Elisha Oscar Crosby (July 18, 1818 - June 25, 1895) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat. He served as a 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 1849 to 1852. As a state senator, he served as chair of the Judiciary Committee, and in that capacity prepared the committee report resulting in the enactment of a

reception statute A reception statute is a statutory law adopted as a former British colony becomes independent by which the new nation adopts, or receives, the English common law before its independence to the extent not explicitly rejected by the legislative body ...

by which the newly formed state of

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 ...

adopted the common law as the basis for its legal system. He served as the United States Minister Resident to Guatemala from 1861 to 1864. By the 1870s, he settled in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda (island), Alam ...

, where he became a justice of peace.

References

1818 births 1895 deaths Politicians from Ithaca, New York California state senators California lawyers Ambassadors of the United States to Guatemala California pioneers 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers {{California-CASenate-stub