Solomon Heydenfeldt (1816 – September 15, 1890) was an American attorney who was an associate justice of the California Supreme Court from 1852 to 1857. He was the second Jewish justice of the court, after

Henry A. Lyons Henry Augustus Lyons (October 5, 1809 – July 27, 1872) was the second Chief Justice of California, appointed to the court by the California State Legislature at the formation of the state. He was the first Jewish justice on the court. Ba ...

, but was the first elected by direct vote of the people.

Biography

In 1816, Heydenfeldt was born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. He read law in the offices of

William F. De Saussure William Ford De Saussure (February 22, 1792March 13, 1870) was a United States senator from South Carolina. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Charleston, the son of Henry William de Saussure and Elizabeth Ford De Saussure. Legal career He g ...

, a son of the noted Chancellor Henry William de Saussure. In 1837, at 21 years of age, Heydenfeldt moved to Russell County and Tallapoosa County, Alabama. There, he was admitted to the state bar, practiced law, and in 1841 served as a judge. In 1850, he moved to California and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

. In 1851, his brother, Elcan Heydenfeldt, served as President pro tempore of the California State Senate, and Solomon unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination to the United States Senate. In October 1851, he ran against Whig Party candidate, Tod Robinson, to fill the seat of Serranus Clinton Hastings, and won a six year term. Heydenfeldt's notable opinions include ''Irwin v. Phillips'', which established the doctrine of

prior appropriation Prior appropriation: In water rights, the legal doctrine of prior appropriation holds that the first person to take a quantity of water from a water source for " beneficial use" (agricultural, industrial or household) has the right to continue to ...

in western water law jurisprudence. In March 1852, he returned to Alabama to visit his family, and his absence from the state led to a court opinion on whether his seat was "vacant". On January 6, 1857, he stepped down from the bench, and joined Vermont-born brothers

Oscar L. Shafter Oscar Lovell Shafter (October 19, 1812 – January 22, 1873) was an American attorney and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California from January 2, 1864, to December 11, 1867. Biography Shafter was born in Athens, Vermont to Mary and ...

and James McMillan Shafter in forming the law firm of Shafter, Shafter, Park and Heydenfeldt, along with Trevor Park, in San Francisco. While in private practice, Heydenfeldt argued before the California Supreme Court in ''Ex Parte Newman'' (1858), where he successfully defended a Jewish man's right to work on Sunday. In 1862, during the Civil War, he refused on principle to take a

test oath A loyalty oath is a pledge of allegiance to an organization, institution, or state of which an individual is a member. In the United States, such an oath has often indicated that the affiant has not been a member of a particular organization ...

for lawyers of loyalty to the Union cause (as did Virginia-born

James D. Thornton James Dabney Thornton (January 19, 1823 – September 27, 1902) was an American lawyer and judge who served as associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from 1880 to 1891. Early life and education Thornton was born January 19, 1823, a ...

), which led to his semi-retirement from the Bar.

Civic activities

Heydenfeldt helped found the first free kindergarten in San Francisco, along with New York professor Felix Adler.

Personal life

He married twice: first, in Alabama, to Catherine Heydenfeldt, who died July 3, 1887, and then, in California, to Elisabeth A. Heydenfeldt, who survived him. He had ten children. His son, Solomon, graduated from

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

and in October 1872 became an attorney, and his nephew, Walter P. Levy, was a judge of the

San Francisco Superior Court The Superior Court of California of the County of San Francisco is the Superior Courts of California, state superior court with jurisdiction over the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco. History In 1976 the Court helped to create the ...

References

External links

Solomon Heydenfeldt
California Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved July 18, 2017.

California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Heydenfeldt, Solomon 1816 births 1890 deaths Lawyers from Charleston, South Carolina 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American judges Justices of the Supreme Court of California Superior court judges in the United States U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Jewish American attorneys Lawyers from San Francisco California Democrats

Biography

Civic activities

Personal life

See also

References

External links