Nathaniel Bennett

Nathaniel Bennett (June 27, 1818 – April 20, 1886) was one of the first Associate Justices of the California Supreme Court.

Nathaniel Bennett
Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
In office
December 22, 1849 – January 1, 1852
Appointed byLegislature
Preceded byNew office created by adoption of the Constitution of 1849
Succeeded byHugh Murray
Senator from the district of San Francisco, California State Senate
In office
November 1849 – December 21, 1849
Appointed byDirect election
Preceded byNew seat at creation of state
Succeeded byDavid C. Broderick
Personal details
Born(1818-06-27)June 27, 1818
Clinton, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 20, 1886(1886-04-20) (aged 67)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Alma materHamilton College
Yale University (B.A.)

Early life and education

On June 27, 1818, Bennett was born in Clinton, New York, to a family of merchants and farmers.[1][2] Bennett was raised on a farm in Erie County, New York, and beginning at age 12 he attended military academies in Buffalo and then in Canandaigua, New York.[3] In 1835, he studied at Hamilton College for one year, and then completed his degree at Yale University.[4] After graduation, he read law and was admitted to the New York bar in 1840 as an attorney and in 1843 as a counselor.[5] He then engaged in private practice with Eli Cook, whose brother was an attorney in California.

In Bennett's youth, he was a follower of the Democratic Party, but a horseback tour in Fall 1842 of several southern states caused him to switch his allegiance.[2] Questioning his previous politics, he followed the Barnburner faction of the Democratic Party, attending the 1848 convention in Buffalo that nominated Martin Van Buren for President of the United States.[3] In 1856, Bennett joined the Republican Party at its formation.

In January 1849, Bennett and a group of friends decided to move to California. Arriving in June 1849, they went to mine the gold fields on the Tuolumne River.[2] In Fall 1849, he returned to San Francisco and began a law firm with John Satterlee, who was part of the group which moved with Bennett and in 1851 became a judge of the San Francisco Superior Court.[6] After the adoption of the constitution of California in November 1849, Bennett was elected a state senator from the district of San Francisco.[7]

In December 1849, the new legislature elected Bennett, along with Henry A. Lyons, as the first associate justices, and S. Clinton Hastings as chief justice.[8][9] On December 24, 1849, Bennett resigned his Senate seat to take up his court position.[10][11] In the winter of 1849-1850, he helped prepare the Senate Judiciary committee report to the Legislature on recommendations on adoption of the civil or common law.[12] One commentator describes Bennett as one "whose decisions alone, among the early justices, show any considerable acquaintance with the Spanish Mexican system."[13] In October 1850, he delivered a speech on the occasion of California statehood before a large crowd in San Francisco.[14][15][16][17] On October 3, 1851, he resigned from the court,[18] having accepted "financial inducements" from a group of influential land owners who were hoping the court would reverse his decision in Woodworth v. Fulton (1850) 1 Cal. 295.[19] His seat was filled by Governor John McDougall with the appointment of Hugh Murray.[20]

During 1851 to 1852, Bennett served as California Reporter of Decisions and, in 1853, he published the first volume of Supreme Court cases.[21]

After leaving the court, Bennett joined a law practice with Horace Hawes, William G. Wood, and Elisha Cook (the brother of Eli Cook, his former partner in New York) in the firm of Hawes, Wood & Cook.[22] In 1852-1853, Bennett returned home to New York to visit his family. On his return to California, he continued to practice law, including real estate title and mining litigation.[23][24]

In May 1856, Bennett was a delegate from the Fourth Ward of San Francisco and served as president of the Republican Party Convention held in San Francisco.[25][26][27] At the convention, the Party nominated him to run again for the California Supreme Court on the same platform as Edward Stanly for governor, but he lost the 1857 election for Chief Justice to Stephen J. Field.[28][29]

After the defeat, in 1858 Bennett returned to Washington, D.C., on business and to his home to New York for two years.[30] In 1859, while in Washington, he successfully argued before the Supreme Court of the United States the pueblo land grant case involving Rancho Corral de Tierra (Vasquez).[31][32][33] Back in California, he continued to practice law and appeared many times before the state Supreme Court. In 1863, he advertised a law partnership with H. S. Love, called Bennett & Love.[34] In January 1867, he and Elisha Cook[35] began a law practice and published the Pacific Law Magazine, targeted at the bar.[36] Later, he formed the firm of Bennett, Machin & Owen.[37]

Bennett maintained an active role in public life. In May 1869, he delivered another speech in San Francisco at the completion of the Pacific Railroad.[38][39] In July 1869, continuing his interest in politics, his name was put forward at the state Republican convention to fill the Supreme Court vacancy from the retirement of Oscar L. Shafter. However, O. L. Pratt received the nomination instead.[40] In October 1879, Bennett ran for Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court under the New Constitution Party, but garnered only one-third of the votes cast for the victor, Robert F. Morrison.[41][42][43][44]

On April 20, 1886, Bennett died in San Francisco,[25] and in his will he bequeathed his volume of Isocrates Orations to the Mercantile Library. The book was referred to as "probably the oldest printed book in California."[45]

Civic activities

Bennett was a member of the Society of California Pioneers.

Personal life

Bennett's wife died a few months before him.[46] They had no children.[25][1]

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See also

References
  1. "Judge Bennett Dead". Daily Alta California (40 (13387)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 22 April 1886. p. 8. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  2. Shuck, Oscar Tully (1901). History of the Bench and Bar of California: Being Biographies of Many Remarkable Men, a Store of Humorous and Pathetic Recollections, Accounts of Important Legislation and Extraordinary Cases, Comprehending the Judicial History of the State. Los Angeles, CA: Commercial Printing House. pp. 445–446. Retrieved July 31, 2017. Entry for Nathaniel Bennett.
  3. Shuck, Oscar Tully (1870). Representative and leading men of the Pacific. Bacon and Company. p. 545. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  4. "Hamilton College catalogue". Clinton, NY: Hamilton College. 1884. p. 62. Retrieved July 31, 2017. Obituary Record for 1885-86, Class of 1835, Nathaniel Bennett
  5. "Supreme Court, October Term". New-York Daily Tribune. Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. November 1, 1843. p. 2. Retrieved July 31, 2017. The following is a list of the counselors and attorneys admitted to practice, after examination on Thursday: Counsellors-Nathaniel Bennett, Jr.
  6. "Demise of Judge Satterlee". Daily Alta California. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 21 January 1876. p. 1. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  7. "Election - The Results". Weekly Alta California. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 15 November 1849. Retrieved July 25, 2017. San Francisco, Nathaniel Bennett, elected, 1,592 votes
  8. "California Supreme Court History". California Supreme Court Historical Society.
  9. "The Officers of the new State". Weekly Alta California (52). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 29 December 1849. p. 3. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  10. "JoinCalifornia - Nathaniel Bennett". joincalifornia.com.
  11. "The First Legislature of California,". Weekly Alta California (52). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 29 December 1849. p. 1. Retrieved July 25, 2017. RESIGNATION. — Hon. Nathaniel Bennett, Senator from the District of San Francisco and Wm. Van Voorhies Representatives, have resigned their seats in their respective bodies.
  12. Journals, Legislature of California, 1849-1850, pp. 459-480. Report of Mr. Crosby on the Civil and Common Law, reprinted in Bennett's volume of Supreme Court cases, published in 1852.
  13. McMurray, Orrin K. (July 1915). "The Beginnings of the Community Property System in California and the Adoption of the Common Law". California Law Review. 3 (5): 359–380, at 365, 368, 374 and 375. JSTOR 3474579.
  14. "The Levee Again". Sacramento Transcript (2). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 26 October 1850. p. 2. Retrieved July 31, 2017. Judge Nathaniel Bennett delivers the address.
  15. "The Celebrations of the Admission". Daily Alta California (9 (141)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 9 September 1857. p. 1. Retrieved July 31, 2017. and on the 30th of that month, a grand celebration followed, with an oration by Nathaniel Bennett
  16. "Admission Day". Daily Alta California (30 (10377)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 9 September 1878. p. 1. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  17. "Forty Years Ago, Celebration of California's Birthday as a State". Daily Alta California (83 (70)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 8 September 1890. p. 1. Retrieved July 31, 2017. Full text of Bennett's oration.
  18. "San Francisco History - Historical Abstract of San Francisco, 1897, A-C". sfgenealogy.com.
  19. Grodin, Joseph R. (2003). "California's Supreme Court and Constitution The Early Years". San Francisco Attorney. 29 (2): 141–162, 143, fn 13. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  20. Johnson, J. Edward (1963). History of the California Supreme Court: The Justices 1850-1900, vol 1 (PDF). San Francisco, CA: Bender Moss Co. pp. 36–42. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  21. "Literary Reviews". The New York Herald. August 24, 1852. p. 3. Retrieved July 31, 2017. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of California, by Nathaniel Bennett. New York: Chas. B. Norton, 1852.
  22. "Law Copartnership". Daily Alta California (2 (260)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 29 August 1851. p. 4. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  23. "District Court". Daily Alta California (4 (304)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 22 November 1853. p. 3. Retrieved July 31, 2017. Action to recover the value of six inches of a partition wall, resting on defendant's lot. Referred to Nathaniel Bennett, Esq., to report an opinion.
  24. "Supreme Court". Sacramento Daily Union (9 (1311)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 7 June 1855. p. 2. Retrieved July 31, 2017. In the matter of Adams & Co., Nathaniel Bennett opened on behalf of the attaching creditors
  25. "Death of Judge Bennett". Los Angeles Herald (25 (42)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 22 April 1886. p. 1. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  26. "Republican State Convention". Sacramento Daily Union (11 (1588)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 28 April 1856. p. 3. Retrieved July 25, 2017. Delegates: Fourth Ward.— Nathaniel Bennett
  27. "Republican State Convention, First Day". Sacramento Daily Union (11 (1591)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 1 May 1856. p. 3. Retrieved July 25, 2017. On motion of Mr. Collins, a committee of nine was appointed by the chair on platform and resolutions, and the following gentlemen duly selected : Nathaniel Bennett, San Francisco
  28. "Republican State Ticket". Marysville Daily Herald (284). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 11 July 1857. p. 2. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  29. "Returns of the Election". Daily Alta California (9 (138)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 6 September 1857. p. 2. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  30. "The Johnson Guano Islands". Daily Alta California (10 (345)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 16 December 1858. p. 3. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  31. "Supreme Court Decisions". Sacramento Daily Union (19 (2891)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 2 July 1860. p. 8. Retrieved July 31, 2017. Resolved, That we recognize with thankfulness and pride the services of our distinguished fellow citizen, Nathaniel Bennett, before the Supreme Court of the United States, in defeating that most impudent and preposterous of all the claims presented to the late Board of Land Commissioners— 'Santillan Grant'
  32. Hittell, Theodore Henry (1897). History of California, Volume 3. N. J. Stone. p. 696. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  33. "Supreme Court". Evening Star (Washington, D.C.). Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. March 31, 1860. p. 3. Retrieved July 31, 2017. Yesterday...Nathaniel Bennett, Esq., of California were admitted attorneys and counselors of this Court.
  34. "Bennett & Love". Marin Journal (3 (16)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 4 July 1863. p. 3. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  35. "Death of Elisha Cook". Sonoma Democrat (13). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 6 January 1872. p. 4. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  36. "The Pacific Law Magazine". Marysville Daily Appeal (13). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 16 January 1867. p. 3. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  37. "Solvent Debts and the Board of Equalization". Sacramento Daily Union (45 (6919)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 6 June 1873. p. 2. Retrieved July 25, 2017. Within the past few days motions for rehearing with briefs have been filed in the Supreme Court by...J. B. Felton, Nathaniel Bennett and W. Hayes, for plaintiffs, in the case of Bartlett Doe et al. vs. Austin et al.
  38. "The Railway Jubilee". Daily Alta California (21 (6987)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 6 May 1869. p. 1. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  39. "The Pacific Railroad, Its Completion Celebrated". Daily Alta California (21 (6990)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 9 May 1869. p. 1. Retrieved July 31, 2017. Full text of speech by Nathaniel Bennett.
  40. "Evening Session— Adoption of Platform-Nomination of Judges=Lorenzo Sawyer and O. C. Pratt for the Supreme Bench". Daily Alta California. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 22 July 1869. p. 1. Retrieved July 31, 2017. Charles A. Tuttle nominated ex-Judge Nathaniel Bennett, of San Francisco, prefacing it with highly eulogistic remarks on his character, judicial learning and fitness
  41. "The Supreme Court, From Chief Justice Hastings to Chief Justice Beatty". San Francisco Call (78 (22)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 22 June 1895. p. 5. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  42. "The Election". Daily Alta California (31 (10767)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 6 October 1879. p. 1. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  43. "New Constitution Party". Sacramento Daily Union (8). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 25 June 1879. p. 2. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  44. "Its Work Ended". Daily Alta California (31 (10668)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 28 June 1879. p. 1. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  45. "The Will of Nathanlel Bennett". Daily Alta California (40 (13399)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 4 May 1886. p. 2. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  46. "A Terrible Assault". Sacramento Daily Union (46 (7054)). California Digital Newspaper Collection. 12 November 1873. p. 1. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
Legal offices
Preceded by
New office created by adoption of the Constitution of 1849		 Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
1849–1852		 Succeeded by
Hugh Murray
Preceded by
New seat at creation of state		 Senator from the district of San Francisco, California State Senate
November 1849–December 21, 1849		 Succeeded by
David C. Broderick
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