Background
Crittenden was born in Lexington, KY and was assassinated on the ferry between Oakland and San Francisco in 1870. He was married
with children. He was a military cadet at West Point Military Academy from 07/01/1832-07/01/1836. He joined the army as a
lieutenant and resigned 09/30/1836. He worked as an assistant engineer for the railroads in Baltimore, MD, York, PA, Charleston,
SC, and Augusta, SC. He was a lawyer in Texas from 1839-1849, and came to California during the Gold Rush. He was a member
of the state assembly in Los Angeles before retiring to San Francisco. He was the grandson of John Crittenden, nephew of John
Jordan Crittenden and Robert Crittenden, son of Thomas Turpin Crittenden (1788-1832), and brother of Union general Thomas
Turpin Crittenden (1825-1905).