William Cary Van Fleet (March 24, 1852 – September 3, 1923) was an associate justice of the California Supreme Court and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
William Cary Van Fleet | |
|---|---|
.png) Portrait of Van Fleet, published in the San Francisco Call in Apr 1907 | |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California | |
| In office April 2, 1907 – September 3, 1923 | |
| Appointed by | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Seat established by 34 Stat. 1253 |
| Succeeded by | Frank Henry Kerrigan |
| Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court | |
| In office May 7, 1894 – January 3, 1899 | |
| Appointed by | Henry Markham |
| Preceded by | Van R. Paterson |
| Succeeded by | Walter Van Dyke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Cary Van Fleet March 24, 1852 Maumee, Ohio |
| Died | September 3, 1923 (aged 71) San Francisco, California |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | read law |
Education and career
editBorn in Maumee, Ohio,[1] in 1869 Van Fleet came to California.[2] He read law in the offices of H. O. Beatty, and entered the bar in 1873.[2] He was an assistant district attorney of Sacramento County, California from 1878 to 1879.[3] He was a California State Assemblyman from 1881 to 1882, and was the Director of California State Prisons from 1883 to 1884.[4] He was a Judge of the Superior Court of California from 1884 to 1892, and was appointed by Governor Henry Markham an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California, serving from May 7, 1894, to January 3, 1899.[2] In November 1898, he ran on the Republican and United Labor Party ticket for another term but lost the election to Democratic Walter Van Dyke.[5][6] After stepping down from the court, he practiced in the firm of Mastic, Belcher, Van Fleet & Mastick.[2]
Federal judicial service
editOn April 2, 1907, Van Fleet received a recess appointment from President Theodore Roosevelt to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California created by 34 Stat. 1253.[7] Formally nominated to the same position by President Roosevelt on December 3, 1907, he was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 17, 1907, and received his commission the same day.[1] Van Fleet served until his death on September 3, 1923,[1] in San Francisco, California.[citation needed]
Personal
editVan Fleet married twice. On April 12, 1877, he married Mary Isabella Carey, who died in Sacramento on February 14, 1878.[8] They had a son, Ransom.[9][10] After her death, he married Lizzie Eldridge Crocker (sister of Henry and niece of Charles and Edwin of the prominent Crocker family) in San Francisco on January 19, 1887. They had four children, Alan, William, Clark, and Julia.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b c William Cary Van Fleet at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ a b c d "It Is Van Fleet". San Francisco Call. Vol. 75, no. 131. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 30 April 1894. p. 8. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
- ^ Johnson, J. Edward (1963). History of the California Supreme Court: The Justices 1850-1900, vol 1 (PDF). San Francisco, CA: Bender Moss Co. pp. 194–197. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
- ^ 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. Commercial Printing House. pp. 755–756. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
William Cary Van Fleet judge.
- ^ "The State Ticket". Evening Sentinel. Vol. 3, no. 121. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 21 October 1898. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^ "Official Vote Count on State Ticket". Marin Journal. Vol. 38, no. 41. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 22 December 1898. p. 1. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^ "Van Fleet Takes Oath and Becomes a Judge". San Francisco Call. Vol. 101, no. 132. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 11 April 1907. p. 9. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^ "Died". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 3, no. 306. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 15 February 1878. p. 2. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^ "The Smart Set". The San Francisco Call. Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. June 26, 1912. p. 9. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
- ^ "San Francisco Society Has Gay Week With the Grand Opera Season". The San Francisco Call. Library of Congress Historic Newspapers. March 23, 1913. p. 35. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
- ^ "Weddings". Daily Alta California. Vol. 42, no. 13659. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 23 January 1887. p. 7. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
Sources
edit- William Cary Van Fleet at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
External links
edit- W. C. Van Fleet. California Supreme Court Historical Society.
- Past & Present Justices. California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017.