Heading:
Author: Gorham, George Congdon
Title: The Story Of The Attempted Assassination Of Justice Field By A Former Associate On The Supreme Bench Of California
Place Published: [San Francisco]
Publisher:
Date Published: c.1893
Description: 198 pp. 23x16 cm (9¼x6½"), paper wrappers, side staples.Field went to California in 1849 and began a long legal career which led to his appointment of the U.S. Supreme Court by Lincoln. His finding of fraudulence in the will of Senator Sharon as submitted by Sarah Althea Hill and her attorney David Terry led to a threat on Justice Field's life by Terry. The account describes Judge Terry's bizarre attack on Field in 1889. United States Marshall Neagle then killed Terry, who had been, until then, an old hand at mortal combat: among his several duels, he had killed California's U.S. Senator David Broderick in 1859. Howes G259.Field, "a brilliant lawyer and one of the founders of Marysville" [Wheat Gold Rush 76], was named by Lincoln in 1863 to the Supreme Court, where he served 34 years, eclipsing John Marshall's 33-year record. "A craving for excitement led him to voyage to California during the Gold Rush year of 1849." He became "the equivalent of mayor-plus-judge in Marysville; he also became wealthy through real estate speculation and fees. Field emerged as a colorful and controversial character in the unsettled days of the little community, making enemies who would follow him even to the Supreme Court." Hall.

Wrappers detached and chipped, outer leaves chipped, staples rusting; good.