Ralph Emerson Twitchell (1859–1925) was an American attorney,

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

, and politician who served as the mayor of

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

and chairman of the Rio Grande Commission, which drafted a treaty between the United States and Mexico leading to the building of the

Elephant Butte Dam Elephant Butte Dam or Elephant Butte Dike, originally Engle Dam, is a concrete gravity dam on the Rio Grande near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. The dam impounds Elephant Butte Reservoir, which is used mainly for agriculture but also provides ...

. Twitchell helped organize the first

National Irrigation Congress The National Irrigation Congress was held periodically in the Western United States beginning in 1891 and ending in 1916, by which time the organization had changed its name to International Irrigation Congress. It was a "powerful pressure group." ...

in 1891. He designed the first

Flag of New Mexico The official flag of New Mexico consists of a Gules, red sun symbol of the Zia people (New Mexico), Zia people on a field of Or (heraldry), gold (yellow). It was officially adopted in 1925 to highlight the state's Native Americans in the United St ...

in 1915.

Early life and education

Ralph Emerson Twitchell was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to David Sawin and Delia Scott Twitchell. He received his Bachelor's degree from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

and his

L.L.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 ...

from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

Career

He first moved to New Mexico Territory in 1882, settling in

Las Vegas, New Mexico Las Vegas is a city in and the county seat of San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities (one a city and the other a town), both were named Las Vegas—West Las Vegas ("Old Town") and East Las Vegas ("New Town" ...

to work in the law office of Henry L. Waldo. For forty-three years Twitchell worked in the legal department of the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

. He was prosecuting attorney for

Santa Fe County Santa Fe County ( es, Condado de Santa Fe; meaning ''Holy faith'' in Spanish) is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 144,170, making it New Mexico's third-most populous county, after Bernalillo Cou ...

and special counsel for the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

, specializing in Native American and

water rights Water right in water law refers to the right of a user to use water from a water source, e.g., a river, stream, pond or source of groundwater. In areas with plentiful water and few users, such systems are generally not complicated or contentiou ...

cases."Former Mayor of Santa Fe Called," ''Los Angeles Times,'' August 27, 1925, page A-1
''Access to this link may require the use of a library card.''

Personal life

In 1885, he married Margaret Olivia Collins. He died August 25, 1925, at the age of 68 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

."California Death Index, 1905-1939," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKSM-NQ94 : 8 November 2017), Ralph E Twitchell, 26 Aug 1925; citing 37335, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento; FHL microfilm 1,686,047.

Bibliography

* * * ''Old Santa Fe'' *

References

External links

Twitchell, Ralph Emerson
* 1859 births 1925 deaths Mayors of Santa Fe, New Mexico New Mexico lawyers American historians United States Department of the Interior officials New Mexico Republicans Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway people People from Las Vegas, New Mexico University of Kansas alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni 19th-century American lawyers {{NewMexico-mayor-stub