Thomas Bard McFarland (April 19, 1828 – September 16, 1908) was a miner, politician and judge in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. He served as a state assemblyman,

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

judge, and 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 ...

Biography

McFarland was born in 1828 near

Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Mercersburg is a borough in Franklin County, located near the southern border of Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is southwest of Harrisburg, the state capital. Due to its location in a rural area, it had a relatively large percentage ...

. He graduated from Marshall College (1846) and soon thereafter studied law with his cousin, Robert M. Bard, in

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the Mas ...

. He was admitted to practice in 1849. Instead of commencing practice, however, he headed to California, arriving September 1850, and was a gold miner for three years. He then opened a law office in Nevada City where he practiced with various partners, including

Addison Niles Addison Cook Niles (July 22, 1832 – January 17, 1890) was an attorney and served as Nevada County judge in California from 1862–1871 and as associate justice on the Supreme Court of California from 1872–1880. Biography A ...

, until 1861. In September 1855, he was elected and served one term in the 1856 term of the California State Assembly from Nevada County (part of today's 1st State Assembly district), running on 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". ...

or American Party ticket. On April 21, 1856, he was admitted to the bar of the California Supreme Court. In 1857, he was nominated by the Know Nothings for

California Attorney General 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 ...

but lost the election. In 1861, he was elected judge of the Fourteenth District Court, in which capacity he served for two terms. After he retired from the bench, he practiced law in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

for the next 12 years, except an interval during which he served as Register of the United States

General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

at Sacramento, accepting this position at the suggestion of

Aaron A. Sargent Aaron Augustus Sargent (September 28, 1827 – August 14, 1887) was an American journalist, lawyer, politician and diplomat. In 1878, Sargent historically introduced what would later become the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Con ...

. In 1879, McFarland served as a member of the convention which framed the existing

Constitution of California The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's original co ...

. On December 18, 1882, he was appointed to fill a two-year vacancy upon the bench of the

Sacramento County Superior Court The Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento, alternatively called the Sacramento County Superior Court, is the California Superior Court located in Sacramento with jurisdiction over Sacramento County. Courthouses Gordon D. Schaber ...

by Governor

George Clement Perkins George Clement Perkins (August 23, 1839February 26, 1923) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Perkins served as the 14th Governor of California from 1880 to 1883, and as United States Senator from Cal ...

. In 1884, McFarland was nominated by the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

and elected for a full term. In November 1886, McFarland was elected on the Republican ticket for a 12-year term as associate justice of the Supreme Court of California, taking his seat in January 1887. In 1898, McFarland was re-elected to the high court despite accusations he favored railroads in his rulings. He sat continuously as an associate justice up to the time of his death, September 16, 1908, a period of over 21 years. In September 1908, 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 from ...

appointed Henry A. Melvin to finish the remainder of McFarland's term until January 1911. McFarland was originally a member of the Whig Party, but joined the

when it was organized.

Civic activities

He sat on the board of education of the city of Sacramento and was a trustee of

Leland Stanford Junior University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

Personal life

McFarland married Susie Briggs at Nevada City in 1861. Briggs' sister was married to Dr.

Robert M. Hunt Robert Menzo Hunt (1828July 15, 1902) was an American physician in the U.S. state of California. Hunt was the first physician to practice medicine in Nevada City. For 44 years, he served as county physician of Nevada County, superintending t ...

who was the first physician to practice medicine in that town, and was a charter member of the California Medical Society. The McFarlands had one child, Jennie.

References

Sources

* * *

External links