Oscar Lovell Shafter | |
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| Associate Justice of theCalifornia Supreme Court | |
| In office January 2, 1864 – December 11, 1867 | |
| Appointed by | Direct election |
| Preceded by | Elections under 1862 amendment to California constitution and 1863 enabling law |
| Succeeded by | Joseph B. Crockett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1812-10-19)October 19, 1812 Athens, Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | January 22, 1873(1873-01-22) (aged 60) |
| Spouse | |
| Relations | James McMillan Shafter, brother;William Rufus Shafter, nephew |
| Alma mater | Wesleyan University (BA) Harvard Law School |
| Signature |  |
Oscar Lovell Shafter (October 19, 1812 – January 22, 1873) was an American attorney and Associate Justice of theSupreme Court of California from January 2, 1864, to December 11, 1867 with a legacy of expanding theCalifornia dairy industry.
Originally from Vermont he moved to California in 1854 and practiced law in San Francisco.In 1857, he and his brotherJames McMillan Shafter won a legal battle after which their client sold them the contested property ofPoint Reyes. They bought almost the entire peninsula for less than $85,000 and developed it as the leading dairy region in the entire West.
Shafter was born inAthens, Vermont to Mary and William R. Shafter.[1] His father was an attorney, judge and member of theVermont Legislature.[2][3] His grandfather, James Shafter, fought in theAmerican Revolution, was one of the founders of the town of Athens in Vermont in 1779, and served in the Vermont Legislature for 20 years.[4] Shafter attendedWilbraham Wesleyan Academy in Massachusetts, and in 1834 graduated fromWesleyan University.[5] After graduation, he returned to Vermont and commencedreading law. He enteredHarvard Law School and in 1836 graduated with aLL.B. He returned toWilmington, Vermont, and entered into private practice for the next 18 years. He was elected to the state Legislature, and ran as theFree Soil Party andLiberty Party candidate for theUnited States House of Representatives,Senate, andGovernor of Vermont.[5] While practicing in Wilmington, the prospective attorneys who studied under him includedCharles N. Davenport.[6]
In 1854, at the invitation of a Vermont friend, Trevor Park, Shafter came to California and practiced law inSan Francisco with Halleck, Peachy, Billings & Park. His brother,James McMillan Shafter, also attended Wesleyan University, and graduated fromYale Law School. Arriving in San Francisco in 1855, James joined his brother Oscar in forming the firm of Shafter, Shafter, Park and Heydenfeldt with Trevor Park andSolomon Heydenfeldt, who was the first elected Jewish member of the California Supreme Court, serving from 1852 to 1857.[7] Oscar was renowned as a real estate attorney and expert in quieting title.[7][8][9]
In 1857, a complex real estate litigation resulted in Shafter winning a victory for his client, Dr. Robert McMillan, of a large tract of land atPoint Reyes inMarin County.[10][11] McMillan sold the 75,000 acre property at a discount to the Shafters, who paid roughly $85,000 for the parcel.[7] In turn, they leased land to dairy farmers who provided milk and butter to an ever-growing San Francisco and prospered.[12] The families of Oscar and James Shafter owned large portions of Point Reyes from 1857 to 1919, when the land was sold in parcels.[13]
In1860, Shafter was the Republican nominee forU.S. Senate, but lost toLecompton DemocratMilton Latham. In 1863, a constitutional amendment meant all of the seats of theSupreme Court of California were open for election.[14] In October 1863, Oscar Shafter was elected as a justice on theRepublican Party ticket, and begin his term in January 1864.[15] The justices drew lots for term length and Shafter was assigned the long, 10-year term as an associate justice.[14][16][17] In December 1867, he resigned due to ill health.[17] GovernorHenry Huntly Haight appointedJoseph B. Crockett to Shafter's seat.[16]
Shafter was again a candidate for U.S. Senate in the 1873special andregular Senatorial elections, but lost to DemocratJohn S. Hager and Anti-MonopolistNewton Booth, respectively.
Seeking to recover his health, Shafter traveled to Europe in 1872. He died age 60 atFlorence, Italy, on January 22, 1873.
Shafter married Sarah Riddle in Wilmington, Vermont, in 1840 and the couple had eleven children: ten daughters and one son. Four daughters and the son died at an early age, his son while he had moved to San Francisco in 1854 before his wife and two of their surviving daughters joined him in 1855.[18] His nephew wasWilliam Rufus Shafter, a general in theAmerican Civil War and recipient of theMedal of Honor.[19]
Shafter kept a journal which describes the natural environment, social customs and living conditions of the California pioneers.[citation needed]
William R. Shafter vermont.Biography of Oscar L. Shafter.
Senior partner Oscar Lovell Shafter was, at that time, considered the foremost title lawyer in California
Tenth. --To allow and order paid out of the General Fund to O. L. Shafter, James Shafter and Solomon Heydenfeldt, as a law firm, for the defense of suits brought against the Tax Collector of the city and county of San Francisco...a sum not exceeding $1,000.
We are informed that all the official acts of Mr. Patch as Tax Collector have been done under the advice of Mr. O. L. Shafter, his legal adviser, who has been retained by the State, as well as the city and county, to defend the suits brought against him.
soon after a group of San Francisco lawyers, led by brothers Oscar and James Shafter and son-in-law Charles Webb Howard, acquired much of the land in the Point Reyes area
The sale was made by Mrs. Julia Shafter Hamilton, daughter of the late Judge James McMillan Shafter, who bought the tract in 1876.
Under the constitutional provision, on October 21, 1863, Oscar L. Shafter, Lorenzo Sawyer, Silas W. Sanderson, John Curry and A. L. Rhodes were elected Supreme Court Justices. The new court organized January 2, 1864, and in accordance with law, the Judges drew lots to determine the tenure of their official terms, with the following result: Shafter drew for ten years, Rhodes for eight. Sawyer for six, Curry for four and Sanderson for two.
Oscar L. Shafter harvard law school.
m. 1840 Sarah Riddle. 1 ch. 10 dau. 1 son. 4 dau. and the s. d. in early childhood. See poem 'Lament' by O. L. Shafter, Part III, Chap. 2. Rem. to Calif. via Cape Horn 1854 leaving his family in Wilmington, Vt. until a year later. In 1855, his wife and daughters Emma and Mary joined him in San Francisco where they made their permanent home.
An uncle of the general, the late Oscar L. Shafter...became a judge of the (California) Supreme Court.
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Free Soil nominee forGovernor of Vermont 1848 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Associate Justice of theCalifornia Supreme Court 1864–1867 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
| Other | |
