Background
Hart Hyatt North was born in Marysville, California on July 12, 1871. His father, George North was a hardware merchant in
Marysville and later a fruit farmer in Winters, California. In 1886, Hart Hyatt North moved to Alameda County and graduated
from Oakland High School in 1889. He received his law degree from Hastings College of Law in 1892. He was elected to the California
State Assembly to represent the 51st district in 1894 and served two terms. North married Emma Morgan, the sister of well-known
architect, Julia Morgan. For many years he practiced law and worked with his father-in-law, Charles Bill Morgan, owner of
the Shasta Iron Company. He served as U.S. Commissioner of Immigration for California and Nevada from 1898 to 1910. He was
dismissed from his position as Commissioner after being charged by the Asiatic Exclusion League and others with being negligent
in his administration of the Chinese Exclusion Law and for excessive leniency in the admission of Hindu immigrants. In the
1920s, Hart Hyatt North worked as an attorney for customs broker, William H. Thornley, in filing claims on behalf of the San
Francisco seal fleet owners (or their descendents) whose ships had been seized by the U.S. government during the Bering Sea
dispute of the 1890s.
Extent
Number of containers: 11 cartons, 3 oversize boxes, 2 oversize folders
(linear feet: 15)
Restrictions
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head
of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The
Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright
owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Availability
Collection is open for research.