Isaac S. Belcher

{{Infobox officeholder

|honorific-prefix =

|name = Isaac Sawyer Belcher

|honorific-suffix =

|image = Isaac Sawyer Belcher, Justice, Supreme Court of Cal. 1889 0096.jpg

|alt =

|caption =

|office1 = Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court

|term_start1 = March 4, 1872

|term_end1 = January 5, 1874

|appointer1 = Governor Newton Booth

|predecessor1 = Royal Sprague

|successor1 = Elisha W. McKinstry

|birth_date = {{birth date|1825|02|27}}

|birth_place = Stockbridge, Vermont, U.S.

|death_date = {{Death date and age|1898|11|30|1824|02|27}}

|death_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.

|restingplace =

|restingplacecoordinates =

|birthname =

|spouse = {{marriage|Adeline Johnson|1861}}

|relations =

|children =

|residence =

|alma_mater = University of Vermont (B.A.)

|religion =

|signature =

|signature_alt =

|footnotes =

}}

Isaac Sawyer Belcher (February 27, 1825 – November 30, 1898) was an American attorney and an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from March 4, 1872, to January 5, 1874.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cschs.org/history/california-supreme-court-justices/issac-s-belcher/|title=Issac S. Belcher|publisher=California Supreme Court Historical Society|date=2014-06-28|access-date=2016-08-06}}

Biography

Belcher was born in Stockbridge, Vermont, the second of three sons of Samuel Belcher, a farmer.{{cite news|title=Died, Isaac S. Belcher|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1898-12-01/ed-1/seq-11/#date1=1789&sort=date&date2=1924&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=3&words=Belcher+Isaac+S&proxdistance=5&state=&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=isaac+s.+belcher&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=The San Francisco Call|publisher=Library of Congress Historic Newspapers|date=December 1, 1898|page=11}} He attended school off season from his work on his father's farm. In 1842, he enrolled in the University of Vermont in Burlington, from which he graduated in 1846.{{cite news|title=A Son of Bradford in Chicago. Some Pleasantries and Facts About Him. Neziah Wright Bliss|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038102/1887-07-29/ed-1/seq-8/#date1=1789&index=0&date2=1895&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=Belcher+Isaac+S&proxdistance=5&state=Vermont&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=isaac+s.+belcher&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|accessdate=September 24, 2017|work=The United Opinion (Bradford, Vt.)|publisher=Library of Congress Historic Newspapers|date=July 29, 1887|page=8|quote=University of Vermont..., graduating in the class of 1846, and had for classmates now such distinguished men as...Isaac S. Belcher}} When he was 21, he entered the law office of J. W. D. Parker and read law. In 1852, he was admitted to the bar of the supreme court of Vermont.

On June 16, 1853, he arrived in California after spending a month in Oregon. He settled on the Yuba River during the Gold Rush but resumed a law career. He moved to Marysville, California in 1855 and opened a law practice. From 1856 to 1857, Belcher served as District attorney for Yuba County, California having run on the American Party or Know Nothings ticket.{{cite news|title=Letter to the Editor from Samivel|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=MDH18550830.2.15&srpos=70&e=------185-en--20--61--txt-txIN-i.+s.+belcher-ARTICLE------1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=Marysville Daily Herald|issue=11|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=30 August 1855|page=3|quote=Messrs Magruder and Belcher, candidates tor County Clerk and District Attorney}}{{cite news|title=Politics in Yuba County|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SDU18570901.2.13&srpos=3&e=------185-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22i.+s.+belcher%22-ARTICLE------1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=Sacramento Daily Union|issue=2007|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=1 September 1857|volume = 13|page=3}} In June 1863, he was nominated by the Union Party and elected as a district judge of the Tenth Judicial District, serving from 1865 to 1869 both there and in the 21st District, as well.{{cite news|title=Court Proceedings|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18630623.2.10&srpos=1&e=------186-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22isaac+s.+belcher%22-------1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=Daily Alta California|issue=4868|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=23 June 1863|volume = 15|page=1}}{{cite news|title=Candidate for District Judge|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=MDA18630621.2.10&srpos=2&e=------186-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22isaac+s.+belcher%22-ARTICLE------1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=Marysville Daily Appeal|issue=146|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=21 June 1863|page=3}}

On March 4, 1872, Governor Newton Booth appointed Belcher as an associate justice of the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Chief Justice Royal Sprague.{{cite news|title=Appointment of Supreme Judge|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=RRF18720307.2.18&srpos=24&e=-------en--20--21--txt-txIN-%22royal+t.+sprague%22-------1|accessdate=July 10, 2017|work=Russian River Flag|issue=17|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=7 March 1872|page=2}}{{cite news|title=The Supreme Court, From Chief Justice Hastings to Chief Justice Beatty|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1895-06-22/ed-1/seq-5/#date1=1789&sort=date&date2=1924&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=18&words=Belcher+Isaac+S&proxdistance=5&state=&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=isaac+s.+belcher&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=The San Francisco Call|publisher=Library of Congress Historic Newspapers|date=June 22, 1895|page=5}} In the October 1873 election, Belcher did not run, and Elisha W. McKinstry was elected to the seat.{{cite book|last1=Bancroft|first1=Hubert Howe|title=The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, vol XXIV, History of California|date=1890|publisher=The History Company|location=San Francisco, CA|page=[https://archive.org/details/worksbancro24bancuoft/page/236 236]|url=https://archive.org/details/worksbancro24bancuoft|accessdate=September 23, 2017|quote=Royal T. Sprague, who died in February 1872, when Isaac S. Belcher was appointed in his place, his successor, E. W. McKinstry, being chosen in 1873.}}

In June 1878, Belcher was nominated by the Democratic Party and served as a member of the convention in September 1878 which framed the existing Constitution of California.{{cite news|title=Democratic Nominations for the Constitutional Conventions|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042459/1878-06-19/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1789&sort=date&date2=1924&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=1&words=Belcher+Isaac+S&proxdistance=5&state=&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=isaac+s.+belcher&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=Daily Los Angeles Herald|publisher=Library of Congress Historic Newspapers|date=June 19, 1878|page=2}}{{cite news|title=Constitutional Convention|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SDU18780930.2.15&srpos=3&e=------187-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22isaac+s.+belcher%22-------1|accessdate=August 15, 2017|work=Sacramento Daily Union|issue=189|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=30 September 1878|volume = 7|page=2}}

In 1879, Belcher ran for another term when all seats of the Supreme Court were up for election due to the new constitution. In June 1879, he was nominated by the Republican Party on the same ticket as Milton H. Myrick but lost the election.{{cite news|title=Republican Conventions|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SDU18790620.2.3&srpos=17&e=------187-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22isaac+s.+belcher%22----1879---1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=Sacramento Daily Union|issue=89|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=20 June 1879|volume = 8|page=1}}{{cite news|title=Regular Republican State Ticket|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SDU18790811.2.28.1&srpos=10&e=------187-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22isaac+s.+belcher%22----1879---1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=Sacramento Daily Union|issue=131|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=11 August 1879|volume = 8|page=4}}

Afterwards, Belcher was a commissioner for the Supreme Court from March 16, 1885, till his death on November 30, 1898.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Jc-AQAAMAAJ&q=isaac+s+belcher|title=California Blue Book, Or State Roster|date=1913-01-01|publisher=State Printing Office|language=en}}{{cite news|title=Judge Isaac Belcher, The Supreme Court Commissioner Suddenly Expires|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015104/1898-12-01/ed-1/seq-8/#date1=1789&sort=date&date2=1924&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=2&words=Belcher+Isaac+S&proxdistance=5&state=&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=isaac+s.+belcher&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=The Record-Union (Sacramento, CA)|publisher=Library of Congress Historic Newspapers|date=December 1, 1898|page=8}}

Civic activities

Belcher served as an original trustee for Stanford University.{{cite news|title=Leland Stanford Jr. University|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SD18851128.2.2&srpos=146&e=-------en--20--141--txt-txIN-%22t.+b.+mcfarland%22-------1|accessdate=August 15, 2017|work=Sonoma Democrat|issue=6|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=28 November 1885|page=1}}{{cite web|title=Founding Grant of Stanford University|url=https://wasc.stanford.edu/system/files/FoundingGrant_2.pdf|publisher=Stanford University|accessdate=August 18, 2017|pages=3, 56|date=1987|archive-date=June 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609030807/https://wasc.stanford.edu/system/files/FoundingGrant_2.pdf|url-status=dead}} He was also a trustee for the California State Library.{{cite news|title=State Library Trustees|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014381/1881-02-03/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1789&sort=date&date2=1924&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=5&words=Belcher+Isaac+S&proxdistance=5&state=&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=isaac+s.+belcher&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=Sacramento Daily Record-Union|publisher=Library of Congress Historic Newspapers|date=February 3, 1881|page=2}}{{cite news|title=Caucusing and Contributing, Minor Notes|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014381/1885-01-05/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1789&sort=date&date2=1924&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=6&words=Belcher+Isaac+S&proxdistance=5&state=&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=isaac+s.+belcher&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=Sacramento Daily Record-Union|publisher=Library of Congress Historic Newspapers|date=January 5, 1885|page=2}}

Personal life

In 1861, he visited his home in Vermont and met Adeline N. Johnson of Augusta, Maine.{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=J. Edward|title=History of the California Supreme Court: The Justices 1850-1900, vol 1|date=1963|publisher=Bender Moss Co|location=San Francisco, CA|pages=121–123|url=http://library.courtinfo.ca.gov/included/docs/SCJC_Vol_1.pdf|accessdate=August 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227124913/http://library.courtinfo.ca.gov/included/docs/SCJC_Vol_1.pdf|archive-date=December 27, 2016|url-status=dead}} They married, settled in Oakland, and had a daughter and three sons, one of whom, Richard, entered the practice of law.{{cite news|title=Events in the Social World, The Marriage of Miss Mattie A. Belcher and Mr. Allan Cooley|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC18900724.2.76&srpos=3&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22Mattie+A.+Belcher%22-------1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=San Francisco Call|issue=54|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=24 July 1890|volume = 68|page=7}}{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/benchandbarofcal00shuc|page=[https://archive.org/details/benchandbarofcal00shuc/page/997 997]|quote=isaac%20s%20belcher.|title=History of the Bench and Bar of California: Being Biographies of Many Remarkable Men, a Store of Humorous and Pathetic Recollections, Accounts of Important Legislation and Extraordinary Cases, Comprehending the Judicial History of the State|last=Shuck|first=Oscar Tully|date=1901-01-01|publisher=Commercial Printing House|language=en}}{{cite news|title=Isaac S. Belcher's Will|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1898-12-06/ed-1/seq-15/#date1=1789&sort=date&date2=1924&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=9&words=Belcher+BELCHER+ISAAC+Isaac+S&proxdistance=5&state=&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=isaac+s.+belcher&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=The San Francisco Call|publisher=Library of Congress Historic Newspapers|date=December 6, 1898|page=14}}

Issac's two brothers, William C. and Edward A. Belcher, both became attorneys in California.{{cite news|title=The Courts|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SDU18581029.2.15&srpos=107&e=------185-en--20--101--txt-txIN-i.+s.+belcher-ARTICLE------1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=Sacramento Daily Union|issue=2368|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=29 October 1858|volume = 16|page=3|quote=Ordered, by the Court, that...William C. Belcher be admitted as attorneys and counsellors in this Court.}}{{cite news|title=Dons the Ermine, E. A. Belcher Succeeds Judge Garber|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn94052989/1893-10-26/ed-1/seq-10/#date1=1789&sort=date&date2=1924&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=16&words=Belcher+Isaac+S&proxdistance=5&state=&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=isaac+s.+belcher&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=The Morning Call|publisher=Library of Congress Historic Newspapers|date=October 26, 1893|page=10}} Isaac practiced law with his older brother, William, in the firm of Belcher & Belcher.{{cite news|title=Judge Belcher's Will|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC18951005.2.161&srpos=3&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22mary+j.+Belcher%22-------1|accessdate=August 18, 2017|work=San Francisco Call|issue=127|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=5 October 1895|volume = 78|page=11}} In 1893, Edward was appointed by Governor Henry Markham as a judge of the San Francisco County Superior Court.

References

External links

[http://www.cschs.org/history/california-supreme-court-justices/issac-s-belcher/ Isaac S. Belcher]. California Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
[http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf3r29n61z/entire_text/ Guide to the Belcher and Belcher Collection, 1864-1871]. California State Library, Online Archive of California.
[http://www.courts.ca.gov/12523.htm Past & Present Justices]. California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017.