Walter Van Dyke

Walter Van Dyke (October 8, 1823 – December 25, 1905) was a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge and a justice of the California Supreme Court in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Walter Van Dyke
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California
In office
January 4, 1899 – December 25, 1905
Appointed byElected
Preceded byWilliam Cary Van Fleet
Succeeded byM. C. Sloss
Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court
In office
1888-1899
United States Attorney for the District of California
In office
1874-1877
Member of the California Senate
In office
1861–1863
District Attorney of Humboldt County
In office
1854-1855
Preceded byJoel Burnell
Succeeded byLewis W. Burson
Personal details
Born(1823-10-08)October 8, 1823
Tyre, Seneca County, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 25, 1905(1905-12-25) (aged 82)
East Oakland, California, U.S.
Spouse
Rowena Cooper
​
(m. 1854)​
ChildrenEdwin Cooper Van Dyke
Signature

Biography

Van Dyke was born on October 8, 1823, in Tyre, Seneca County, New York.[1] He studied law in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1846 to 1848 and crossed the plains in 1849, remaining a short time in Los Angeles and then moving to Northern California. In 1853, he settled in Humboldt County, and was elected to the California State Assembly.[2] He practiced law and was district attorney there in 1854. In 1861, he was elected to the California State Senate, serving in the 1862 and 1863 sessions, where he helped organize the state's Republican Party.[2] He edited the Humboldt Times until 1863, then moved to San Francisco. In 1868, he was an alternate elector to the Republican Party national convention for President Ulysses S. Grant.[3] From 1874 to 1877, Van Dyke was United States attorney for California, and was elected a delegate to the California Constitutional Convention in 1878.[4][5]

In 1884, Van Dyke moved to Los Angeles, and practiced in the firm of Wells, Van Dyke & Lee.[6] In 1888, he was elected a Los Angeles County Superior Court in Department Four, and in 1894 was reelected to a six-year term, serving until December 28, 1899.[7][8][9][10] In June 1889, his name was unsuccessfully put forward to fill a vacancy on the California Supreme Court.[11]

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[12] of the Silver Republican,[13] Democratic,[14] and Populist parties.[15][16][2] He was elected to the remaining term of William Cary Van Fleet, who died in office, ending in 1910.[5][17]

Van Dyke died on December 25, 1905, age 82, in his home at Fourth and Van Dyke avenues in East Oakland, California, after a brief illness identified as pneumonia.[18] Funeral services were conducted at Mountain View Cemetery.[19] His seat on the court was filled by the appointment of M. C. Sloss.

Clubs

Van Dyke was a vice president and life member of the Society of California Pioneers.[20]

Personal life

On September 21, 1854, Van Dyke married Rowena Cooper in Humboldt County, California, 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;[21][22] Henry S. Van Dyke, an attorney in Los Angeles;[23] Dr. Edwin Cooper Van Dyke[24] and Mrs. Franklin Bangs of San Francisco; and Caroline Van Dyke of Oakland.[5][25]

See also

References and notes
  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. 207–212. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 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. 353, 495–499, 758. Retrieved September 23, 2017. walter van dyke oscar tully shuck.
  3. "National Republican Nominations". Marin Journal. Vol. 8, no. 26. California Digital Newspaper Collection. September 12, 1868. p. 2. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  4. "Constitutional Convention". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 7, no. 189. California Digital Newspaper Collection. September 30, 1878. p. 2. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  5. "Supreme Judge Van Dyke Is Dead". San Francisco Chronicle. December 26, 1905. p. 14. Retrieved August 12, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Large Crowd at Santa Monica". Los Angeles Herald. Vol. 26, no. 133. California Digital Newspaper Collection. March 4, 1887. p. 2. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  7. "Judges in Characteristic Attitudes (sketch): Walter Van Dyke (Department Four, Superior Court)". Los Angeles Herald. Vol. 26, no. 242. California Digital Newspaper Collection. May 30, 1897. p. 12. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  8. "To Hear a Case". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 91, no. 113. California Digital Newspaper Collection. June 9, 1896. p. 4. Retrieved July 3, 2017. Governor Budd has requested Hon. Walter Van Dyke, Superior Judge of Los Angeles County, to hear and determine the case
  9. "Superior Judge Appointed". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 96, no. 129. California Digital Newspaper Collection. December 29, 1898. p. 3. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  10. "Judge Van Dyke Honored". San Francisco Call. Vol. 85, no. 28. California Digital Newspaper Collection. December 28, 1898. p. 3. Retrieved July 3, 2017. Judge Walter Van Dyke officially closed his career as Superior Judge to-day.
  11. "A New Candidate". Press Democrat. Vol. 276, no. 12. California Digital Newspaper Collection. June 12, 1889. p. 2. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  12. "The State Ticket". Los Angeles Herald. Vol. 26, no. 16. California Digital Newspaper Collection. October 16, 1898. p. 21. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  13. "A Silver Lunch". Los Angeles Herald. Vol. 26, no. 69. California Digital Newspaper Collection. December 8, 1898. p. 5. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  14. "The Democratic Ticket". Marin County Tocsin. Vol. 20, no. 28. California Digital Newspaper Collection. November 5, 1898. p. 2. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  15. "The Fusion Ticket". San Francisco Call. Vol. 84, no. 45. California Digital Newspaper Collection. July 15, 1898. p. 4. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  16. "The Chosen Ones". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 96, no. 119. California Digital Newspaper Collection. December 18, 1898. p. 6. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  17. "Supreme Court Officials". San Francisco Call. Vol. 85, no. 35. January 4, 1899. p. 7. Retrieved July 3, 2017. Judge Walter Van Dyke took his place on the bench early in the morning. He fills the place made vacant by Judge Van Fleet.
  18. "Justice Van Dyke is Summoned by Judge of the Universe". San Francisco Call. Vol. 99, no. 26. California Digital Newspaper Collection. December 26, 1905. p. 1. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  19. "Pioneer is Laid to Rest". Los Angeles Herald. Vol. 33, no. 88. California Digital Newspaper Collection. Associated Press. December 28, 1905. p. 4. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  20. "California Pioneers". Los Angeles Herald. Vol. 25, no. 281. California Digital Newspaper Collection. July 8, 1898. p. 2. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  21. "Clerk of the U. S. Circuit Court for Los Angeles". Los Angeles Herald. Vol. 26, no. 41. California Digital Newspaper Collection. November 19, 1886. p. 8. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  22. "New Southern District Court". Daily Alta California. Vol. 42, no. 13642. California Digital Newspaper Collection. January 6, 1887. p. 2. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  23. "H. S. Van Dyke's Sudden Death is Mourned". Los Angeles Herald. No. 20. California Digital Newspaper Collection. November 24, 1921. p. A16. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  24. "Jurist Makes a Simple Will". San Francisco Call. Vol. 99, no. 31. California Digital Newspaper Collection. December 31, 1905. p. 48. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  25. "Honor Memory of Late Justice Van Dyke". San Francisco Chronicle. December 28, 1905. p. 10. Retrieved August 12, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
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