William Jefferson Hunsaker (1855–1933) was an American lawyer and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

and later

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Hunsaker was the

San Diego County District Attorney The San Diego County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for San Diego County, California. This office is responsible for the prosecution of both felony and misdemeanor violations of California state law that occur within the juri ...

from 1882 to 1884, 4th

Mayor of San Diego The mayor of the City of San Diego is the official head and chief executive officer of the U.S. city of San Diego, California. The mayor has the duty to enforce and execute the laws enacted by the San Diego City Council, the legislative branch. ...

from 1887 to 1888 and president of the California Bar Association from 1913 to 1914. President, 1913-1914, Wm. J. Hunsaker, Los Angeles Title Insurance and Trust Bldg.

Early life and career

William Hunsaker was born 21 September 1855 in Contra Costa County, California to Nicholas and Lois E. (Hastings) Hunsaker. Nicholas Hunziker settled in California in 1847 and was sheriff of Contra Costa County from 1851 to 1853 and from 1855 to 1857. Lois's uncle was Lansford W. Hastings, author of "Emigrant's Guide To Oregon and California", captain in Frémont's California Battalion, and participant in California's constitutional convention. Nicholas Hunsaker moved his family to San Diego in 1869, where he served as the 10th sheriff of San Diego County from 1875 to 1876.Alt URL
/ref> At 16 years of age, William Hunsaker began to learn the printer's trade, starting as a

printer's devil A printer's devil was a young apprentice in a printing establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type. Notable writers including Ambrose Bierce, Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain served ...

on the San Diego Bulletin, then working as a journeyman printer on the Bulletin and the World for two and a half years. Hunsaker next trained as a lawyer with Major Levi Chase and Albert C. Baker and was admitted to practice law in 1876. On 27 February 1879, Hunsaker married Florence McFarland in San Diego and the couple moved to

Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town gr ...

. In 1881, Hunsaker assisted his law partner, Thomas Fitch, in defending

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which l ...

from murder charges resulting from the

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second shootout between law enforcement officer, lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cochise County Cowboys, Cowboys that occurred at about 3: ...

. When Earp died in 1929, Hunsaker was one of the pall-bearers at Earp's funeral.

Elected office

Hunsaker's first elected office was San Diego District Attorney, from 1882 to 1884. After being nominated, Hunsaker ran an aggressive campaign touring most of

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

. At the time, this included all of what are now San Diego County and

Imperial County Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

, as well as most of

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

and parts of

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

. In 1887, Hunsaker ran for the newly reestablished office of mayor of San Diego, after 35 years of the formerly-bankrupt city being run by a board of trustees. Hunsaker ran as the candidate of the

Workingman's Party The Workingmen's Party of California (WPC) was an American labor organization, founded in 1877 and led by Denis Kearney, J.G Day, and H. L. Knight. Organizational history As a result of heavy unemployment from the 1873-78 national depression, ...

. The party's platform supported the interests of laborers, arguing for a larger share of wealth for laborers, promoting businesses to hire native-born workers rather than the primarily Chinese foreign-born workers. Hunsaker was elected to a two-year term, defeating his opponent D. C. Reed of the Citizens party by 1041 votes to 867. He was sworn in on January 3, 1888. Although Hunsaker won his election, the city council was dominated by members of the Citizen's Party. Hunsaker felt that he lost a power struggle with the rest of the council, and resigned from office on November 13, 1888, after a period of poor attendance at council meetings. After stepping down from office, Hunsaker resumed work in the field of law.

Later career

In 1889, William Hunsaker unsuccessfully defended the killer of the Oceanside marshal in a well-publicized case. In June 1892, the Hunsakers moved to Los Angeles. From 1893 to 1896, Hunsaker was counsel for the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 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, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

, but apparently maintained an outside practice as well, defending E. S. Babcock from bribery charges related to the Southern California Mountain Water Company. Upon leaving the AT&SF, Hunsaker entered private practice, eventually re-joining with Eugene W. Britt, Hunsaker's partner when located in San Diego. Disenchanted with the Democratic Party's support for free silver, Hunsaker switched political affiliation to the Republican Party in 1896, supporting the McKinley campaign. However Hunsaker remained largely independent — from 1896 to 1906, he chaired the Committee of One Hundred, a group of leading citizens who published non-partisan ballots for local elections. In 1901, Hunsaker was elected to be "junior vice-president" of the Los Angeles Bar Association and appointed as a delegate to the 1901

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

convention to be held in Denver. In 1904, William J. Hunsaker was present at the American Bar Association annual meeting in St. Louis as vice-president of, and delegate appointed by, the California State Bar Association and was elected to be a vice president of the ABA. Later in 1904, Hunsaker was elected to be president of the Los Angeles Bar Association. During this period, Hunsaker defended major California newspapers from several sensational libel and commercial lawsuits. In 1908, Hunsaker was president of the Los Angeles City Charter Revision Committee and the Los Angeles City Club, and a leading candidate to fill the California Supreme Court position vacated by the death of Thomas B. McFarland. In 1911, Hunsaker was elected vice president of the California Bar Association, and in 1913, was elected Association president, 1913–1914. Hunsaker was a life member of the

Native Sons of the Golden West The Native Sons of the Golden West is a fraternal service organization founded in the U.S. state of California in 1875, dedicated to historic preservation, documentation of historic structures and places in the state, the placement of historic ...

Personal life

Will and Florence had five children: Mary Cameron (William Brill), twins Florence King and Lois, Rose Margaret (John Hamilton Lashbrooke, William Adam Steehler, Marshall Macy Hobson), and Daniel McFarland (Katherine Lyons). Lois Hunsaker died at age 9 months in November 1882. Florence pre-deceased her husband, Will, passing on 24 Nov 1928. Will Hunsaker died at his Los Angeles home on 13 Jan 1933 and is buried in the

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angel ...

, Los Angeles County.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunsaker, William California lawyers People of the American Old West District attorneys in California Mayors of San Diego 1855 births 1933 deaths California Republicans Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery