Charles Morris Shortridge (August 24, 1857 – June 30, 1918) was an American politician and newspaper editor for '' San Jose Daily Mercury'' and ''

The San Francisco Call ''The San Francisco Call'' was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called ''The San Francisco Call & Post'', the ''San Francisco Call-Bulleti ...

''. The brother of US Senator

Samuel M. Shortridge Samuel Morgan Shortridge (August 3, 1861January 15, 1952) was a Republican Senator from California. Early years Shortridge was born in Mount Pleasant, Iowa and moved to California as a child with his family, who settled in San Jose in 1875. ...

and

Clara Shortridge Foltz Clara Shortridge Foltz (July 16, 1849 – September 2, 1934) was an American lawyer, the first female lawyer on the West Coast, and the pioneer of the idea of the public defender. The Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles was renam ...

, he served as a member of the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

from 1899 to 1907.

Early life and career

Shortridge was born in Pleasant Grove on August 24, 1857, to Tabitha Shortridge and Elias Willetts Shortridge, being the second child of the two with his siblings being Clara Shortridge and

. He came 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 ...

with his family in 1874, having his first job as a porter for a hotel in Nevada City before the family relocated to San Jose in 1875. There, he attended public schools in the area and worked for the San Jose Gas Company.

Newspaper editor and owner

After completing his schooling, he was employed by the ''San Jose Mercury-Herald'' as an office attendant. He left the company in 1883 to found his own newspaper, the ''San Jose Morning Times'', which would compete with the ''Mercury-Herald''. He later bought the ''Mercury-Herald'' from owner J. J. Owen in 1884, combining the newspaper with the Times Publishing Company. In 1895, he became the manager of the ''

San Francisco Call ''The San Francisco Call'' was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called ''The San Francisco Call & Post'', the ''San Francisco Call-Bulleti ...

''.

Political career

After leaving the newspaper business, Shortridge started practicing law in San Jose. In 1898, Shortridge ran for

for the

California's 30th State Senate district California's 30th senatorial district is one of 40 California State Senate districts. The seat is currently represented by of . District profile The district encompasses the Gateway Cities region of southeastern Los Angeles County, includin ...

, winning the election as a Republican. In 1902, he ran in the California's 28th State Senate district due to redistricting, and instead of running as a Republican, he announced his campaign as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, winning the election against three other opponents. He ran again in 1906 again as an Independent, but lost re-election to Republican Marshall Black.

Personal life

Shortidge married Elizabeth Wright in

Carson City, Nevada Carson City, officially the Carson City Consolidated Municipality, is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 58,63 ...

on July 1, 1899, with the two having three children. In 1898, Shortridge suffered from severe heart attacks, with one heart attack making his critically ill at the

Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs, a California Historical Landmark and on the list of National Register of Historic Places, is a property near Gilroy, California famed for its mineral hot springs and historic development by early settlers and Japanese p ...

; doctors attending him had expected that he would die within the next day due to his condition. His condition slightly improved the next day only to worsen days later. He survived his illness and later moved to Carson City with his wife. Shortridge died on June 30, 1918, in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

after a year-long illness.

References

{{reflist 1857 births 1918 deaths California state senators California Republicans California independents 19th-century American newspaper editors 19th-century members of the California State Legislature 20th-century members of the California State Legislature