the 15th Senatorial district. Afterwards, Governor

John Bigler John Bigler (January 8, 1805November 29, 1871) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat. A Democrat, he served as the third governor of California from 1852 to 1856 and was the first California governor to complete an entire term in office, ...

appointed Bryan as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California to finish the unexpired term of Alexander Wells, which position Bryan held from November 24, 1854, to November 15, 1855. In September 1855, the Democratic Party nominated Bryan for Supreme Court, and the

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

branch of the party nominated

David S. Terry David Smith Terry (March 8, 1823 – August 14, 1889) was an American politician and jurist who served as the fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court of California; he was an author of the state's 1879 Constitution. Terry won a duel aga ...

, who won the election. Both during and after Bryan's court service, he remained active in Democratic Party politics. In June 1855 and September 1856, he was a delegate from Yuba County to the Democratic Party state convention. By August 1858, he had joined the Anti-

Lecompton Democrat The Lecompton Constitution (1859) was the second of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas. Named for the city of Lecompton where it was drafted, it was strongly pro-slavery. It never went into effect. History Purpose The Lecompton Co ...

branch of the party. In June 1859, near the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he attended the Anti-Lecompton Democrat convention, whose factions culminated in the California gubernatorial election, 1859. In 1862, Bryan moved to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, and won a franchise to operate a toll road. In 1863, he was a delegate to the State

Constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

Convention. In November 1864, although a life-long Democrat, he campaigned for the re-election of

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. In May 1864, Bryan's prize thoroughbred, Lodi, won a race at San Jose that established her as the fastest horse in the state. On May 23, 1865, at Ocean Race Course outside San Francisco, he raced Lodi against a challenger, Norfolk, and lost. The race was the subject of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

's short story, "How I Went to the Great Race Between Lodi and Norfolk". Suffering from severe drinking and gambling problems, Bryan left California to live in Utah. In 1871, he lived in

Polk County, Oregon Polk County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 87,433. The county seat is Dallas. The county is named for James Knox Polk, the 11th president of the United States. Polk County ...

, and raised thoroughbred horses, after having won a large contingency fee case there. In 1875, he returned to

Virginia City, Nevada Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Virginia City developed as a boom ...

. He died May 14, 1877, in

Carson City, Nevada Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...

, with no wife or children but survived by a brother, Marshall Bryan, of New York.

References

External links

*
Charles H. Bryan
California Supreme Court Historical Society.

California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Charles H. 1822 births 1877 deaths People from Ellicottville, New York California state senators Politicians from Carson City, Nevada Justices of the Supreme Court of California U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law American jurists California Democrats Nevada Republicans 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers Lawyers from San Francisco Members of the California State Legislature 19th-century American politicians

Biography

See also

References

External links