Ralph C. Harrison

Ralph Chandler Harrison (October 22, 1833 – July 18, 1918) was an American attorney and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California from December 20, 1890, to January 5, 1903.

Ralph Chandler Harrison
Ralph C. Harrison
Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
In office
December 20, 1890 – January 5, 1903
Appointed byDirect election
Preceded byJohn D. Works
Succeeded byFrank M. Angellotti
Presiding Justice of the First District California Court of Appeal
In office
January 1905 – 1908
Appointed byGovernor George Pardee
Preceded byNew seat
Succeeded byJames A. Cooper
Personal details
Born(1833-10-22)October 22, 1833
Cornwall, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedJuly 18, 1918(1918-07-18) (aged 84)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Spouses
Juliet Waite
​
​
(m. 1865; died 1890)​
    Ella Spencer Reid
    ​
    (m. 1892)​
    Children3
    Alma materWesleyan University (BA, MA)
    Albany Law School (LLB)

    Early life

    On October 22, 1838, Harrison was born in Cornwall, Connecticut.[1] He attended Wesleyan University, graduating with a B.A. in 1853.[2][3]

    After graduation, he taught mathematics and ancient languages at Armenia Seminary, New York, from 1853 to 1856, and also obtained a M.A. degree at Wesleyan in 1856.[4] In 1857, he was elected to the Connecticut State Legislature. He then studied at Albany Law School, where he was awarded a LL.B. in 1859.[5]

    Career

    Harrison's law school classmate, David D. Colton, encouraged Harrison to move to California and in 1859 the two formed a law partnership in San Francisco.[4] In 1868, Harrison joined with Yale Law School-trained attorney, John R. Jarboe, in the firm of Jarboe & Harrison.[6][7][8]

    In August 1890, Harrison won the nomination of the Republican Party for Supreme Court justice, and was elected to a 12-year term.[9][10] In November 1902, Harrison sought a second term but lost the Republican nomination to Frank M. Angellotti.[11][12][13]

    In December 1903, Harrison was named a commissioner of the California Supreme Court, replacing John Haynes.[14][15] In 1905, when the new Court of Appeal was established, Governor George Pardee named Harrison as the Presiding Justice of the First District.[16][17]

    After stepping down from the bench in 1908, Harrison returned to private practice. He continued as trustee of the public and law libraries of San Francisco. In October 1917, Harrison and his wife (Ella Spencer Reid) visited Carmel-by-the-Sea and stayed at the La Playa Hotel for a few weeks. During this visit they bought the block between Camino Real and Casanova Street, south of Ninth Avenue.[18]

    Death

    Harrison died after a brief illness, at the age of 84, on July 18, 1918, at his apartment in San Francisco.[19][20]

    Bar and civic activities

    Harrison was a member of the San Francisco Bar Association, and served as a trustee of the San Francisco Law Library in 1871.[21][22] In January 1884, Harrison was elected a trustee of the California Academy of Sciences.[23] In April 1896, he was named president of the board of the San Francisco Public Library.[24] The Ralph Chandler Harrison Memorial Library in Carmel, California, is named in his honor.[25]

    Personal life

    Harrison married twice. In July 1865, he married Juliet Lathrop Waite and they had two sons, both of whom became attorneys: Richard Chandler Harrison, who practiced with his father in the firm of Harrison & Harrison; and Robert Waite Harrison, an assistant district attorney.[5][26][27][28] After her death in August 1890,[29] Harrison married again in September 1892 to the younger Ella Spencer Reid in Rye, New York, at the country mansion of her uncle, Whitelaw Reid, later ambassador to the United Kingdom.[30][31][32] His wife became involved with several art and literary societies in San Francisco.[33]

    Harrison was a member of the Bohemian Club in 1872.[5][34]

    References
    1. Johnson, J. Edward (1963). History of the California Supreme Court: The Justices 1850-1900, vol 1 (PDF). San Francisco, CA: Bender Moss Co. pp. 185–189. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
    2. "Wesleyan University Club". Los Angeles Herald. Vol. 26, no. 19. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 19 October 1898. p. 12. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
    3. "Word has been received of the death in San Francisco of Judge Ralph Chandler Harrison, one of the oldest alumni of Wesleyan University". Norwich Bulletin (Norwich, CT). Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. February 11, 1919. p. 5. Retrieved July 23, 2017. Judge Harrison was a member of the class of 1853.
    4. 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. p. 662. Retrieved July 23, 2017. ralph c. harrison In 1857, he was elected to the Connecticut Legislature.
    5. "Ralph C. Harrison Dies After Brief Illness, Was Well-known Lawyer and Former Supreme Court Justice". Mariposa Gazette. No. 9. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 27 July 1918. p. 2. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    6. "Mercantile Library Association Election". Daily Alta California. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 16 January 1871. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2017. Ralph C. Harrison, of Jarboe & Harrison
    7. "His Work Done, Honorable Career of John R. Jarboe. Incidents in the Life of One of San Francisco's Oldest and Ablest Lawyers". San Francisco Call. Vol. 74, no. 36. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 6 July 1893. p. 3. Retrieved July 23, 2017. Mr. Jarboe continued to handle the large business of the firm alone until three years later (186), when Ralph C. Harrison was made a member of the firm of Jarboe & Harrison. Ralph C. Harrison was at one time a Justice of the Supreme Court of California.
    8. "Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University, Deceased During the Academical Year of 1894" (PDF). Yale University. p. 234. Retrieved July 23, 2017. Entry for John Rodolph Jarboe, class of 1855
    9. "The Republican Convention at Sacramento". Press Democrat. No. 27. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 15 August 1890. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
    10. "The Supreme Court". San Francisco Call. Vol. 69, no. 39. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 8 January 1891. p. 2. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
    11. "The Eve of Battle". Press Democrat. No. 34. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 24 August 1902. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2017. It is now said that Judge Angelotti of Marin county will be named as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. This will mean the turning down of either Justice Ralph C. Harrison or Judge W. G. Lorlgan, both of whom seemed to be winners a few days ago.
    12. "Political Scheme to Force Nomination of C. H. Garoutte for the Chief Justiceship". San Francisco Call. Vol. 87, no. 41. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 11 July 1901. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
    13. "Would Occupy Vacant Seat, Many Aspirants for the Empty Bench in the Supreme Court Which Was Held by the Late Justice Van Dyke". Sacramento Union. No. 131. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 1 January 1906. p. 2. Retrieved July 23, 2017. Ralph C. Harrison of San Francisco was also an Associate Justice of the high tribunal, but he failed to obtain renomination for another term.
    14. "Judge Harrison Offered Place". San Francisco Call. Vol. 95, no. 24. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 24 December 1903. p. 16. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    15. "Five Judges Selected, Governor Will Name Present Supreme Court Commissioners to Appellate Tribunal". Press Democrat. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 10 January 1905. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
    16. "Judges of New Appellate Court". San Francisco Call. Vol. 97, no. 133. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 11 April 1905. p. 1. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
    17. "Compels State Controller to Pay Salary of Justice". San Francisco Call. Vol. 98, no. 53. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 23 July 1905. p. 34. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
    18. Neal Hotelling (13 May 2022). "A beloved library was named for someone who never lived there" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. p. 27. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
    19. "Oakland is Victor in Water Rate Case". San Francisco Call. Vol. 109, no. 51. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 20 January 1911. p. 5. Retrieved July 23, 2017. Ralph C. Harrison, and Jesse Ulienthal, legal representative of the John Hays Hammond water and power companies
    20. "Ralph C. Harrison Dies After Brief Illness". Concord Transcript. Concord, California. 25 Jul 1918. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
    21. "The Bar Association, Meeting of the Executive Committee and Action Outlined". Daily Alta California. No. 42. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 13 October 1887. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
    22. "Law Library Trustees". San Francisco Call. Vol. 85, no. 116. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 26 March 1899. p. 9. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
    23. "Academy of Sciences". Daily Alta California. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 8 January 1884. p. 1. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
    24. "The Public Library, Judge R. C. Harrison Unanimously Elected President". San Francisco Call. Vol. 79, no. 130. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 8 April 1896. p. 16. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
    25. "Harrison Memorial Library], Library History". www.hm-lib.org. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    26. "Langdon Names His Assistants". San Francisco Call. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 9 December 1905. p. 16. Retrieved July 23, 2017. Robert W. Harrison is the son of Appellate Judge Ralph C. Harrison. He is 33 years old, a graduate of Harvard, and is a lecturer at the Hastings Law School.
    27. Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report, 1895-1920, Harvard College, Class of 1895. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 1920. p. 186. Retrieved July 24, 2017. Entry for Robert Waite Harrison
    28. "Hotel Arrivals...Robert W. Harrison". Los Angeles Herald. No. 196. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 15 April 1902. p. 7. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
    29. "Deaths". San Francisco Call. Vol. 68, no. 65. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 4 August 1890. p. 8. Retrieved July 23, 2017. HARRISON-In this city, August 2, 1890, Juliet Waite. wife of Ralph C. Harrison.
    30. "Whitelaw Reid's Niece Soon to be Married at Ophir Farm". The Evening Herald. Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. September 19, 1892. p. 3. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
    31. "Ralph Harrison Married". Evening Capital Journal (Salem, OR). Library of Congress Historical Newspapers. September 27, 1892. p. 2. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
    32. "Widow of Former Supreme Court Judge Perishes in Flames". Sacramento Union. No. 26142. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 13 October 1922. p. 11. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    33. Neal Hotelling (20 May 2022). "Nothing is new under the sun, including lawsuits over buildings" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. p. 21. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
    34. "Colonel Hawes Guest at Bohemian Dinner". San Francisco Call. Vol. 83, no. 113. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 21 February 1913. p. 14. Retrieved July 23, 2017.

    See also
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