James Van Ness (1808 – December 28, 1872) was an American politician who served as the 6th

mayor of San Francisco The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the Government of San Francisco, San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either appro ...

from 1855 to 1856.

Early life and education

James Van Ness was born in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

, in 1808. The son of Dutch-American Cornelius P. Van Ness (1782–1852), who served as

Governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold guberna ...

, and Rhoda Savage (d. 1834), his first wife. He was the nephew of

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

John Peter Van Ness and William Peter Van Ness, a

federal judge Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level. United States A U.S. federal judge is appointed by the U.S. president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Arti ...

. Van Ness attended

Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...

and graduated from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

, receiving a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree (1825) and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(1831). Van Ness later studied law and became an attorney, practicing in Vermont and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

before relocating to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Career

As a San Francisco alderman, he sponsored the "Van Ness Ordinance", which ordered all land within the city limits that was undeveloped at that time (that is, west of Larkin Street and southwest of Ninth Street) to be surveyed and transferred to their original deedholders.Early San Francisco Street Names: 1846–1849
, San Francisco Museum. Because there were many fraudulent deedholders at that time, this law led to many lawsuits for many years. In 1855, Van Ness was elected Mayor as a Democrat. However, his administration proved ineffectual in the face of three major crises that arose. First, his election was called into question following allegations of irregularities in the outcome. Then, on November 18, 1855,

Charles Cora Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning wa ...

fatally shot U.S. Marshal William H. Richardson. Cora sought the safety of the sheriff at the city jail, and Van Ness pleaded with the mob that had surrounded the jail to disperse. Another high-profile murder occurred on May 14, 1856, when James P. Casey shot newspaper editor

James King of William James King of William (January 28, 1822 – May 20, 1856) was a crusading San Francisco, California, newspaper editor whose assassination by James P. Casey, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1856 resulted in the establishment ...

after King wrote an unfavorable article about Casey. After King died on May 20, the

Vigilantes Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

reformed, tried Cora and Casey, and convicted them of murder. Van Ness tried in vain to have

California Governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, th ...

J. Neely Johnson send state militia forces into the city to stop the executions. Yet, ultimately, he watched helplessly as the Vigilantes executed Cora and Casey. Van Ness would leave office in July under the terms of the Consolidation Act (passed by the state legislature on April 29, 1856), which provided for the merger of the city and county governments into one unit. The Van Ness Ordinance was the first step in the formation of the

Western Addition The Western Addition is a district in San Francisco, California, United States. Location The Western Addition is located between Van Ness Avenue, the Richmond District, the Haight-Ashbury and Lower Haight neighborhoods, and Pacific Heights. ...

district. Van Ness would be the last mayor to be referred to as such during his term until 1862. Until then, the mayor would be known as the "President of the Board of Supervisors" In 1860, he moved to

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra fou ...

to practice law and, in 1871, became a state senator.

Personal life

In January 1836, Van Ness married Caroline Frances James Lesley (1808–1858). Together, they had two children: * Eliza Bird Van Ness (1838–1901), who married Frank McCoppin (1834–1897), an Irish born San Francisco mayor. * Thomas Casey "T.C." Van Ness Van Ness died on December 28, 1872, in

San Luis Obispo, California ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

Honors

Van Ness Avenue is named in his honor, as well as a street in Santa Cruz, Los Angeles and Fresno.

References

Notes Sources * Heintz, William F., ''San Francisco's Mayors: 1850–1880. From the Gold Rush to the Silver Bonanza''. Woodside, CA: Gilbert Roberts Publications, 1975. (Library of Congress Card No. 75-17094)

External links

Obituaries from www.sfgeneaology.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Ness, James 1808 births 1872 deaths James Politicians from Burlington, Vermont American people of Dutch descent California Democrats Mayors of San Francisco California lawyers 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century mayors of places in California