Papers belonging to California lawyer and judge David Smith Terry.

David Smith Terry was a lawyer, politician, and California Supreme Court justice. Terry was born in Kentucky but later moved to Texas and joined the Texas Rangers during the Mexican War. After settling in California, he was elected a judge of the Supreme Court in 1855. A political rivalry with David C. Broderick culminated in the famous Terry-Broderick duel in 1859, in which Broderick was killed. Terry joined the Confederate army during the American Civil War and returned to California afterwards to resume his law practice. He was shot and killed by Deputy US Marshal David Neagle in 1889 after an altercation with Justice Stephen J. Field.

6 Linear Feet (4 boxes)

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