Ralph Chandler Harrison (October 22, 1833 – July 18, 1918) was an American attorney and Associate Justice of the

Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the judiciary of California, courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly ...

from December 20, 1890, to January 5, 1903.

Early life

On October 22, 1838, Harrison was born in

Cornwall, Connecticut Cornwall is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. History The town of Cornwall, Connecticut, is named after the county of ...

. He attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

, graduating with a

B.A. 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 degree ...

in 1853. After graduation, he taught mathematics and ancient languages at Armenia Seminary, New York, from 1853 to 1856, and also obtained a

M.A. 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 ...

degree at Wesleyan in 1856. In 1857, he was elected to the

Connecticut State Legislature The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Ther ...

. He then studied at

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary ...

, where he was awarded a

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1859.

Career

Harrison's law school classmate, David D. Colton, encouraged Harrison to move to California and in 1859 the two formed a law partnership in San Francisco. In 1868, Harrison joined with

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

-trained attorney, John R. Jarboe, in the firm of Jarboe & Harrison. In August 1890, Harrison won the nomination of the Republican Party for Supreme Court justice, and was elected to a 12-year term. In November 1902, Harrison sought a second term but lost the Republican nomination to

Frank M. Angellotti Frank Marion Angellotti (September 4, 1861 – May 23, 1932), was an American attorney who served as the 17th Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court from January 5, 1915 to November 1921, and as an associate justice from December 11, 1 ...

. In December 1903, Harrison was named a commissioner of the California Supreme Court, replacing John Haynes. In 1905, when the new Court of Appeal was established, Governor

George Pardee George Cooper Pardee (July 25, 1857 – September 1, 1941) was an American doctor of medicine and Republican politician. As the 21st governor of California, holding office from January 7, 1903, to January 9, 1907, Pardee was the second native-bor ...

named Harrison as the Presiding Justice of the First District. After stepping down from the bench in 1908, Harrison returned to private practice. He continued as trustee of the public and law libraries of San Francisco. In October 1917, Harrison and his wife (Ella Spencer Reid) visited

Carmel-by-the-Sea Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 at the 2010 census. Situa ...

and stayed at the

La Playa Hotel The La Playa Hotel is a historic two-story hotel in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, once owned by artist Chris Jorgensen. The building is an example of Mediterranean Revival architecture. The building qualified as an important commercial building ...

for a few weeks. During this visit they bought the block between Camino Real and Casanova Street, south of Ninth Avenue.

Death

Harrison died after a brief illness, at the age of 84, on July 18, 1918, at his apartment in San Francisco.

Bar and civic activities

Harrison was a member of the San Francisco Bar Association, and served as a trustee of the San Francisco Law Library in 1871. In January 1884, Harrison was elected a trustee of the

California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, that is among the largest List of natural history museums, museums of natural history in the world, housing over ...

. In April 1896, he was named president of the board of the

San Francisco Public Library The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco in United States. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as ''Libr ...

. The Ralph Chandler Harrison Memorial Library in

Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...

, is named in his honor.

Personal life

Harrison married twice. In July 1865, he married Juliet Lathrop Waite and they had two sons, both of whom became attorneys: Richard Chandler Harrison, who practiced with his father in the firm of Harrison & Harrison; and Robert Waite Harrison, an assistant district attorney. After her death in August 1890, Harrison married again in September 1892 to the younger Ella Spencer Reid in

Rye, New York Rye is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, within the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. It received its charter as a city in 1942, making it the most recent such charter in the state. Its area of ...

, at the country mansion of her uncle,

Whitelaw Reid Whitelaw Reid (October 27, 1837 – December 15, 1912) was an American politician, diplomat and newspaper editor, as well as the author of ''Ohio in the War'', a popular work of history. After assisting Horace Greeley as editor of the ''New-Yo ...

, later ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. His wife became involved with several art and literary societies in San Francisco. Harrison was a member of the Bohemian Club in 1872.

References

External links

California Supreme Court Historical Society page on Ralph C. Harrison

In Memoriam

Ralph C. Harrison opinions on the California Supreme Court
Courtlistener.com.
Ralph C. Harrison opinions on the California Court of Appeal
Courtlistener.com.

California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

California Court of Appeal, First District.