Henry Alexander Melvin (September 28, 1865 – April 24, 1920) was an associate justice of the

Supreme Court of California 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 ...

from September 28, 1908 to December 1920.

Biography

Melvin was born at

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, on September 28, 1865, to Samuel and Sarah Melvin, the youngest of four children. In 1874, when he was nine years old, his family moved from Illinois to

St. Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...

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 1878, his parents moved to

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

where his father, a retired medical practitioner, opened a pharmacy. Henry attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, while assisting his father to earn his school fees, graduating with a

B.Phil. Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's d ...

in 1889. In April 1890, he was elected census marshal by the Oakland Board of Education. Melvin then enrolled in

Hastings College of Law The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California ...

, receiving his

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree in 1892. While a student, he was elected and served as the Justice of the Peace of Brooklyn Township in

Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and List ...

. In 1893, Melvin became the assistant

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 ...

of Alameda County. The next year in 1894, he accepted a five-year term to serve as Prosecuting Attorney for the City of Oakland. He returned to Alameda County to serve as Chief Deputy District Attorney, except for a period of three months when he was acting Deputy

Attorney General of California The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...

. In 1901, Melvin accepted the position of Superior Court Judge of Alameda county. In November 1902, he was elected to a full term. In 1904, the Legislature approved creation of the Courts of Appeal and Melvin was considered for one of the seats in the Second District but not chosen by Governor

George Pardee George Cooper Pardee (July 25, 1857 – September 1, 1941) was an American doctor of medicine and politician. As the 21st Governor of California, holding office from January 7, 1903, to January 9, 1907, Pardee was the second native-born Californ ...

. In September 1908, Melvin was nominated by the Republican Party and appointed by Governor

James Gillett James Norris Gillett (September 20, 1860 – April 20, 1937) was an American lawyer and politician. A Republican involved in federal and state politics, Gillett was elected both a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California fr ...

as an associate justice of the

. He succeeded Thomas B. McFarland, who had died in office. In November 1910, Melvin was re-elected at expiration of McFarland's term to a 12-year term. On April 24, 1920, Melvin died while in office. In May 1920, his seat on the court was filled by appointment of William A. Sloane by Governor William Stephens for the term ending January 1923.

Clubs

Melvin was a member of the

Bohemian Club The Bohemian Club is a private club with two locations: a city clubhouse in the Nob Hill district of San Francisco, California and the Bohemian Grove, a retreat north of the city in Sonoma County. Founded in 1872 from a regular meeting of journal ...

. He was also a member of the Elks, and a bass singer who performed in church and club events.

Personal life

On June 14, 1893, he married Sarah Louise Morse of

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. He was survived by a son.

References

External links

Henry A. Melvin
California Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved July 18, 2017.

California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Melvin, Henry Justices of the Supreme Court of California 1865 births 1920 deaths People from Springfield, Illinois Lawyers from Oakland, California University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Hastings College of the Law alumni Superior court judges in the United States 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers California state court judges American jurists American politicians who committed suicide California Republicans 19th-century American lawyers

Biography

Clubs

Personal life

See also

References

External links