Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Volney E. Howard Biographical Collection
- Dates:
- 1923
- Creators:
- Ramsdell, Charles W. (Charles William) and Jackson, Grant
- Abstract:
- This file contains correspondence between C. W. Ramsdell of the Department of History at the University of Texas, Austin and Los Angeles lawyer Grant Jackson from 1923, regarding biographical information on Judge Volney E. Howard (1809-1889) and his involvement in the Commission to Settle Private Land Claims in California in the 1850s.
- Extent:
- 0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
Volney E. Howard Biographical Collection, 1923, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.685.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This file contains correspondence between C. W. Ramsdell of the Department of History at the University of Texas, Austin and Los Angeles lawyer Grant Jackson from 1923, regarding biographical information on Judge Volney E. Howard (1809-1889) and his involvement in the Commission to Settle Private Land Claims in California in the 1850s.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Volney Erskine Howard (1809 October 22 – 1889 May 14) was an American lawyer, statesman, and jurist.
Born in Mississippi, Howard moved to Texas and was appointed the first Attorney General of the State of Texas in 1846. He served in that role for only 6 months. He then represented Texas's District 2 in the U.S. Congress from 1849 to 1853. Appointed attorney to the Land Commission of California by President Franklin Pierce, Howard left Texas to move to California. He resigned from the Commission after a few months to practice law in San Francisco. In 1856, he was appointed Adjutant General of California. In 1861 he moved to Los Angeles, where he was the District Attorney of Los Angeles, California from 1864–68, and a superior court judge beginning in 1879. He served only one term, due to the ill health that also forced him to refuse a potential nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Howard died in Santa Monica, California, May 1889.
The Commission to Settle Private Land Claims was set up in San Francisco by act of Congress, the California Land Act of 1851, "to ascertain and settle private land claims" which derived from Spanish and Mexican grants in California. The Commission was active from 1851 to 1856, and there were some 813 such claims brought before the Commission.
- Acquisition information:
- Donated by H. D. Crotty, 1945 July.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Library staff after 1981. Finding aid completed by Holly Rose Larson, NHPRC Processing Archivist, 2012 November 8, made possible through grant funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commissions (NHPRC).
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-01-26 22:47:22 +0000 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
- Preferred citation:
-
Volney E. Howard Biographical Collection, 1923, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.685.
- Location of this collection:
-
4700 Western Heritage WayLos Angeles, CA 90027, US
- Contact:
- (747) 201-8448