Robert Lewis Byington (January 29, 1820 – June 20, 1886) was an American politician who served in the

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

from 1877 until 1878 as a member of the Democratic Party. He was also a member of the Sierra County Board of Supervisors from 1867 until 1870 and from 1875 until 1877. Byington was one of the early pioneers of Sierra County.

Early life

Byington was born in

Southington, Connecticut Southington ( ) is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 43,501. Southington contains the villages of Marion, Mil ...

on June 29, 1820. His parents were Zebulon Byington and Abigail Webster Byington. When he was young, the family moved to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio, where he was raised and attended public school. Byington left Cincinnati and went by ship to California around

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

, reaching

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

on April 29, 1852. Seeking the discovery of gold in California, he moved to the mining district in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

, going first to Dutch Flat and then to Goodyears Bar and Monte Cristo in Sierra County. On November 23, 1857, Byington married Catherine Alice Freehill at Forest City, California. They had eight children, including Lewis Francis Byington. In 1862, Byington settled at Downieville. He was a butcher by trade and made a living in mining and stock raising and owned farm land in

Colusa County, California Colusa County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,839. The county seat is Colusa. It is in the northern Sacramento Valley, northwest of the state capital, Sacramento. Histo ...

Political career

Byington was a member of the Democratic Party and was elected Sheriff of Sierra County. From 1867 until 1870 and from 1875 until 1877, he was a member of the board of supervisors of Sierra County. From 1877 until 1878, Byington was a member of the

, representing the 24th district.

Death

Byington died in San Francisco on June 30, 1886, aged 66 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byington, Lewis 1820 births 1886 deaths People from Downieville, California People from Southington, Connecticut Politicians from San Francisco Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly 19th-century members of the California State Legislature