Walter Van Dyke (October 8, 1823 – December 25, 1905) was a

Los Angeles County Superior Court The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Los Angeles County, which includes the city of Los Angeles. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The ...

judge and a justice of the

California Supreme Court 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 ...

in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Biography

Van Dyke was born on October 8, 1823, in Tyre, Seneca County, New York. He studied law in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, from 1846 to 1848 and crossed the

plains In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands. In ...

in 1849, remaining a short time in Los Angeles and then moving to

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. In 1853, he settled in Humboldt County, and was elected to the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

. He practiced law and was

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 ...

there in 1854. In 1861, he was elected to 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 ...

, serving in the 1862 and 1863 sessions, where he helped organize the state's Republican Party. He edited the ''

Humboldt Times The ''Times-Standard'' is the only major local daily newspaper covering the far North Coast of California. Headquartered in Eureka, the paper provides coverage of international, national, state and local news in addition to entertainment, sports, ...

'' until 1863, then moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In 1868, he was an alternate elector to 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 ...

national convention for President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

. From 1874 to 1877, Van Dyke was

United States attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for California, and was elected a delegate to the

California Constitutional Convention The California Constitutional Conventions were two separate constitutional conventions that took place in California during the nineteenth century which led to the creation of the modern Constitution of California. The first, known as the 1849 ...

in 1878. In 1884, Van Dyke moved to

Los Angeles 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' ...

, and practiced in the firm of Wells, Van Dyke & Lee. In 1888, he was elected a

in Department Four, and in 1894 was reelected to a six-year term, serving until December 28, 1899. In June 1889, his name was unsuccessfully put forward to fill a vacancy on the California Supreme Court. In November 1888, he ran for a seat as an associate justice of the California Supreme Court, and on January 4, 1899, he began a 12-year term after winning the election as a fusion candidate of the

Silver Republican The Silver Republican Party, later known as the Lincoln Republican Party, was a United States political party from 1896 to 1901. It was so named because it split from the Republican Party by supporting free silver (effectively, expansionary moneta ...

, Democratic, and Populist parties. He was elected to the remaining term of William Cary Van Fleet, who died in office, ending in 1910. Van Dyke died on December 25, 1905, age 82, in his home at Fourth and Van Dyke avenues in

East Oakland, California East Oakland is a geographical region of Oakland, California, United States, that stretches between Lake Merritt in the northwest and San Leandro in the southeast. As the southeastern portion of the city, East Oakland takes up the largest portio ...

, after a brief illness identified as

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. Funeral services were conducted at Mountain View Cemetery. His seat on the court was filled by the appointment of

M. C. Sloss Marcus Cauffman ("Max" or "Dick") Sloss (February 28, 1869 – May 17, 1958) was an American lawyer who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from December 19, 1906, to March 1, 1919. Early life and education Sloss wa ...

Clubs

Van Dyke was a vice president and life member of the

Society of California Pioneers The Society of California Pioneers, established in 1850, is dedicated to the study and enjoyment of California art, history, and culture. Founded by individuals arriving in California before 1850 and thriving under the leadership of several gener ...

Personal life

On September 21, 1854, Van Dyke married Rowena Cooper in

Humboldt County, California Humboldt County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 136,463. The county seat is Eureka. Humboldt County comprises the Eureka–Arcata–Fortuna, California Micropolitan Statistica ...

, and they had eight children. At his death, he was survived by his widow and five children: William M. Van Dyke, who was clerk of the court for the

United States District Court for the Southern District of California The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in case citations, S.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appe ...

; Henry S. Van Dyke, an attorney in Los Angeles; Dr.

Edwin Cooper Van Dyke Edwin Cooper Van Dyke (April 7, 1869 – September 28, 1952) was an American physician and entomologist. A leading authority on beetles (Coleoptera) of the Pacific Coast of North America, he was also an expert on insect pests of forests and fo ...

and Mrs. Franklin Bangs of San Francisco; and Caroline Van Dyke of Oakland.

References and notes

External links

Walter Van Dyke
California Supreme Court Historical Society.
Opinions authored by Walter Van Dyke
Court listener.com.

California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:van Dyke, Walter 1823 births 1905 deaths People from Tyre, New York Justices of the Supreme Court of California Superior court judges in the United States 19th-century American judges 20th-century American judges United States Attorneys for the District of California District attorneys in California 19th-century American lawyers California pioneers California Republicans Lawyers from San Francisco U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law

Biography

Clubs

Personal life

See also

References and notes

External links