Van R. Paterson
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Alexander Van Rensselaer Paterson (March 2, 1849 – July 27, 1902) was an 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 22, 1886 to May 3, 1894.


Biography

Born in
Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,064 at the 2020 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden. T ...
, Paterson moved with his family to
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
as child. He was educated at St. Lawrence Academy. He graduated from Albany Normal College in 1872 and thereafter received an
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 ...
from
Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...
. He then moved to
Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...
to enter into the practice of law.Judge Van R. Paterson Passes Away Surrounded By His Family
, ''
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 ...
'', Volume 87, Number 58 (July 28, 1902).
In Stockton, Paterson held a series of public offices. In 1878 and 1879, he ran on the Citizens' Party ticket and was elected City Attorney of Stockton. He resigned from that office to accept the nomination for judge of San Joaquin County Superior Court, and he was elected. In 1884, he was re-elected as judge. In August 1886, the Republican Party nominated Paterson, along with Thomas Bard McFarland and Noble Hamilton, as Associate Justices of the California Supreme Court, and Paterson and McFarland were elected to 12-year terms. When Paterson took his seat in January 1887, Frank T. Baldwin was appointed to Paterson's vacant position on the Superior Court. On the Supreme Court in 1888, Niles Searls was Chief Justice, while Paterson sat in Department One with Elisha W. McKinstry and Jackson Temple, while Department Two was composed of James D. Thornton,
John Sharpstein John Randolph Sharpstein (May 3, 1823 – December 28, 1892) was an American lawyer and judge. He was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California for twelve years, and previously served as a member of the Wisconsin State Senate an ...
, and McFarland. In 1899, William H. Beatty replaced Searls as Chief Justice, and
John D. Works John Downey Works (March 29, 1847June 6, 1928) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a U.S. Senator representing California from 1911 to 1917, and an associate justice of the California Supreme Court from October 2, 1888, to January 5, 18 ...
took the seat of McKinstry in Department One. On May 3, 1894, Paterson resigned from the court to resume the practice or law in San Francisco with partner Arthur Rodgers in the firm of Paterson and Rodgers. In March 1898, the remaining member, Judge Charles W. Slack of the
San Francisco County Superior Court The Superior Court of California of the County of San Francisco is the Superior Courts of California, state superior court with jurisdiction over the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco. History Courthouse functions were incorporate ...
, resigned from the bench and joined the firm. Paterson's notable cases as counsel include the
James Graham Fair James Graham Fair (December 3, 1831December 28, 1894) was an Irish immigrant to the United States who became a highly successful mining engineer and businessman. His investments in silver mines in Nevada made him a millionaire, and he was one o ...
will contest, where he was appointed by the court as the representative of the minor heirs. He was also the attorney for Clara Kluge Sutro in the contest which was made over the estate left by
Adolph Sutro Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro (April 29, 1830 – August 8, 1898) was a German-American engineer, politician and philanthropist who served as the 24th mayor of San Francisco from 1895 until 1897. Born a German Jew, he moved to Virginia City ...
. Paterson remained involved in civic matters. In January 1899, his name was put forward for United States Senator by the California Legislature. In February 1899, he helped draft a bill for the Legislature to create the district courts of appeal to reduce the Supreme Court's workload.


Personal life

On May 5, 1880, while practicing law in Stockton, he married Amy H. Kelsey, with whom he had three surviving children: Kelsey, Majorie, and Ogden Paterson. Paterson died at his residence at 1926 Octavia street, following a six month bout of liver disease.


References


External links


Van R. Patterson
California Supreme Court Historical Society.
Opinions authored by A. Van R. Paterson
Courtlistener.com.

California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017.


See also

*
List of justices of the Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest judicial body in the state and sits at the apex of the judiciary of California. Its membership consists of the Chief Justice of California and six associate justices who are nominated by the Govern ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Van R. 1849 births 1902 deaths Union College (New York) alumni Justices of the Supreme Court of California Superior court judges in the United States People from Stockton, California 19th-century California state court judges 19th-century American lawyers American jurists People from New York (state) California Republicans Lawyers from San Francisco