Isaac S. Belcher

Isaac Sawyer Belcher (February 27, 1825 – November 30, 1898) was an American attorney and an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from March 4, 1872, to January 5, 1874.[1]

Isaac Sawyer Belcher
Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
In office
March 4, 1872 – January 5, 1874
Appointed byGovernor Newton Booth
Preceded byRoyal Sprague
Succeeded byElisha W. McKinstry
Personal details
Born(1825-02-27)February 27, 1825
Stockbridge, Vermont, U.S.
DiedNovember 30, 1898(1898-11-30) (aged 74)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Spouse
Adeline Johnson
​
(m. 1861)​
Alma materUniversity of Vermont (B.A.)

Biography

Belcher was born in Stockbridge, Vermont, the second of three sons of Samuel Belcher, a farmer.[2] He attended school off season from his work on his father's farm. In 1842, he enrolled in the University of Vermont in Burlington, from which he graduated in 1846.[3] When he was 21, he entered the law office of J. W. D. Parker and read law. In 1852, he was admitted to the bar of the supreme court of Vermont.

On June 16, 1853, he arrived in California after spending a month in Oregon. He settled on the Yuba River during the Gold Rush but resumed a law career. He moved to Marysville, California in 1855 and opened a law practice. From 1856 to 1857, Belcher served as District attorney for Yuba County, California having run on the American Party or Know Nothings ticket.[4][5][6] In June 1863, he was nominated by the Union Party and elected as a district judge of the Tenth Judicial District, serving from 1865 to 1869 both there and in the 21st District, as well.[7][8]

On March 4, 1872, Governor Newton Booth appointed Belcher as an associate justice of the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Chief Justice Royal Sprague.[9][10] In the October 1873 election, Belcher did not run, and Elisha W. McKinstry was elected to the seat.[11]

In June 1878, Belcher was nominated by the Democratic Party and served as a member of the convention in September 1878 which framed the existing Constitution of California.[12][13] In 1879, Belcher ran for another term when all seats of the Supreme Court were up for election due to the new constitution. In June 1879, he was nominated by the Republican Party on the same ticket as Milton H. Myrick but lost the election.[14][15]

Afterwards, Belcher was a commissioner for the Supreme Court from March 16, 1885, till his death on November 30, 1898.[16][6]

Civic activities

Belcher served as an original trustee for Stanford University.[17][18] He was also a trustee for the California State Library.[19][20]

Personal life

In 1861, he visited his home in Vermont and met Adeline N. Johnson of Augusta, Maine.[21] They married, settled in Oakland, and had a daughter and three sons, one of whom, Richard, entered the practice of law.[22][23][24]

Issac's two brothers, William C. and Edward A. Belcher, both became attorneys in California.[25][26] Isaac practiced law with his older brother, William, in the firm of Belcher & Belcher.[27] In 1893, Edward was appointed by Governor Henry Markham as a judge of the San Francisco County Superior Court.[26]

References
  1. "Issac S. Belcher". California Supreme Court Historical Society. 2014-06-28. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  2. "Died, Isaac S. Belcher". The San Francisco Call. Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. December 1, 1898. p. 11. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  3. "A Son of Bradford in Chicago. Some Pleasantries and Facts About Him. Neziah Wright Bliss". The United Opinion (Bradford, Vt.). Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. July 29, 1887. p. 8. Retrieved September 24, 2017. University of Vermont..., graduating in the class of 1846, and had for classmates now such distinguished men as...Isaac S. Belcher
  4. "Letter to the Editor from Samivel". Marysville Daily Herald. No. 11. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 30 August 1855. p. 3. Retrieved August 18, 2017. Messrs Magruder and Belcher, candidates tor County Clerk and District Attorney
  5. "Politics in Yuba County". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 13, no. 2007. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 1 September 1857. p. 3. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  6. "Judge Isaac Belcher, The Supreme Court Commissioner Suddenly Expires". The Record-Union (Sacramento, CA). Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. December 1, 1898. p. 8. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  7. "Court Proceedings". Daily Alta California. Vol. 15, no. 4868. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 23 June 1863. p. 1. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  8. "Candidate for District Judge". Marysville Daily Appeal. No. 146. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 21 June 1863. p. 3. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  9. "Appointment of Supreme Judge". Russian River Flag. No. 17. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 7 March 1872. p. 2. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  10. "The Supreme Court, From Chief Justice Hastings to Chief Justice Beatty". The San Francisco Call. Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. June 22, 1895. p. 5. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  11. Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1890). The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, vol XXIV, History of California. San Francisco, CA: The History Company. p. 236. Retrieved September 23, 2017. Royal T. Sprague, who died in February 1872, when Isaac S. Belcher was appointed in his place, his successor, E. W. McKinstry, being chosen in 1873.
  12. "Democratic Nominations for the Constitutional Conventions". Daily Los Angeles Herald. Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. June 19, 1878. p. 2. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  13. "Constitutional Convention". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 7, no. 189. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 30 September 1878. p. 2. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  14. "Republican Conventions". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 8, no. 89. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 20 June 1879. p. 1. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  15. "Regular Republican State Ticket". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 8, no. 131. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 11 August 1879. p. 4. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  16. California Blue Book, Or State Roster. State Printing Office. 1913-01-01.
  17. "Leland Stanford Jr. University". Sonoma Democrat. No. 6. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 28 November 1885. p. 1. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  18. "Founding Grant of Stanford University" (PDF). Stanford University. 1987. pp. 3, 56. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  19. "State Library Trustees". Sacramento Daily Record-Union. Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. February 3, 1881. p. 2. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  20. "Caucusing and Contributing, Minor Notes". Sacramento Daily Record-Union. Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. January 5, 1885. p. 2. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  21. Johnson, J. Edward (1963). History of the California Supreme Court: The Justices 1850-1900, vol 1 (PDF). San Francisco, CA: Bender Moss Co. pp. 121–123. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  22. "Events in the Social World, The Marriage of Miss Mattie A. Belcher and Mr. Allan Cooley". San Francisco Call. Vol. 68, no. 54. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 24 July 1890. p. 7. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  23. Shuck, Oscar Tully (1901-01-01). 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. Commercial Printing House. p. 997. isaac%20s%20belcher.
  24. "Isaac S. Belcher's Will". The San Francisco Call. Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. December 6, 1898. p. 14. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  25. "The Courts". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 16, no. 2368. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 29 October 1858. p. 3. Retrieved August 18, 2017. Ordered, by the Court, that...William C. Belcher be admitted as attorneys and counsellors in this Court.
  26. "Dons the Ermine, E. A. Belcher Succeeds Judge Garber". The Morning Call. Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. October 26, 1893. p. 10. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  27. "Judge Belcher's Will". San Francisco Call. Vol. 78, no. 127. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 5 October 1895. p. 11. Retrieved August 18, 2017.

See also
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