John Hicks Adams (1820–1878) was an American 49er of the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

and

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...

between 1864 and 1870, and again between 1871 and 1875. He was also Deputy

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

for the

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

1878, and a noted

gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers () or in the late 19th and early 20th century gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslin ...

Early life

John Hicks Adams was born in the then newly-founded town of

Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,808 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city was named in honor of Ninian Edwards, former governor of the Illinois Te ...

, on June 13, 1820. His father, John Adams Sr., was elected sheriff of Madison County in 1838. John Jr., was appointed deputy sheriff; his duties included collecting taxes and taking care of court business. In December 1841, John Hicks married Mathilda Pomeroy. Their first child, May Hanna, was born one year later on December 21, 1842. In May 1847, during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, Adams joined Company J, 5th Regiment of the Illinois Volunteers. During the march south, the commander of his company, Captain Niles, died and Hicks was promoted to Captain of Company J, the rank he continued to maintain throughout his year and half of active duty. Hicks served most of his time in the Southwest, fighting Indians. Captain Adams was discharged from the service on the October 12, 1848. When word spread East that gold had been discovered in California, John went across country, arriving in Hangtown in August 1849. John stayed in the gold country mining, until September 1851, when he returned home. A year later in the spring of 1852, he again started for California, but this time he was accompanied by his family. They settled in Georgetown, where John continued mining, when in 1853 they moved to a farm near Gilroy.

Career as county sheriff

John started his political career by running for and winning the office of Santa Clara County Supervisor for Gilroy and Almaden Township in the September election of 1861. In 1863, John ran for sheriff, beating William Aram by more than 500 votes. With the passing of Sheriff Kennedy on February 6, 1864, the board of supervisors appointed Adams (who would have been sworn in as sheriff in March) to finish out Kennedy's term. Soon afterward, a band of Confederate partisan rangers, known as

Captain Ingram's Partisan Rangers Captain Ingram's Partisan Rangers was the name given by the ''Sacramento Union'' to a band of about fifty Confederate Bushwackers organized from local Copperheads and members of the Knights of the Golden Circle in 1864 by Rufus Henry Ingram in San ...

from the San Jose area robbed two stage coaches in the

Bullion Bend Robbery Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from t ...

near Placerville. During the pursuit Deputy Sheriff Staples of

El Dorado County El Dorado County (; ''El Dorado'', Spanish language, Spanish for "The Golden ne), officially the County of El Dorado, is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

was gunned down when he surprised them at a rooming house the next day. Information filtered to Sheriff Adams that the Confederates were holed up in a shack near Almaden. Sheriff Adams and a posse of Deputies surrounded the shack, and demanded their surrender. The robbers failed to obey the order and tried to escape. A shoot-out ensued that resulted in all of the Confederates being either captured or killed in the volley of shots. Sheriff Adams was wounded when a bullet struck his pocket watch and glanced into his ribs. Later that year and the next Adams pursued another gang of "partisan rangers", the Mason Henry Gang who had rapidly degenerated into a vicious gang of

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...

s, committing robberies, thefts and murders in the southern

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

, Santa Cruz County,

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is ...

and Santa Clara County preying on stagecoaches, ranchers and others especially if they were known Union men in the vicinity. Adams pursued the gang with the help of two companies of Native California Volunteer Cavalry from

Camp Low Camp Low, or San Juan Bautista Post, was a military post first established at San Juan Bautista, California, San Juan Bautista, San Benito County, California in December 1864 by List of California Civil War units, California Volunteers, in response ...

during the summer of 1865. But no one could locate their hideout at Loma Prieta. In June 1865, a posse of nine soldiers and five citizens led by Sheriff Adams searched the area around the Panoche Valley in what is now southern

San Benito County San Benito County (; ''San Benito'', Spanish for " St. Benedict"), officially the County of San Benito, is a county located in the Central Coast region of California. Situated in the California Coast Ranges, the county had a population of 64 ...

in search of the gang after receiving a reliable tip that they were planning a raid on the ranches there. However a system of spies set up by the secessionists had warned the band of their approach, when Sheriff Adams arrived at Panoche, Mason and Henry were already retreating towards Corralitos. Despite some encounters they were not caught but Adams pursuit made it so hot for them they soon left for Southern California. There Henry was killed by the sheriff in

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of th ...

in September 1865 and Mason by Benjamin Mayfield a miner, near

Fort Tejon Fort Tejon in California is a former United States Army outpost which was intermittently active from June 24, 1854, until September 11, 1864. It is located in the Grapevine Canyon (''La Cañada de las Uvas'') between the San Emigdio Mountains and ...

in 1866. While in office Adams acquired a good reputation as a lawman and ran successfully for re-election in 1865 and 1867. He became the first sheriff in Santa Clara County to be elected to three successive terms. Retiring for a couple of years in 1870, he again ran for re-election in 1871 and 1873, winning both terms. Although he didn't personally capture the highwayman

Tiburcio Vasquez Tiburcio, the Spanish form of Tiburtius, may refer to: * Tiburcio Carías Andino (1876–1969), Honduran military strongman * Tiburcio de León, Filipino general (the Philippine Revolution and Philippine-American War) * José Tiburcio Serrizuela ...

, he was a good detective and it was his information that led to Vasquez's arrest and capture in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Vasquez was hung before a large crowd of men, women and children in the yard of the Santa Clara County Jail. In 1875 Adams lost an election and finished his last term in March 1876.

Death

On January 24, 1878, Adams left San Jose to mine gold in Arizona. In late August, he was appointed Deputy United States Marshal for the

. Ten days later, he and a fellow officer were ambushed by five Mexican bandits between the Washington Mine and

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. Adams put up a fight despite being shot and appeared to have been beaten to death with clubs and rocks. The murderers were caught in Mexico, but Mexican officials refused to extradite them to the United States for the prosecution of the murders. Santa Clara County Website: The Sheriffs of Santa Clara County: Sheriff John Hicks Adams

References

General references

* * Boessenecker, John, ''Badge and Buckshot'', Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1988.

External links